AN APPROACH TO FILL THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATION OF COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN AND THE REALPHYSICAL PRODUCT

Computer aided design has influenced architecture and design disciplines and a shift from use of conventional tools like pencil and paper to computer occurred. Especially, 3 dimensional design applications are preferred because of their capability of producing photo-realistic images. Therefore in architecture and design education programs, courses of 3 dimensional design applications could take place. In these courses, computer aided design is taught as a visualization tool which is used after the completed design. Whereas lately computers are used as mediums of design, visualization, production control and manufacturing. Students are not conscious about the use of computer beyond visualization but for design and production.
In 3 dimensional applications, capabilities of zooming, panning and scaling and the need of making the real products fit inside smaller screens makes designers to be disconnected from real world facts as form, proportion, material and scale. Intangibility of virtual designs draws a line between the design on screen and the possible real, physical production. This difficulty is higher for the learners who confronted 3 dimensional design for the first time. Realization of 3 dimensional designs on screens to physical 3 dimensional real world objects could help learners to concretize the process.
In computer aided design class which is held in interior design department of Anadolu University, an approach to realization of computer aided 3 dimensional design to physical models is experimented. Easier and economical ways of realization process is researched in order to make learners understand CAD, CAM concepts.
In this study, results of this research will be presented by examples of student works and explanation of the techniques.