Neo-Futuristic Bridge Creation

Hello everyone! I am currently a High School student (entering 10th grade) interested in architecture, computer science, and engineering. I go by the internet alias TROL Creations or more simply TROL.

Today I will be showing you how I created my submission design and take on a modern bridge that can be implemented in my community.

Required supplies:

• A computer able to smoothly run (>40 FPS) Fusion 360 and rendering/simulation processes. (I use a Mac with 16GB Memory)
• A license to Fusion 360 (preferably an Education or Paid license)

Optional but suggested:

• Full size keyboard and mouse
• External monitor
• 3D printer

I looked for inspiration for my design across the web, and I eventually settled on using organic shapes and curves to incorporate into my design. I wanted to create a bridge design that used a large number of weaving coils that intertwine and form a more seamless design. I also think that this type of architecture resonates better with the natural landscape and nature around it in almost any setting while also being recognizable.

I also wanted the bridge to feel like an art piece in whatever city of community its placed it. Similar to how the Empire State Building is associated with New York City, or how the Golden Gate Bridge is iconic to San Francisco. It should make the place it's in stand out, and possibly influence the architecture of buildings around it that are created later.

First we need to get everything in order. I will be telling you tools that I suggest are familiar and easy for you to work with as they will be frequently used.

Your Best Friends:

• Mirror Tool: Maintains consistent symmetry through the design
• Offset Plane: Great for creating mirror planes or planes to create sketches
• Plane Along Path: We'll be using this a lot to create custom shaped coils using the...
• ...Sweep Tool: Will be used to also create different types of coils throughout the design
• Loft Tool: Used to easily connect (usually) organic and curvilinear bodies
• Rotate/Move tool: Both in Sketch and Design Mode, this will be used to move certain bodies and components and angle them to our liking

Also Handy:

• Fillets and Chamfers are mostly used for simple cosmetic effects
• Using the Extrude Tool to create bodies/components or join/cut as needed
• Using Fix/Unfix, Construction Lines, Sketch Constraints (e.g. collinear, midpoint) and Dimensioning Tools with ease in Sketch Mode
• Measure Tool: Great for constantly checking the size of your design in design mode.

Now that everything is set up, I started designing the bridge. I found that it is quite a bit easier to start off simple (basic shapes, simple designs etc) and work your way from there. I created randomly curved coils and adjusted them to my liking, overtime trying to make them all seem like they come from one or two ends. I had also angled each body and component using the Move Tool, or by converting the original sketch into a 3D sketch and modifying the XYZ locations. I found that making different parts and segments of the bridge into bodies and components made them easier to manipulate later on for edits.

Attached is a clip of the evolution of my design. Some things might seem a little out of order as I have made many edits and revisions all around the place to perfect my design.

Below are short clips on how to use the various tools I had utilized to create my design. Take a look at them to see how to use them.

This is how the Mirror Tool is used. I create a majority of the bodies on one side of the bridge so that later on I could simply mirror them on the other side instead of recreating the whole thing again.

This is how the Offset Plane is used. This is probably the easiest type of plane to work with since it's fairly intuitive. I mostly used this to create sketches apart from faces and/or as a plane to mirror objects on.

This is how the Plane Along Path is used. Using this tool was critical to designing the coils. It creates a plane lined up perfectly on sketch line, and with this I was able to create coils each with various dimensions, therefore giving me the freedom to edit them later on if needed. Sometimes the plane can get hidden inside of bodies and components. To fix this, navigate to the left side of your screen where the tab "Bodies" are shown. click the "eye" icon to hide them for now.

This is how the Sweep Tool is used. This is another key part of creating coils. To use this tool, you must have a sketch lined up on a path. Once that's done, select each feature respectively and chose what function you want the sweep to preform. (Another way of thinking about the Sweep Tool is like the Extrude Tool, but along a tangent sketch path or line.)

This is how the Loft Tool is used. The Loft Tool is great for connecting gaps with a few simple clicks. Select the faces you want to connect. Be sure not have faces often overlapping each other, since more often than not, the loft will not be able to generate (as it will be intersecting itself).

Finally after creating the design of the bridge, I generated renderings of the final product using the materials and textures below:

• Silver - Polished
• Aluminum Nitrate (AIN)
• ABS (White)
• Steel - Satin
• Glass (Grey)
• Bamboo Dark (Semi Gloss)
• Chrome
• Water - Swimming Pool
• PA 11 Nylon
• Enamel Glossy (Green Paint)
• Acetal Resin (White)

(All materials were used for cosmetic purposes only.)

Having a bridge that can sustain loads without collapse is vital for the safety of those crossing. For that reason I adjusted the parameters to scale up the model to a life-like size. Once the bridge was ready to be tested, I added the weight of 20-30 people (~20000N) simultaneously on the bridge. The results proved that the design is more than capable of supporting the weight of the given amount. (Granted that the materials used in the simulation might not be the exact same if built in the real world.)

Well, that's it! That was the entire process of creating, designing, and finalizing the bridge. I am grateful to all of you who read through my Instructable. I had a really fun time creating this, and I'm excited to create and share more of my designs with you all in the future!

This is also my first time publishing my work to Instructables, so please leave any suggestions on how I can can improve my overall content!

You can view the bridge in 3D here: https://a360.co/44VAZuH

Feel free to download and edit, but just don't distribute it as your own. Thank you!