My absolute favorite subject in Mechanical Engineering is design, and particularly computer-aided design. So, as you can imagine, this was an easy and enjoyable task for me. I decided to design a knob for a friend’s guitar sound looper, since he lost it while moving houses.
The best software to do this, in my opinion, is SolidWorks. I started off by sketching and extruding a circle to establish the base of the knob.
Then, I shaved of the top part to create the platform where the user’s fingers be holding on.
In order to form a good grip, I added ridges.
To save material, I shelled the body to a thickness enough to keep the structural integrity of the knob.
I then added ribs to ensure structural integrity under stress and strain. Followed by an opening for the potentiometer to fit in snug.
Finally, I added fillets for aesthetics.
And because I love rendering, I did that too!
Here is the engineering drawing as a refence if anyone would like to also try this out.
