Lesson 1/4
Lesson Objective: To explore a design brief and develop a plan for professional design. To explore existing
products and establish design features. To develop communication skills.
Brought to you by the 3D Systems education team
Project Introduction
In this project you will be challenged to design a
range of unique 3D printed products that make use
of and explore the new technology. The product you
will develop is a head phone wrap.
You will be expected to be able to analyse existing
3D printed products and translate these into virtual
models through the application of CAD tools, before
sketching your own ideas and turning these into
virtual models and 3D printing an outcome that
meets the needs of a user.
To complete the CAD development of your design,
you will work in Autodesk Inventor before turning
your file into an .STL file and post process the file in
Cube or Cube X software.
Your outcome should be able to work with your own
set of headphones, and should be sized accordingly.
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
LESSON 01
Lesson objectives
>> To explore a design brief and understand the challenge
>> Be able to analyse existing products and establish strengths and weaknesses
>> Develop communication skills in both 2D and 3D, with annotation
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
Starter
To explore a design brief and develop a plan for professional design.
Modern mobile phones provide the fantastic
function of not only buying music on the go,
but listening to it, either shared with friends
on a loud speaker, or for more personal
enjoyment, with headphones and ear buds.
Whilst the design of the ear bud has attracted
much attention, as the ear piece can affect
the comfort of the user hugely, wires and
their ability to tangle up is a constant
frustration to many. Here is where we draft
our design brief.
A product to avoid this
The Design Brief
“To design and make a high quality object, product or device
that will support a wide variety of users in their management of
ear bud wires. The product must take account of dimensional
accuracy, be made using 3D printing, and offer a unique
solution. The product must be made from either ABS or PLA.”
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
Gather the relevant information (Research)
Gathering Relevant Research
Whilst you could gather lots of
information about different existing
products; or the average size of a
pocket; materials used in similar
situations; etc.; the important
information is actually the specific
set of headphones and cable length.
Take measurements of the key dimensions. Below
are annotations of some of the important ones.
A 3mm jack is standard to all
headphones and ear buds.
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
Types of CAD Tools (used to model virtual products)
A single shape pulled up to create a
solid, or pulled into a solid to create
a cut
A single shape spun around an axis
or edge to create a solid in the
shapes path.
A single shape normally a circle,
drawn onto a flat surface and drawn
into or through a solid.
A curve applied to edges using a
given radius.
An angled cut applied along an
edge.
Letters applied as a sketch to a
surface and then either cut into or
extruded off from a surface.
A wall thickness applied inside a
shape but removing all other
materials to create a shell.
A pattern of shapes created by
selecting a single feature on a
surface, and multiplying it.
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
To explore existing products and establish design features.
Task: Analyse existing solutions
Using the existing solution hand outs, conduct an analysis of
how the product has been designed:
- to hold headphones
- to be safe in the pocket
- using CAD
- to be 3D printed
Example
Fishbone Design
Hold headphones
- the headphone wires wrap around the bone ribs
Be safe
- the ends and edges of the design are rounded
Use of CAD
- the shape of the fish has been extruded in one go
3D printed
- the design has no undercuts that cannot be printed
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
To develop communication skills.
Your task is to explore your creativity and
develop some ideas. We are going to use the
medium of paper and pencil, though if you
feel confident to sketch in fine line pen or biro
these will more striking in appearance.
The initial ideas you create should be quite
simple ideas to start, but they should provide
you something to develop in the next couple
of lessons, as your design ability develops.
Watch the video below:
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
Plenary
How well have you met the lesson objectives?
To explore a design brief and understand the challenge.
Could you write your own unique design brief for another personal product?
Be able to analyse existing products and establish strengths and weaknesses.
Do you feel confident in being able to identify the pro’s and con’s of everyday products?
Develop communication skills in both 2D and 3D, with annotation.
What does good drawing communication look like?
© 2012 Autodesk
Copyright @2014 3D Systems Ltd & Teach Design Ltd
© 2012 Autodesk