Devlog #2: The CAD Nightmare and the New Dimensions

– From jul 15 to jul 23rd 2026–
Alr this whole CAD thing is a total headache.

When I first started, Gemini suggested a 40x30cm footprint and 60cm height. I just started drawing it and didn’t notice it was way too short, making the trash compartment totally inaccessible and the fridge way too tiny. I didn’t notice till I was already cadding. Since 30x40cm is a good footprint, I decided to keep that but when I pulled out a physical tape measure and imagined the project I found myself bending over just to reach over that height! So, I pushed it up to 90cm, which feels much better. Gemini assumed I would use heavy materials, but I’m going lightweight, so Inshallah it won’t tip over.

Now the new dimensions are:

• Bottom tier: 10cm for the battery, motors and H bridges, and counterweights if needed.
• Middle tier: The fridge and logic board layer, now pushed from 35 to 45cm.
• Top tier: The trash compartment, changed to 35cm instead of 15cm so people can actually use it.

A quick heads up if you forgot. It’s a fancy trashcan after all, it has wheels and sensors and it’s gonna be wandering around in food courts with a built-in fridge. And it’s gonna store food leftovers. That way, whenever someone needs food, they can just take it without having to ask anyone, keeping their dignity completely intact. While still serving as a trashcan with 4 holes so it can be recycled later.

Back to the story XD: This was my first time ever cadding, so I drew everything in Photoshop first. Then I watched a 20 minute video and figured the rest out in Fusion 360 on my own. Fusion was pretty heavy for my laptop, so it was a nightmare when parts failed and I had to remodel them from scratch. And in the end when I was rendering it looked a bit weird but im not gonna change it cuz i’m exhausted tbh and my patience is running thin. Also during cadding, I added some access panels for maintenance and emergency latches in case god forbid we needed to kill the power.

As for the video, I decided not to script it word for word anymore, so I’m just running the camera and letting it happen.

Next up, I’m modeling the electronics in fritzing (which unlike fusion I know how to use) separately, updating the BOM, working on the GitHub repo, and finally editing the existing footage. Thx for reading