THaddeus’s Mas.863 site
 
Title: Intro to CAD Date: Week of 11 Sept ‘06 Details: Get to know CAD software; model an object Tools used: Blender, a free CAD package What I learnt: CAD tools take a long time to master, but you can get results just knowing the basics Warning about this week
relevant links www.blender.org http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro www.marsgravity.orghttp://www.blender.orghttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Prohttp://www.marsgravity.orgshapeimage_5_link_0shapeimage_5_link_1shapeimage_5_link_2
Keep out
 
Here’s what happened ...
I learnt how to use Blender. It took about a weekend. It’s not that hard provided you have a good tutorial to follow.
 
I decided to model a system I’ll be designing and constructing as part of my thesis research. Certain elements might even double as part of my final project for MAS.863. The result (above) shows a 4-arm gondola centrifuge. On each arm is mounted a single rodent cage, supported on a rod such that it can tilt out to the appropriate angle when the centrifuge is spinning. It is driven by a motor and gearband located adjacent to the central support strut.