Designing the New Workshop

By Aarav and Anuhya

Task: Design a floorplan and model for the new workshop

With the limits of our current workspace reached and the need to expand with more recruits and machinery; Iron Reign set off on a new summer project. The objective: design a new workspace for Iron Reign to be constructed further into the property. This new workshop would help Iron Reign improve our fabrication and machining capabilities and expand our program. It also served as a productive way to spend our summer and improve our CAD skills.

A few major constraints and requirements had to be fulfilled by the new workshop, mainly increased capacity for teams and equipment. 2 full-size playing fields were needed to accommodate both Iron Reign and its growing sister teams, and more space for machines, tools, and storage to help delay the workshop's inevitable descent into chaos would be ideal. Finally, we also decided to include brainstorming areas, basic amenities, and a garage for vehicles.

With our concepts and ideas somewhat straightened out, we began developing a floor plan that fits in the cleared-out patch of land on the property. After a few days of work and revision, we had a basic floorplan complected with dimensions. Below is our preliminary floorplan, which included all of the requisite areas.

After that, we decided to take the design to the next level by turning our 2D design into a 3D model, using Fusion 360. Here we had to add components like doors, windows, hallways, walls, and roofs to our design. This helped better prepare it for construction and allowed us a chance to include model furniture to help verify our dimensions and make sure we have enough space. After a couple of weeks, we had a preliminary 3-D model. It is still not finished, and we are continuing to iron out any issues and add more components.

Next Steps

After finishing the 3-D model, the next step would be to think about construction and start contacting contractors to help sort out any potential issues, along with potentially finding ways to fund this project.