Solidworks Spitfire

A few weeks ago I was tasked with learning the basics of Solidworks (a 3-D design program) by designing a key chain.  After some hours of tutorials, help from other Mechanical Engineering students, and playing around, my partner, Christian O'Bryan, and I designed this model of the Spitfire, a British WWII fighter.  Sadly, it is not a terribly good model, but we were pleased that it looked like an airplane.  

As part of the project, we printed our designs using a 3-D printer. 

 Reflection:

1. Too Big 
• While the airplane was a great size for a toy airplane (roughly 3.5 in wingspan) it was too large to be a convenient key-chain. 
• Note: we made it this big because we wanted our wings (our weakest part) to have as much material as possible to decrease weakness. 
• For the future I need to make sure the dimensions of my product fit with its intended use.
2. Some Parts Too Thin to Print
• As you may be able to see from the pictures, the wings on the airplane are rough on the trailing edge.  This is because the wings are so thin at that point that the printer was unable to print them well.  
• For the future I need to make sure (if I am printing) that none of my parts are too thin to print properly.  While I don't know what the threshold for too-thin-to-print is, this project has given me an better idea for what it is.
3. For Better Airplane Next Time
• Next time I would love to model a Piper Lance as it has two major improvements over this model
1. Square tipped wings so the wings are strong all the way to the tips.
2. More compact airplane so it would be more suitable as a key-chain.

After this project was done, I was able to put my new knowledge to work with our next project, i.e. designing a Thermal Mug.  Learning from my last experience, I was able to design this Solidworks model in a little over an hour.