For Example…<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nTo go through the basics of what these CAD\/CAM titans are doing these days, let’s take an example of something that needs to be developed from scratch. Let’s use a set of Bluetooth headphones, for example. Some of the parts include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Plastic forms that fit together to make the actual headphones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Soft padding that goes around your ears<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Electronic circuitry to process the information<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Buttons on the headphones to control volume or turn them off and on<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Little pieces that click and adjust to fit your head<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-The speakers<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-And miscellaneous other parts<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to model this entire device in Solidworks or Inventor, you need to know precisely how they fit into one another, so you’ll need some plans and measurements. You can plan it out on scraps of napkins (always a classic), or you can draw them up in a 2D CAD program like AutoCAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s the aesthetic design, usually done by a fruit loop artist. Then there’s the practical scientific design, which is going to be done by an egghead engineer. Of course, you may be smart and intelligent enough to play both roles. If so, good on ya!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After you have a decent enough plan in place, you can open your app and start modeling each individual piece. Apply materials to the parts and color them, if you like, for added effect. Next, open up your assembly and fit the pieces together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is an excellent opportunity to look at what you’ve designed, and consider what kinds of stresses it might be put under. How resistant is this material to twisting, being sat on, or chucked in the back seat of your car after a workout? All these things can be tested with the simulation tools in Solidworks or Inventor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After running some simulations, you realize that the material you’ve selected for the casing isn’t strong enough. So you can start researching different types of plastic to make it more durable. When you find the perfect plastic, you program the material’s qualities into Solidworks or Inventor so you can apply the new material to your 3D model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now you can take the latest 3D model to the right manufacturer, and they can produce your parts using the data in your model. When you get all your pieces together, you’ve got your first prototype. Just put it all together and program the electronics (yeah, like that’s<\/em> easy to do\u2026), and you’ve got yourself a set of Bluetooth headphones from scratch. It isn’t easy, but it’s actually do-able<\/em> these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n