Grab those supporting CAD files with GrabCAD

Hello ID students,

I've recently just come across this engineering community website where people share their CAD work, called GrabCAD.  As a member (free online registration), you have access to tons of CAD models and projects that may be very useful to support your own projects.  For example, you can download a model of a typical AA battery and another model of the battery housing, which you can then import into your CAD assemblies without having to build these off-the-shelf parts yourself!  Perhaps you want to create a scene in your rendering software where you have your model sitting beside some other objects; you can download these "other objects" and import them into your rendering environment!  For example, say you designed a new fancy pen holder and wanted to render it with some pens in it; well, download some pen models and import them into your renderer.  Done!  No need to make your own pen CAD.

So check out GrabCAD here:  www.grabcad.com

There are other sources for getting CAD files (predominantely STEP/STP or IGES/IGS), but this one is pretty cool based on my experience over the last couple of days.

You can even download a car model if you wanted!!  Have fun and good luck with all your projects!

- Tim

2012 Peeter Kruus Memorial Lecture: “The Joys and Challenges of Designing with Social Intent”

Interior Design Show Jan 24-27

Interior Design Show is coming to Toronto!

Register as a student to get discounted tickets.

INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW 2013

Call for entries: Next Generation Design Competition

The annual Next Generation Design Competition is open for entries. This year Metropolis challenges you to develop solutions that empower, advance, and include groups often overlooked in the design process (including but not limited to, our rapidly increasing aging population and citizens with disabilities). Consider how tech-savvy people are becoming and what devices, materials, and modes of transportation will stay relevant 20 years from now. Keep in mind what other groups will benefit from the design.

Think of the 1.13 billion people with different needs, think of your mom, your dad, your uncle or aunt, your friend, your kid brother or sister, your grandparents—any of your relations with special needs. And help them live better lives.

Solutions can come from any area and scale, systems thinking, sustainability, accessibility, materials, historic relevance, and/or technology as long as they are inclusive and empowering. The winner receives $10,000 and a lot of attention. The deadline for entries is February 18, 2013. Applications are open ...now! Good luck!

 Email NextGen@metropolismag.com with any questions.

Book Launch! Prototyping and Modelmaking for Product Design by Bjarki Hallgrimsson

Join Bjarki and the various contributors for an official launch of the book Prototyping and Modelmaking for Product Design at the Carleton University Bookstore in the UniCenter on Tuesday, October 30th from 4:30pm to 6:00pm!  Light refreshments will be served.  We look forward to seeing you there!

"Building prototypes and models is an essential component of any design activity. Modern product development is a multi-disciplinary effort that relies on prototyping in order to explore new ideas and test them sufficiently before they become actual products.

'Prototyping and Modelmaking for Product Design' illustrates how prototypes are used to help designers understand problems better, explore more imaginative solutions, investigate human interaction more fully and test functionality so as to de-risk the design process. Following an introduction on the purpose of prototyping, specific materials, tools and techniques are examined in detail, with step-by-step tutorials and industry examples of real and successful products illustrating how prototypes are used to help solve design problems. Workflow is also discussed, using a mixture of hands-on and digital tools.

A comprehensive modern prototyping approach is crucial to making informed design decisions, and forms a strategic part of a successful designer's toolkit."

http://www.laurenceking.com/en/prototyping-and-modelmaking-for-product-design/

http://www.facebook.com/PrototypingAndModelmakingForProductDesign


- Tim

InDesign Short Cuts

I hear a lot of people say they hate InDesign.. maybe this will help you hate it less? There's a lot, but definitely worth it to learn some. Like SolidWorks hot keys.

http://www.shortcutworld.com/en/mac/InDesign

Brighten up your internship!

As an intern you may not be first in line to the nicest office in the place, but with 1000 post it notes you can help brighten it up! A fellow intern and I spent our saturday making this post-it note mosaic on our office wall.

 

It helps if you have everything all planned out

 

And make sure you have a ladder, or a very tall friend.

MATERIA - Materials Database

Hey everyone, here's a really good materials database. You need to sign-up to use it, but it's free and defiantly worth it. It's very well indexed and up to date. They also have material related articles.

materia.nl

Also, transmaterial.net is good.

And so is instituteofmaking.org.uk

Last one, materialstories.com has some good book suggestions and articles.

:)

CIDSA Museum Outing: Canadian War Museum

Hire Me?! The Portfolio Handbook

Hello SIDer's!  This is a good post for all years, but especially important for first- and second-year students who are just getting into the swing of things in the ID world!

Check out this document that has been put together by senior students at UCID (University of Cincinatti Industrial Design), all about portfolio development.  Not only does it give you tips on how to build an awesome portfolio, it tells you the basics about presenting your design work.  These techniques need to start straight from first-year and continue throughout your years.  This book sums it up very nicely with little reading involved!

Click on the following link to download the PDF:
Hire Me?! The Portfolio Handbook

Good luck to all for this new school year!

- Tim