As part of our Fusion 360 training we were set the task of turning a 2D geometric shape into a 3D object any description. The only rule is that the 2D shape had to be incorporated into the 3D model in some way. I love tasks like this which are completely open to interpretation as they encourage creativity. The 2D shape we were given can be seen below; it reminded me of a sundial.

My first thought was that it could be the layout of a city, similar to the geometric shapes that blueprint the neighbourhoods of man-made islands in Dubai like Palm Island. I liked this idea but knew it was too ambitious, this was not intended to be a complete project. I instead found inspiration from The Mandalorian television show. Based in the Star Wars universe, the show features many sci-fi weapons, most of which were based on real guns dressed-up to look suitably space-age (‘blasters’). Looking at the 2D shape again, I could clearly envisage it becoming the front profile of a blaster muzzle, with the central hole being the barrel and the triangular shapes forming cooling fins around it. I make a Pinterest board for further inspiration.

Borrowing elements from some of these designs, I drew a quick sketch as a basis for my 3D model.

To ensure that the 2D design was incorporated in a visible manner, I started by replicating it in Fusion 360 and extruding it into a long tube to form the barrel and shroud. To make it look more sci-fi I perforated the cooling fins with holes using the ‘pattern along path’ function.

From here it was a case of replicating the rest of the design that I had drawn earlier. I paid careful attention to detail so the build took around 10 hours all-told. Below are a series of images showing the final 3D design, and an animation showing how it was built. Notice the all-important 2D shape that is clearly visible when looking down the barrel.