CAD Projects

Fusion 360 / DesignCAD 3D Max / Solidworks

Sears & Roebuck Trolling Motor Transom Mount

I created this because my early 1980s 10 speed Sears & Roebuck motor mount broke, and it was made out of metal. This provided the same functionality as the metal one, so I could mount it out of the water with a U shaped bolt with a spring, and just as easily drop it back into the water for trolling. This ended up lasting the 5 years I had it, not needing to 3D print another one. This also was strong enough to be left in the water while using the engine propeller.

128x64 LCD + Raspberry Pi Enclosure

I created this, because I did put together a quick 128x64 LCD display, driven by a Raspberry Pi. This is another IoT informational display. It is also useful to have the Raspberry Pi model inside CAD, for other projects.

Webcam Wall Mount

This was a very quickly, yet precisely drawn conference camera wall mount intended for a business. They didn't want to install a mantle at the time, so I quickly drew this up for them for 3D Printing, and it did capture the entire room quite well this way.

3D Printed Linocut

This was a very fun project to create and test with. I didn't need to create any other iterations. This is intended to be used as a "Linocut" or "Print Block". You apply ink colors to the embossed sections, and then you're able to make multiple prints of the same artwork. This worked very well, especially for more minimal art pieces. This piece here, is a Magnolia flower, with a golden bee in the center, with some green leaves in the back.

3D Printed Doorstops

This was a fun project I did with my son. These are simple doorstops. One, my son made, and one I made. He got to execute the g-code to print 'em out!

Fishing Shad Mold

A customer had come to me asking for a 3D printed Shad. I came up with this solution, which contains some rough sketches. This is a mold, and you're able to pour silicone into the mold, then clamp the mirrored sides together. This allowed for a customized length. Long shads are strangely not available in all Minnesota stores.

3D Printed Lawnmower Bag Chute Adapter

This was another fun project. A customer came to me from one of my local online listings, and requested I create him a 3D printed lawnmower bag chute adapter. He had a "prototype" made out of cardboard, venting pipe, held together with duct tape. I 3D scanned his duct tape-dapter, and took measurements of his lawnmower deck. I then was able to replicate, and make a more efficient bag chute for his out-of-production lawnmower using CAD and 3D Printing.

I made quite a few different models, and I had found that if I created it as a mesh, and then split the files for production accordingly, I would actually lose geometry, effectively destroying the model. I ended up using the plane cut tool in Fusion 360, and then convert it to a mesh, and I did not lose any geometry this way.

Electric Unicycle Prototype

A veteran in the community had came to me, and requested that I help him with his custom electric unicycle. The unicycle itself does a top speed of 60 mph, has a range of 200 miles, and he may hold the record for this. This made it quite a heavy unicycle, at nearly 200 lbs, but he says it is a great cruiser.

The machine shop he was originally working with was based out of China. The guy he was working with didn't want to honor warranty or anything like that, and somehow messed up his order. This created too little space within the aluminum cover to fit the entirety of the controller board. I was able to take his new model of the cover, and machine him a new one with the mill. I also took the second part, and planed it down for him, so that way he was able to use all of his parts, with a good fit.

Cake Stand

A relative of mine always loves baking, and often makes cakes. I remember them complaining about how when they go to foil or saran wrap the cake, how the frosting sticks to the top of the cake.

I quickly whipped this up, also included a center piece, so that way it will prevent the frosting from sticking to the wrap.

I do recommend to use a food safe epoxy resin, so that way you won't get any chemicals leaching into your food. It also makes the plastic more durable.

Size 13 Crochet Needles

An old friend of mine had reached out to me, and asked for some size 13 crochet needles. I was able to quickly model these up. This was another product that was apparently difficult to find in stores.

Things I Made for My Son

The photo on the immediate left, I had made a dozen or more for my son's Birthday party when he was 5. This was a big hit with all the kids, it was very loud, these mimic steam train whistles. I blocked out the part that shows his name for privacy.

The second and third photo are CAD and the making of a posable action figure that also functions as a night light. Using a 20 amp automotive flick switch that pokes out of the head, looking like hair or a hat, connecting to a faceplate that has the LEDs protruding outwards from the face. The backpack is a 9v battery. You will be able to find these on my Etsy store shortly.

The fourth one on the right is a fidget spiral spinner screw, printed in multicolor silk filament. These are available on my Etsy store.

Raspberry Pi Enclosure

This was a fun project, I went through about 4 iterations, however, Fusion 360 states that this is my 37th iteration. The image on the furthest right is the latest version. The screenshot in the middle is actually the case pictured on the left. I ultimately just decided to incorporate the cover to the top part of the shell. The latest version houses the M10Q-5883 GPS a little bit better, and there is some space for ground and power leads to come out in case I decide to constantly power the GPS with a pair of 18650s, as well as the Raspberry Pi itself.

If you'd like to see more about this particular project, follow this link under Programming and Scripting.

18650 Shield Enclosure

This is another enclosure, for an 18650 board that outputs 5 volts 3 amps. This can power the GPS device alone for quite a while, ensuring I don't lose a GPS lock with the M10Q-5883. However, this also powers the Raspberry Pi 4b for quite a while. The 18650 battery shield has quite a strange design. Instead of soldering my own with a step-up converter and a pair of 18650 holders, I went with this battery shield. On the backside of the shield, there is a component that sticks out approximately .1935 inches, so in the 18650 design there is a hole fitting this so that way the shield fits flush with the base. There are also slots on the side allowing access to the buttons.

Soundbar Mount

This didn't require any revision, you can see the working example by clicking on this text, please see the section "Soundbar Mount". This is a soundbar mount that is VESA mount compatible with the back of the TV. I did utilize AutoDesk Fusion 360 Simulations to see what would happen to the device if there were a force of 44 newtons applied to it. The picture on the left hand side is what it thinks would happen. I did utilize SimScale.com to also simulate where on the part there is the most amount of stress. This provided what I believe to be a much more practical and useful assessment. The example photo of this is on the right hand side. I did think it was interesting that it thinks it would sag with approximately 44 Newtons of force (10 lbs soundbar) on the plane the soundbar is meant to rest on. I did read however, that real world examples are still just the best tool. Taking a look, you will notice there is no sagging on the part nor bending. There is nothing wrong with Trial and Error.