Fusion

360

Let’s-a go!

-Mario

What is fusion 360?

• Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• 3d Modeling

What is Fusion used for?

• Design the Robot before we build it.
• Make sure all subsystems fit on the robot
• Make sure the robot is within FRC specifications
• Weight, height, width, etc.

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• Design specific part to get fabricated custom for us.

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• Get a general idea of how sections the robot may move.

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Notebooks!

I am a MASSIVE notebook advocate.

Notebooks help to keep the vision of the robot consistent. I highly suggest that if you want to become a CAD-er that you bring in some sort of notepad.

Vocabulary

Body - An object that you have made.

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Face- A side of a body.

Sheet Metal

We will be CAD-ing in the Sheet Metal section of Fusion because the majority of our pieces will be fabricated from Aluminum or Steel sheet metal.

The exception to this would be any 3D printed parts. 3D printed parts can be made in the Sheet Metal section of Fusion, but Solid is also very useful for these types of parts.

Mouse Controls

• Left click → Select

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• Right Click → Opens Options

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• Scroll Wheel → Zoom

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• Shift + Scroll Wheel → Pan

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• Ctrl + Scroll Wheel → Orbit

THe Beginning

We won’t be able to go over everything, but in Fusion, you can hover over any function with your cursor and it will tell you what it does.

Sketches

Sketches are the basis of CAD. Nothing can be created without them.

1 - Sketches

Select this icon to begin a sketch

Fusion will prompt you to select a plane to sketch on.

2 - Sketches (The Tour)

The Create section has all of the shapes you could think of. By default line, rectangle and circle are pinned, but you can select many more shapes, hexagons, slits, etc, via the drop down. Create also has pattern creators and the mirror option. Please use them. Finally Create also has Sketch Dimension to input dimensions for parts. You can also use the keyboard shortcut d.

Constraints contains opinions to make to parts of a sketch equal, tangent, horizontal / vertical to each other, etc. Constraints always have a symbol signifying where they are being applied. The image to the right shows the symbols for equal and parallel respectively.

Finish Sketch closes you out of the Sketch menu. You can re-enter it if you need to edit your sketch later on.

3 - Sketches (The Tour)

Modify contains things like Fillet, which rounds harsh edges, and snip, which removes unwanted lines, curves, etc. (Both are pinned by default) Other useful options are offset, used to take an existing part of a sketch and create a new part that is proportional to the original, but inside or outside the original, and move/copy.

Inspect also exists outside of the Sketch section. The pinned function, measure, is used to find dimensions. Another useful tool is Section Analysis, which is used to see inside parts you have already made.

Insert isn’t used very often, but we have used it in that past to insert an image to trace to add patterns to our pieces.

4 - Sketches (The Tour)

Fusion has a Sketch Palette that will change slightly depending on what function you are using. (line, circle, rectangle, etc) This photo shows the line Sketch Palette. The most important function of the Sketch Palate that is consistent throughout all iterations of the Sketch Palette is the construction function. (Boxed to the left.) Construction objects allow you to visualize things in your sketch without changing the final product. Construction lines are very useful for finding the midpoints on an object and for the mirror function. Construction Objects will appear as a dotted line.

Making it Physical

Time for the fun part

This is the Sketch we will be using throughout this section

1 - Extrude

Extrude is used to thicken parts to a custom thickness. When you select extrude Fusion will prompt you to select a face to extrude. Notice how the selected face (blue) does not include the circles, but does include the construction line.

2 - Extrude (cut)

While Extrude can be used to make bodies, you can also use extrude to cut through them. Here I selected the circles to cut through a rectangle body I had previously made.

To change to Extrude Cut you can select it from the Operation drop down menu or drag the arrow (shown in first image) through the body you want to cut through.

1 - Flange

Flange is one of, if not the most important function you can use for sheet metal. With Flange you can select a sketch to automatically make it the thickness of sheet metal. This part of the Flange function is similar to what extrude can do, but this means you don’t have to memorise the thickness for sheet metal. Massive W.

2 - Flange

Flange is also used to create bends in sheet metal. The edge you select to bend from will dictate which direction you bend into. (Right edge to the right etc.) The length of the new side is determined by how far you pull the blue arrow or what value you input. You can change the angle of the flange using the boxed symbol or by inputting a custom degree.

Let’s Combine it all

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1 - Sketches on Bodies

Once you have a body created, you can make a new sketch on any face of a body. You can select any flat face to open a sketch on.

2 - Sketches on Bodies

Now you can combine what you’ve learnt to create a finished piece. Here I have created a sketch on my flanged face and extrude cut the holes out of the face.

3 - Sketches on Bodies

Voila! A finished product!

THe End

Look at how much you’ve grown

Notes

There are an insane amount of resources available for Fusion 360, including Autodesk’s own documentation. I high recommend that if you have any free time you go and look for those resources.

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Practice at home! The best way you can improve is by doing and that is you you are going to get the best lessons.

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Fin :)