Description

   How to take a thought and make it into a part. #1 in a series.

Step by Step Breakdown of Part 1 - Rapid Prototyping

1. Have a thought – in this case, what would it take to make a "collectable, trade-able" nut for the roller derby teams (or other quad skating types) , that would allow them to customize their skates for each skaters team and personal style?
2. Getting the thought out of your head and down on paper.
3. Getting your sketch into Inventor, to render a 3d model.
4. Using the MakerBot to produce a prototype.
5. Using the prototype to ensure the measurements and the actual thought will work.

Materials

   ½ socket and wrench
   Digital calipers
   Thread gage
   Scrap sticker material

TechShop Prerequisites

   Autodesk Inventor Pro
   MakerBot

I made this at TechShop.
www.techshop.com

Step 1: Getting Measurements to Wrap Into My Thought

I need to know some measurements off of the skate to form my thought around. As I take these measurements, I begin to sketch out my thoughts with what I have found out from my numbers.

Step 2: Turning Chicken Scratches Into a 3d Model

Using the sketch, I moved all the data into Inventor Pro and made a 3d model.

Step 3: A Thought You Can Hold in Your Hand

Taking that 3d model and exporting it out of inventor as a stl file allows me to load it into the MakerBot and print the part out.

Step 4: Making the Thought Real

With a real live part in my hand, I can play with it and see if my thought will actually work before I spend all the time making “a real” nut. I can also see and make any tweaks that I may need at this stage. I added a red sticker to the part to see what the “customization” end of it could be.

Now that I feel comfortable with my thought and design, I can begin production on an actual nut for testing. (coming soon in part 2)