Slicer Deconstruction Training for Improving Students’ Three-Dimensional Modeling Ability

Abstract

Existing higher education senior-year design courses have demonstrated that students are often limited by their ability to use three-dimensional (3D) software or are overly reliant on their two-dimensional (2D) abilities, affecting their performance for 3D modeling. Slicer deconstruction is a procedure of dismantling and unfolding models. Closed lines from three-view drawings of an existing model are converted into tangent planes that are then concatenated into a new model. This study aimed to enable students to understand the principle of converting 2D surfaces to 3D surfaces through slicer deconstruction training and to improve their spatial and 3D modeling abilities by combining physical models with 3D modeling. First-year college students in a 3D design course were selected as the experimental group, and the control group com-prised first-year college students who had not received slicer deconstruction training. In the spatial visualization test, the overall performance of the experimental group was superior to that of the control group. Specifically, question 29, which involved a test of rotating in two directions three times, saw a significantly higher correct response rate in the experimental group compared to the control group. Hence, we can infer that the training has enhanced students' three-dimensional modeling and spatial abilities.

Keywords: Three-Dimensional (3D) Design, Slicer Deconstruction, Vehicle, Spatial Ability

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005388