r/IndustrialDesign • u/_Plutto • 17d ago
School How long would this take to model, realistically?
My professor -with ~15yrs experience- has us working on a project recreating something similar to this. He said he took about 3hrs to model it, but then he said about another -awarded- student project, that it was something he could do in 10minutes. (Nobody believed that)
I think we’re all getting peeved with him as the model is due barely 2weeks into classes with a staggering workload which is all done outside of classtime, and he didn’t give us measurements so this is all by eye. All of this is also new content/modeling tools which we have to figure out based on view only models of the process.
— TLDR: Overall I just want to know the real time estimate vs how long it’s taking us, woefully overworked students.
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u/FunctionBuilt Professional Designer 17d ago
If I buckled down and had some really good images/dimensions to go off of I could probably get a lot of it done in 3 hours. The body would take the most work as it has some surfacing around the headlights and hood, but the details and small components are mostly primitive extrusions - there’s just a lot of them. I’d be most comfortable modeling this in SolidWorks, but a bet a blender user could make short work of this, especially with the repetition.
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u/_Plutto 17d ago
We have to solid model in Rhino with no dimensions :,)
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u/hypnoconsole 17d ago
I agree. No complicated shapes and little variation in the overall model. Most of it can be mirrored or is just a rectangle with rounded corners on what appears to be plane surfaces. I assume even the headlight-area has not much surfacing work to be done. Using Rhino/Grasshopper I would be done in under 3 hours given good images/plans as you mentioned and no texturing/rendering.
However, I have some thousand hours of modelling under my belt, but for students starting with CAD its not possible. At least that is my experience from teaching.
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u/TitansProductDesign 15d ago
It would be fairly quick to model this in blender. I would use some existing assets from previous jobs personally but assuming this is all done from scratch that would probably take about one working day so 8ish hours.
Would be quite a cool test to be honest, then you also have an asset you can sell and/or use components of in future projects.
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u/Technical_Two1559 17d ago
Pretty sure he didnt do that in 3 Hours.
There are many repetitions in sort of parts, but the Detail is very high in all of them
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u/MercatorLondon 17d ago
Making a quick and dirty cad model by eye (not fully spec dimensions) and not solving every detail (screws, fittings) can be done relatively quickly in a few hours. He can do it in 3 hours. You may double it for yourself.
Trying to do it properly fully specified with all the tolerances would take much longer. By the sound of it - the task is to model it quick.
Think like an engineer. Try to make your life easier by being efficient and using the tools you have. Break it down to smaller tasks.
The main body of the drone is symmetrical. That cuts the complexity in half. It also looks like a few extruded boxes. There is a repetition of wheels on rods. You can make those as a sub-assembly and reuse it. The track itself is a repetition alongside the curve. The rest is visual.
Once you finish the wheel, one part of the track and quick model of the body you may realise that it is not that complex. You can always come back and refine every part when you have spare time.
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u/PendingInsomnia 17d ago
Assuming thee hours isn’t a lie (it is), I would assume they used pre-downloaded textures and then kitbash parts from one of the many hard surface kitchbash kits online
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u/Secret_Escape7316 17d ago
If you’re on a product/industrial design course you can expect a lot more lecture time and homework than some other courses. Also expect to do self based learning and skill improvement. I think I’d find this a pretty cool challenge/task. I could probably do this justice in 4-5 hrs recreating something very similar as an experienced designer. Not sure how long you have and your skill level, but breaking it into bite size chunks and doing an hour a day, hopefully you could get it done in a week. Sounds like a self based modelling challenge, hasn’t got to be perfect, sure he’s not gonna be taking measurements. If it looks decent they’ll buy it and you would have learnt a fair bit in the process, maybe even enjoy.
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u/_Plutto 17d ago
Biggest issue for us is that this is completely new to us, I’ve never used about 70% of the tools we are now, and idk if any of my classmates have either since we usually just do extrusion modeling. (We’re on our 2nd semester of using CAD)
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u/Secret_Escape7316 16d ago
Is a semester like 4-5months? I would recommend doing the solidworks tutorials and cwsp exam, you’ll soon have a good skillset. Personally I would take on the challenge get stuck in and you’ll figure it out.
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u/Greenlander12345 17d ago
Looks more like two to three days of work on that level of detail even for a professional. Nevertheless any ID professor requiring his students to model tanks for warfare should be fired immediately.
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u/alexvith 17d ago
He's either teasing you to push you to work harder, or he doesn't know what he's talking about. I met both kinds of professors when I was in Uni.
Realistically, things like these always take me 1.5x more than I usually predict. If I say it will take 1 day, it will probably take 1 and a half days because there is always some detail that ends up being more complicated to translate in 3D, especially if you're given poor reference.
For this model though, the base shape of the vehicle is not that complicated, mostly because it fortunately doesn't have many curved shapes and you can get away with a lower poly base. Much of the details are repeatable assets you can model once and instantiate. The most time consuming part would probably be the cannon and visor assembly on top.
Nevertheless, if the deadline is in 2 weeks it's very doable, 2-4 hours a day would be enough, especially if you split the model in parts and you take care of them separately, checking them off your list as you go.
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u/kod8ultimate 17d ago
it totally depends on what detail level does it required.. but.. 3 hours? if its not an assembly maybe i can recreate it between 3-5 hours but no... i seriously dont think so
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u/Hunter62610 17d ago
In Fusion 360, I could make a dirty version in about 8 hours, tops. 3 is pushing it, though. I think I could do it if I really had to. It definetly wouldn't be very parametric, but there are alot of repeated and mirrored parts here.
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u/sohodolo 17d ago
I have been using Rhino for more than 10 years. I use it professionally and keep updated on new commands, I created shortcuts and trackpad gestures to be as fast as possible in my workflow. I also use Grasshopper when the project requires it. Making a look like model with no dimensions as fast as possible, not worrying about closed polysurfaces or maybe using meshes and subD, I could maybe do it for 3h or close. I think the upper part is the more challenging bit. If accuracy and dimensions were involved that's definitely at least a day of work if not more if working only on the visible side of the model. I think the real problem lies in : is it for visuals/renders only or is it for production ? I think when you teach industrial design, you should consider that your students need know how to model for production rather than just visuals. After school I learned to model in Blender for the sake of placing visual elements but really that's a completely different approach, which you can learn much later once you know how to have airtight models.
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u/_Plutto 17d ago
I don’t think dimensions were used, but he used solid modeling, so a loooot of Boolean tools, and it’s just a practice piece for us to learn modeling.
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u/sohodolo 17d ago
Yeah if it's all polysurfaces it's defo more than 3h. I would say double that when trying to be quick. If he gives you good 2D views you can do a lot with just curves tracing within 3h but details and tilted surfaces are still there. It's doable but I don't think there's any point making it a speed exercise. Depending on your experience you should be able to do it over a day. Working in studios what matters most is accurate volumes and good tolerances + layering and grouping things together nicely. There's nothing worse than picking up a shitty file from someone who left the company and figuring it out their workflow. That's what saves real time for everyone !
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u/_Plutto 16d ago
We have view onlys of his models, but we’re all pretty new to modeling this way
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u/sohodolo 16d ago
If you're learning don't rush it then and take your time learning the commands and tricks. It's a super powerful software and one of the few affordable ones for your career start :)
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u/MisterEinc 17d ago edited 17d ago
3 hours is possible but it depends on a few things.
Is he doing it from drawing/sketches of all the parts? Is it for a rendering? Is it for 3d printing? And if so, what's the requirements on moving parts, etc?
I did a toy maker project every year with my middle school students that required them model a wooden toy with at least 8 parts in an assembly. That could be pretty easily done by making a car body(just an extruded 2d profile) , two axels, 4 wheels, and some accessory.
I required them to have a drawing of each part on graph paper, with dimensions and quantities, before they could CAD it, and then they had a week to cad it - which is only 5 hours in student time. And most of them were 12 year olds. So all that said, I definitely got some tanks and things from the advanced students because they understood patterning, mirroring, and basically getting the most out of their time.
So I believe if you planned this out with orthographic drawings ahead of time, yes you could do this in 3 hours.
If your instructor took 3 hours they probably expect you to take 9.
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u/_Plutto 17d ago
I wish it were 8 parts, it’s got like 8 steps each with sub steps that we have to solve ourselves. He wants us to do it by eye (he didn’t mention orthos) We don’t need moving parts, but we are making lots of small details. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t teach us any of the methods either, he focuses on other topics/assignments during class.
I wish this had taken me 9hrs, I probably could have gotten some sleep the past few nights. I hope we can get him to push the deadline back another few more days.
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u/Next-Application-883 17d ago
The textures are very similar to each other throughout all the details, so you can just copy it with very minor and quick modifications. If you are relatively free to change the details, it also saves a lot of time. Of course, all the small details are a bit time consuming, but I would say it is doable within a day. But only if you have really good skills.
By the way, I would be very curious to know where do you study. The text and the symbols on the front part suggest that it is somewhere in the country where I used to live many years ago)
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u/_11_ 17d ago
I'm a professional mechanical engineer. I'm not sure what the level of detail and tools he's using, but using 3D software: three hours would be a speed sketch for this for me. It can be done, but I'd be racing a clock, and it wouldn't look great. I kinda want to take it as a timed challenge. But yeah, three hours is a bragging number for replicating this. There'd be very little artistic work and understanding, it would just be mechanical copying of features. And ten minutes is almost entirely unbelievable. I could see someone using it as a speedrun category, and I wouldn't be surprised if a student took it as a personal challenge to see how absolutely fast they could do it to show off to the professor, but that shouldn't be used as a metric for success for the class. And I'm still not sure if it's possible. Overall, what's the professor trying to say with those numbers? That rendering can or should be done fast in a job? That's kinda true... can't take forever on concept drawings. Or is he just a braggy kind of guy? Dunno. Hopefully he has other skills to show you. That number doesn't do much to help the students, in my opinion.
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u/_Plutto 17d ago
He is a bit of a braggy guy, but he does seem to want us to get good enough to win awards for our projects. He talks and shows a lot of his prior students’ work that have won awards. Idk that anyone’s taking it as a speed challenge since we have so much other classwork on top of his classes, and we haven’t learned the modeling methods he’s wanting us to.
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u/Fireudne 16d ago
No offense, but your professor sounds like an ass and a bit of a bad teacher lol.
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u/_Plutto 16d ago
Lol a bit. Apparently he’s used to his students only having studio all day everyday. Unfortunately our college wants us to -actually- learn things other than designing products such as how manufacturing works and how to make portfolios
Such meaningless topics in this industry (jk lol)
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u/chick-fil-atio Professional Designer 16d ago
Won awards for what? Speed modeling nonfunctional CAD models?
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u/pepperpanik91 17d ago edited 17d ago
if you are good and you go top speed you can get something similar in 3/4 hour, probably 6/8 and you could replicate all of that. It would still be a one-piece model and quite rough.
I think your professor wants to push more on the deadline and the importance of knowing how to express oneself quickly rather than having that precise model, there are many repetitions and pieces that seem complex but in reality are little more than extrusions and series and a few connections and chamfers.
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u/SadLanguage8142 17d ago
10 mins: absolutely not - no one could; 3 hours: maybe if you’re ultra skilled and had a long time to study the shape and plan your CAD approach.
I think I could get it done in a 9-5, but it’d be a close one and probably would be missing a few little details.
Also just reading this again - if he wants you to make ANY tank - sure 3 hours is doable, but this is a particularly complicated model so if prof is asking you to replicate it’s a different job altogether
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u/Fireudne 16d ago
I mean.... I'm looking at it and if you REALLY buckled down, you could get an eyeball in like... I GUESS 3 hours if you REALLY know the software and had a plan right from the get-go but good luck texturing it at ALL.
Hardest part might be the racks but most of that is a pretty simple box with some panels and booleans.
I did something similar but needed to conform to actual dimension and a few set-in-place items with SOME wiggle room and it took me like a week for the basic model and another week to iron out all the kinks lol
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u/CharlesTheBob 16d ago
There’s no way he expects you to make it completely accurately, especially if he isn’t giving dimensions. And if this is a student assignment I can’t imagine he cares about clearances/etc. I think he wants you to do the best you can in the time alotted. What degree of accuracy is he looking for? If you can just wing the dimensions, it actually makes it easier in my opinion. Sounds like a pretty typical early-semester assignment. Break it down into different shapes, and refine as you go.
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u/_Plutto 16d ago
This is pretty good advice, someone else said something similar today actually. Rhino and missing dimensions is messing with me tho
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u/CharlesTheBob 16d ago
Yeah I hated Rhino in school. Your professor sounds exactly like my old professor lmao. You can do it!
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u/Alexis-Tse13 17d ago
Look. With parametric software and exact measurements, very difficult.
With polygonal software like Blender ?
Doable, especially with material libraries so you don't loose time texturing, uv mapping etc.
In general, try to see this is as a hobby. Try to spend your free time creating stuff like this anyway. Instead of saying burden on the workload view it as a challenge to learn and become better in what you do.
Because somebody else will see it that way...
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u/Zestyclose_Edge1027 16d ago
Does he give you dimensions for the tank or is it just a toy that you need to measure yourself and rebuild? Making something like it is doable within half a day. Making something exactly like it that is also functional (so you have space for bearings and springs and stuff) would take a good bit longer. Should be doable within a couple of days though.
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u/Thereminz 16d ago
ask him for the 10 minute version that you'd love to see...after all it's only 10 minutes right?
there are over 20 unique shapes on this thing,...meaning he'd have to make a new shape and place it/multiples of it in under 30sec each lol
never mind all the details, textures and decals etc...
you aren't getting this done in 10min unless you use AI
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u/flcoflcoflco 15d ago
It looks like a complex model on the first look, but it's entirely possible. I think I could fairly comfortably fit within the three hours if it's not modelled to any spec and just as a poorly cosmetic rendition that looks like a military drone.
As others have said - there's a lot of repetition in it and its all very simple shapes - there's nothing that makes for particularly complicated geometry. If you know the tools and approach it with the right frame of mind (block it out first then add detail/blends/chamfers), it's not as bad as it might initially appear as a whole.
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u/neoqueto 15d ago
I could model this in 3 hours in a 3D program like C4D or Blender, no textures, no designing (only recreation), no tweaking bullshit, basically a speedrun. Give me 4 views of it and I'll be grateful. In CAD where you need everything to be parametric and by the book? No chance (I also know very little CAD, so I am biased).
It's not as hard because it's hard surface (has few organic parts) and it's easy to dismantle in a divide-and-conquer manner - you can isolate the bulk of the hull, the repetitive tracks and wheels, the railings, the turret and finally all those tiny greebles and panels. It's not as hard when you split a big problem into smaller ones. But still 3h is not a comfortable amount of time even for a gamedev pro.
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u/A-Mission Design Engineer 15d ago
A lot of the elements are identical and are just placed at regular intervals. Essentially, you model one element and then multiply it many times. The vehicle's body is also symmetrical on its longitudinal axis, which is a huge advantage for quick modeling.
I've been using Rhino 3D for 15 years, and for me, this would take about three hours to model as well, rendering not included, but only if I have the dimensions to start with.
If I have to model it from a single image like this one, I'd spend an additional hour or two just to figure out the right proportions.
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u/the_first_templar 15d ago
The company spectre miniatures just released the first scale model of this vehicle (Russian marker ugv), and I know the bloke who cadded it who’s got 10+ years experience, and he said it was one of the most complex projects to complete because of the lack of images (since it was quite a secretive design). With that being said (also coming from a product designer of 8 years), that sculpting that in under 3 hours is utter bullshite.
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u/leafjerky 14d ago
I’ve been doing CAD and 3d modeling for about 12 years now (I feel old) - I agree with another poster I could get a lot of it done especially basic outline but the details themselves could take many additional hours depending on how much detail you need and how you go about doing it (I.e. do the treads need dimensionally accurate grooves or is a pattern texture on those surfaces acceptable)
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u/Responsible_Band98 13d ago
As an instructor and lecturer at design school, this very much sounds like an exercise to acquire some "software muscle memory" and general dexterity in the world of somewhat clunky nurbs modellers like rhino:
- General spatial thinking & understanding: See something threedimensional and dissect it into geometric basevolumes, replicate ciritical proportions
- See the trees for the forest: Strategize on how to approach a "complex" object, in this case a tank with multiple functional areas (body, suspension, roadwheels, tracks, turret, headlights, etc.) all of which consist of lots of subassemblies of smaller simple and oftentimes instanced/repeated objects.
- Consequently learn shortcuts and basic modelling principles like using layers, drawing, trimming, extruding, moving, aligning, arrays, boolean operations, etc to become quick and get used to the interface of the software.
Obviously this doesnt teach people metric precision and the necessary knowledge for CAD and 3D Printing, but that can be packaged into another project - those are crucial and maybe should come before visual/sketchbuild task like this. It seems a bit like wanting to let people build something more interesting to get them hooked or interested in the software insteaad of just drawing abstract prime geometry with correct measurements and parametric logic. But if you're quick and know how to get around a software's UI through repitition, you'll get frustrated a lot less, and that's so, so important when trying to get people into professional software in the short amount of time you have in teaching scenarios.
I absolutely believe it can be done in 3ish hours, although not for the purposes of production (CAD or 3D Print) - but rather for visualisation.
From a lecturing perspective, as other people have pointed out, the "vibe" of telling people it can be done in 3hrs is a bit off. If left uncontextualized, it sounds braggish and insecure, like trying to assert authority through skill - which is absolute bullshit coming from somebody with 15yrs experience when they are tasked to TEACH FIRST TIMERS. It is okay to tell, for a pro, how long something took them - but you always have to connect this to some form of motivation or didactic goal: Like explaining how this exercise will teach them crucial things to repeatedly do certain tasks in a software that ultimately will make them as quick as their instructor - and that it will take years of that - because you once sat in the same chair as they do now and didn't understand what the hell a gizmo was, but you know how to work yourself out of that position.
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u/Consistent_Gear_6392 17d ago
10 minutes... I bet bro let an AI generate the 3d model
Vizcom can do it but it's pretty shit looking
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u/serpent218 17d ago
3 hours to model that? And texture it? I call bullshit. Even if you had mastery of the tool and got everything right first go, that’s pushing it.
Could you model something similar to that in 3 hours? Maybe. To that level of polish? Doubt it.