Aron Petau - parametric modelling

3D Modeling and CAD

2018-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

3D Modeling and CAD</h2>

Designing 3D Objects</h3>
While learning about 3D printing, I was most intrigued by the possibility of modifying and repairing existing products. While there’s an amazing community with many good and free models available, I naturally reached a point where I couldn’t find what I was looking for already designed. I realized that this is an essential skill for effectively operating not just 3D printers, but really any kind of productive machine.</p>
Since YouTube was where I learned everything about 3D printing, and all the people I looked up to there were using Fusion 360 as their CAD program, that’s what I got into. In hindsight, it was a pretty good choice — I fell in love with the possibilities that parametric design gives me. Below you’ll find some of my designs. The process is something I deeply enjoy and want to explore even more.</p>
Through trial and error, I’ve already learned a lot about designing specifically for 3D printing. But I often feel that I lack a deeper understanding of aesthetic considerations in design. I want to broaden my general ability to design physical objects, something I hope to gain during my master’s.</p> </iframe> </iframe> </iframe> </iframe> </iframe> </iframe>
Check out more of my finished designs in the Prusaprinters (now Printables) Community</p>
My Printables Profile</a> </div>
3D Scanning and Photogrammetry</h2>
Besides coming up with new objects, incorporating the real world is also an interest of mine.</p>
Interaction with real objects and environments</h3>
In the last few years, I played around with a few smartphone cameras and was always quite sad that my scans were never accurate enough to do cool stuff with them. I couldn’t really afford a proper 3D scanner and had already started cobbling together a Raspberry Pi camera with a cheap TOF sensor. That setup is simple, but not nearly as precise as a laser or LiDAR sensor. Then Apple released the first phones with accessible LiDAR sensors.</p>
Recently, through work at the university, I got access to a device with a LiDAR sensor and started having fun with it. See some examples here:</p>
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This last one was scanned with just my smartphone camera. You can see that the quality is notably worse, but considering it was created with just a single, run-of-the-mill smartphone sensor, I think it’s still pretty impressive — and will certainly help democratize such technologies and capabilities.</p>
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Perspective</h2>
What this section is supposed to deliver is the message that I am currently not where I want to be when navigating the vast possibilities of CAD. I feel confident enough to approach small repairs around the flat with a new perspective, but I still lack technical expertise when it comes to designing collections of composite parts that have to function together. I still have lots of projects half-done or half-thought — and one major reason is the lack of critical exchange within my field of study.</p>
I want more than designing figurines or wearables. I want to incorporate 3D printing as a method to extend the abilities of other tools — to serve mechanical or electrical purposes, be food-safe and engaging. I fell in love with the idea of designing a toy system. Inspired by Makeways on Kickstarter</a>, I’ve already started adding my own parts to their set.</p>
I dream of my very own 3D printed coffee cup — one that is both food-safe and dishwasher-safe. For that, I’d have to do quite a bit of material research, but that only makes the idea more appealing. I’d love to find a material composition incorporating waste, to stop relying on plastics — or at least on fossil-based ones. Once in Berlin, I want to connect with the people at Kaffeform</a>, who produce largely compostable coffee cups incorporating a significant amount of used espresso grounds (albeit using injection molding).</p>
The industry selling composite filaments is much more conservative with the percentage of non-plastic additives, because a nozzle extrusion process is much more error-prone. Still, I would love to explore that avenue further and think there’s a lot to be gained from looking at pellet printers.</p>
I also credit huge parts of my exploration into local recycling to the awesome people at Precious Plastic</a>, whose open source designs helped me out a lot. I find it hard to write anything about CAD without connecting it directly to a manufacturing process. And I believe that’s a good thing. Always tying a design process to its realization grounds the process and gives it a certain immediacy.</p>
To become more confident in this process, I still need more expertise in designing organic shapes. That’s why I’d love to dive deeper into Blender — an awesome tool that in my mind is far too powerful to learn solely through YouTube lessons.</p>
Software that I have used and like</h2>
AliceVision Meshroom</a> Scaniverse</a> My Sketchfab Profile</a> 3D Live Scanner for Android</a> </div>