Using the Mesk Section Sketch Tool in Autodesk Fusion 360

Many times you will be given a STL file and need to convert it to a prismatic body.  If you have a Fusion 360 Personal license you find this is a particularly hard job since you do not have this option in the Convert Mesh tool.  Even when you have this option, you often find the process does not give good results.  In this video I walk you through the process of using the Mesh Section Sketch Tool, located in the Mesh environment, to make this process a bit easier.

This process will work with STL files of contain basic prismatic shapes such as lines, arcs, circles, splines, etc.  It is not intended to be used on "free form" STL files.

Comparison of the Flange and Bend Commands in Fusion 360

The two main commands for bending sheet metal in Fusion 360 are the Flange command and the Bend command. Each has its uses but for precision bending of sheet metal the Flange tool makes the task a lot simpler. It will use the sheet metal rules, of the assigned material, and automatically calculate the bend allowances to create accurate dimensional bends. The Bend command can also make bends but you are required to calculate the bend allowances manually. In the video I reference a bend allowance calculator called Bendworks. This tool is no longer supported and updated but still functions of this tedious task. I will post a link in the comments.  In this video I compare the use of these two commands.

If you have a choice, select the Flange command and finish your dimensional sheet metal design quickly.