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First Experiences with DesignSpark Mechanical

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Background
After completing my 10 week internship with DesignSpark/RS I thought I'd share my thoughts about my experience with learning DesignSpark Mechanical.

Anyone who has swapped to new CAD software in the past will tell you it’s not an easy task. Having gone through a technology college then moved on to study mechanical engineering at university I have worked with a handful of different software packages. The two that I have concentrated on are Autodesk Inventor and Solidworks, which are both very powerful and detailed design applications however they also come with a rather large price tag. Thankfully the step from Inventor to Solidworks wasn’t too difficult with both programs having fairly similar procedures when it came to designing and generating products. But once again it was time for me to move on from a program where I had racked up hundreds of hours to one that was completely new. Starting my 10 week internship with the DesignSpark team at RS Components a week ago it was time for me to give DesignSpark Mechanical a spin.

First Impressions
Following the registration process I began to read through the ‘getting started’ guide where I instantly realised that this was different to every program I had used in the past. ‘Here we go again’ I thought, expecting that I was going to have to undertake yet another gruelling and painful tutorial. But I was wrong. The first time I properly used the software was in a workshop at FabLab london organised by my colleagues at RS. After mastering the similar navigation techniques that all CAD programs use, we started working through the workshop hand-out prepared by RS University to get us up to speed. The direct modelling program requires little time or brains to create or alter a product. Thanks to the simplistic procedure I breezed through the workshop tasks and quickly became very fond of the software. After the workshop I further expanded my knowledge of the program using the tutorials on the DesignSpark website, which are very easy to follow and provide some clever tricks to make your designing life easy.

Initial Projects
After a few extra hours using the tool outside of the workshop, I felt comfortable enough to start my first project whereas on other programs it would have taken at least a couple of days. It was brought to my attention that there was only one computer board available for open source download, the Raspberry Pi type B, created by my colleague the Connector Geek. Therefore my first project was to produce the new addition, the Raspberry Pi 2 model B using DesignSpark Mechanical. With the aid of a Raspberry Pi board and a digital caliper, both sold by RS components, I was able to accurately generate the full size board in a day’s work. Following the successful creation of the Pi 2, the Arduino Uno and Parallella Supercomputer (Parallel Computing) were next on the agenda.

Procedure
The caliper’s three measuring instruments were extremely helpful, allowing precise measurements to be taken of all the components on the board no matter how hard they were to reach. Thanks to this the created CAD board should be perfect to use when trying to invent something around the model such as a custom built enclosure. A few 3D models of the components were downloaded from RS-online and attached to the board in the appropriate positions, which saved time and improved aesthetics. Construction lines were used while measuring from different points around the board to pin point the location of the components on the model enabling great precision. The components that didn’t have a downloadable 3D model were quickly created using the direct modelling technique that DesignSpark Mechanical offers, allowing fast creations and alterations to be made where other programs would normally struggle.

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Finished models
The Raspberry Pi 2 model was finally completed with the necessary detail to fit its purpose of being a space model. Be aware that the majority of the minor solderings and smaller components such as resistors haven’t been added to any of the models as it would have taken the whole of my internship to complete!

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Next on my schedule, following the successful creation of the Raspberry Pi 2, was modelling the Arduino board. This board is smaller with fewer and more simple components than the Pi so I was finished relatively quickly.

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Last but not least was the Parallella, which is the most powerful out of the three boards with a lot more components and devices, for example the heat sinks to help cool the hard working computer. This model took the longest out of the three due to the increased complexity, however since I had gained experience creating the previous two meant that the creation of the Parallella went smoothly and quickly.  

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Conclusion
DesignSpark Mechanical is a great piece of software which is really easy and quick to understand and use, even if you haven’t got experience in computer aided design. The clay-like modelling technique is a lot simpler than other programs I have used in the past and doesn’t require a strict procedure, followed by continuous error messages if something doesn’t quite add up. Obviously you don’t get the high levels of detail and complexity that comes with the expensive programs because this is not what the software is intended for. It’s used to go hand in hand with DesignSpark PCB to take your ideas from concept to creation, giving every engineer the power to quickly design and change product concepts in 3D.

The models will soon be availible to download from the RS Componets website.

Try out DesignSpark Mechanical yourself, it's free! - Read more and download here

Add more exciting features with the DesignSpark Mechanical Add-On Modules - Find out more

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