The following information is a single lesson in a larger Tinkercad project. Check out this and more projects on Tinkercad.

Return to Previous Lesson: Filleting - Taking the Edge Off

Lesson Overview:

Now we're going to learn how to reduce friction on your puck!

Step 1: Introduction

Now that we have a puck with a nice, rounded edge, how else can we increase the performance of the puck?

We may be able to increase the performance of the puck by reducing the surface area that connects with the ice.

How can we do that without making the puck smaller or changing the shape?

We can break up the surface!

In this lesson, we will use Tinkercad's Smart Duplication feature to carve patterns in the surface of the puck so less of the puck will contact the ice.

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Instructions

Continue to the next step.

Step 2: Pasting or Importing Shapes

If you are continuing this puck lesson directly after the previous filleting lesson, then you were instructed to 'Copy' your object, so Tinkercad will remember it.

Try pasting, now. If your filleted puck emerges, you are ready to continue to the next step.

If Tinkercad did NOT paste your filleted puck, that's OK, because we also downloaded your puck for 3D printing in the Filleting lesson.

Instructions

Go to the Edit menu and click on Paste.
If your puck from the last lesson does not appear, import the STL file you saved.
Find the 'Import' section in the Shapes menu on the right of your screen.
Click on the 'File' button, and then the 'Choose File' button. Navigate to where your browser saves its downloads. Your object file should be there.
Once you have selected your file, click the import button. Your object should appear and it will behave like any other Tinkercad shape.
Continue to the next step.

Step 3: Preparing Circular V-Groove

I think a good first experiment would be to cut concentric rings in to the surface of the puck.

Concentric means "circles or shapes which share the same center". This is a relationship between items like "Tangent" we explored in the last lesson. Again, these are only words to help talk about your design.

We are going to construct a complex shape in this step to carve these rings.

Instructions

Drag out two cones and one cylinder and turn the cylinder and one of the cones in to holes.
Rotate the cone shaped hole 180° about the Y axis and lower it until its point is 17mm below the Workplane, along the Z axis.
Raise the cylinder 3mm off of the workplane and then use the Align tool to center all three of these objects together along the X and Y axes, only.
Continue to the next step.

Step 4: Positioning the V-Groove With the Top of Puck

We're going to use this new V-shaped ring to apply V-shaped grooves to the top of our puck.

Instructions

Rotate the V-Shaped ring 180° about the Y Axis and lift it 24.5mm off of the workplane.
Use the Align tool to center the ring to the puck along the X and Y axes, only.
Continue to the next step.

Step 5: Duplicating and Scaling the V-Groove

Now that the first V-Groove Ring is in place, let's make the second.

Instructions

Duplicate the ring.
While holding Shift and Alt, scale the duplicate to 22mm, thus growing it 10%.
Continue to the next step.

Step 6: Smart Duplication

Ready for some magic?

Go to the Edit menu and selected Duplicate again... and again... and again... until you have 14 rings, total.

Each ring will grow in size by 10%.

What is happening?

This is 'Smart Duplicate'. This feature will watch what changes you've made to an object after it was duplicated. Then, by making a duplicate of the duplicate, Tinkercad will apply the same changes to the next duplicate!

Instructions

Duplicate your duplicate of the original ring.
Continue to duplicate the ring until you have 14, total.
Select only the rings and then align them so that they share the same lower limit.
Turn these rings into holes.
Continue to the next step.

Step 7: Group

Select all the objects and group them.

You should now have your first experimental puck with considerably less contact area than the original!

Instructions

Group your rings and your puck together.
Continue to the next step.

Step 8: Duplicating and Reusing Shapes

Surface area may not be the only characteristic that could have an effect on performance. Maybe orientation of the circles will have an effect, too.

For instance, would the concentric rings reduce or increase spin? What would happen if we cut the grooves across the face of the puck?

While we are at it, why don't we try altering the pattern a bit for another experiment?

Instructions

Duplicate your puck so you have a copy of your current design.
Ungroup one of the copies and delete all but the largest of its Rings.
Continue to the next step.

Step 9: Offsetting the V-Groove

Now, let's take this ring and offset it so it is no longer concentric with the puck.

Instructions

Move your ring 37.5mm in the positive direction along the X axis.
Duplicate your ring and move the duplicate 75mm in the negative direction along the X axis.
Group these ring.
Continue to the next step.

Step 10: Duplicating With Rotation

Duplicate this new group and rotate it by 22.5°

Once you've rotated the shape 22.5°, duplicate the shape again... and again... and again. Duplicate it until you've gone full circle around the center of your puck. You should have 16 rings in total.

Instructions