Studio Blog | Stéphan Angoulvant

Solid Modelling

Moving along with my recap from last term, here are images from Solid Modelling. This course was the continuation of Rapid Prototyping, dealing mainly with the CAD software Solidworks. We started the course by practicing our Solidworks skills and replicating the inner workings of the Team Losi Mini T remote-controlled car.

Recreating hundreds of small parts in accurate detail took us some time but eventually we got quite good with the program.

Once we had understood both Solidworks and the mechanics of a remote-controlled car we starting making our own. Our car was to be created in Solidworks and fabricated using only rapid-prototyping methods.

I focused on making mine lightweight and easy to control. Starch or plaster 3d printers tend to create rather heavy prototypes so I focused on creating parts for the laser cutter. I was very pleased with the final result, it drove very well and the instructor chose it for the school gallery! (Picture pending!)

Our final exercises were in learning how to render our 3-dimensional creations and create exploded views such as this one.

Viscom 4

Kicking off my recap from last term here are the sketches from our Viscom 4 course. This course, much like our previous Viscom courses focused on drawing skills. In this particular course we learned techniques for rapidly sketching objects both organic and mechanical. Many of the sketches below were drawn in less than two minutes, while some of the more elaborate ones took about fifteen.

Almost all of these sketches were drawn from life, at one of the many museums we visited during the course. Drawing from life is a great exercise as it helps appreciate the forms better than drawing from photographs. Ultimately, sketching skills require a lot of mileage and in that respect it was a great course.

Product Design 1

After my successful results with the insect-inspired family bench last term, I was excited to see what my third term would hold. Product Design 1 was a direct continuation of Design Process 2 with the focus being oriented more towards user research and the development of a functional product.

The project for my class was to create a portable barbecue grill for a specific target audience. I quickly identified “river fishing” as a general market and with a few weeks of research and interviews began to understand exactly what design criteria that implied.

The research phase started with a benchmarking of existing products and retail environments, allowing us to get a good understanding of the market.

After a few weeks we proposed three different directions. My research led me to investigate three river fishing grills based on different cooking methods. Ultimately I chose to design a barbecue based on the concept of plank cooking, a Native American method which uses a soaked plank of wood as a grilling surface. (PDF of the presentation)

By mid-term we had clearly defined our concept and began to develop mockups. I decided to base my grill on a new ethanol fuel which is currently marketed as the FlameDisk. (See the large format presentation here)

My design started to become clearer and tried to remain as compact as possible with replaceable ethanol cartridges that could be loaded from the side and a lid that fit inside the body for storage.

The whole unit was meant to be waterproof so that it could be carried through the water by fishermen.

Vents can deprive the fuel cartridge of oxygen allowing the user to save fuel.

The cedar plank is soaked in water using the lid as a basin. When in use the water evaporates to create delicious smoky flavors.

Our new SolidWorks skills became useful as we started to develop the final version of the design.

The next few weeks were dedicated to finalizing all the details and create the finished model.

My final presentation went fantastically well. I urge you to look at the PDF version of my presentation here.

Rapid Prototyping

Catching up with my recap from last term, here are some highlights from Rapid Prototyping, an aptly named course in which we learned the tools and techniques for creating quick physical models.

Throughout the course we learned to use SolidWorks which allows for the creation of computerized 3d models, mainly for prototyping and production.

Our first project was to design a vase and create it in Solidworks so that it could be printed using a starch-based 3d printing machine. The advantage of this machine is that can build very complex shapes including undercuts.

The result was sanded and painted for our class presentation.

Our second project was to design a plate that would be cut using a flat CNC mill. The constraints were greater in this project because we were limited by the thickness of the material and also by the fact that undercuts cannot be made on this type of machine.

The result was cut out on a beautiful piece of cherry wood which I sanded smooth and finished with wax.

Much of our work at the end of the term revolved around our main studio class, Product Design 1. Here’s a sneak peek of that project: