Work Planes and Points Along a Path in Autodesk Fusion 360

The creation of work planes, for sketches, in the design of lofts in Autodesk Fusion 360 got a lot easier in the past few months with the introduction of the Plane Along a Path command located under the Construct drop-down menu.  Along with the Point Along a Path command, modeling complex features sketches are a snap.  Take a look at this short video and see just how easy placing complex work features along a path has become.

Creating Autodesk Fusion 360 Construction Features

When creating a model in Autodesk Fusion 360, your first sketch should be on one of the origin planes and related to the origin point.  This practice not only will align your model to the world and make building your assemblies easier but it also give you the use of 3 work places, 3 axis and a center work point to build your sketches and features on. 

Sometimes the origin work features are not enough and you will need to create other work features to support additional model geometry and features.  This is when you take advantage of the different types of construction features, often called work features, available in Fusion 360.

I have created a video showing you how to create each one of these construction features and some tricks along the way.  I tried to cover them as thoroughly as possible but there are many methods I could not get to.  One rule of thumb you should always keep in mind, you sometimes have to create one type of construction feature to get the geometry required to create the construction feature you really need.

Autodesk Fusion 360 Parameters

Autodesk Fusion 360 adds a parameter to every dimension you add to your model whether you realize it or not.  These parameter are create consecutively starting with d1, d2, d3, etc.  Existing parameters can be reused in other dimension to add "parametric' features that can aid in controlling the model design.  For example, I have sketched a rectangular box with a length of 8 inches and a width of 6 inches.  I rename the parameters from d1 and d2 to Length and Width.  I then place another rectangle on top of the first which I want to be always half of the size of the first.  Using the existing parameters I simply add dimensions to the length as Length/2 and  width as Width/2 to accomplish this.  Every time I modify the first rectangle's length and width the second one will resize also.

Take a look at my YouTube video and you will see some of the possibilities you have with using parameters in Fusion 360.

Creating a Drawing Template in Autodesk Fusion 360

Autodesk Fusion 360 installs with a default drawing template containing one attributed title block.  For most users this is not adequate to show the metadata they need for the fabrication of the part or for customer presentation.  Companies also would like to add a logo or some other graphic making the drawing more identifiable.

In this video, I will go through the process of creating a Fusion 360 drawing template with a couple of interchangeable title blocks as well as a logo.  I will show the process of importing a title block for an attributed AutoCAD drawing and show the process for switching between title blocks.

I will also briefly mention how to create placeholder views which can be used to create automatic views of an assembly, component, flat pattern, folded component or annotation when places on the drawing template.

Adding and Manipulating Joints in Autodesk Fusion 360

Autodesk Fusion 360 uses Joints to constrain components together within an assembly.  There are a variety of joints for applying both fixed and movable constrains, each one having a variety of unique position and motion settings. 

I have created three videos on this subject and even then, I have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities available when using joints in your assembly.  The first video covers the basic process of placing joints and covering the most common types of joints.  I tried to cover joints that compare to the four basic types of constrains using in Inventor assemblies, Mate, Flush, Angle, Tangent and Insert.

The second video covers some of the methods and commands used to control the movement or motion of various joint types. The video also talks about the Motion Study command vs Animate Model, the two main commands used to animate your completed assembly.

The third video covers two other methods of applying joints.  One is to add Joint Origins to the components of the assembly that can be used to place joints in future assemblies.  These are great because they can be saved with the components and used over and over in other assemblies.  They can be compared to iMates in Autodesk Inventor.  They can be configured to carry assembly information that can be applied, by others, to an assembly joint who may not be familiar with the design.  Also in this video I use the "As-built Joint" command which can be applied to components that are already positioned in the correct relationship to each other in a matter of seconds.  If you watched my earlier video on the "Align" command you will see how quickly you can add joints to a temporary aligned assembly.

Creating a Mold for the Plastic Shell Using Autodesk Fusion 360

In my last post, I created a plastic packaging shell for a thumb drive using some surfacing commands in Autodesk Fusion 360.  If you would like to review this video first, you can find it here.  In this post I want to show how easy it is to create a mold for the plastic shell using Fusion 360.  Last, I want to show how to create a new plastic shell from the mold.  The short video of the process can be found here.

Surface Modeling in Autodesk Fusion 360

There are so many ways to model your parts in Autodesk Fusion 360, it is sometimes hard to choose.  One of the most overlooked methods is creating your design with surfaces and then converting them into solids.  Packaging design is one area where designing with surfaces should be your first choice.

In this short video I would like to illustrate the use of surface modeling in the design of a formed plastic cover that could be used to package a USB thumb drive.  

Autodesk Fusion 360 Sketching Tips and Techniques

The sketching environment in Autodesk Fusion 360 contains many functions and techniques that are not always apparent.  I have created a short video to show you some of my favorite ones in the hope to give a quick start into using a new sketching function or discover one you just did not know existed.

Creating Sheet Metal Components in Autodesk Fusion 360

Autodesk has recently released an update to Fusion 360 which includes a sheet metal modeling environment.  When designing sheet metal assemblies it is often advantageous to  create parts in the context of existing parts.  As you create your sheet metal parts within the same file, you will want to make them components instead of bodies since assembly joints cannot be placed between bodies.

There is only one tool in the Sheet Metal environment called "Flange" and is used to create Face, Flange and Contour Flange features from your sketch or model.  If you select an open sketch, the tool will create a Contour Flange.  If you select a closed sketch, the tool will create a Face.  If you select an edge of an existing sheet metal component or body, it will create a flange.

When creating either a Face or Contour Flange, the dialog box gives you the opportunity to create the operation as a "New Body" or a "New Component".  Below are these Flange dialog boxes during the creation of a Face, from a closed sketch, and a Contour Flange from an open sketch.  NOTE: I could not get the drop-down to function and capture the screen together.

My reason for writing this article is that if you forget to change the "Operation" to "New Component" you cannot from to the timeline, edit the Flange feature and change the operation result from New Body to New Component.  The option is not available in the Edit Feature dialog box.

If you notice it right away, you can use the "Undo" command and re-create the Flange feature using the New Component option.  But what do you do if you have moved forward and cannot effectively "Undo" a lot of work.  You first thought may be to select the sheet metal body in the Browser, right click and select "Create Components from Bodies" command from the context menu.

If you do, you will be met with an unpleasant warning from Fusion 360 that the operation is not supported for sheet metal bodies.  

I have not found a method of converting a sheet metal body to a sheet metal component capable of being edited in the Fusion 360 sheet metal environment.  Since the "Flange" tool defaults to the operation of creating a "New Body" be careful.  The only work around is to "Delete" the Flange feature from the timeline and recreate it.  I have not explored all the ramifications for this in a large sheet metal project.I will definitely be adding this to the Fusion 360 wishlist.

Creating Sheet Metal Flat Pattern of Round Object in Autodesk Fusion 360

Update (9/19): The method shown below is not required to create a flat pattern of a cylindrical component in the latest version of Fusion 360.  Selecting on the inside or outside face of the cylinder, as the stationary face, is now all that is required.  If you desire to use the Unfold tool, the method outlined in the blog and video still must be used.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Autodesk recently released an update to their Fusion 360 application.  This update contained many wonderful enhancements and new features, one of these was the long awaited sheet metal environment.  The sheet metal environment is very versatile and can make most sheet metal forms and the flat patterns needed to fabricate them. 

There is one exception to creating a flat pattern and that is for cylindrical objects such as the sheet metal part below.  If you are wondering how to make the part with only the "Flange" command, apply it to an arc creating what you call a contour flange in Inventor.

Fusion 360 "Create Flat Pattern" command requires a flat surface along the surface to be unfolded.  Since this cylinder does not have one, you cannot execute the command on it.  The solution is to add a very small flat to the edge of the cylindrical surface.  I have created short video to illustrate this process.  Click the LINK to view.

By the way, this same technique can be the used with the "Unfold" tool as well.  Enjoy.