C8 Familiarity with product modelling techniques
My background has predominately been digital media design which consists of creating a product or a digital medium using digital tools eg software. During my degree we rarely… in fact NEVER used the term ‘modelling’ thus, if you were to fabricate a ‘model’ within the digital media world you would merely sketch it using the simplest of tools – a pen and paper. Consequently, this firmly displays strong evidence that I clearly have no experience what so ever in modelling unless you count junk modelling at school? During the course of the year, I shall in fact develop my skills in this unknown area as I feel it will be a useful exercise when designing a product. Personally, I feel the main benefits will be to facilitate my understanding of how an idea can be transferred into a 3D object or piece rather than it being an initial concept within my head – that is what I find challenging within this course it’s not coming up with an idea specifically but actually trying to grasp how the idea will be made and the manufacturing process including techniques and processes themselves. I always ask the question - How am I going to transfer this idea into an appropriate piece of design and technology? Well I hope that modelling will help! As it will not only make me think about how the piece will come together but also in some respect it will be quite a valuable source of research as well, research that may also affect and influence certain aspects of the product.
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My initial understanding of the term 'FAMILIARITY WITH PRODUCT MODELLING TECHNIQUES'
Primarily I feel that the term modelling techniques translates to the various methods you choose in order to create a model, a model is a 3D representation of a proposed idea or a prototype. It can be made out of various types of materials and it also does not necessarily need be to scale or perfect. By fabricating models of your designs I believe it can develop an idea into a final design proposal that can then be made using real materials.
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What I have learnt and what I understand now ...
Today we had a taught session with Bhav on modelling techniques and I didn't realise that there were so many different types! I have learnt an incredible amount though and so far I have certainly widened my skills.
The different types of modelling...
Architectural models - Scale model of a building, it can work out concepts and how structures relate to interior. It helps represents a building to a client as well. I doubt I shall be developing any models like this.
Card/Paper engineering – Models made out of card – tends to be white card/paper. It can be complex but very detailed. I most defiantly will experiment with this technique during my time on the course.
Marquette’s (Junk Modelling) – Using any type of material to create your model from chicken wire to cereal boxes. Personally I do not feel that this technique will benefit me within the course. It does not seem to create a clear representation of a final product. Perhaps I should prove this statement wrong through experimentation?
Prototype – Demonstrates a working model so you can illuminate any possible problems. You can make it any size and depending on the design you can use the same materials or closest to. This generally will be a type of modelling that I shall do to develop my work.
Sketch Modelling – Drawing in 3d paper/card. This will be an ongoing technique that I will be using throughout the course of the year. Although I do have experience in this, it will be good to improve my drawing skills.
‘Kit’ Modelling –Also could be known as air fix. Similar to puzzle pieces or technical lego consisting of art straws/pipe cleaners. This method helps you to rationalise something. I think again this type will benefit me more in terms of working out concepts of a product. At a later stage I shall look into this to develop my skills and my concept.
Pepakura – Similar to origami but obviously with the purpose to model a product. Generally speaking, I am not really that good at things like this. If I have a project this year that will benefit from this type of modelling then I shall pursue it.
Concept modelling – A model that is the same accurate size as the actual product that’s being designed however, the model does not actually work. Some car manufacturers will use clay to concept model their cars. For my current project in Design and Make (SKDO2) I think fabricating a concept model would be a good idea because if it is going to be in my bedroom it will allow me to see where it will fit and where it will look good within the room. Also although it is supposedly to scale it will allow me to recognise whether or not the dimensions are suitable bedroom and for me as a user – this way I can alter anything which in turn aids my design.
Mechanical modelling – Creating a model out of mixed paper but the model can man oeuvre for example a toy car. Due to my lack of knowledge in modelling this seems like a massive task just for creating a model, obviously a model has important purposes nevertheless I can imagine this technique would be very lengthy. If I design anything that moves then I will certainly practice this.
Although there are so many different types of modelling techniques quite honestly I know I will not be using all of them this year. This is not to say that I won’t experiment with them but by familiarising myself with the different techniques it has enabled me to learn a valuable point when modelling. This is that the type of modelling you use is going to be dependent on the product that you are designing. In addition, I have learnt the importance of why you choose certain materials for certain models.
Experimenting with Modelling using Styrofoam
I have decided to experiment with a modelling technique, I merely wanted to start by practicing with some Styrofoam, we were given a task in Bav’s session just to have a play around with modelling and the picture below shows what I made.
I am fully aware that it might not be the perfect model car but it is a start and from this one task most importantly I have learnt a huge amount just by working with this type of foam.
I found the foam extremely easy to work with, it is really light and really easy to cut and file to shape using the rasp. I initially used the hot wire to cut a block out and it was interesting, the thing is you have to be really careful if your looking to shape or cut an accurate line, but it surprised me because it cut the foam effortlessly. I initially found it hard to work out how this block of foam will eventually transform into a car using the tools available but I found that it was much easier to draw the outline of a car and shape it from there. I didn’t realise how effective the tools were on the foam, the massive problem that I encountered is the crumbliness of the foam it seemed to snap easily and I realised at one point that it had a grain and working against it was a nightmare. Another aspect that I found problematic was that the rasp was really effective, you filed it once and so much foam would come off which meant that when I was trying to do the smaller areas I needed to be lighter with my technique. Towards the end of the modelling experiment I discovered that the smaller files were much more effective in tinier areas. I must admit I did created the wheels by using the hot-wire, perhaps some would say a cop out because the purpose was to develop my skills within the tools as well BUT I will try next time!
___________________________________________________________________
My initial understanding of the term 'FAMILIARITY WITH PRODUCT MODELLING TECHNIQUES'
Primarily I feel that the term modelling techniques translates to the various methods you choose in order to create a model, a model is a 3D representation of a proposed idea or a prototype. It can be made out of various types of materials and it also does not necessarily need be to scale or perfect. By fabricating models of your designs I believe it can develop an idea into a final design proposal that can then be made using real materials.
___________________________________________________________________
What I have learnt and what I understand now ...
Today we had a taught session with Bhav on modelling techniques and I didn't realise that there were so many different types! I have learnt an incredible amount though and so far I have certainly widened my skills.
The different types of modelling...
Architectural models - Scale model of a building, it can work out concepts and how structures relate to interior. It helps represents a building to a client as well. I doubt I shall be developing any models like this.
Card/Paper engineering – Models made out of card – tends to be white card/paper. It can be complex but very detailed. I most defiantly will experiment with this technique during my time on the course.
Marquette’s (Junk Modelling) – Using any type of material to create your model from chicken wire to cereal boxes. Personally I do not feel that this technique will benefit me within the course. It does not seem to create a clear representation of a final product. Perhaps I should prove this statement wrong through experimentation?
Prototype – Demonstrates a working model so you can illuminate any possible problems. You can make it any size and depending on the design you can use the same materials or closest to. This generally will be a type of modelling that I shall do to develop my work.
Sketch Modelling – Drawing in 3d paper/card. This will be an ongoing technique that I will be using throughout the course of the year. Although I do have experience in this, it will be good to improve my drawing skills.
‘Kit’ Modelling –Also could be known as air fix. Similar to puzzle pieces or technical lego consisting of art straws/pipe cleaners. This method helps you to rationalise something. I think again this type will benefit me more in terms of working out concepts of a product. At a later stage I shall look into this to develop my skills and my concept.
Pepakura – Similar to origami but obviously with the purpose to model a product. Generally speaking, I am not really that good at things like this. If I have a project this year that will benefit from this type of modelling then I shall pursue it.
Concept modelling – A model that is the same accurate size as the actual product that’s being designed however, the model does not actually work. Some car manufacturers will use clay to concept model their cars. For my current project in Design and Make (SKDO2) I think fabricating a concept model would be a good idea because if it is going to be in my bedroom it will allow me to see where it will fit and where it will look good within the room. Also although it is supposedly to scale it will allow me to recognise whether or not the dimensions are suitable bedroom and for me as a user – this way I can alter anything which in turn aids my design.
Mechanical modelling – Creating a model out of mixed paper but the model can man oeuvre for example a toy car. Due to my lack of knowledge in modelling this seems like a massive task just for creating a model, obviously a model has important purposes nevertheless I can imagine this technique would be very lengthy. If I design anything that moves then I will certainly practice this.
Although there are so many different types of modelling techniques quite honestly I know I will not be using all of them this year. This is not to say that I won’t experiment with them but by familiarising myself with the different techniques it has enabled me to learn a valuable point when modelling. This is that the type of modelling you use is going to be dependent on the product that you are designing. In addition, I have learnt the importance of why you choose certain materials for certain models.
Experimenting with Modelling using Styrofoam
I have decided to experiment with a modelling technique, I merely wanted to start by practicing with some Styrofoam, we were given a task in Bav’s session just to have a play around with modelling and the picture below shows what I made.
I am fully aware that it might not be the perfect model car but it is a start and from this one task most importantly I have learnt a huge amount just by working with this type of foam.
I found the foam extremely easy to work with, it is really light and really easy to cut and file to shape using the rasp. I initially used the hot wire to cut a block out and it was interesting, the thing is you have to be really careful if your looking to shape or cut an accurate line, but it surprised me because it cut the foam effortlessly. I initially found it hard to work out how this block of foam will eventually transform into a car using the tools available but I found that it was much easier to draw the outline of a car and shape it from there. I didn’t realise how effective the tools were on the foam, the massive problem that I encountered is the crumbliness of the foam it seemed to snap easily and I realised at one point that it had a grain and working against it was a nightmare. Another aspect that I found problematic was that the rasp was really effective, you filed it once and so much foam would come off which meant that when I was trying to do the smaller areas I needed to be lighter with my technique. Towards the end of the modelling experiment I discovered that the smaller files were much more effective in tinier areas. I must admit I did created the wheels by using the hot-wire, perhaps some would say a cop out because the purpose was to develop my skills within the tools as well BUT I will try next time!
Further Experimentation
For my design and make project (SKDO2) I am going to create a storage cabinet for all of my stationary and books. I thought it would be a great idea to model the piece using card aka card/paper engineering modelling.
This exercise was a big learning curve for me just because of my lack of experience in this area but it was very worthwhile. I began by drawing a net on the card; I have never actually done anything like this before so I used the Internet to guide me for the net. This website below is very useful!
(http://www.korthalsaltes.com/model.php?name_en=cube
I learnt that if you want to get an accurate straight line you would need to use a Stanley knife with a metal ruler initially I used a plastic ruler which was not as strong. The tabs did need scoring as well so that it would help me to fold them but I discovered that you must only score a tab once and be much lighter in the technique – the first attempt to score a tab went wrong and the result was that the tab was flimsy!
Once I had cut the box out I began to put it together, primarily I thought it would be a good idea to use glue (UHU) to stick the tabs together foolishly I didn’t think about the fact that I would have to wait for it to dry and stick by holding it together not to mention getting glue all over my hand. Double sided sticky tape was my only alternative at the time but it seemed to work. For future reference I will never use glue instead I will find some simple cello tape as the double sided sticky tape makes it look untidy – photograph displays evidence of this.
Although this task was useful for me to gain new skills in modelling techniques it actually helped me out a fair bit in terms of understanding my piece. It has lead me to start researching how cabinets are made and the various joints used - obviously this was in mind beforehand however it has made it a bit more clear seeing the actual model itself. The most important thing that I have learnt is how I will create the doors. On the card model I drew squares on the doors which represented the flat drink cans. When I closed the doors I noticed that the squares did not line up if I was to do that with the cans in the final piece then it would mean that it could over lap and not be consistent in the pattern. This would undoubtedly be a strong example of bad design and therefore when creating the doors I shall generate the pattern and then cut and shape the wood. This will mean that when the doors shut the pattern will be in line, enabling me to conform to my brief and specifications “A piece of art mounted on the wall to conceal the storage unit”.
Overall to conclude I am pleased that I did this model because it has helped to identify some issues that I did not really think through beforehand and as a result it essential has saved me some time. I also learnt fair amount of the importance of modeling and easy mistakes you can make. Hopefully this has come across in my writing. As I progress faced with something like this again I would like to have a go at card modelling to see if my skills have improved.
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Analysis of new gained knowledge and the next step
Before I started this course I had very little knowledge within this area of the audit and therefore I marked the area as a ‘1’ meaning no knowledge or very little. Now that I have explored this area and been introduced to the different types of modelling I would say that I have most defiantly made progress. In some respects I have only so far created two models, one with Styrofoam and the other with card, so clearly there is more to learn but because some aspects of my engagement were successful and unsuccessful I felt that I was able to learn from this and hopefully use the new knowledge in my future tasks in modelling.
Generally I felt that I was more successful with the card modelling rather than the Styrofoam, I felt that I was more in control with the card if that makes sense? With the card I felt that it was easy to either avoid or and fix mistakes, where areas with the Styrofoam it was slightly harder to fix an error, I put this down to my inexperience with the tools. At first I did not know how to use the rasps properly so I was not able to get the right technique straight away but I felt that I was more successful though once I got the hang of it and also realised that certain tools were courser than others with different grades. To be honest once I sanded the piece down the model looked quite even anyway so it was not very much of an issue but useful to know in the future. I also would say that with my Styrofoam car model although it was a practice model I tried so many times to shape some circular wheels and I just could not get the hang of it. Therefore, I used the strip heater but they still managed to look odd and as a result effective the overall appearance of the model so if this shown to professionals or handed in as a project it would not be acceptable. However, the bottom line is I managed to make a model with this new material and most people who look at it would know that it was a car so the most successful part of this was that I learnt new skills with not only using the tools but working with a new and different materials.
In regards to the card modelling I know looking back now that I should not have used sticky back plastic to hold the tabs together, it made it looked extremely amateur but also created extra space between the tabs and base of the model. This was a perhaps a silly and unsuccessful decision that I made but I will certainly use glue or even make a net that does not require anything to hold it in place. The successful aspect though of this task is that I managed to make a net which I had never done before hand and I also learnt a lot about how importance modelling is not only for my piece but also just generally across the board. I learnt that models allow you to explore lots of the possible problems that you may encounter in making the final product. They are also nice ways to show how the final product may look in a 3D formation.
My next step now is to experiment further with other types of modelling; I particularly like to use some balsa wood and see what that material is like to work with. If I have time as well I would like to create more models in Styrofoam and card to see if my skills have improved. It would be interesting to make comparisons.
Further development
As the course has progressed I have begun to develop this area of the audit a bit further by experimenting with other types of modelling. The first example shown below was a model that I created for my electronics project (systems and control) There were several reasons as to why I completed this model, firstly I wanted to see how the design would respond or come out when used with the Laser Cutter, I think it is useful for me to see a design that that I have created on the computer in a 3D formation as it allows me to develop it further. I also wanted to see how I was going to shape the material, how I was going to avoid any of the circuit and battery being seen.
All of these things helped me to picture and see how it was going to work and it was a useful task for me to complete. It was just a case of practicing and seeing how the final piece was going to work and appear so it certainly helped me within my development stages. I learnt that working with the same kind of materials is defiantly a useful task when modelling because it also allows you to see how the material will respond to the process that you are intending, the only downside is that you are in some sense wasting material so I insured that I was trailing these models with either scrap materials and if not then I was keeping small.
I have also made a model out of Balsa wood for my Design Innovation project. I really enjoyed working with this material because I felt that it brought the design to life, the chair that I was designing was going to be made out of wood so it put it into more perspective just by looking at the textures. It also made me think about the different finishes that I could apply whereas if I created a model using card as the material then I perhaps would not have thought about this things at that point. What I found with this as well was that because of the material it was really easy to create a model that was functional because it was the same kind of material that I would have been using. For instance, the way the back of the chair moved up and down so that it was compact, you would not have been able to recreate this with another material, so the product was a fully functioning small scale example.
The only downside that I found when working with this material was that it was really easy to shape, but not in a good way. My model was quite small and even though the material is a hardwood it was really brittle and very fragile so every time I used the sand paper quite a lot of the material came off which meant that I needed to be light in my movements. Furthermore, I discovered that it was easier to use a contact adhesive with the wood as it insured that the bonds were stronger, I did try PVA but I just found the glue too messy to work with maybe that is just me?
I have also used foam material to model my chair designs. The images below show evidence of this. I found this was a lot easier to work with in terms of speed compared to the Bulsa wood. I was able to cut and shape a design very quickly so it was not much of a issue if I had made any mistakes. Due to it's flexibility I felt that it made me look at other ways to develop and design my product. This was a bonus because it helped me come up to various new ideas. I felt that cutting the material was really easy but if you wanted to score it to bend the material then you needed to apply a light cut otherwise it would cut all the way through.
I did actually find that it was quite flimsy so not too strong if you are applying weight to it.
I did actually find that it was quite flimsy so not too strong if you are applying weight to it.
Today I also tried to create some modelling using acrylic on the laser cutter. It was a really quick process to make a batch of models instead of using foam and it also insured that all of them would be the same sizes and accurate. I wanted to try and find out how I would stack my chair for the design innovation module.