How easy/hard was it?
It took me a while to explore and get used to the interface of Fusion 360 before I actually started my design. At first, I used my own mouse which does not have a scroll and it was extremely difficult to zoom in and out as well as choosing targets. Then, I switched to lab computers and it made my life suddenly much easier. After getting familiar with the basic tools and having a mind map of my design, the designing process was not as hard as I expected.
What elements particularly bogged you down?
Two things bogged me down. One is that my first sketch was not properly sized and centered at first, which made revolving and assembling difficult. As I was of two minds about starting all over again, the web app expired and I lost all my design, leaving me no choice but starting over. The second try was much faster and successful indeed, as I planned things well from the beginning.
What compromises did you have to make?
I tried to make the flat surface of the pencil more obvious by changing the settings for the display environment and effect, but it did not give me what I wanted.
What humanistic uses can you envision for this tool in the areas of research or teaching?
It would be great if we can actually print out the designs. In the areas of research or teaching, I think it will be cool to print out teaching models of molecules, organs, and rocks using this software, which, in addition to demonstrations on textbooks, will leave a much deeper impression if students can have hands-on experience.
Tip for new users of Fusion 360:
- Don’t panic.
- Start with watching tutorial videos from course sources or Youtube and try to follow the steps.
- Use a mouse with scroll and larger screens (really important!!).
6 thoughts on “3D Modeling: Apple Pencil”
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Wow, your Apple Pencil is incredibly well done. I found revolving things and moving things to be so difficult in Fusion 360. It’s like they want to make our lives extra hard! I never thought of using this as a tool to give students more hands-on experience. Next time I’ll check out some YouTube videos to make sure my project turns out as awesome as yours!
this Apple Pencil looks amazing!
For a second I thought you just find a image and pasted it to your post but I saw the actual design and I was very impressed.
Also, the tips were great. I tried creating my 3d object with just my small screened laptop and no mouse and I could say that experience was not pleasant. I feel like watching more videos would’ve also helped me out but because I only knew the basics I thought I could do the lab without any issues and unfortunately I was wrong.
How REAL and detailedly modeled this Apple Pencil is! I also had to switch from my laptop to a lab computer just for a better user experience with moving things around. I totally agree with you that 3D modeling can make teaching more tangible in the fields of biology and geology. Your Apple Pencil model has well demonstrated how accurate a visual representation of a physical object this tool can yield.
The model is really impressive! You did a really good job of including a lot of detail, I’m especially impressed with the apple logo. I also really like the texture you chose, as it looks very realistic. I also found it pretty difficult to navigate fusion360 on my laptop, and wished I would’ve used a lab computer.