Fusion 360 | Step by Step: CAD Design, FEM Simulation & CAM for Beginners.
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About this ebook
Fusion 360 Step by Step, the book for everyone who wants to learn CAD design, FEM simulation, animation, rendering and manufacturing of parts and assemblies from an engineer (M.Eng.) with ease. And all this, with a FREE (only for private users) professional software and by means of amazing hands-on examples and design projects (e.g. 4-cylinder-engine).
This book is the all-in-one for beginners!
Are you interested in CAD design, in creating three-dimensional objects for 3D printing or other applications (model making, prototypes, design elements,...)? Are you looking for a practical and compact beginner course for Fusion 360 from Autodesk?
Then this Fusion 360 basics book has got you covered! In this comprehensive beginner's course you will learn all the basics you need to use Fusion 360 in detail and step by step. Take a look inside the book right now and get your copy of this handy CAD, CAM, & FEM tutorial as an ebook or paperback!
Numerous illustrations (more than 200 full-color images) enhance the book's explanations, creating a clear and easy introduction to design, simulation, and manufacturing.
Fusion 360 combines and links several engineering disciplines such as CAD ("Computer Aided Design"), CAM ("Computer Aided Manufacturing") and FEM ("Finite Element Method"), summarized: CAE ("Computer Aided Engineering") in one software. With Fusion 360 you can not only design parts, but also perform simulations and animations, as well as create programming for a CNC machine. The main focus of this book is on design with Fusion 360, i.e. the CAD design section of the software. However, the other features of Fusion 360 will not be neglected and will of course be covered in detail, so don't worry!
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE RIGHT NOW
START LEARNING CAD DESIGN, FEM SIMULATION & CAM with FUSION 360
M.Eng. Johannes Wild
(Runterscrollen für Deutsch) English : Johannes Wild is an engineer (B.Sc. & M.Eng.) and non-fiction author. The author is in his early 30s and lives in a small town in Germany. He also completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in Germany. Johannes Wild has a strong interest in modern technology, especially computer-aided design and simulation (CAD, CAM, FEM), as well as electrical engineering & electronics, programming, and 3D printing, both through his time at university and through his hobbies. Through his five years of regular study, he has been able to acquire a high level of knowledge in these areas. He uses this knowledge to create books and learning materials on many technical topics with a lot of passion and commitment. In this way, the author wants to reach people of all ages and backgrounds to share technical knowledge in a compact, and especially understandable and descriptive way. Many of his books have been translated into several languages. Deutsch: Johannes Wild ist Ingenieur (B.Sc. & M.Eng.) und Sachbuchautor. Der Autor ist Anfang 30 und lebt in einer Kleinstadt in Deutschland. Sein Bachelor und Masterstudium hat er ebenfalls in Deutschland absolviert. Johannes Wild hat sowohl durch seine Studienzeit, als auch durch seine Hobbys ein starkes Interesse an moderner Technologie, insbesondere an computergestützter Konstruktion und Simulation (CAD, CAM, FEM), sowie Elektrotechnik & Elektronik, Programmierung und dem 3D-Druck. Durch seine fünfjährige Regelstudienzeit hat er sich in diesen Bereichen ein hohes Wissensspektrum aneignen können. Er nutzt dieses Wissen, um mit viel Leidenschaft und Engagement, Bücher und Lernmaterialien zu vielen technischen Themenbereichen zu erstellen. Auf diese Weise möchte der Autor Menschen aller Altersklassen und Herkunft erreichen, um technisches Wissen auf eine kompakte, und vor allem verständliche und anschauliche Weise zu vermitteln. Viele seiner Bücher wurden bereits in
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Fusion 360 | Step by Step - M.Eng. Johannes Wild
1 Introduction: Scope and Software
1.1 What to expect and what you will learn in this course
Hi there and welcome to the Fusion 360 course for beginners and intermediates!
In this course, you will find an introduction to the basics of the multifunctional program Fusion 360 from Autodesk and will learn in particular CAD design, animation, simulation, and manufacturing of components and much more in detail. I will share with you my knowledge as an engineer from study and professional practice, so that you will get an optimal learning experience with theoretical basics on the one hand, and practical examples on the other hand. Therefore, after a theoretical introduction, this course includes many practical design examples to make the learning process as easy and efficient as possible for you.
And with Fusion 360 from Autodesk, as with other CAD programs, you can not only design. Rather, this program combines and integrates several engineering disciplines such as CAD (Computer-Aided Design
), CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing
) and FEM (Finite Element Method
), summarized as CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering
), in one platform. Thus, Fusion 360 can be used not only to create parts or assemblies, but also to perform simulations and animations, as well as to create programming for a CNC machine. The main focus of this course is on how to design with Fusion 360, i.e., the CAD part of the program. However, the other features of Fusion 360 will not be neglected, so don't worry!
As mentioned earlier, the abbreviation CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design
. CAD software is used to create or edit three-dimensional objects. Starting with simple individual parts, to complex parts, up to entire assemblies that can be virtually assembled.
In this course, especially designed for beginners, you'll learn how the environment of Fusion 360 is structured and how to make the most of each feature for creating three-dimensional objects. You'll be able to follow each design, animation, and simulation project step-by-step and one-by-one, to get an easy start and become more familiar with the program's multiple functions with each project.
If you are also interested in 3D printing, you can even materialize the objects afterwards by simply printing them out. Take a look at my book 3D Printing 101 for this.
In short, this course will teach you the following in detail:
- quickly and confidently finding your way in Fusion 360
- mastering all important functions of Fusion 360 quickly and with confidence
- learning the basics of CAD and the different ways of working
- creating 2D sketches and 3D objects in Fusion's Design area
- creating parts and assemblies in Fusion's Design area
- Rendering and animating parts and assemblies
- simulating single parts and assemblies, i.e., apply loads and display stresses and strains (FEM simulations)
- learn about the computer-aided manufacturing process in Fusion 360 (CAM) and prepare a simple part for milling operations
- get to know the drawing environment in Fusion 360 and create engineering drawings, also using a practical example
It is best to stay in the order that the course provides, as the lessons build on each other. If you do not understand functions or commands right away or miss the explanation for a function, just stay tuned. The course is structured in such a way that all important and basic functions are sufficiently explained. However, sometimes this is done in another chapter to make the course as clear and practical as possible and to be able to convey a very intuitive approach to Fusion 360 as well as to design itself.
1.2 Fusion 360 and software download
Fusion 360 from Autodesk offers a clear and simple user interface and is also available free of charge for non-commercial/hobby users as a so-called personal license! This version has a somewhat limited range of functions, but is perfectly adequate for private and hobby users. For all users who want to use Fusion 360 commercially, there is a paid full version, starting at currently $60 per month.
After creating a user account with Autodesk, you can choose one of the two versions after comparing the range of functions. But as I said, if you are a private or hobby user, you can definitely choose the free version! Here you have to cut back in the area of Generative Design
and Simulation
because for the use of these two functions you need a paid license, but for hobby and private users these functions are often not necessary at all. You will learn later what you can do with these two functions. However, as a home user, you can also just start with the free version and still upgrade later if you need to. You can download Fusion 360 online (after creating an account) at:
https://www.autodesk.de/products/fusion-360/free-trial
The structure of the design features is relatively identical for all common CAD programs used by engineers and technicians in their daily work. Mostly other professional CAD program licenses like SolidWorks, CATIA, SolidEdge or AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor are used, which cost one to several thousand dollars and are therefore usually only worthwhile for professional users and freelancers. With these programs, however, you can at least typically download a trial version for 30 days or even more. As a student, you could get a free student license for the duration of your studies.
And now let's get started! Before we get to the basics of CAD, we will make general program settings and familiarize ourselves with the program interface and functions.
2 Preparation: Getting started with Fusion 360
2.1 General Settings
When we first start the program, we are asked to create or join a team. This is necessary and useful because Fusion 360 is excellent for working on files and projects across users. Click on Create Team
or join a team you belong to. When you create a new team, you can assign any name for the team. Optionally, you can then invite people to join the team to work together on projects, if you want to.
Figure 1: After the first start of the program, a team must be created
We then enter the Fusion 360 program environment.
Let's first check a few general program settings to create a same starting situation. To achieve this, click on your user account icon in the upper-right corner and then select Preferences
.
Figure 2: Open the general program settings Preferences
A window for the general settings opens.
Figure 3: General settings in the General
section
In the General
section, you can set the program language. We, of course, stay in English. First, check whether z up
is selected in the Default modeling orientation
field and whether Fusion 360
is selected in the Pan, Zoom, Orbit Shortcuts
field.
Figure 4: General settings in the General
Design
section
In addition, we want to make sure that Capture Design History (Parametric Modeling)
is selected in the Design
section. Other important settings can be found under Default units
. Here you can set the default units for each part of the software. In our case, we would like to use the metric system, so we check that in Design
, Electronics
, Manufacture
and Simulation and Generative Design
the unit mm
is selected in each case. All other settings are optional, and can be changed to your liking. If you wish, simply click your way through the individual sections. Otherwise, we accept the set values and quit the settings. In the next chapter, we will take a first look at the program environment and functions of Fusion 360.
2.2 Program Environment and Functions
Let's first take a look at the program environment and the menu bars, which are located in the upper and side areas.
At the top left, there is the option to show and hide the Data Panel
, which opens on the left side. In this Data Panel
all projects for the respective team can be managed, as well as libraries and examples can be called up. In the bar at the top, basic functions and notifications can also be accessed. The Job Status
shows whether you are currently working online in the cloud or offline, i.e., whether the files you are working on are synchronized with your team, if you have one, or not.
Figure 5: Execution of basic commands in the bar at the top
With the highlighted selection tab of the main menu bar, it is possible to switch between the individual sub-functions of Fusion 360.
Figure 6: The choice between the individual sections of Fusion 360
In this first section, we will deal with the Design
sub-function, i.e., CAD.
There are five different menu tabs in the Design section. Solid
, Surface
, Mesh
, Sheet metal
and Tools
. Apart from Tools
, these menu tabs have an identical structure. They contain the sections Create
, Modify
, Assemble
, Construct
, Inspect
, Insert
and Select
, respectively.
Figure 7: The different tabs in the Design section
Depending on what you want to design, you have to choose one of the three