Software Process: Iron Age

In this blog post, I will be describing the process of the iron age lamp.

Why did I use sketch up again? It is evident that I know sketch up better than any other software, however, I am still not as confident in my skills as I should be. Therefore, since I have been working on it for 2 terms, I thought it would be best to further enhance my skills and focus on sketchup. I consider these designs the most challenging technically out of all 3 terms, so I wanted to push myself. This year was solely focused on sketchup and my development on it.

I would love to try a new software as that shows bravery and eagerness to learn more. However, due to time constraints this was not possible. I thought that it would be better to set this goal for the summer where I would have way more time in order to explore other software without being rushed.  

With that in mind, this is the process I used for sketchup:

I started off with my blank canvas. I edited the dimensions to cm in order to have more precise results. I used the 'cylinder' tool to create a circle of 20cm diameter. 

I was very unfamiliar with the process of creating a dome shape so it was rather challenging.

 

I used the 'arc' tool and added an arc perpendicularly to the design. The top point was 5cm.

 I used the 'offset' tool to create the same arc below it.

I deleted everything except the arc created in the previous step.

Then, I used the push/pull but selected the 'follow me' option. I dragged the arc along the circumference of the circle in order to make it a hemisphere. 

 

I used the copy and paste function to create the two hemispheres and then used the 'rotate' tool to rotate one of them 180 degrees.

 

I used the 'move' tool to link the two together.

To create the hole in the middle for the lamp to pass through, I added a cylinder in the middle.

I selected the two components and added 'intersect faces with model' to help create the hole.

Then, I deleted the cylinder in the middle and was left with just a hole. 

Then, I used the same method as the cylinder one to create the holes on the circumference of the dome in order to pass the rods through.

Once again, used the same method to create a small hole at the back for the wire to go through.

Then, I added the rods by copy pasting and rotating each one in their respective hole.

I used the 'push/pull' tool to adjust different sizes for each rod. 

Then, I downloaded a bulb base and a light bulb from the 3D warehouse and adjusted it to fit the hole.

Then, I tried to add the lid but I feel like it did not complement it at all as it made it look bulky and out of place. Therefore, I decided to completely remove it. 

Then, I downloaded some D-rings and added them to the back of the design, with some screws too. I decided to not add a wire to the design as it would not look very visually pleasing.

I added some colour to the design and this is how it looks.

Conclusion: I feel like this is a really nice design. I like how there is no lid on top of the bulb and I think the process was successful.

At first, I thought that using sketchUp again would not be beneficial. However, I was very unfamiliar with this process design. I finally learned how to create dome shapes and make more complex designs. I am definitely improving in sketchUp and I like seeing a difference in my software skills. 

This one was definitely way more challenging than the rest of the designs.