Back in November, I had a couple ideas. I started experimenting and learning how to use the mammoth of a program that is Fusion 360. At first, I started making emojis, getting more used to the tools, especially fit point spline which really helped me later. My original project idea was to have three designs: a muffin, a rebel alliance symbol, and a crown. I came close to completing the Fusion design, making my own fingers and all, but accidentally inserted something that killed my frames, and crashed Fusion. I reloaded the project, and everything was gone. I evaluated my choices. I could’ve redone the different designs, though that would’ve taken too much time. I decided to use the Maker case fingers Larry sent me and make all my designs for the muffin with small variations, since it was the most complex and unique of the three. Another problem I fixed was the fact that I kept on forgetting to log into the right account. I freaked out when it started telling me that my Fusion trial was expiring. I fixed this issue the first day I returned, logging into the right account. Eventually, I submitted for prototype. After a couple tries, it was approved. After it was cut, Miss Kim and I discovered that the size of the Maker case template was too small to fit the lamp. That was when I remembered that Larry faced the same issue, and I had completely forgotten we shared the same fingers. After that fiasco, I sat in the cafeteria, and just started working. I finished my final, fixing every mistake by the time the 6-o clock bus rolled around. I submitted for cutting, and it got approved first try. A couple days later, I constructed my box, and decorated it with the help of Deepu. I’m extremely satisfied with my

 

 

 

 

project, but even more with the skills I learned along the way

 

My skills in Lightburn and Fusion have increased significantly. After getting used to the fit point spline with my emojis, I pretty much used it for the entirety of the muffin, with the exception of the eyes, and arms. I also learned how to use the trim tool extremely efficiently, which was really useful when I accidentally messed up my fingers. I also used the line tool a lot while making my original

fingers, though it didn’t really help towards the final project. The first few minutes of Lightburn were extremely challenging, since I tried to learn it like how I learned Fusion. This made it so that I often overthink. I then started thinking straightforwardly, and the process moved along a lot quicker. I learned several skills, though the ability to copy and paste was certainly one of the most important. I had trouble with it early on, where it would paste a million copies of the same sketch, though I fixed that by watching Miss Kim’s DX video.  

Some tips and tricks I would recommend for future students is to be aware of time. I had to cut several ideas because my time was limited. Having a good box assembled is better than having a perfect box disassembled. I would’ve made several adjustments to my project if I knew from the start, since some of my work went to waste. Something I would’ve done differently is just making sure my Maker case settings were right. They made me pretty much redo the entire project to submit for my final and was a major obstacle in getting my project submitted on time. I probably also could’ve at least tried to make more designs, to challenge myself, though I doubt I would’ve submitted in time. I feel like the teacher shouldn’t have introduced Maker case since the people who worked hard on their fingers were instantly surpassed by those who just installed them. Something that would’ve benefited me would’ve been more time to experiment, since I’m quite a slow learner when it comes to online platforms. Overall, I really enjoyed this unit, and it was so fun learning so many new skills that I can hopefully apply next year. Though it seemed like a pain at the time, I’m so glad I learned how to use both Fusion 360 and Lightburn.