rapman-education's posterous http://rapman-education.posterous.com Most recent posts at rapman-education's posterous posterous.com Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:31:50 -0800 Designing, prototyping, 3D printing... and augmented reality. http://rapman-education.posterous.com/designing-prototyping-3d-printing-and-augment http://rapman-education.posterous.com/designing-prototyping-3d-printing-and-augment

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3D CAD is fantastic and students using it can use it to design their products with relative ease. Even better if they output their designs to 3D printers or CNC machines. But there are times when visualising the designed object in the "real environment" can be difficult. Visualising the object "in situ" before committing to printing or machining can be useful in determining whether the design is correct, suitable for purpose or "looks right".

Ok so it is possible to "Photoshop" an image of the CAD design into a photo of the environment but wouldn't it be better if this could be done in 3D?.... With augmented reality this is possible and using an iPad and a suitable app relatively easy to do.

The photo attached to this post only shows half of the story... Its not possible to show a 3D scene using 2D media! The object (a model 3DTouch 3D printer) is 3D, moving the iPad around this virtual object does actually allow you to see it from above, sides, front, back, etc.

Yes the object viewed using augmented reality is still a "virtual object" but as a method of "testing" ideas before actually prototyping or making the object is another tool available to designers... Used in isolation I'm not certain how useful augmented reality actually can be, but as a first check in an iterative design process I can see some potential for some students in some design projects.

I have a feeling that teaming augmented reality with 3D printing could be a powerful combination. I hope to try this out with students soon and intend to get them to design objects, test them with augmented reality and modify their designs before 3D printing them.

If you fancy giving it a go then you might be interested in trying the iPad app "Augment" https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/augment/id506463171?mt=8 For a free app (at the time of posting this) it is really powerful, a range of 3D formats can be imported (.stl, .3ds, .obj etc) and of course these can be designed in CAD or downloaded from sites such as Thingiverse. Imported objects can be scaled, rotated, moved, photographed etc. And to get you started there are a number of lovely sample files available in the app too.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Sun, 09 Dec 2012 04:57:30 -0800 D&T iPad apps http://rapman-education.posterous.com/dt-ipad-apps http://rapman-education.posterous.com/dt-ipad-apps Ok, so not really about 3D printing but my school blog is "locked" for updating to a new platform/hosting service. My school has just launched into a new project for students to bring portable devices into school... Mainly iPads but other devices are allowed. So students setting up new iPads face a bewildering number of apps, here are a few suggested apps that I have tried out over the last year or so. The star rating is based on usefulness, price, etc... But just a guide! There are many other apps available.
Autodesk Forceeffect ... Free *** Study the effect of forces on structures https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/autodesk-forceeffect/id476321600?mt=8

Forceeffect Motion ... Free *** Study the effect of forces in motion https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/autodesk-forceeffect-motion/id512045820?mt=8

123D Make Intro... Free *** Design 3d designs for laser cutting https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/123d-make-intro/id513915986?mt=8
123D Design... Free *** Simple 3D CAD https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/123d-design/id567821620?mt=8

123D Sculpt... Free (model export £6.99 in app purchase) ** 3D sculpting https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/123d-sculpt/id446119510?mt=8

123D Catch... Free *** Scan objects in 3D https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/123d-catch/id513913018?mt=8

Sketchbook Express... Free ** Sketch, draw etc https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sketchbook-express-for-ipad/id410871280?mt=8

Pixlr-o-matic... Free ** Another photo edit app https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pixlr-o-matic/id450263811?mt=8

Other apps
D&T app ... 69p per subject or £1.99 for all 6 *** D&T textbook, revision etc https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/design-and-technology/id363449581?mt=8

Moodboard Lite... Free (limited) or £6.99 ** Create design mood boards https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/moodboard-lite/id369796813?mt=8

iDT HD.... Free*** D&T "dictionary" https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/idt-hd/id383058247?mt=8

Neu.Draw... Free *** Vector drawing https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/neu.draw/id392532294?mt=8

iDesign... £5.99 ** Vector drawing https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/idesign/id342790226?mt=8

iDraw...£2.99 ** Vector drawing https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/idraw/id363317633?mt=8

Adobe Photoshop Express by Adobe...free *** Photo editing https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/adobe-photoshop-express/id331975235?mt=8

Magic Plan... Free ** Create scale room plans https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/magicplan/id427424432?mt=8

Creo view mobile... Free *** Viewer for Creo 3D designs https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/creo-view-mobile/id560549930?mt=8

3D CAD Models Engineering by CADENAS GmbH... Free ** 3d cad models (downloads) catalogue https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/3d-cad-models-engineering/id522705054?mt=8

Idea generator...£1.99 * Random ideas generator https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/idea-generator/id293258418?mt=8

Ohm work... Free ** Resistor colour codes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ohm-work/id406539017?mt=8

Design Museum Collection ... Free *** Iconic designs https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/design-museum-collection-for/id510964197?mt=8

Dexigner... Free *** News of what's going on in the design works https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/dexigner/id319785197?mt=8

Arduino Companion... Free * Arduino reference https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/arduino-companion/id501635254?mt=8

Spacecraft 3D... Free ** Augmented reality 3D spacecraft https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/spacecraft-3d/id541089908?mt=8

Maplin ... Free * Electronics catalogue https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/maplin/id434388627?mt=8

Screwfix catalogue... Free ** Hardware catalogue https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/screwfix-catalogue/id531135973?mt=8

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White
Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:33:19 -0800 123D Design http://rapman-education.posterous.com/123d-design http://rapman-education.posterous.com/123d-design

At last a free 3D design app for the iPad that can be used for 3D printing!

Autodesk have just released the 123D app for the iPad and at first sight it appears to be quite useable. Designs can be created from simple primitives and modified by stretching, rotating, shelling, chamfering, rounding etc. The design can be saved to the iPad for further editing or exported to the cloud. The designed object can be downloaded to a PC (or mac?) using the 123D design program...and saved as an stl file for printing!

The iPad app is truly intuitive to use... I was creating printable objects within minutes. Best of all it's not necessary to be a CAD expert in fact anyone with a little experience using Trimble (Google) Sketchup will in their element with this app.

I'm pretty certain that this will open up new possibilities for students to be designing and making with iPads and 3D printers. I can't wait to try it out with students to see what they produce... iPads paired with our RapMan, BfB3000/3D Touch printers look like being a fantastic combination for student creativity.

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1324605/me.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5emrVdsQknst Dave White rapman-education Dave White