Design and manufacture of an icosahedral virus model for educational use

Abstract

A model of an icosahedral virus was designed and manufactured. Much consideration was given to the design of different aspects of the part. though there were many uncertainties about some parameters that disallowed precise prediction of part outcomes. The part was designed in SolidWorks and Mastercam, and converted to a tool path that allowed machining of the mold on the CNC milling machine. This mold was then taken to the injection molding machine where multiples of the part could be produced. The mold had to be redesigned several times to incorporate solutions to problems that arose along the way due to the uncertainties inherent from the beginning. New parts were produced upon each revision and tested. Finally, both the core and cavity molds were redesigned and rebuilt. These new molds produced parts that fit together properly and provided an accurate model of the icosahedral virus. A majority of the knowledge obtained from this project arose from the uncertainties and their corresponding problems and solutions. Making mistakes allowed the potential for creativity with designing a solution. The two objectives of the project were achieved; a three-dimensional virus model for educational use in the biology classroom was built and knowledge about the design and manufacturing process was obtained and documented.