How I did it
This project was rather difficult. It involved a lot of the software Inventor, which prior to this project I thought I knew how to use really well; I thought wrong. In total, I think I spent a little over two whole class periods trying to figure out how to model the object. The tangent constraint is what gave me the most grief. But once I was finally done with that, I moved onto the Fusion 360 software, and unlike with maze, this took a considerably less amount of time to do. Not only did I have some background knowledge on this software from using it to make my maze, but I also did not have to click every single pathway on my brake bracket like I had to do with my maze. So overall Fusion 360 was pretty easy to maneuver. Once done with that, I saved the file to my flash drive and took it down to the Mill. This technology was completely new to me. I had use the computer to load my file to the machine, and I also had to physically align the drill piece with the foam material using the little controller. That was rather hard just because I was so scared I was going to mess it up. But I did not mess it up and in the end I received my final product, a brake bracket.
What I Learned
In this project I learned a lot about Inventor. I knew how to use all the tools and constraints that I was using, but I learned that in order to successfully model an object you need to plan what steps you're going to take to accomplish that goal rather than merely jumping right into it. Doing that will save you a lot of time. I also learned more about Fusion 360. Previously I had used this software for my maze, but for this project I used it in a different way(for example I used 3D instead of 2D contour). And finally, the most obvious thing I learned was how to use the mill. This machine was entirely new to me. It was small compared to the router, but the computer next to it was very intimidating. However, I pushed through my fears of messing everything up and eventually came out on top and got my final product. I am proud of what I accomplished at this station.