5th Year DCG

Sketching

It's always a challenge to teach students drawing and sketching techniques. While I do my best to try and impart my knowledge of sketching, there are so many great resources online that students are able to watch and learn from the best. Here are some of their efforts.

2nd Year Technology

Cars

Having experienced last years success and enjoyment in designing and making motorised cars, it was time to do it again. It is a great project for students to reinforce a lot of basic manufacturing processes and use of technology. It also introduces students to the DPDT switch which enables them to gain a very good working knowledge of switching current flow and energy conversion within a circuit. Below are some of the students finished cars. Now for the race!!!

 

 

5th Yr Technology

Video of the walking Dinosaur

5th Yr Technology

WALKING ROBOT

This has been an interesting and very valuable exercise in introducing students to mechanisms and how they can be used to transmit motion from rotary to linear. The students started exploring this concept having introduced them first to a range of mechanisms and how extensively they are used in everyday items. Combining other aspects of their technology course, e.g. design process, project management etc, students outlined their final ideas on their drawing worksheets, e.g. Fig 1 and 2.

 

Fig 1

 

Fig 2

 

Students then began the manufacturing process combining materials, mechanisms and electronics to make their walking robots.

 

 Walking robot video to follow...

LC DCG

An interesting problem solved in SolidWorks

Every day students ask interesting questions and sometimes even pose problems which take a bit of time to solve. So when a DCG student wanted to draw a tapered helical spiral and google wasn't throwing up any help, a lot of heads started banging together and eventually a solution was found. Instead of using the traditional sweep feature to extrude a circle along a helical spiral which would result in the same diameter spiral Fig 1, a loft between varying diameter circle profiles using the centre line profile of a helical spiral was the solution Fig 2 & 3.

Fig 1 

 Fig 2

Fig 3

5th yr DCG

Game Controllers

Towards the end of term students are given assignments which help prepare them for the project work that is part of their Leaving Certificate. Based on the LC assignment of 2010 students were given the following task.

There have been many changes to handheld electronic game controllers over the last thirty years. These developments consist of changes to shape and form as well the addition of new features. Such features include cordless technology, integral speakers, inbuilt screen and console, etc.

Carry out a design investigation of the physical form and features of handheld game controllers to include their development since the late 1970’s.

Using the following format, students presented their assignments as shown below.

Page 1: Introduction to topic including (historical) development of item to present day, key features of item with specific reference to shape and form in its design. Reflect personally on this with photos, pictures, sketches etc.

Page 2: Choose two designs, one modern and old. List features/specifications and sketch outlines (pictorials/orthographic views) with key dimensions

Page 3: Graphically compare and contrast three main features of the previous two designs with sketches, render/shade as appropriate and add main dimensions.

Page 4: Freehand drawing of modern design

Page 5 & 6:Solidworks modeled views and orthographic drawing (2pgs)

Student Solutions

 

5th DCG

Sketching Exercises

Students never fail to impress in demonstrating natural and attained skills in the art of freehand sketching. Learning this lifelong skill helps students in communicating their ideas while reflecting on geometry which exists in everyday items.

5th Year DCG

Freehand Sketching

5th Year Design and Communication Graphic students practise their freehand sketching. Presentation, colouring, shading and reference to geometry in design are the main focus of this exercise.