Thurso High School Design and Technology Tutorial Two Dice

Create a 2D Sketch as shown below. It is a Square 50mm x 50mm.

Extrude the square to form a cube. We are now going to draw a number of circles on each surface to form a dice. Each opposing surface should add up to seven. For example, one dot on one side will require six dots on the opposite surface. The next few slides will show you some useful tips on how to draw these circles quickly and easily.

Create a sketch on the top surface of the cube. Use the LOOK AT symbol to view directly onto the surface. Use a construction line to draw across the diagonal. Now draw a circle on the centre of this line. Dimension the circle so that it is diameter 10mm. Complete the sketch and then extrude the circle by 2mm (this should be cut INTO the dice).

We are now going to rotate the dice and draw six circles onto the opposite face.

Start by drawing a diameter 10mm circle on the top left hand side of the surface. Using construction lines, dimension the centre point of the circle to the outside edges. This will position the circle 10mm in from the left edge and 10mm down from the top edge.

Before you complete the sketch, let’s add another five circles. Here is an easy way of doing this: 1.From the 2D Sketch Panel, select RECTANGULAR PATTERN 2.The Geometry option allows you to choose the circle. 3.Click the arrow in direction 1 and then choose the left hand edge. You may need to flip the arrow so that it points in the correct direction (beneath the circle). 4.Change the count to three (meaning that you want three circles) and the spacing to 15mm. 5.Now repeat this process along the top edge for direction 2. This time, the count is 2 and the spacing is 30mm. 6.Select OK. hint: if the OK button does not allow you to continue, ensure that the circle geometry is still selected! 7.Complete the sketch. 8.Extrude each circle 2mm below the surface. This can be done all at once.

If you press ‘F6’ on the keyboard or change to ISOMETRIC view, your model will spin back to the original surface (with one circle). You will need to rotate the cube to view other surfaces. The next step is to add all the other circles to each surface. When you have finished, you should have a very crude looking dice!

Let’s use the FILLET tool to round off those corners and edges. Try setting the fillet to 3mm.

Great! Use the material properties to make the dice look more realistic. Remember to select individual surfaces and right mouse click. This will allow you to change the colour of the ‘dots’. hint: hold down the shift key and multiple select the surfaces before right mouse clicking and changing the properties. It saves time!

You have now completed this tutorial. Save the dice!