Fusion 360 Design

The design of the entire Front Console was made modular following a calibrated photo of the cockpit. A real world dimension was obtained form one panel and applied to the photo, so by proportion all the panels aligned and became at scale with the real console. The design had to take in consideration that an LCD panel will be placed in the back to provide instrument readings via Helios, so the panel could not pass that plane. This obliged me to go slightly away from the real proportion and add some additional depth to it. ( Which it turns out looked good in my opinion and made it bulkier) To facilitate with the electronic assembly, I decided to make it in 4 layers. The first layer was the frame that attaches to the console build structure and to the back panel of the AHCP. The back panel is a 5 mm part that will house the toggle switches. Many trial and errors had to be done in order to find the appropriate tolerances to properly fit the switches in the slots. The next layer comprises of a faceplate that will house the backlighting. I made small 3 mm holes ( With appropriate tolerance) to fit in the LEDs that will shine on the next layer plate. The fourth and last layer is the acrylic decal plate where the labels are engraved (see the fab/laser section for more detail)