ResBaz: tinkerCAD and Fusion 360

by Vincent Khau

Three years on and the Research Bazaar conference is still running strong and pumping out new training curricula in 3D modelling to teach researchers from all skills and backgrounds. And it’s a skill that is highly sought after with full two full classrooms of PhD students and researchers attending both the tinkerCAD and Fusion 360 sessions.

For those who had no experience in computer aided design but still wanted to engage with innovative technology like 3D printing (um who doesn’t?) we started off with tinkerCAD - an easy to use web-based 3D program. But don’t let it’s playful interface and simplicity fool you, it’s a software that’s more than capable of producing designs to create custom laboratory equipment, early prototypes as well as editing existing CAD models.

For those looking to learn more about advanced CAD packages and looking to gain the skills to create more complex parts, we got stuck into a completely new offering called Fusion 360 where we explored free form modelling. In the 1.5 hours available, we covered a fast paced workshop where the attendees were introduced to the interface of Fusion 360 and its navigation tools, and then went on to learn how to generate custom bone prosthetics using a model from real data developed by our 3D Slicer expert Louise!

To contextualise why we had been learning all of this CAD, as well as to inspire students to continue and pursue it further, the great Paul Mignone demonstrated how to transform the newly formed models into a physical object using 3D printing over at the Engineering Workshop. By producing tangible visual products, conveying difficult aspects of research can be easily broken down for others to understand.

All this could not have been achieved without my awesome team of helpers (left to right: Bobby) who floated around during the workshops to answer any questions. Shout out to Paul, Louise, Aliza for all the encouragement and the support.

If you’re interested in learning about CAD, there are many ways to contact me

Hacky Hour (every Thursday 3-4pm Tsubu Bar)

PhTea (every Tuesday 10-12pm at the CoLab, Old Quad)

Contact me through Twitter @thevinniek

Register your interest here

Cheerio!