This week, I had to construct a press-fit construction kit out of cardboard. I wasn’t sure what to make at first, and I begun to think about what I was buildable object I was missing in my own life. I just started wearing jewelry a few weeks ago, and my recently amassed collection had been messily growing on my side-table. Considering that I’m a poor college student, there was no way I was going to purchase something to organize my necklaces. So, instead, I’ll make one.

I started sketching out how it would work, especially since normal jewelry holders don’t really look anything like a press-fit construction. I had to think about how to separate it into pieces and how each piece would “plug into” each other.

Finally, after coming up with a vague idea of its mechanics, I opened Fusion 360 and proceeded to struggle. Despite having experience with design software like Illustrator, Fusion 360 was an entirely different monster. In the end, though, I managed to figure it out with some help and was able to cut my creation. The first rendition of it didn’t exactly fit the way I wanted it to, so I went back and tweaked some parts as well as adding a decorative design to the side of the supports.

My second version was much better––I’m really happy with it! I tested it with some necklaces I was wearing at the time, and thankfully it stayed balanced, which was something I hadn’t considered when designing it in the first place. Overall, I learned a lot about how to use Fusion 360, and I’m excited to use it again in my free time and make some other creations.