MAE 477 (CAD Applications)

MAE 477: CAD Applications

Matlab and 3D Space

MAE 477 is my absolute favorite class that I have taken at UB. We started with building a 2D transformation GUI in matlab, then a 3D rotation program. We covered hermit and cubic spines and interpolation. The course ended with k-means and stl generation.

The purpose of this class was to teach us how to use matlab and math to augment CAD designs.

2D GUI Project

This project was building a GUI that allowed a user to draw points by dragging their mouse. Then the program must automatically patch those shapes.

Once a shape has been made it must manipulatable through 2D operations that transform it using matrix operations. Matrix operations are when the points which construct the shape are multiplied by a matrix. That matrix is filled with numbers which will alter how the shape looks.

Splines

For our midterm I had to write code which handled the splines shown above. A rectangle is shown as to show where the points are. The first two splines are clamped in to change the directon of the spline as it passes through. The last spline is unclamped.

Loft

Another midterm problem was lofting an elipse to a circle. To do this I wrote a script that made the points between the two shapes, then it plots them as a surface.

CNC Simulation

We had to write code that emulated a shape provided to us using cubic splines. Then a CNC machine had to run to cut that shape out of wood.

This is the shape that had to be replicated and it has been made out of splines.

I added retraction into the splines as to provide a realistic path for the end mill to follow.

These are the motor positions for each axis. In order to export the motion of a CNC to simulation environment I had to break down the motion of the endmill into the rotational location of each motor.