May 30th: Reverse Engineering Progress

I started to model my mouse by measuring what I could and scaling other parts of the model to match. For the most part things lined up and allowed me to project individual faces like the top view of the mouse onto a rounded shape (distorted sphere). From there I spent some time extracting lines and sweeping edges together to make the first piece of the object, just the top piece of black plastic.

The trouble I am having now is in combining the rest of the mouse with this single piece. Building a rounded surface was simple enough but the curve only extended in one direction, and the rest of the object had so many interacting curves that I couldn't wrap my head around how to approach modeling it with the same approach of building surfaces from lines.

I tried to build an entire object by subtracting pieces from a sphere but reached a similar roadblock where it wasn't exactly what I wanted and I needed help to visualize how to proceed. At the moment I am confused and progress has slowed down.

If I continue to build on this object instead of making surfaces from lines, I worry that I won't make a model that is as accurate as I can.

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June 6th: Initial Renders and Modification Progress

Some initial renders of my object while I work on preparing it for 3D printing. Changes may still be made to the model before the final print, so these are the initial tests. The process so far for reverse engineering this object has had a lot of ups and downs. The modification I'd like to make to the object is still in progress, but I focused on having a solid replication to build on first, represented below. One of the more difficult aspects of this has been managing the surfaces that make up each piece of the object and trying to make them seamlessly combine. When I begin to print the object, I'll see if there are any more changes I need to make. I may need to return for another technician appointment once I've gone ahead with my "modification" ideas. I've included images of the work in progress (essentially opening up the top of the mouse and adding teeth and flesh textures along the seams like a mouth) below the renders of the unmodified object. Addin...

May 23rd: Reverse Engineering

Project 2: Reverse Engineered Object For project 2 I will be reverse engineering an object and modeling it in Rhino for 3D printing later on. I looked around my house and came across a handful of "mechanical" items I saw as intricate enough to prove a challenge but still achievable given our time frame. My pick of items I saw as feasible are a pair of nail scissors and clippers, a Bluetooth computer mouse, and a USB stick. I decided to pair the nail clippers and scissors as a pair of objects because I didn't see either of them as being complex enough to model on their own. They are both tiny handheld items made of at least two parts. I couldn't figure out how to unscrew these yet but I know it's possible! The USB stick is also decently simple and symmetrical but I was interested in the way it joins and fits perfectly together. The Bluetooth mouse is much more organic in shape, which I find interesting. It isn't perfectly symmetrical and will take some clos...

May 21st: Laser Cutting

This week I made some changes to my rhino file, finalized my file for laser cutting, and cut out the first form of the model. As I progressed with my model I made a few minor changes to the design. I added more variety in the “branch” pieces, developing more of an overall shape and a bit of progression around the circle. I finished the engraving designs, outlining each of the circles and extruding them to the thickness of my material. I arrayed the branches around the circles and used boolean difference tools to subtract the intersections. I had my piece laser cut with multiple layers of engraving, one for lines and one for solid shapes, to ensure I had enough difference in values on the Trotec plywood I used. When assembling my piece so far I came across a few issues. I need to take another look at the points where the pieces join and create deeper cuts in the circular pieces to make for more seamless joinery. As is the piece is more difficult to assemble than it need...

OBDF 210 Cain Niedersteiner

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