WMG Outreach Onshape Tutorials
Designing in Onshape
CAD Tutorials
Introduction
Onshape is an online browser-based CAD package that can be used to design complex products. In the image above you can see a trophy on the right that the WMG Outreach team 3D printed as part of the School Tasking project. Behind the 3D printed trophy is the original cardboard creation made by students the year before, and on the left is part of the CAD model that was designed to recreate that trophy.
The tutorials below will explore concepts in Onshape and work towards designing complex items like this.
Tutorials
Getting Started
Get used to exploring the workspace in Onshape including:
- how to move the camera to zoom, pan, rotate,
- look at different planes in the workspace,
- find different tools and features,
- creating a sketch, and
- using constraints and dimensions.
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Building a 3D Shape
Now that we've got the basics covered, we can start to design a real object from our sketches. This video will make a square-based pyramid using constraints and dimensions. We'll look at:
- Sketches and parts
- Extrude (starting offset, blind or entity)
- Parameters
- Offset
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Chamfers and Fillets
Following on from our simple pyramid, we explore ways to make changes to a 3D object to make them more visually appealing or safer to use. This video covers:
- Chamfers
- Fillets
- Faces or edges
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Adding Features to Models
We're going to modify the square pyramid object now to add in a feature, thinking about how it will be manufactured and designing it with 3D printing in mind.
- adding a sketch to an object
- removing material
- constraining sketches based on other objects
- defining a new sketch plane
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Making complex shapes
Extrude is a useful tool for making straight sided shapes. But if we want to make more complex 3D objects with curved edges, we're going to need to use new tools. This video shows:
- Loft
- Sweep
- Revolve
- Linear patterns
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Case Studies
Laser cut frames for embroidery designs
We needed frames to hold felt designs made during an embroidery workshop. Let's take a look at how we draw a 2D design, convert it to a DXF, and make sure we can laser cut the product. We also consider zero-waste design.
VIDEO COMING SOON
A curved star shape for a trophy
We were asked to design a trophy for the School Tasking Champion of Champions event. The students who designed the trophy made a prototype with card and foam, most of which was easy to model. One part was tricky though - a curved star shape! In this video we go through how to think about making complex shapes in CAD using simple tools.
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