For the 3-D print rotation we had multiple options for what to design and print. The options were a phone holder, toothbrush holder, earbud holder or a coin holder. I chose the coin holder because I thought it would be something fun to design.
Research
Before I started designing the coin holder I had to do research to find out the dimensions of the coins. I used the U.S mint website to get the dimensions. For this project it had to hold 50 pennies, 50 dimes, 40 nickels and 40 quarters. I did some math to find the minimum heights to hold all the coins. For all the dimensions I got I had to add 3% to account for the printer. I then drew a rough sketch off my idea.
Inventor and Maker Bot
The next step was creating it in inventor. I started by designing the middle base section, to do this I created a rough shape then dimensioned that shape to what I needed, finally I extruded that figure. Next I had to create the four different columns that will hold the coins. Each one was slightly different to accommodate for that specific coin's dimensions. After creating these four columns I created an assembly file. I constrained each column with the corresponding hole on the base and made them all flush with each other. Then I exported that file to maker bot and scaled and orientated it.
This is the design of the middle section which holds the tubes.
This is an example of the columns that hold the coins. This specific one is for dimes. The process was the same for each one just different dimensions
This is the assembly of all the parts.
Here is the Maker Bot set up and print preview screen.
What I learned...
From the individual 3-D print unit I was able to learn more about the process of designing something. I learned that before you start you need to get dimensions and some calculations in order for the project to be successful. This is interesting because for being a relatively simple concept their is a decent amount of pre work needed. I also expanded some of my Inventor skills by using the assembly feature.