I wanted to challenge myself with Lab 2, with the two-part goal of using commands that I hadn't before, and to create as detailed a model as possible. For that reason I chose to model a Nintendo Switch Controller. Although the shape appears simple at first, there were a lot of minor details, like the side rail and the screw holes on the bottom of the controller. In addition to that, the triggers on the top of the controller were an odd shape and couldn't be modeled with a normal geometric shape.
In total, the model took about ten hours to create in Rhino. That spent time was worth it because I am absolutely satisfied with the finished product. I believe that I accurately captured all the detail in a Nintendo Switch controller, from the little divots in the joystick to the screw holes in the bottom. My three most used commands were "FilletEdge" to create the rounded shape, "CageEdit" to form the trigger and the trigger cover which had a unique shape, and "BooleanUnion" to connect all of the model together in preparation for when I print it out later. I believe that creating this model was a sufficient challenge for me, and I am happy with the end result. I could even easily transform this controller into it's blue counterpart if I wanted to have a matching set.
When I was 3D printing the Switch controller, I was worried that the small details that I had added wouldn't show up. I printed the model to scale, with a length of about four inches, but since the nozzle can only print 1.75mm filament, I was pretty sure not all of the small details would be captured properly. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the finished product. The printer was able to capture almost of the detail and the supports were easy to remove, even in the recesses of the trigger and the joystick. I wish that I could have printed the model in the proper red color, but the red filament was being used in another print when I printed my model so, alas it was meant to be orange instead of red, although since the print was only two and half hours, I could reprint the controller in red in the future.
For Part B, when I heard that we would be slicing up our 3D model, I immediately started brainstorming what objects looked sliced naturally, so that when I laser cut the finished design, it would look natural. That was when I came up with the idea of creating a 3D pixel Pac-Man to print because then I could split the model's layers into each pixel layer.
When I tried to start to model the Pac-Man, I realized it would be impossible to pixelize the model without manually creating each layer in Rhino, which would negate the point of using Fusion 360's slicer plug-in. Instead I opted to create a simple Pac-Man model with a 3D interior to his mouth to add some interest to the design. This created a much more interesting model when I put it in Slicer, and I knew the laser-cut design would end up looking more unique than the original 3D pixel look I had wanted to achieve.
I knew that I wanted to cut the slices out of wood not cardboard so the surface would look equally smooth and solid from the side and front views. However, since Basswood sheets are quite expensive, I opted to use thinner 1/8" sheets and to print a smaller model to conserve on wood. My decision to add dowels to the Slicer model aided me greatly when I actually cut the model. The dowels fit tight enough into the slices that out of 32 slices, I only had to glue 3 together, the rest just fit together with friction against the dowels, which made assembly ten times easier. I love how my laser-cut Pac-Man came out, and I plan to paint the exterior yellow to match his traditional look. However, I'm going to keep the burnt Basswood finish that was created in the inside of his mouth because it looks so unique and adds an extra flare to the model.
The follow-up assignment to part B was to model an environment for my Pac-Man, which was perfect, because it allowed me to start creating 3D pixel-art, which is something that I have always been a sucker for artistically. I chose to model the ghosts, the cherry power-up, and the little dots that Pac-Man needs to eat to complete the level. I used a reference image to recreate the 2D design of each object before using "ExtrudeCrv" to make them 3D. I felt that doing that alone made the objects boring, so I decided to add depth in the ghost's eyes and lower half, as well as the cherries' white highlights and stem. By doing this, I made the final prints much more interesting to look at from multiple angles.
The cherries were the hardest to model because the stem in 2D form isn't actually connected together, so I had to make 1/4 size pixels that connected the stem segments together. All of the dimensions for these additional models were scaled to the laser-cut four inch Pac-Man. This was done with the end goal that I could create a diorama with the ghosts almost racing him to get to the cherries in the center. I plan to laser cut the Pac-Man logo and possibly paint the ghost eyes and cherry highlights white to create as realistic a look as possible for a 2D game turned 3D.
I encountered an unexpected physical error when I was printing out the third of my four ghosts. Since the ghosts are 3.5" x 3.5" x 2," they are large models that take six hours to print each. Because of that, I left the red ghost to print overnight, and at some point, it seems like the filament got stuck and offset the printer, which shifted the whole print off by about an inch. This is unfortunate because I have to now scrap that red ghost and all the filament it used up to print, but to get a complete diorama, I really should include all four different colored ghosts. I have blue and orange already printed, just pink and red to go.
For the final part of Lab 2, we had to create several different type of laser cut joint to expand our physical making skills for the future. For the first design, which was a flat-wood joint, my goal was to create a design that couldn't be lifted apart unless the the joints were split vertically apart with a simple "jigsaw" piece pattern. For the second joint, I made a 90° joint with slots that were as wide as the MDF I used was thick. My 1/4" piece of MDF ended up being 0.238" thick instead of the ideal 0.25."
For the third, and final joint, we were allowed to create whatever we desired, so I chose the most interesting of the 50 joints we used as reference material. The dovetail cross halving joint was interesting to me because it could only be split apart by pulling one piece away vertically, with any other angle keeping the pieces tightly locked together. The reference I used actually was an unrealistic joint because the corners of the puzzle piece edges overlapped, meaning the pieces could not be fit together if they were printed physically, so I had to readjust the design a little bit to be more practical.
When I laser cut these pieces, I used MDF, which theoretically can be cut with a laser-cutter. However, I had to re-cut my piece three times and even then, the laser didn't fully cut through the MDF. Luckily I was able to break the pieces out manually and sand down the torn edges. Next time though, I would use a different type of wood so I don't have to worry about cutting multiple times.
