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Apr 24, 2009

Setting the model for 3D Printing

Here is the model of the winner car according to the surveys. Now we are making the walls thicker so it can be 3D Printed in the ZCorp.

Here are some screenshots of it:

posted by Ricardo @ 8:40 PM 0 comments

Survey

posted by Ricardo @ 8:36 PM 0 comments

Apr 20, 2009

Shiny Paint

Here are the cars painted. The main purpose of this is to make them look as the renders I showed on previous posts.
With the physical models of the cars, we can now apply the survey and let the people choose its favorite but also get feedback from them so we can know what we should modify or add on them.

This process helps us to practically understand how this is done by professional designers with real products.

posted by Ricardo @ 11:09 AM 0 comments

Apr 6, 2009

Plastic Models

We are done sanding, so its time to pass from wood to plastic. Now that the models are ready we put some wax over them to avoid them to get stuck on the plastic once thermoformed. When the cars plastic cars get out from the machine, the plastic is still warm so we can apply some cold-pressure air on the bottom of them and they will instantly pop out.
This is how they look:

The next step is to paint each of them and apply a survey to different people in order to choose only one of the 4 cars and do some modifications on it.

posted by Ricardo @ 3:14 PM 0 comments

Mar 27, 2009

New Process

By this point we are still sanding our wood models to make them perfect for the thermoforming process. In the meantime we are now learning a new rapid prototyping process (the coolest for me) called 3D Printing. This process is done by a device similar to a washing machine in dimensions, that works with a special dust and a resin to compose physical models from a 3D file.

Like previous processes we had studied before, this one requires a 3D Model generated by any 3D/CAD software. Then we validate it with another software to be sure the model is correct and to realize how much material is required and avoid the waste of it. When we hit the print button, this machine starts applying layers of resin to the dust in order to build the volume. The machine is a 3D Printer from the ZCorporation Company.
The main purpose of this prototyping technique is to make complex physical models that usually would take us much money and time to do.

This was just a brief explanation of 3D Printing, but I will emphasize deeper in this topic when we start using this process.

posted by Ricardo @ 5:53 PM 0 comments

Mar 22, 2009

Prototypes Ready!

Finally the Roland 650 gave us our cars milled and ready to sand. Unfortunately we weren't able to program the CNC machine for the finishing process due to other people wanting to use the machine. This finishing process would make the surface of the wood smoother so we wouldn't have to sand that much, but the Roland did a pretty good job, so it's okay.

Here are some pictures of them:

With the big wood block holding our 4 prototype cars, we should cut out each of them and start sanding. Once we get the surface we want, the car is ready to be thermoformed using PET (polyethylene). This transparent plastic will join to the wood through a process of heat and pressured air. Having the cars made of plastic will allow us to paint them in an easier way.

posted by Ricardo @ 11:24 PM 0 comments

Mar 10, 2009

Getting ready to mill

The process of setting a file for milling includes what I had described in previous posts plus the use of Modela Player 4, a software that communicates directly with the Roland 650, a CNC machine capable of milling wood, plastic and soft metals.

So here is the procedure from the very beginning:

Whenever the 3D model is ready, we export it as STL file by selecting the items to convert and creating a mesh. STL is the language that VisCAM View and Modela Player 4 understand.

Once we have an STL file, VisCAM View helps us validating it to be sure the model is ready for CNC.

Now we can load the file with Modela Player 4 and program it for milling.

We set the orientation of the model and the coordinates in X,Y and Z.

We set the total depth of the model so the machine gets a better reference of dimensions.

Then the surface characteristics are established.

When the machine knows how to do the rough mill, we should establish the finishing mill, that will give us a more accurate surface so the sanding process will be easier.

It is important to highlight that this milling is going to be done over MDF soft wood, and the models obtained will work as negative molds to be thermoformed using specific plastics, either PET or polystyrene.

posted by Ricardo @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

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Name: Ricardo
Home: Querétaro, Mexico
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