Modifying Plastic Bottle to Hold Exact Measure

I had a problem presented to me to determine the volume of liquid an existing bottle held and then modify the bottle, using Fusion 360, so it would hold an exact US Imperial Quart of liquid.  The plastic bottle model given to me to start with was a dumb solid body, no features or parameters.  I decided to use Fusion 360 to determine the existing volume the bottle would currently hold but to also use it to modify the bottle to hold the required volume.

In my video I used a variety of processes in Fusion 360 including:

• Parameters
• Solids manipulation using Combine, Split Body, Body Remove and others
• Workplane creation
• Move/Copy command
• and others  

Please take a look and see how Fusion 360 can make the re-design of a product easy.

Autodesk Fusion 360 New Derive and Insert Derive Command

I would like to introduce you to the powerful design possibilities the new Fusion "Drive" and "Insert Derive" commands give you.  I have created a video to show you some applications for this command along with the proper use and configuration of the command dialog boxes.  I want to emphasis that there are a lot more applications for these commands than I could show in the video.  When considering the possibilities think about how, the ability to share a complete sketch, model bodies, model components, parameters, assemblies or sheet metal flats into a new or existing design and what you share will be "linked" to the original, will enhance your design possibilities. 

Using Named Views in Fusion 360 Drawings

Named views, in your Autodesk Fusion 360 models, can be used for many purposes.  One of these is to define a special view, that will be needed in the 2D drawing, to created required documentation dimensions.  In my short video, I show how to create a named view and then use it to establish a special view in the 2D drawing.  This view will be used to place true length dimensions on selected edges.

Using the Autodesk Fusion 360 Timeline

The Autodesk Fusion 360 timeline is a valuable tool in the creation of your part models.  Located at the bottom of the Fusion 360 design space, it is a chronological list of all sketches and features that have been created in your part.   In this short video I cover some of the ways the timeline can be used by both beginners and experienced users.

 

Creating Fusion 360 Angular Dimensions for Special Angles

Fusion 360 has some amazing tools but it is a new product and it is still being developed to handle all 2D drawing dimensional needs.  In a recent Fusion 360 Forum post a situation was presented where Fusion 360 would not recognize the edges of a tapered cut on a round object.  The user was trying to create the following dimension which I created in an Inventor 2D drawing.

Since the part is round and the angle cut in completed around the diameter, the two angle edges created in the section are not recognized by Fusion 360.  I have created a short video showing my workaround for this issue.  It is not perfect but it is better than not being able to create the dimension at all.

I would like to thank Adam Krefting for the use of his Fusion 360 model which I used in my video.

Updating or Refreshing Custom Content Center Parts in Inventor

In my past two videos I have covered how to create a Custom Content Center Library part (CCCL) and publishing it to your custom library and then demonstrated how to add parameters to the previously published CCCL part.  You can find the first video here and the second one here if you would like to review these first.

In this short video I will cover the process of changing the parametric values in a CCCL part and how to make Inventor realize that the change has occur and allow you to use the Refresh command to update any existing CCCL parts.  I also talk about how to prevent the use of an instance from the CCCL part in future assemblies but maintain the parts for assemblies where they have already been used. 

Editing an Inventor Custom Content Center Library Component to Add Parametric Feature

This is the second video in a two part article showing how to create an Inventor Custom Content Center Library (CCCL), add a part to it and then add a parametric feature to the published part.  In the first video I covered the creation of a CCCL, the creation of a custom category and the publishing of a part to the library.

In the second video I will cover how to add a parametric feature to the part after it is published in the CCCL.  The video outlines the process of adding parameters between the family table and the category parameter table.