Overview
In this project, we were tasked with 3D designing a helmet from the software Fusion 360. This made us proficient with the software as well as making us work very hard to get there. After researching a bunch of helmets, we chose upon the dirt bike variety. A dirt bike helmet is the most important part of their gear as it protects the head. We then had to research what makes a helmet good and bad and tried to make the best helmet possible based off of our research.
Learning Targets
In this project, there was a few targets that we shot for and we feel like we ended up meeting (from Tronconi's website):
- Create a 3D model of a helmet using Autodesk Fusion 360
- Define relationships between the elements of the helmet and build the assembly
- Generate photo-realistic images of the helmet
- Describe how helmets provide impact protection by dissipating crash energy
- Explain Newton 2nd Law of Motion
- Calculate impact force
- Explain how friction and mass effect motion
- Describe the general structure and material used to create a helmet
Key Concepts
- There was also a few key concepts that we research from both our teacher's page and for our own knowledge:
ACCELERATION is a change in speed over a period of time; the higher the acceleration, the faster the change in speed. For example, if a car goes from 0 miles per hour (mph) to 60 mph in 2 seconds, it is a higher acceleration than if the car goes from 0 mph to 40 mph in 2 seconds.
DRAG is a term used in fluid dynamics that is sometimes referred to as air resistance or fluid resistance. Friction is one of multiple factors that influence the amount of drag encountered by a body moving through a fluid such as air or water.
INERTIA: when an object remains still or moves in a constant direction at a constant speed.
G FORCE: a force acting on a body as a result of acceleration or gravity, informally described in units of acceleration equal to one g.
FORCE causes masses to accelerate; they are influences that cause a change of movement, direction, or shape. When you press on an object, you are exerting a force on it. When a robot is accelerating, it does so because of the force its wheels exert on the floor. Force is measured in units such as pounds or newtons. For instance, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity (accelerating the object towards the center of the earth).
Helmet Parts:
- Shell- The outermost part of the helmet. For our helmets we designed, we hope to have an inner shell as well as the outer shell that encases the crumple zone of the helmet.
- Bill- The bill would have three major functions on our helmet. First, it would act as a protective device in case of a head first crash. Secondly, it would act as a visor to protect your eyes from sunlight that impairs your vision. Lastly, the bill is designed in a way that keeps the overall drag and friction low while riding for the best aerodynamics.
- Visor- The visor is what would be what goes over your eyes or where your eyes are. For one of our designs, we have a reflective visor that would serve the purpose of reflecting and shielding sunlight.
- Crumple Zone- The crumple zone is where in a crash, there is a spot in the helmet to crumple and absorb some of the impact of the crash. In our helmets, we all decided that expanded polystyrene would be best for our helmet due to its ability to absorb energy as well as being extremely lightweight.
- Liner- The liner of the helmet is what makes the helmet comfortable on your head. Ideally, we want this to be anti-bacterial, sweat absorbing, and removable to be washed. We chose to use ethylene vinyl acetate as our liner due to the above qualities.
- Ventilation System- Throughout our helmet, we would a ventilation system to cool down your head as you’re moving. These could also act as crumble zones in a crash. If we had vents, it would allow there to be room for the helmet to flex and deform, in turn absorbing a lot of force from the crash. We were not able to create this function on Autodesk, so this component is completely theoretical.
- Chinstrap- Ideally on our helmet, we would have a chin strap to retain the head inside the helmet through an impact.
Content
You can see the above information, our sketches, 3D renderings, and other necessary information in our report shown below
Click here to see my helmet
Reflection
Over the course of this project, there were many trials and tribulations that we had to go through. It was extremely hard to get the hang of the software we were using in this project, but we ended up getting it done. The overall low of the project was trying to feel comfortable with the software in the allotted time period that we were given. But, when we got to the end, it made it that much more satisfying to get it done. I am very grateful I am able to now use the software in a somewhat proficient manner.