CAD and 3D Building Projects
I present an array of personal projects that serve as self-driven learning experiences to further the understanding and application of computer-aided design software, or to learn new ways to connect communities. Each project plays an important role in my growing knowledge and the application of new software or passions.
Binary-Tree Menorah
Summary
This is a Menorah, a Jewish Holiday Candle Holder. It is designed based on a binary tree, a common computer science data structure.
Purpose
As I was living in Indianapolis and was preparing to celebrate the holiday, my girlfriend and I were deciding whether or not we should purchase a menorah. I decided to build one as it would be cheap and simple to develop.
Created on
Autodesk Fusion, AnyCubic Kobra 2
Wii Tanks! - Enemy and User Tanks
Summary
I played Wii Play with my family when I was younger and always loved the 'Tanks!' minigame. When I received my 3D Printer and purchased blue filament, I wanted to print the blue user tank from this game, yet no easy-to-print models were available online. Using my experience in CAD from work and education, I based my design on publically-available in-game screenshots.
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After creating and printing the user tank (which can also be printed in red for the second player), I decided to design enemy tanks. These are multicolored, so I made sure that users with multi-filament or single-filament 3D Printers were able to print these nostalgic models.
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While some models are sold online for money, I decided to make this free and publically available on multiple printer-friendly 3D file hosting websites, like Thingiverse (link below) and Printables.
Created on
Autodesk Fusion, AnyCubic Kobra 2
Carnegie Mellon University in Minecraft
Summary
During COVID, I decided to utilize my quarantine time to recreate Carnegie Mellon’s campus in Minecraft. Within a week, I spent time creating the Jared L Cohon University Center block-by-block and later created nearby buildings with WorldEdit – a well-known Minecraft add-on that exponentially increased my building speed.
Later that month, I was approached by the CMU. The administration and alumni association wanted to incorporate my build into Virtual Carnival, an online event mimicking the university’s annual celebration. This tradition features carnival rides, games, food booths, and elaborate and interactive student-designed structures and activities. During this event, I was able to provide students and alumni tours of the buildings. Many members of the university community were impressed with the server's accuracy and attention to detail.
Over the course of 3 months, my team created 12 buildings on campus as well as developed a full football field as shown to the right. While this project was never fully finished, I have been looking into ways to automate the process using Google Earth, photogrammetric techniques, and 3D modeling plugins.
