[MBD Logo] Visualising a Radio
A Pro/DESKTOP Tutorial (Module 13a)		 [Radio]
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Teachers’ Guide
The construction of a radio provides an excellent focus for product design, combining functionality with opportunities for innovative design and use of materials. Whatever the shape and style of the housing it must hold an electronic circuit board, a speaker, controls, and batteries. The arrangement of the component in relation to the shape and size of the casing offers a typical design challenge.

Three dimensional CAD provides the opportunity to build a scale model of the radio with all the internal components without the need to use any materials. The design can be easily modified and allows visualisation from all angles before material-based models are constructed.

This activity is based on the Technology Enhancement Project (TEP) FM radio, which is readily available to all schools. It assumes previous experience with Pro/DESKTOP at least to simple single part modelling.

The skills learnt in this exercise will be of value to students and teachers delivering Systems and Control and Electronic Products at KS4 and GNVQ Manufacturing.

  • Section 1 Demonstrates the process of drawing the radio case using the basic features of Pro/DESKTOP.
  • Section 2 Demonstrates how the radio components can be added and manipulated.

Section 1: Making the radio casing

[Figure 1]
Fig 1.


  1. Open Pro/DESKTOP
  2. From the File menu select New
  3. Choose Design
  4. Select OK
  5. Maximise the screens
  6. Choose the Select Plane [Select Plane button] tool
  7. Select the Vertical plane running from left to right across the screen
  8. From the Workplane menu choose New Sketch.
  9. Enter the name of the sketch as ‘front panel’
  10. Check that the Workplane option Frontal is selected
  11. Select OK
  12. From the View menu choose Front Elevation
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© CBI, 1999 Last Updated: 13/08/98