Introduction: Building a Housing Module
While in space one of the most important modules will provide astronauts and scientists a place to rest their heads at the end of a long research day.
Our housing module will not only provide living space, but also docking ports for the research modules and visiting space craft.
Instructions
- Continue to the next step.
- To prepare, move the rocket module to the side of the Workplane. We will attach it to the other components of the space station once they are complete.
Step 1: Building Living Quarters
We will start by creating the central living space for the module and follow that up by building the docking ports.
Instructions
- Place a Tube shape on the Workplane and size it to be 80mm in diameter and 18mm tall.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 2: Shape the Housing Module
Next we will add some shape to the housing module by adding a slanted surface called a chamfer to the top and bottom of the module.
Instructions
- Place a Cone shape on the Workplane and size it to be 80mm in diameter and 25mm tall.
- Use the black arrow on top of the Cone to lift it upward off the Workplane 18mm to match the top of the Tube shape.
- Select both shapes and Align them vertically. If your alignment was successful it will look like the Cylinder is wearing a pointy hat.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 3: Add Another Cone
We will add the angled shape to the bottom as well to create a symmetric shape for the housing module.
To do this you will repeat very similar process to the previous step, but with the next Cone flipped upside down.
Instructions
- Place a Cone shape on the Workplane and size it to a diameter of 80mm and a height of 25mm.
- Rotate the Cone 180° so the flat part is facing upwards.
- Use the black arrow on top of the upside down Cone to lower the cone 25mm to match the bottom of the housing module.
- Select all 3 shapes and Align them vertically.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 4: Cut a Hole Through the Housing Module
Now that the cones have been positioned we need to cut a hole through them to match the hole in the original Tube shape and trim them down a bit.
Instructions
- Place a Cylinder on the Workplane and size it to 40mm in diameter and make it 100mm tall.
- Change the Cylinder to a Hole.
- Use the black arrow on top of the Cylinder to lower it 40mm so it drops lower than the bottom of the lowest cone. The goal is to make sure the Cylinder will cut through all the shapes.
- Select all the shapes and Align them vertically.
- Group the shapes together and a hole should be cut all the way through both cones.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 5: Trim the Housing Module
We can now trim the overall height of the housing module.
Instructions
- Place a Box on the Workplane and size it to be 80mm square.
- Change the Box to a Hole.
- Select the housing module and the Box and Align them vertically.
- Use the black arrow on top of the housing module to lift the Box upward 22mm off the Workplane.
- Duplicate the Box by selecting Duplicate the Edit menu.
- Press D on the keyboard to move the new Box to the Workplane.
- Use the black arrow to lower the new Box 84mm so it sits 4mm below the Workplane.
- Select all the shapes and Group them to trim the housing module.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 6: Finish the Housing Ring
To finish this portion of the lesson there are a couple minor items to clean up. We need to select a color for the housing module and we need to place it on the Workplane.
Instructions
- Select the ring and change the color to something you like. For this lesson I will use dark grey.
- Select the shape and press D on the keyboard to lift the module onto the Workplane.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 7: Add the First Docking Port
With the ring of the housing module complete we can begin adding the docking ports to the module.
We will follow steps similar to those used when we created the fuel canisters when we built the Rocket.
Let's keep going!
Instructions
- Place a Cylinder on the Workplane and size it to 10mm in diameter and 15mm tall.
- Select the Cylinder and rotate it 90° so it is laying on its side.
- Set the housing module ring to be a hole temporarily. This will make it easier to see things when aligning the shapes.
- Select the ring and the Cylinder and Align them vertically, then center it with the ring and Align it to the minimum in the opposite direction on the Workplane.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 8: Position the First Docking Port
Let's move the docking port out of the ring so there is room for another module to attach to the docking port.
Instructions
- Select the Cylinder and rotate your view to be looking at the model from the side.
- Press the left arrow key on the keyboard 12 times to move the Cylinder out of the ring 12mm. Tip: If the left arrow doesn't move the Cylinder in the proper direction make sure to rotate you view to look at the ring more from the side.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 9: Make the Second Docking Port
Just like when creating the fuel canisters, we will create the docking port for the opposite side of the housing module before duplicating the ports around the housing module.
Instructions
- Select the Cylinder and duplicate it by selecting Duplicate from the Edit menu.
- Select the new Cylinder and the ring and Align them to the maximum on the opposite side from the first docking port.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 10: Position the Second Docking Port
Now we need to move the second docking port to out of the ring.
Instructions
- Select second Cylinder and press the right arrow key on the keyboard 12 times to move the Cylinder out of the ring an equal amount to the previous docking port. Remember: If the right arrow doesn't move the Cylinder in the proper direction, try changing your view to look at the model more for a side view.
- Select both Cylinders and Group them into a single item.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 11: Create Additional Docking Ports
We can use the grouped docking ports to create a series of port around the housing module.
Instructions
- Select the grouped docking ports and duplicate them by selecting Duplicate from the Edit menu.
- Rotate the new group 45° around the Workplane.
- Select Duplicate from the Edit menu two more times to duplicate the docking ports around the housing module.
- Continue to the next step.
Step 12: Finish the Housing Module
We now have all the shapes in position and we just need to update the colors and group the shapes together.
Instructions
- Select the housing ring and change it from a Hole to a color you like. For this lesson I will use a dark grey.
- Hold shift on the keyboard and select each of the docking ports and change their color to something you like. For this lesson I will use white for the docking ports.
- Select all the shapes and Group them into a single object.
- Change the color of the housing module to multicolor by selecting the color selection tool and checking the Multicolor checkbox.
- Continue to the next lesson.
Step 13: Prepare for 3D Printing
The housing module was created in a way that will require some additional steps to 3D print.
Right now the docking ports stick out from the housing module in a way that would required support or the printing plastic will droop or drip when the printer tries to print the ports.
If your machine will handles support material well, you can export your model and print with support.
If you would rather print 2 halves (without support) and glue them together, then you can follow the instructions below.
Instructions
- Place a Box onto the Workplane and size it to be larger than the housing module on the Workplane and make it 13mm tall. 13mm is half the height of the housing module. We will use the Box to cut the module in half for printing.
- Change the Box to a Hole.
- Align the housing module and the Box vertically.
- Group all the shapes to create a single item.
- Select the resulting shape and press D on the keyboard to place the new shape on the Workplane.
- Set the housing module aside with the rocket until you are ready to begin putting the modules together.
- Continue to the next lesson.
