Fusion 360 Final Project- Flexi Kangaroo
I decided to create a flexi animal for my final project. I have wanted to make one in the past, and with all the abilities of this program, I think that it is the perfect time.
In order to create the flexi Kangaroo, I had to first create a hinge. To do this, I did a bunch of research to find the perfect flexi hinge, and then using Fusion 360, I created my own version based off of other peoples designs. To create the hinge, I used various sketch and modify tools, including the fillet. I also used various boxes, a cylinder, and a hole tool. Creating the hinge was difficult, because I was not exactly sure how each piece was going to play into the final design, so I ended up doing multiple iterations. Below you will see an image of the final hinge.
To create the Kangaroo, I imported a Kangaroo SVG and adjusted the height and size to fit my needs. I was originally going to create a Kangaroo myself using the program, but with the time constraints, and the difficulty of the program, I decide to import and SVG instead. It took a while to find a free SVG that suited my needs. Next, I imported the hinge into the Kangaroo section. As stated earlier, the hinge was not exactly right the first time, so I made some changes modified the hinge to suite my needs. I had to do this a couple of times, because each time I got a step further in the process, I realized my hinge was not going to work. In order to get multiple hinges, I copied and pasted the hinges and adjusted them along the body of the kangaroo. Below you can view this process.
Next, I combined the hinges to the body of the Kangaroo, using combine and cut function. I cut the rectangles and the box that I created around the body of the hinge in order to create the area for the hinge as well as the spaces between each section of the Kangaroo. As stated earlier, I had to adjust the hinges as well as their placement multiple times. One of the iterations that I had to do, was to create the long rectangles. I originally did not realize that I needed them in order to cut through the entire kangaroo (to make it flexi). Once I realized I needed them, I inserted them. However, the rectangles were not long enough to cut through the entire Kangaroo, which made it so that the Kangaroo was not separated into sections. This required me to adjust the height of each rectangle. I also had to make iterations to the hinge that held together the bottom leg of the Kangaroo, because it was not the right length. In order to do this I adjusted the height of the hinge, and I filleted the bottom of the hinge so that it would connect at an angle tot he body of the kangaroo. In order to adjust the height of the hinge, I had to take it apart and make changes to the entire hinge. Below you can see the specific hinge that I am referencing.
Overall, the process of creating this Kangaroo, took a while. It was also very frustrating, because I kept having to make iterations to my design in order to make it work. I really wish that I was able to print my design, because I worked so hard on making the proportions just right, so that the printer would not print supports between the cylinder that connected the hinge to the body of the Kangaroo horizontally, and the hinge itself. However, regardless of being able to print the design or not, I am still very proud of my accomplishment in Fusion 360. Below you will see images of the final Flexi Kangaroo.
