Autodesk Fusion 360

Autodesk Fusion 360 training

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 Autodesk Fusion 360 training

Inhoud
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 4
1. Main User Interface ........................................................................................................................... 5
2. Data Panel Interface........................................................................................................................... 7
3. View Navigation ................................................................................................................................. 8
4. Workspaces ...................................................................................................................................... 10
5. Design History .................................................................................................................................. 12
6. Autodesk A360 ................................................................................................................................. 13
7. Hot Keys ........................................................................................................................................... 15
Sketching ...................................................................................................................................................... 16
8. Create Sketch ................................................................................................................................... 17
9. Base Sketch ...................................................................................................................................... 22
Sculpting ....................................................................................................................................................... 30
10. Create a T-Spline Primitive Form ................................................................................................. 32
11. T-Spline Form Creation – Revolve ................................................................................................ 33
12. T-Spline Form Creation – Sweep .................................................................................................. 35
13. T-Spline Form Creation – Loft ...................................................................................................... 39
14. Modify a T-Spline Form ................................................................................................................ 41
15. Add Details to a T-Spline Form..................................................................................................... 48
16. Delete T-Spline Edge .................................................................................................................... 50
17. Create a T-Spline Form from a Reference Image ......................................................................... 51
Solid Modeling ............................................................................................................................................. 59
18. Create solid body ......................................................................................................................... 61
19. Remove geometry for a slot ........................................................................................................ 66
20. Model from a Sculpted body ....................................................................................................... 68
Manage and Collaborate .............................................................................................................................. 87
21. Create and Manage Fusion 360 Group Projects .......................................................................... 88
22. Create new versions..................................................................................................................... 92
23. Add a user to your project ........................................................................................................... 93
24. Create a referenced document .................................................................................................... 95

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25. Access data in a web browser ...................................................................................................... 97

26. Insert designs into other designs ............................................................................................... 109
27. Share designs ............................................................................................................................. 113
Assembly Design ........................................................................................................................................ 116
28. Move and Align .......................................................................................................................... 121
29. Create a Rigid Group .................................................................................................................. 122
30. Joints .......................................................................................................................................... 124
31. As-built Joints ............................................................................................................................. 128
32. Contact Sets ............................................................................................................................... 132
33. Motion Study ............................................................................................................................. 134
Top-down Design Methodology................................................................................................................. 136
34. Using existing geometry to drive sketch curves ........................................................................ 136
35. Extrude the sketch and interface with other parts .................................................................... 140
Rendering ................................................................................................................................................... 142
36. Open Fusion360 file and go to Render Workspace ................................................................... 143
37. Apply Materials .......................................................................................................................... 144
38. Editing Materials ........................................................................................................................ 148
39. Apply A Decal ............................................................................................................................. 156
40. Environment Settings ................................................................................................................. 157
41. Rendering ................................................................................................................................... 161
Drawings..................................................................................................................................................... 168
42. Create a Drawing........................................................................................................................ 169
43. Finish the layout:........................................................................................................................ 172
44. Edit the layout views .................................................................................................................. 177
45. Text and Annotations ................................................................................................................. 179
46. Text and Leader Notes: .............................................................................................................. 180
47. Dimensions................................................................................................................................. 182
48. Drawing Settings & Preferences ................................................................................................ 186
49. Output the Drawing ................................................................................................................... 189
Notes .......................................................................................................................................................... 191

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Introduction
Overview

Fusion 360 is a cloud-based CAD/CAM tool for collaborative product development. The tools in Fusion
enable exploration and iteration on product ideas and collaboration within a product development
team.

Fusion 360 enables fast and easy exploration of design ideas with an integrated concept to production
toolset. Fusion lets you focus on the form, function, and fabrication of your products. Use the sculpting
tools to explore form and modeling tools to create finishing features. These tools let you quickly iterate
on design ideas. Once you have settled on a design, you can create assemblies to validate fit and motion
in your design or create photo-realistic renderings to verify the appearance. Finally, you need to
fabricate your design. Use the 3D print workflows to create a rapid prototype or the CAM workspace to
create toolpaths to machine your components.

Fusion 360 also helps bring design teams together for collaborative product development. All your
designs are stored in the cloud, which means you and your team always access the latest data. Fusion
also tracks versions of your design as you work. You can use Autodesk A360 to view each version in your
web browser and promote an old version to the current version. Finally, use Fusion and A360 to share
your designs and track design activity. You can even provide controlled access to your designs without
requiring an Autodesk ID.

Fusion 360 uses a hybrid environment that harnesses the power of the cloud when necessary and uses
local resources when it makes sense and cloud resources. For example, your design data is store on the
cloud and renders amazing images every time you save a new version of your design. This happens in
parallel while you are creating and editing designs local on your machine. This allows you to harness the
power of your computer and the power of the cloud at the same time.

Throughout this course, you explore these areas of Fusion 360. This course will get you started designing
with Fusion and help you understand how it can improve your design processes.

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1. Main User Interface

1. Application bar:

• Data Panel: Display or hide the data panel on the left of the
interface.

• File: Access file operations such as New Design, Save, Export, and
3D Print.

• Save: Save an untitled design or save the changes to a design as

a new version.

• Undo/redo: Undo or redo operations.

2. Toolbar: Access commands in the toolbar.

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3. Profile and help:

• Profile name: Access preferences and your Autodesk profile.

• Help: Access help, forums, and tutorials, what’s new, and

feedback.
4. ViewCube: Orbit the view and access orthographic and isometric views.

5. Browser: Lists objects in the design.

6. Marking menu: Another method to access commands. Right-click to display the marking menu.
7. Timeline: List the operations performed on a design if parametric modeling is active.
8. Navigation bar and display settings: The navigation bar contains commands to navigate the
view. The display settings control the display of the design in the canvas.

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2. Data Panel Interface

1. Project switcher: Select the active project.

2. Project tools

• Project Members: Invite members to the active project.

• Project details: Opens the active project in Autodesk A360 in your default
internet browser.

• Search: Search the active project or all projects you have access to.
3. Data tools

• Upload: Upload files to Autodesk A360. Many CAD data types are supported
as well as standard files such as documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

• Data view: Select how data is displayed in the data panel.

• Refresh: Refreshes data from Autodesk A360.

4. Thumbnails: Right-click a thumbnail to access commands for that specific design.

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3. View Navigation
Commands

Use ViewCube to orbit the design in the canvas. Drag the ViewCube to perform a free orbit. Click faces
and corners of the ViewCube to access standard orthographic and isometric views.

Use the commands in the Navigation bar to pan, zoom, and orbit the canvas. The menus on the right end
control Display Settings and Layout Grid options.

Mouse

Scroll the middle mouse wheel to zoom in or zoom out.

SCROLL

Click and hold the middle mouse button to pan the view.

HOLD

Hold the SHIFT key and click and hold middle mouse button to orbit
SHIFT the view.
KEY +

Mac Trackpad

2 finger pinch to zoom out.

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2 finger spread to zoom in

2 finger swipe to pan the view.

Hold SHIFT and 2 finger swipe to orbit the view.

SHIFT +

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4. Workspaces
Fusion 360 uses workspaces control the commands that are available and the type of data that is
created. There are multiple workspaces available depending on the work you plan to perform.

• Sculpt: create organic shapes by manipulating faces, edges, and vertices.

• Model: create solids with hard edges and flat faces.
• Patch: create open surfaces to stitch into solid bodies.
• Render: set up the environment and create photo-realistic renderings.
• CAM: create and simulate tool-paths then generate g code for subtractive manufacturing.
• Drawing: generate 2D manufacturing drawings.

You also have a drawing workspace for documentation, render workspace for creating photo-realistic
renders, CAM workspace for creating toolpaths.

It’s obvious when to use some workspaces. If you need a 2D manufacturing drawing, you use the
drawing workspace. What about model and sculpt? They are both used to create 3D designs so how do
you choose to use one over the other?

Use model to create designs with hard edges and flat faces. Model creates bodies requiring exact sizes
and edges. Entering exact values is not required but is typical.

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Use the sculpt workspace to create bodies with organic shapes. Sculpt bodies are highly curved and the
shape is more critical than exact size.

Very frequently, your designs will require that you work in both sculpt and model workspaces, back and
forth. You might even throw patch in there to stitch surfaces together into a solid. You can work entirely
in sculpt, entirely in model, or you can combine the two. You can combine sculpt and model to create
the shape required as well as precise manufacturing features. Create the organic shape in sculpt then
use model for manufacturing features afterwards.

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5. Design History
Fusion 360 can work with or without recording design history. Design history refers to the operations
you perform on the design to create and modify geometry. Operations are recoded in the timeline at the
bottom of the interface.

When using parametric modeling, the design history is captured in the timeline at the bottom of the
interface. Operations are captured in the order they are performed in. History is captured for commands
in the Model and Patch workspaces. You edit the operations in the timeline to make changes to your
design.

When using direct modeling, design history is not captured. The same commands are used from the
toolbar but there is no timeline. You use commands like Press Pull or Move to move faces and change
your design.

So, why use one over the other? Using history allows you to make precise predictable edits to one or
many components and allow the model to rebuild reliably. History is also useful if you plan to go switch
between the model and sculpt workspaces. This allows you to create your outer shape, then create
model operations (shell, split, hole, etc.) then go back and change your shape. If history is enabled, the
model operations will recalculate to fit the new shape.

With direct modeling (history is off), you change geometry by moving faces. There are no operations to
edit and therefore, no relationships between features in the design. Direct modeling works well for
quick concept design or when working the imported data.

You can control the default behavior for new designs using preferences or you can turn design history
on/off in the browser after a model is created.

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6. Autodesk A360
Fusion 360 uses Autodesk A360 to manage data and collaborate with teams. When you access your
designs in Fusion, you are actually using A360 under the hood. You can also access your data in a web
browser using A360. A360 provides access and management of the versions of your designs. You can
also upload other supporting design documentation. A360 lets you manage who can access your design
data. All these tools within A360 make it easy to collaborate with team members.

Get Started: To get started with Fusion 360, we will log in, create a project, and save a design to the
project.
Step 2 – Log in to Fusion

1. Launch Fusion 360.

2. Use your Autodesk ID to log in to Fusion.

If you do not have an Autodesk ID, you can create

an account for free.

Step 3 – Open the Data Panel

1. Click to display the Data Panel.

2. The data panel slides open on the left.

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Step 4 – Create a new project

1. Click to go to Autodesk A360 in

your Internet browser.

2. Move the mouse over

then click to begin creating a

new project.
3. Enter Fusion Training in the Name field.
4. Enter email address in the Project
Contributors field to invite people to this
project.

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7. Hot Keys
Command Windows Mac
Undo Ctrl + Z Command + Z
Redo Ctrl + Y Command + Y
Copy Ctrl + C Command + C
Paste Ctrl + V Command + V
Cut Ctrl + X Command + X

Sculpt Workspace Selection Windows Mac

Grow selection Shift + Up arrow Shift + Up arrow
Shrink selection Shift + Down arrow Shift + Down arrow
Loop selection Alt + P Control + P
Loop grow selection Alt + O Control + O
Ring selection Alt + L Control + L
Ring grow selection Alt + K Control + K
Ring shrink selection Alt + J Control + J
Previous U Alt + Left arrow Control + Command + Left arrow
Next U Alt + Right arrow Control + Command + Right
arrow
Previous V Alt + Down arrow Control + Command + Down
arrow
Next V Alt + Up arrow Control + Command + Up arrow
Range selection Alt + M Command + M
Invert selection Alt + N Command + N
Toggle box mode Ctrl + 1 Ctrl + 1
Toggle control frame mode Ctrl + 2 Ctrl + 2
Toggle smooth mode Ctrl + 3 Ctrl + 3
Select edge ring Double-click an edge Double-click an edge
Select face ring Select two faces then doubleclick Select two faces then doubleclick
a third face a third face

Edit Form Command Windows Mac

Add geometry Alt + Drag Option + Drag
Add geometry and keep creases Alt + Ctrl + Drag Option + Command + Drag

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Sketching
Overview

Many features that you create in Fusion 360 start with a 2D sketch. In order to create intelligent and
predictable designs, a good understanding of how to create sketches and how to apply dimensions and
geometric constraints. Fusion does support 3D sketches although, in this module we will cover basic
sketching tools to create and edit a 2D sketch.

Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn how to:

• Create a 2D sketch
• Create geometry in a sketch
• Use constraints to position geometry
• Use dimensions to set the size of geometry

A Fusion design can contain multiples sketches. The sketch is an object that contains the geometry to
define profiles. Your sketches are listed in the browser. Sketches are also listed in the timeline in
parametric designs.

Sketches must be created on a plane. You can use the origin planes, construction planes, or a flat model
face to define a sketch.

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8. Create Sketch
In this exercise, you create a new Fusion design then create a new sketch in the design.
Step 1 – Create a new design

1. Launch Fusion 360.

2. Start a new design.

This creates a new design where you will create

geometry.

Step 2 – Create a new sketch

1. Select Sketch > Create Sketch.

Step 3 – Select the sketch plane

1. You are now prompted to select a “plane”

to sketch on.
2. Select the “Front” (XY) plane.

You can create sketches on one of the 3 default

planes, on a custom construction plane or on an
existing model face. More on this later.

Sketches contain vector data. They are made of lines, circles, arcs and other curves. They are not artistic
sketches or renderings.

There are many commands available to create and edit sketch geometry.

Basics: This exercise uses a few sketch commands to get you comfortable. We will delete the geometry
later.

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Step 1 – Create a circle

1. Select Sketch > Circle > Center Diameter

Circle.
2. Select anywhere in the screen to define
the center point.
3. Move the mouse out until you have a size
you like.
4. Click again to complete the command.

Sketches usually consist of many types of

“primitive” geometry added together.

Step 2 – Create a rectangle

1. Select Sketch > Rectangle > 2-Point

Rectangle.
2. Select anywhere in the screen to start the
rectangle.
3. Move the mouse out until you have the
size you want.
4. Click again to complete the command.

There are different ways to create circles and

rectangles. Experiment with some of the other
options in the menu. See more here:
Step 3 – Create a slot

1. Select Sketch > Slot > Center to Center

Slot.
2. Select anywhere in the screen to start the
slot.
3. Move out until you have a length you like
then click to establish the slot length.
4. Now move out to define the width of the
slot.
5. Click again to complete the command.

You will notice the various symbols that are being

created on the geometry. These are “constraints.”
They control the relationships between the entities
in the sketch.

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Step 4 – Constrain the slot

1. Select Sketch > Constraints.

2. Select one of the straight lines in the slot.
3. Select Horizontal/Vertical.

The Horizontal/Vertical constraint sets the

geometry to whichever is closer: horizontal or
vertical.

By adding a horizontal relationship to the slot we

have “fixed” its movement. Try dragging on some
of the points to see the behavior.
Step 5 – Dimension the width of the slot

1. Select Sketch > Sketch Dimension.

2. Select one of the horizontals lines.
3. Move the cursor out and click to place the
dimension.
4. Enter a value for the dimension.

Typically we place dimensions after placing

geometry.
This dimension now controls the length of the slot.
You can double click it to change the value.

Step 6 – Dimension the radius of the slot

1. Now select the right arc (the dimension

command should still be active).
2. Place the dimension.
3. Press Esc to end the command.

Notice that you cannot place a second dimension on

the left arc. This is because it would conflict with the
other constraints we have created.

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Step 7 – Sketch a profile

1. Select Sketch > Line.

2. Draw the following shape by clicking in this
order.
3. Make sure on the last line you “connect” it to
the start point.

If you finish it correctly you will see that the shape is

shaded in. Notice that some constraints were
created for you if you picked it right.
Step 8 – Constrain the profile

1. Select Sketch > Constraints.

2. Select these two lines.
3. Select Perpendicular.

Feel free to experiment with other constraints

between the lines.
Step 9 – Constrain the profile

1. Select Sketch > Constraints.

2. Select these two lines.
3. Select Equal.

You see how you can create more intelligence in the

models with relationships

Step 10 – Dimension the profile

1. Select Sketch > Sketch Dimension.

2. Place a dimension on the vertical line.
3. Enter 100 mm for the value and note the
name of the dimension, d3 in this case.
4. Place a dimension on the top horizontal line.
5. Enter d3 + 50 for the value.
6. Now change the value of the vertical
dimension and see the horizontal update.

There is another method to make relationships. To

modify these relationships you can go to:
Modify > Change Parameters

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Step 11 – Delete the sketch profiles

1. Zoom out to see everything.

2. Select everything in the sketch by dragging a
selection box.
3. Press Delete.

You should now have an empty sketch to start the

next part of the lesson.

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Overview

Many features that you create in Fusion 360 start with a 2D sketch. In order to create intelligent and
predictable designs, a good understanding of how to create sketches and how to apply dimensions and
geometric constraints. Fusion does support 3D sketches although, in this module we will help you to
nurture sketching tools to create and edit a 2D sketch.

9. Base Sketch
Now we will begin to create some real sketch geometry that will be used to create 3D geometry.

Step 1 – Sketch a circle

1. Select Sketch > Circle > Center Diameter

Circle.
2. Select the origin (center point of the grid).
3. Drag out a circle about 30 mm in
Diameter. We will add the specific size
later.

Step 2 – Sketch another circle

1. Select Sketch > Circle > Center Diameter

Circle.
2. Create another circle in roughly this
position.

Don’t worry about a specific size or position now

we will fix that later.

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Step 3 – Create lines

1. Select Sketch > Line.

2. Click on the left circle to start the line.
3. Hold Shift then click again where shown to
make the first line. Holding shift locks the
line tangent to the circle.
4. Click once more on the right circle at the
position where the line is tangent to the
circle.
5. Press Esc to end the command.
Step 4 – Fillet the lines

1. Select Sketch > Fillet.

2. Select the intersection of the two lines.
3. Type 10 mm into the input box.
4. Press Enter.

When you create a fillet “tangent” relations are

added to the sketch.

Step 5 – Complete the profile

1. Select Sketch > Line.

2. Select the left circle (2) as shown.
3. Hold Shift then click near the number (3)
as shown.
4. Hold down the left button on the end
point of the line and drag to create an arc.
5. Click (5).
6. Click on the right circle (6).

If you make a mistake just feel free to delete the

lines and try again.

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Relationships: Now we will see how to create dimensions and constraints for our sketch.
Step 1 – Display the Constraints dialog box

1. Select Sketch > Constraints.

This brings up the dialog box where you can create

relationships between sketch entities. Constraints
will determine how your sketch behaves. Once a
relationship like tangent or perpendicular is
applied then it is persistent as you continue to
modify the sketch.

Step 2 – Add tangent constraints

1. Select the Tangent constraint.

2. Apply tangent constraints at the locations
shown if they do not already exist.
3. Make sure you have 8 tangent symbols on
your sketch.

You may have noticed that there are already some

of these created as you were sketching. Many
commands in Fusion 360 allow you to create
relationships “on-the-fly.” As you become more
familiar with the tool this will make more sense.

Step 3 – Dimension the circle

1. Close the constraints dialog box.

2. Select Sketch > Sketch Dimension.
3. Select the left circle.
4. Click again to place the dimension.
5. Change the value to 31mm.
6. Press Enter.
This is how we size our sketch. It is very common
to draw things out in rough position then go back
and add sizing information. Later we will show
how to add this at creation.

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Step 4 – Dimension the profile

1. Repeat the process for the right circle and

two arcs.
2. Change the values to match those shown
here.

Once you have started the dimension command it

stays active. You do not have to go to the menu
each time to activate it.

Step 5 – Add more dimensions

1. Make sure the dimension command is still

active.
2. Select the center point of the left circle.
3. Select the center point of the lower arc.
4. Place the dimension to the left center of
the two points.
5. Don’t change the value yet (Don’t worry if
your value is different).

Depending on where you place the dimension you

get different results. You can make horizontal,
vertical and shortest distance dimensions by
where you drag the dimension when you are
placing it. Once the dimension is placed you can’t
change it. If you make a mistake delete the
dimension and start again.

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Step 6 – Add more dimensions

1. Select the center point of the left circle.

2. Select the center point of the lower arc.
3. This time place the dimension to the lower
center position to create a horizontal
dimension.
4. Place the dimension but don’t edit the
values.

Sometimes it is better to place your dimensions

first before changing the values. When some
geometry doesn’t have any relationships yet it can
behave in unexpected ways.

Step 7 – Add more dimensions

1. Repeat the process for the upper arc and

the left circle.
2. Create two dimensions between the left
circle and the center point of the right
circle.

Your sketch should look like this although you will

have different values for the dimensions. We will
change the values in the next step.

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Step 8 – Set the dimension values

1. Double click a dimension to change its

value.
2. Change the values of the dimensions to
match those shown.
3. Follow the order of the numbered
balloons for the best results.

What is happening under the hood is the software

is “solving” all the relationships at once. It is
possible that you will try to enter a dimension that
conflicts with the other values. As you become
more familiar with the behavior you will get a
sense of the best order to makes changes for the
desired result.

The end result of a sketch is often to create a 3D feature. Fusion automatically discovers closed profiles
that can be used in 3D features.

Creating Geometry: Next we will use this sketch to create 3D geometry.

Step 1 – Leave the sketch environment

1. Select Stop Sketch.

This completes the sketch. If you need to edit the

sketch again you can select it from the sketch
folder in the browser on the left of your screen.

You can also rename it from there.

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Step 2 – Create 3D geometry

1. Select Modify > Press Pull.

2. Select the three profiles of the sketch so
that the entire area is highlighted.
3. Enter a value of 48.25 mm.
4. Press OK.

You have now created a base 3D extrusion

Creating Sketch References: Here will use the geometry we just created to make more sketches.

Step 1 – Create a new sketch

1. Select Sketch > Create Sketch.

2. Select this face of the geometry.

Previously we sketched on an origin plane. Now

we are sketching directly on the model geometry.

Step 2 – Create a circle

1. Select Sketch > Circle > Center Diameter.

2. Select the center point of the right circle.
3. Drag the circle then type the value 10 mm.
4. Press Enter twice.
5. You can move the dimension out if you
want as well.

This circle is now “locked” to the center of the

original boss feature

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Step 3 – Create additional circles

1. Repeat the process for two more circles.

2. Make sure to attach the center to the center
of the lower arc and the left circle.
3. Use a diameter of 8 mm for both circles.
4. Select Stop Sketch.
This circle is now “locked” to the center of the
original boss feature.

Step 4 – Cut holes in the body

1. Select Modify > Press Pull.

2. Select the three circles.
3. Select: Cut, All, and Flip Direction.
4. Select OK.
You created a cut in the geometry that references
the position of the base arcs.
Launch Video

Challenge: Congratulations you have finished the model! If you want to challenge yourself try to use the
techniques in here to finish the model. Otherwise you will learn a slightly different method of creating
this part in the modeling lesson.

What we’ve done so far Completed Rocker Arm Model

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Sculpting

Overview

Sculpting in Fusion 360 allows for the intuitive freeform creation of organic solid bodies and surfaces by
leveraging the T-Splines technology. In the Sculpt Workspace, you can rapidly explore forms by simply
pressing and pulling on subdivided surfaces. This “hands-on” approach to 3D modeling allows for fast
iteration and early stage conceptualization within Fusion 360. Sculpted forms are easily converted to
solid bodies, and can be used in conjunction with Fusion 360’s solid modeling commands.

Modeling with T-Splines is unlike any other subdivision-modeling tool. One of the main advantages of
TSplines is the ability to add detail only where necessary.

This may not sound like much, but this is one of the biggest challenges in most subdivision 3D modeling
tools. By only adding data in necessary locations, a single T-Spline surface can be incredibly smooth,
while still having areas of high detail and remaining easy to manipulate.

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Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn how to:

• Create a T-Spline form

• Modify a T-Spline form
• Add details to a T-Spline form
• Create a T-Spline form based on a reference image Creating T-Spline Forms

Open Fusion 360 design file and enter the Sculpt Workspace: In this section you open the introductory
design file and go to the Sculpt workspace to create T-Spline forms.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the

icon located at the top left of the menu
bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide open.

Step 2 – Open the design

In this module we will be using the

03_Sculpting_Introduction.f3d file to complete the
exercise. If you haven’t set up a new project and
uploaded the necessary designs, please follow the
steps in the Introduction module.

1. At the top left of the Data Panel, select the

project where you uploaded the
03_Sculpting_Introduction.f3d file.
2. Navigate to this design and either
doubleclick or right-click and select open.
3. When the design has opened in your
modeling window, click on the icon to
close the Data Panel.

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Step 3 – Go to the Sculpt workspace

1. Click Create > Create Form to enter the

Sculpt workspace.
2. A dialog box appears, telling you to click
Finish Form to return to the model
workspace whenever you’re finished
sculpting.
3. Click OK.

You will notice that the top ribbon will change to

include commands specific to sculpting.

10.Create a T-Spline Primitive Form

In this section you learn how to create the most basic T-Spline form: a Primitive.

Step 1 – Select the T-Spline primitive

1. Click the drop-down arrow under Create

to expand the list of creation commands.
2. You will see a list of T-Spline primitives:
Box, Plane, Cylinder, Sphere, Torus, and
Quadball.
3. Click on Box to create a T-Spline box.

Step 2 – Position the box

1. Click the bottom plane to place the

bottom of the box on this plane.
2. Click on the origin to specify the center
point of our box’s 2D profile.
3. Move your mouse and click again to
specify the size of the rectangle.

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Step 3 – Dimension the box

1. In the new dialog window set the length to

175mm, and the width to 150mm
respectively by entering these numbers.
2. Drag the arrow pointing up from the box,
and set the height equal to 75mm.

When setting the height, if it is changing at too

large of increments, simply zoom in to reduce the
size of each step.

Step 4 – Subdivide the box

1. In the dialog window set the length faces

equal to 3.
2. Drag the set of arrows pointing up in the
positive direction to increase the number
of width faces, and set it equal to 3.
3. Click OK to complete the primitive setup.

Step 5 – Finish form

1. The last step is to tell Fusion 360 that we

are – temporarily - finished sculpting our
first Form.
2. At the top right of the Ribbon, click Finish
Form.
3. You will return to the Model workspace.

With our first T-Spline primitive complete, it’s time

to learn more methods for creating T-Spline forms.

11.T-Spline Form Creation – Revolve

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In this section you learn how to create a T-spline form using the revolve command and a sketch. The
Revolve command creates a form by rotation 2D geometry about a fixed axis.

Step 1 – Hide the previous T-spline form

1. In the Browser, click the drop-down arrow

next to your Bodies folder
2. Click the light bulb next to Body1 to turn
off the visibility.
3. Click Create > Create Form.

We hide our T-Spline primitive in order to keep

things neat, but we’ll be returning to it later on.

Step 2 – View the revolve sketch

1. In the Browser, click the drop-down arrow

next to your Sketches folder.
2. Click the light bulb next to Revolve to turn
on the visibility of the Revolve sketch.

Step 3 – Start the Revolve Command

1. Click Create > Revolve

In addition to Revolve, you will see three more

sketch-based form creation commands: Extrude,
Sweep, and Loft.

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Step 4 – Select the profile and axis

1. Click on the sketch curve shown in the

workspace to specify the Profile.
2. Click no selection in the dialog window
next to Axis to enable selection.
3. Click on the Z-axis shown in Blue.

If you’d like Z to be “up,” this can be changed

under the preferences.

Step 5 – Explore the revolve details

1. In the Revolve dialog window, change the

Type from Full to Angle.
2. Enter 90 degrees for the angle.
3. Change the Direction from One Side to
Symmetric.
4. Click OK.

Step 6 – Finish form

1. Click Finish Form to complete this

Sculpting session.
2. You return to the Model workspace.
3. The bottom timeline populates with our
second T-Spline form!

12.T-Spline Form Creation – Sweep

In this section you learn how to create a T-spline form using the Sweep command and two sketches. The
Sweep command will create a form by moving a 2D profile on a particular path.

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Step 1 – Toggle visibility

1. Hide the previously created Body.

2. Hide the Revolve Sketch.
3. Show the sketches called Sweep Path and
Sweep Profile.

Use the light bulb icons to control the visibility of

objects.

Step 2 – Start the sweep command

1. Click Create > Create Form.

2. Click Create > Sweep.

Step 3 – Select the Profile and Path

1. Click the Square profile visible in the

workspace to specify the profile.
2. Click no selection next to Path to begin
selecting a path to sweep along.
3. Select the curve profile for the Path.

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Step 4 – Closer match the profile

1. To closer match our rounded-square

profile, we need to increase the number of
faces for the profile.
2. In the dialog window, set the number of
faces for the Profile equal to 24.

The greater number of faces, the closer the body

matches the path. You need to balance the
number of faces with the accuracy of the body.

Step 5 – Change the sweep orientation

1. In the dialog window, change the

Orientation from Perpendicular to Parallel.
2. Observe how the sweep behavior
drastically changes.
3. Change the Orientation back to
Perpendicular.

For a sweep, the optimal orientation is more often

than not Perpendicular.

Step 6 – Specify the sweep distance

1. Drag the arrow at the end of the Path to

alter the sweep distance. In addition to
using this arrow, we can set the distance in
the dialog window.
2. In the dialog window, set the distance
equal to 0.5.
3. The sweep now travels half the length of
our Path.
4. Click OK.

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Step 7 – Finish form

1. Click Finish Form to complete this

Sculpting session.
2. You return to the Model workspace.
3. The bottom timeline populates with our
third T-Spline form!

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13.T-Spline Form Creation – Loft

In this section you learn how to create a T-spline form using the Loft command and three sketches. As
you will see, the Loft command creates a transitional form between two profiles.

Step 1 – Toggle visibility

1. Hide the previously created Body.

2. Hide the two Sweep sketches.
3. Show the sketches called Loft Centerline,
Circle, and Triangle.

Step 2 – Start the Loft command

1. Click Create > Create Form.

2. Click Create > Loft.

Step 3 – Select the profiles

1. Click the Triangular profile in the canvas.

2. Click the Circular profile in the canvas.
3. A transitional shape between the triangle
and the circle is previewed.
This creates a form in a straight-line between our
two profiles. In the next step, we add an optional
centerline for more control.

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Step 4 – Specify the centerline

1. Click the centerline curve visible in the

canvas.
2. You receive an error because Fusion thinks
this is a third profile.
3. To specify this curve as a centerline select
Convert to Centerline under Swap in the
dialog window.

Step 5 – Closer match the profile

1. To closer match our triangular profile, we
need to increase the number of faces for
the profile.
2. In the dialog window, set the number of
faces for the Width equal to 16.
3. Click OK.

The greater number of faces, the closer the body

matches the profile.

Step 6 – Finish form

1. Click Finish Form to complete this

Sculpting session.
2. You return to the Model workspace.
3. The bottom timeline populates with our
fourth T-Spline form!

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14.Modify a T-Spline Form

Now that we learned different methods for creating T-Spline forms, the next step is to learn how to
modify them. Being that sculpting in Fusion 360 allows for freeform shape manipulation, it’s very rare
that a T-spline form does not require any editing. If it did not, then it might as well have been performed
in the Model or Patch workspaces. It’s important to create forms in the Sculpt workspace that you intend
to be organic.

Edit Form: In this section you learn how to modify a T-Spline body with the primary T-Spline modifying
command, Edit Form. We start by editing the first T-Spline primitive that we created, the Box.

Step 1 – Toggle visibility

1. Hide the previously created Body.

2. Hide any visible sketches.
3. Turn on the visibility of our primitive
TSpline Box – Body 1.

Step 2 – Edit form operation

1. In the parametric timeline, locate the 4

TSpline form icons.
2. Hover over the first icon and confirm that
the primitive Box becomes highlighted.
3. Right-click on this form icon in the timeline
and select Edit.
4. You roll back to that point in time and
enter the Sculpt workspace again.

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Step 3 – Start the Edit Form command

1. Click Modify > Edit Form. There are many

modifying commands in the Sculpt
workspace.

Alternatively, you can click the large Edit Form

icon that resides in the ribbon by default.

Step 4 – Select geometry to edit

1. The Edit Form command can directly

manipulate Faces, Edges, and Vertices.
2. Click on a top face located at one of the
corners of the box.
3. The manipulator displays on the face with
an assortment of tools.

Directly manipulating a face creates the greatest

changes in your form, while manipulating a single
vertex will result in smaller changes.

Step 5 – Single direction translation

1. Click and drag on the arrow pointing up to

translate the selected face up by 30 mm.
2. The surrounding faces move to maintain
continuity.

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Step 6 – Planar translation

1. Click and drag on one of the white boxes

to translate the selected face on a plane.
2. More surrounding faces move to maintain
continuity throughout the form.

Planar translation is incredibly useful, as you will

often want to move geometry in all directions but
one.

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Step 7 – More translation

1. Select a single edge.

2. Use any of the translate manipulators to
compare the effect.
3. Select a single vertex.
4. Translate this vertex to see how this
creates more subtle changes

In the following sections we cover the

manipulators: scale and rotate.

Edit Form – Rotate and Scale: In this section you learn how to modify T-Spline geometry using the rotate
and three scale manipulators.

Step 1 – Rotation

1. Make sure that at least one face is

selected.
2. Click and drag one of the circular arcs to
rotate the selected geometry about a
single axis.

Be careful not to rotate geometry too far, as

selfintersecting faces, or geometry that twists
through itself will not result in a watertight solid
body.

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Step 2 – Single direction scaling

1. Make sure that at least one face is

selected.
2. Click and drag one of the straight lines to
scale the selected face in one direction.
3. You will see that scaling in each axis will
have a significantly different effect.

Step 3 – Planar scaling

1. Make sure that at least one face is

selected.
2. Click and drag one of the small corner
manipulators to scale the selected face
along a plane – or in two directions.

Similar to planar translation, it is often very useful

to scale geometry in two directions.

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Step 4 – Universal scaling

1. Make sure that at least one face is

selected.
2. Click and drag the circular manipulator at
the center of the manipulator.
3. Dragging left or right will scale the
geometry in all directions up or down.

With the basics of editing a T-Spline form covered,

we move on to a very useful function of the Edit
Form command: Adding additional geometry.

Edit Form – Add Geometry: In this section you learn how to use the Edit Form command to add
geometry to your T-Spline form, rather than “stretching” it.

Step 2 – Box Mode

1. We will now turn on Box Mode, which

displays a simplified control cage of our
TSpline form.
2. On a Mac: hold control and press 1.
3. On a PC: hold alt and press 1.
4. The control frame for the T-Spline body is
displayed.

Box mode improves performance and can be

useful in finding problem areas.

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Step 3 – Add geometry in Box Mode

1. With Box mode enabled, hold

altoption/alt.
2. Translate outwards in a single direction
again.
3. You will see a similar effect as before, but
with slightly faster performance.

Step 4 – Return to Smooth Mode

1. To view how a T-Spline form truly looks,

we will return to Smooth Mode.
2. On a Mac: hold control and press 3.
3. On a PC: hold alt and press 3.

Step 5 – Finish form

1. We’ll temporarily finish editing our TSpline
form.
2. Click Finish Form in the Ribbon.
3. You will return to the model workspace.

That wraps up our introduction to editing a T-

Spline form! Next, we take a look at adding
additional detail to a T-Spline form by inserting
and deleting edges.

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15.Add Details to a T-Spline Form

T-Spline forms are flexible in the fact that edges can be inserted at particular locations, as well as
deleted. It is very common to add additional edges to a T-Spline form in the early design stages and
remove excess edges towards the end to ensure a very smooth form.

Insert T-Spline Edge: In this section you will learn how to insert an edge in a T-Spline form and how this
affects the shape.

Step 1 – Create a New T-Spline form

1. Enter the Sculpt workspace by clicking

Create > Create Form.
2. Create another Box primitive whose
length, width, and height are 100mm,
100mm, and 200mm.
3. Set the number of length, width, and
height faces equal to 4, 2, and 2.
4. Click OK.

Step 2 – Start the Insert Edge command

1. Click Modify > Insert Edge.

2. Double-click on one of the middle edges
to select the entire middle loop.

The input for the Insert Edge command tells

Fusion what reference edge you’d like to add.
Selecting a single edge adds one edge, while
selecting a loop adds a second loop.

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Step 3 – Adjust the insert location

1. Click and drag the manipulator to adjust

the position of the inserted edge.
2. The value between 0 and 1 can be thought
of as the percent between two adjacent
edges.
3. By hand, or with the text field, set the
Insert Location equal to 0.75.

Step 4 – Adjust the insert specifics

1. With the Insert Mode set to Simple, the

edge will be added, but the form will
change, and this is okay for this
application.
2. Change the Insert Side from Single to
Both.
3. Click OK.

Tip: If you want to add an edge, but maintain the

existing form, set the Insert Mode to Exact.

Step 5 – Explore the result

1. After the edges are inserted, the form will

certainly change. The top and bottom
edges become sharper due to the
additional edge.
2. Double click on the middle edge loop.
3. Start the Edit Form command.
4. Universal scale this edge loop inward
using the center manipulator.
5. Click OK.
As you can see, having additional edges allows for
more complex form creation. In the next section
we take a look at deleting an edge, and the effect
that has on the form.

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16.Delete T-Spline Edge

In this section you learn how to remove an edge in a T-Spline body and how this affects the shape.

Step 1 – Select an edge loop

1. Select the recently added upper edge loop

by double-clicking on one of its edges.
2. Click Modify > Delete.
3. Click Finish Form.

The form has again drastically changed, as there

now must be a smooth transition between the
middle and top loops.

There are many more commands for adding addition detail to a T-Spline form, but knowing how to insert
and delete edges is at the core of sculpting in Fusion 360.

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17.Create a T-Spline Form from a Reference Image

In this section you learn how to create a T-Spline form based on a calibrated reference image. With the
freeform capabilities that come along with sculpting Fusion 360, this is a very common workflow. Let’s
get started by creating with a blank slate by creating a New Design.

Design Setup – Attach Canvas: The first step is to learn how to attach a reference image to a particular
plane and calibrate it to ensure an accurate design.

Step 1 – Attach a canvas

1. Click Insert > Attached Canvas.

2. Select the YZ Plane (between the green
and blue axes) to set the Canvas’
orientation.
3. In the dialog window, click the Select
Image button and navigate to the

03_UtilityKnife.jpg file in the downloaded

.zip folder.

Step 2 – Setup the canvas

1. If necessary, rotate the canvas 90 degrees

to orient it properly
2. Lower the opacity to 85.
3. Check the box for Display Through to
ensure that the canvas can be seen
through your T-Spline form.
4. Click OK.

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Step 3 – Start the calibrate command

1. We need to calibrate our canvas to make

sure our utility knife fits in our palm, and
not on our fingertip!
2. In the Browser, click the drop-down arrow
next to the Canvases folder.
3. Right-click on UtilityKnife and select
Calibrate.

Step 4 – Calibrate the canvas

1. Click Right on the ViewCube to view the

utility knife from the side.
2. Click once at the front of the utility knife.
3. Click once at the back of the utility knife.
4. Enter the approximate length, 180 mm.
5. The canvas will scale up accordingly.

Create Primitive Form: With the canvas in place, the next step is to create a T-Spline primitive form on
the proper plane.

Step 1 – Start the box primitive

1. Click the Create > Create Form icon to

enter the Sculpt workspace.
2. Click Create > Box.
3. Select the same side plane (YZ) as the
canvas to specify the plane that the Box is
placed on.
4. Click once at the origin to specify the Box’s
center point
5. Move the mouse and click again to draw
its 2D profile.

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Step 2 – Specify the box primitive

1. Set the Box’s Length, Width, and Height

equal to 175, 35, and 25 mm, respectively.
2. Set the number of Length Face equal to 5,
and the width and height faces equal to 2.

Looking at the form of the utility knife, the

complexity is along the length of the knife, so we
set additional faces in that direction. We can
always add or remove these later on.

Step 3 – Add symmetry

1. In the dialog window, change the

Symmetry from None to Mirror.
2. Check the box for Height Symmetry.
3. A green line is displayed that indicates
where we have symmetry set up.
4. With no more symmetry to add to our
form, click OK.

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Edit the T-Spline Form: Our T-Spline primitive is now in place, but we need to edit its geometry to better
match our reference picture. In the following steps, we’ll edit our existing geometry to match the canvas
as best as we can. After that, we can add and subtract more edges to fine-tune our design.

Step 1 – Start the Edit Form command

1. Click Modify > Edit Form.

2. For simplicity, ensure you’re looking at the
form from the Right view. To set this, you
can click Right on the view cube.

Common to most workflows, we stick to modifying

our form from just one view, proceeding to 3D
manipulations as a final step.

Step 2 – Select a loop of faces

1. Select the middle loop of faces going down

the length of the utility knife with a
window selection (left-click and hold), as
shown in the picture.
2. Dragging left to right will select all the
geometry that is fully captured by the
window, while right to left will capture
everything that touches the window.

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Step 3 – Start modifying the form

1. Using the Planar Translation manipulator,

move the selected faces to align the top of
the T-spline body with the top of the utility
knife.
2. To align the bottom in this section, select
the bottom face and use the planar
translation and rotate manipulators.
3. Repeat the previous 2 steps for the rest of
the T-spline form. It will also be helpful to
use the single-direction scale manipulator
in some cases.
4. For more controlled editing, try modifying
individual edges.
Don’t worry if the finer details of the
contour are not matched, as we will
accomplish this in the next step by adding
and subtracting edges. Shoot for the
image on the right!

Add Additional Details – Insert Edge: Our T-Spline form is starting to resemble our reference image, but
there are without a doubt some details that we need to add! As the form is right now, there simply are
not enough edges available to capture all of the details that we would like. To combat this, you
implement the earlier-discussed method of inserting and deleting edges into a T-Spline form.

Step 1 – Insert additional edges

1. Hold Shift then select the edges shown.

2. Click Modify > Insert Edge.
3. Drag the direct manipulator to the right to
position the new edges at an Insert
Location around -0.5.
4. Click OK.
We’ll now repeat the previous steps to insert
another set of edges.

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Step 2 – Insert more edges

1. Holding Shift then select the edges shown.

2. Click Modify > Insert Edge.
3. Drag the direct manipulator to the right to
position the new edges at an Insert
Location around -0.5.
4. Click OK.

The form will change due to the additional edges.

In the next step we will edit our form to our liking.

Step 3 – Edit Form

1. Use the Edit Form command to

manipulate the recently inserted edges to
achieve the result shown on the right.
2. The planar translation manipulator will be
extremely useful.

As you can see, the reference image will help us

roughly capture the correct form, but the fine
details are entirely up to us.

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Add Additional Details – Insert Point: To insert the final two edges we need, we’ll actually learn a new
command, the Insert Point command. Slightly different from Insert Edge, the Insert Point command will
easily insert an edge by connecting two points together.

Step 1 – Start the Insert Point command

1. Click Modify > Insert Point.

2. Hover over the middle of the top edge
shown until a red circle appears – this
indicates the midpoint
3. Click and repeat for the edge directly
beneath, located along the line of
symmetry.

Step 2 – Insert Point details

1. Leave the Insert Mode set to Simple.

2. Click OK.

An Insert Mode of Simple will add the desired

edge, but the form will change slightly. An Insert
Mode of Exact will add the desired edge, as well as
additional edges to maintain the previous form. As

you can tell, this setting will be a trade-off

between maintaining form and reducing the
number of edges.

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Step 3 – Repeat Insert Point

1. Click the Modify > Insert Point.

2. Construct an additional edge as shown to
the right.
3. Leave the Insert Mode set to Simple.
4. Click OK.

Step 4 – Edit Form

1. Use the Edit Form command to

manipulate the recently inserted edges (as
well as the surrounding geometry) to
achieve the result shown on the right.
2. Click Finish Form.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your first

sculpting workflow in Fusion 360. Feel free to
sculpt the utility knife’s sides for even more detail.
With a more complex form, a similar workflow can
be utilized, but with multiple calibrated canvases.

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Solid Modeling

Overview

Modeling techniques in Fusion 360

Modeling in Fusion 360 is quite a different experience from how you would model in conventional
history-based CAD software. Some users have expressed that it is a different mindset, but once they get
it, it makes so much more sense to them. Modeling in Fusion 360 is essentially a series of workflows that
include a whole bunch of different commands, and when they’re used together, it makes the experience
faster, easier, and more intuitive. In many cases, bodies, sketches, and planes in Fusion 360 can be used
not only to help create additional geometry, but also help subtract geometry. In this module, you are
introduced to this mindset.

Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn how to:

• Create a new design in the model workspace

• Create bodies
• Modify your design
• Add features to a sculpted body

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Bicycle rocker arm

Before moving on, make sure you have uploaded 04_Model_from_sketch design to your A360 site. If
Open Fusion 360 design file: In this section you will open the introductory design file.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the
icon located at the top left of the menu
bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide open.

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Step 2 – Open the design

In this module we will be using the

04_Model_from_sketch.f3d file to complete the
exercise. If you haven’t set up a new project and
uploaded the necessary designs, please follow the
steps in the Introduction module.

1. At the top left of the Data Panel, select the

project where you uploaded the
04_Model_from_sketch.f3d file.
2. Navigate to this design and either
doubleclick or right-click and select open.
3. When the design has opened in your
modeling window, click on the icon to
close the Data Panel.

18.Create solid body

Let’s start with this sketch of the rocker arm. We’re going to use this to create a solid body.

Step 1 – Select profiles

1. Hold down Shift and select the profiles
shown in the image. Make sure that the 3
center holes are the only profiles not
selected.

Note: If you are having trouble selecting

certain profiles, zoom in closer and that
should make it easier to select.

Step 2 – Start the Extrude command

1. Click Create > Extrude.

We’re going to extrude the selected profiles.

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Step 3 – Set the extrude options

1. Set Direction to Two Side.
2. Set Extents to To.

Step 4 – Set the distance for the left side

1. Click once on the left arrow manipulator
2. Now hover over the line sketch on the left side
and click on the end point.

Note: Make sure you select the line sketch and not
the rectangle sketch. When you’ve done this, the
extrusion will automatically terminate at that
point, hence why we selected the Extents as To.
Step 5 – Set the distance for the right side
1. Repeat Step 4, but now for the right side.
2. Click OK to finish the extrusion.
You now should have the basic shape of the rocker
arm.

Note: Line sketches can be used for a variety of

different tasks, such as reference lines for other
tasks, as well as creating geometry.

Cut holes: In this section you use the sketch profiles to cut holes in the body.

Step 1 – Start the Extrude command

1. Go to the browser and click the light bulb
next to Sketches to turn the visibility on.
2. Go to the ViewCube and select the FRONT
view.
3. Click on the right-most circle sketch profile
so that it is selected.
4. Right-click and select the Extrude
command.

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Step 2 – Set the extrude options

1. Set Direction to Symmetric
2. Set Operation to Join
3. Set Extents to Distance
4. Use the arrow manipulator and drag the
arrow out to 20.00 mm.
5. Click OK to finish.

Step 3 – Start the Cylinder command

1. Click Create > Cylinder.

We’re going to use the Cylinder command to cut a

counter-bore for the hole on the far left.

Step 4 – Define the cylinder

1. Click the outer most surface to place your
cylinder.
2. Hover over the left circle sketch profile
until you see a small blue circle snap on
the center point of the circle sketch.
3. Click once and move the cursor outward
until you reach 24 mm.
4. Click one more time to set the diameter.
Note: You can also enter the value and
then hit Enter twice.
Step 5 – Set the cut distance
1. Use arrow manipulator and drag it inward
to – 10 mm.
2. Click OK to finish the cut.

Note: This naturally became a cut because the

software recognized that the cylinder body is
intersecting with an existing body, thus assumed
that you wanted a cut.

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Step 6 – Start the mirror command

Now let’s mirror this cut on the other side.
1. Click Create > Mirror.

Step 7 – Select the operation to mirror

1. Go to the timeline at the bottom and select
the cylinder operation we just created as
the feature to mirror.

Step 8 – Select the mirror plane

1. Go to the browser and click the light bulb
next to Origin to turn the visibility on.
2. In the dialog box, make sure Mirror Plane
is selected.
3. Select the plane that is in the middle of
the rocker body as the mirror plane.

Note: If you’re having trouble selecting the plane,

hover over it, click and hold the click. A dialog will
display and allow you to choose what you want to
select.
Notice that the other side has been successfully
mirrored to have the same counter bore hole.

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Step 9 – Start the Cylinder command

Now let’s punch a hole through the far right
circular cut.
1. Click Create > Cylinder.

Note: The Cylinder command is one of many

versatile tools where it can be used for a number
of tasks – new bodies as well as Boolean cuts.

Step 10 – Set the diameter of the cylinder

1. Place the cylinder at the center point of
the inner circle.
2. Click once to confirm the placement of the
cylinder.
3. Move the cursor outward until you reach
10 mm. Click once to confirm the size.

Note: You can also enter the value and then hit
Enter twice.
Step 11
1. Use the arrow manipulator and drag it
across to the other side. Don’t worry
about the depth of the cut, as long as it is
through the entire body.
2. Click OK to finish.

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19.Remove geometry for a slot

In this section you use a sketch to cut material from the body, creating a slot.

Step 1 – Start Extrude using Press Pull

1. We’re now going to use the rectangle
sketch to cut the arms out.
Select the rectangular sketch.
2. Right-click and select Press Pull.

Note: Press Pull is similar to Extrude, but it is

somewhat of a hybrid command, where it is aware
of what you want to Press Pull, and will turn into
the appropriate command for that task.
Step 2 – Set the extrude options
1. Set Operation to Cut.
2. Set Extents to All.
3. Click OK to finish the command.

This will use the rectangle sketch profile and cut

the rocker all the way through.

Fillet sharp edges: Now we finish off the design by adding fillets to round off sharp corners.

Step 1 – Start the Fillet command

We’re now going to add a couple fillets on the
inner edges of the rocker arm.
1. Hold the Shift key and select the two
edges shown in the image.
2. Right-click and select Fillet.

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Step 2 – Set the fillet radius

1. Use the arrow manipulator and drag it to
2.50 mm.
2. Click OK to finish.

Good job! We’ve successfully modeled the rocker

arm from a sketch. You’re now ready to move
onto the next part.

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20.Model from a Sculpted body

In this lesson we’re going to work on a sculpted utility knife handle. We’re going to look at how to create
mechanical features based on a sculpted body. We’ll be using tools that we used in the previous lesson,
as well as learn some new ones.

Before moving on, make sure you have the 04_model_from_sculpted_body design open and in your
design environment.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the

icon located at the top left of the menu
bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide open.

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Step 2 – Open the design

In this module we will be using the

04_model_from_sculpted_body.f3d file to
complete the exercise. If you haven’t set up a new
project and uploaded the necessary designs, please
follow the steps in the Introduction module.

1. At the top left of the Data Panel, select the

project where you uploaded the
04_Model_from_sculpted_body.f3d file.
2. Navigate to this design and either
doubleclick or right-click and select open.
3. When the design has opened in your
modeling window, click on the icon to
close the Data Panel.

Shell a sculpted body: In this section you hollow out a body using the shell command.

Step 1 – Start the Shell command

Let’s start by first shelling the body.

1. Click Modify > Shell.

Step 2 – Select the body

1. Go to the browser and locate the knife

body.
2. Click it once to select it as the body to
shell.

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Step 3 – Set the shell thickness

1. Instead of using the arrow manipulator, go

to the floating command dialog and
change the value to 2 mm.
2. Press Enter to finish the command.

Now that the body is shelled, we’re going to begin

creating features on the inside.

Step 4 – Create a section view

1. To see the inside, click Inspect > Section

Analysis.

Note: Section Analysis let’s you see a section of

the model based on a reference plane or surface.
It does not affect the geometry of the body.

Step 5 – Select the section plane

1. Go to the browser and turn on the Origin

planes.
2. Select the plane that is in the middle of the
knife body, parallel to the length of the
model. Click OK to confirm.

You should see half of the shelled model.

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Create a sketch: In this section you create a 2D sketch that will be used for web features.

Step 1 – Create a sketch

We’re now going to set up some web features.

1. Go to the RIGHT view on the ViewCube.

2. Click Sketch > Line.

Step 2 – Select the sketch plane

1. Choose the plane that is parallel to the

section view.

Step 3 – Turn on the visibility of sketches

1. Go to the browser and turn on Sketches.

You should see some profile sketches that
have been already created.

We’re going to use them as references for our line

sketch.

Step 4 – Pick the start point of the line

1. Hover over to the top of the blade profile

until your cursor snaps to a grid
intersection. Make sure that it is outside the
knife body.
2. Click once to place the start of your line.

If you’re having trouble snapping to the grid

intersection, zoom in and the grid will scale
accordingly.

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Step 5 – Pick the end point of the line

1. Stretch line across the knife body until it is

on the other side.
2. Click to place the end point of the line.
3. Press ESC key to end the command.

Step 6 – Repeat the line command

1. Right click and select Repeat Line to reuse

the Line command.

Step 7 – Pick the start point

1. Now repeat the same task at the bottom of

the blade sketch profile. Snap to a grid
intersection.
2. Click to place the starting point of the line.

Step 8 – Pick the end point

1. Extend the line across the knife body until

it reaches past the last circle sketch profile.
Snap to a grid intersection 2. Click to place
the end point of the line.
3. Press Esc to end the command.

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Step 9 – Repeat the line command

1. Right click and select Repeat Line to reuse

the Line command.

Step 10 – Pick the start point and end point

1. Draw a line that is perpendicular to the

first and second line, making sure that it
also extends past the knife body.
2. When you’re done placing the end point of
the 3rd line, press STOP SKETCH to end
sketching.

Create a web: In this section you create a strengthening web from a 2D sketch.

Step 1 – Start the Web command

We’re now ready to model the webs.

1. Click Create > Web.

Step 2 – Select the web profiles

1. Click on the 3 line sketches you just made so

that they are selected as the reference
lines for your web.

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Step 3 – Set the web thickness

1. Change the thickness value to 2 mm.

2. Press Enter to finish the command.

Create another web: In this section you create a web on the opposite side of the design.

Step 1 – Find the section analysis in the browser

Now that you’ve created webs for one side, you’ll

need to duplicate the task on the other. We’re
going to do this by editing the Section Analysis.

1. Go to the browser and expand the Analysis

folder.

Step 2 – Edit the section analysis

1. Right click on the analysis and select Edit.

Step 3 – De-select the section plane

1. In the dialog box, click the red X to deselect

previously selected plane.

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Step 4 – Select a new section plane

1. Rotate the model around to the Left side.

2. Select the left side of the middle plane.

Step 5 – Finish the edit

1. You should be seeing the other half without

the webs. Click OK to finish.

Step 6 – Display the web sketch

1. Go to the browser and turn on the sketch

for the web.

Step 7 – Create another web

1. Click Create > Web.

2. Select the 3 line sketches.
3. Before setting a thickness, click Flip
Direction in the dialog box so that the
webs will be going in the right direction.

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Step 8 – Set the web thickness

1. Set the thickness to 2 mm.

2. Click OK to finish.

You now have webs on both sides of the model.

Create a boss: In this section you create a boss on the web features.

Step 1 – Sketch a circle

We’re now going to create a boss hole right in the

middle of where the webs intersect.

1. Click Sketch > Circle> Center Diameter

Circle.

Step 2 – Select the sketch plane

1. Click on the plane where the web line

sketches were drawn
2. Hover the cursor at the intersection until
the cursor snaps to the center. Click to
place your circle there.

Step 3 – Finish the sketch

1. Enter a value of 8 mm as the diameter.

2. Press Enter to confirm.
3. Click STOP SKETCH to exit the Sketch
environment.

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Step 4 – Select the sketch profile

We’re now going to create a cylinder using the

circle sketch profile.

1. Select the entire circle profile. Hold the

Shift key to add onto each selection.

Step 5 – Start the Extrude command

1. Right click on the selected circle profile and

select Extrude.

Step 6 – Set extrude options

1. In the dialog box, set the Direction to

Symmetric.
2. Drag the arrow manipulator to a value of
19 mm.

Step 7 – Set extrude options

1. Change the Operation from Cut to New

Body.
2. Click OK to finish.

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Step 8 – Turn off the analysis

1. In the browser, click the light bulb next to

Analysis to turn off all analysis views.

You should now see a cylinder body protruding

from both sides of the knife body.

Step 9 – Start the hole command

We’re now going to create a counter-bore hole

through the cylinder.

1. Click Create > Hole.

Step 10 – Position the view to select the center

1. Rotate around the model so you see the

left side of the knife.
2. Hover over the surface of the cylinder
body until you see a center point appear.

Step 11 – Select the center and set the type

1. Click on the surface with the center-point

visible. This will snap the hole to the
center-point.
2. In the dialog box, change the Hole Type to
Counterbore.

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Step 12 – Set the hole depth

1. Drag the arrow that determines the depth

of the hole to 28 mm.

Step 13 – Set the diameter

1. In the dialog box, set the diameter of the

hole to 3 mm.

Step 14 – Set the counterbore depth

1. Now drag the arrow that determines the depth

of the counterbore to 15 mm.

Step 15 – Set the counterbore diameter

1. In the dialog box, change the counterbore

diameter to 6 mm.
2. Click OK to finish.

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Step 16 – Start the Split Body command

We’re now ready to split the body into 2 halves.

1. Click Modify > Split Body.

Step 17 – Select the body and split plane

1. Click on the knife body as the Body to

Split.
2. Hover over the middle plane, click and
hold the click until a selection dialog is
displayed.
3. Choose the first Work Plane as the
Splitting Tool.
Step 18 – Finish the command

You should see this as a result.

1. Click OK to finish.

Step 19 – Start the Split Body command

Now that we split the knife body into two pieces,

let’s split the cylinder body as well.

1. Right click and select Repeat Split Body.

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Step 20 – Select the body and split plane

1. Click on the cylinder body as the Body to

Split.
2. Select the middle origin plane as the
Splitting Tool.
3. Click OK to finish.

Combine bodies: Now you combine bodies. The end result is two bodies.

Step 1 – Hide one side of the design

After the split body commands, you’ll see that you

have 4 bodies in your Bodies folder in the browser.
We’ll want to combine the left cylinder with the
left knife body, and the right cylinder with the
right knife body so that we are left with two
bodies total.

1. In the browser, use the light bulbs to hide

the right side bodies so only the left side is
visible.

Step 2 – Start the Combine command

1. Click Modify > Combine.

We’re going to use this command to join the knife

body with the cylinder body where we have our
counter-bore hole.

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Step 3 – Select the body to keep

1. First, select the utility knife body as the

Target Body.

Step 4 – Select the tool body

1. Select the cylinder body as the Tool Body

for the target body to combine with.
2. Leave the Operation as Join.
3. Click OK to finish.

Step 5 – Repeat for the right side

1. In the browser, use the light bulbs to hide

the left side and make the right side
bodies visible.
2. Right-click and select Repeat Combine to
reuse the last used command.

Step 6 – Set the Combine options

We’re going to repeat the last combine steps, but

now for the right side bodies.

1. Select the knife handle as the Target Body.

2. Select the cylinder as the Tool Body.
3. Leave the Operation as Join.
4. Click OK to finish.

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Step 7 – Delete bodies

Let’s get rid of the two protruding cylinders.

1. Hold Shift and then select the two

cylinder bodies.
2. Press Delete or Backspace on your
keyboard and the two bodies should just
go away.

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Step 8 – Finished webs and holes

Now you can see that the utility knife has a

counter-bored hole that extends across the split
bodies, just the way it would be manufactured.

Modify shape: Finally, you edit the sculpted body to see how this affects downstream operations.

Step 1 – Edit sculpted form

Let’s make a change!

1. Locate the sculpt operation in the timeline

at the bottom of the canvas.
2. Right-click and select Edit.

This allows you to get back into the sculpt

environment and make change to the knife body
itself.

Step 2 – Select the faces to modify

1. Select LEFT view on the ViewCube.

2. Click on the bottom face.
3. Right-click and select Edit Form.

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Step 3 – Move the face

1. Use the vertical arrow manipulator and drag

the surface down to – 5 mm.

Step 4 – Move an edge

1. Select the lower edge of the finger guard.

2. Use the arrow manipulator and drag that
edge down – 5 mm.
3. Click OK to confirm.

Step 5 – Finish form

1. Click FINISH FORM to finish the changes.

2. Once clicked, the model updates
automatically with all your downstream
features still intact.

Step 6 – View the inside of the design

1. Hide one of the bodies and notice that the

webs and hole updated along with the
change you made to the sculpted body.

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And we’re done! Now that you know how the

timeline works, you can select any of the
commands used and make appropriate changes,
such as web thickness, hole depth and diameter,
shell thickness, as well as sketch dimensions.

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Manage and Collaborate

Overview

Fusion 360 organizes and manages data using a centralized, cloud-based, collaboration platform. This
enables designers and engineers to work more easily and efficiently together. Use this powerful and
secure set of tools to dramatically improve the way you design, visualize, simulate, and share your
work, on demand.

Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn how to:

• Create Fusion 360 designs and save versions.

• Create and manage Fusion 360 Group Projects.
• Add and remove users from Fusion 360 Group Projects.
• Find, view, and manage files within Fusion 360’s collaborative web browser environment and
the in-application dashboard.
• Access Fusion 360 data from a mobile device.
• Import and export files from Fusion 360.
• Publicly share data with external stakeholders.

Tips for this exercise:

• To complete the mobile section of the tutorial, install the Autodesk 360 App to your mobile
device.
• Partner up with a friend who also has Fusion 360. There is an exercise where you have the
option to grant access to your project.
• We recommend installing Google Chrome to best utilize the collaborative capabilities of Fusion
360 (the in-browser 3D viewer is not yet supported for IE, Firefox, and Safari).

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21.Create and Manage Fusion 360 Group Projects

In this section you use data from an existing group project to create, setup, and manage a new group
project in Fusion 360. You control who has access to this project. You create a new design, create
multiple versions and determine where your new design will be stored. Once finished you then share a
specific version publicly so that those not part of your project can access, inspect and review.

Fusion 360 allows you to securely access data from anywhere. You also control who else has access. The
main way Fusion 360 controls access is by using “group projects.” Group projects are the control
mechanism for how you define who has access to specific sets of information. Group projects ensure
that only the correct collaborators have access to your data.

Group projects are like folders in that they allow you to organize partitions of data, but they have the
unique ability within Fusion 360 to explicitly define who may access data within it. Projects are unique
locations where teams keep all related information in one shared place. People can share and access
design data, discuss challenges and successes, and stay current with project activities. Each project has
its own data, people, calendar, and wiki.

Common Configurations:

Some companies like to use group projects to separate between different jobs or work orders. Others
prefer to use group projects to separate between different customers. Students commonly segment by
specific assignments or by class. Whatever your configuration Fusion 360 offers flexibility to adjust and
adapt as you evolve in your requirements.

Open Fusion 360 design file: In this section you will open the introductory design file.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by

clicking on the icon located at
the top left of the menu bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide
open.

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Step 2 – Open the design

In this module we will be using the

05_Utility_Knife.f3d file to complete
the exercise. If you haven’t set up a
new project and uploaded the
necessary designs, please follow the
steps in the Introduction module.

1. At the top left of the Data

Panel, select the project
where you uploaded the
05_Utility_Knife.f3d file.
2. Navigate to this design and
either double-click or right-
click and select open.
3. When the design has opened
in your modeling window,
click on the icon to close the
Data Panel.

Step 3 – Start the Save As

command

1. Select File > Save As.

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Step 4 – Create a new project

1. Click +Project to
create a new project.
2. Name the project
“New Design Project”.
3. Select Save.

Upload data to a project: In this section, you upload data from your local drive to the project you just
created.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the

icon located at the top left of the menu
bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide open.

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Step 2 – Set the active project

1. Click on the name of the active project.

2. Select New Design Project from the list.
This is the project you created in the
previous step.

Step 3 – Upload data

Fusion 360 translates data from many sources

including Autodesk Inventor, Dassault SolidWorks,
and PTC Creo.

1. Click Upload.
2. Click Select Files and navigate to the
Chapter 5 dataset and upload:
• 05_Mountain_Bike_Simple.f3d
• Wheel.SLDASM
• Flega.SLDPRT • Opona.SLDPRT 3.
Click Upload.

Uploading will continue in the background while

you work.

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22.Create new versions

In this section, you make a change to a design then save it to create a new version.

Step 1 – Start the Appearance

command

1. Right-click and select

Appearance.

Step 2 – Change the

appearance

1. Select Plastic >

Opaque > Plastic –
Glossy (Green).
2. Drag and drop the
appearance over the
orange cover.
3. Click Close to dismiss
the appearance
command.

Step 3 – Create a version

Fusion 360 manages and

stores each version you
create. Make a change to an
existing model and save it as a
new version.

1. Click Save.
2. Enter the comment:
“Switched material
from orange to
green.”
3. Click OK.
We will explore where this
new version is stored shortly.

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23.Add a user to your project

In this section you will open the introductory design file.

Step 1 – Add a project member

Fusion 360 allows you to control who has access

to design and other data within projects. Invite
another collaborator to access your project.

1. In the Data Panel, click the Project

Members button (the head shaped icon).
2. Enter an email address of another Fusion
user who you would like to have access.
If you don’t have one feel free to use
[email protected].
3. Click Invite.

Step 2 – Confirmation email

1. Once added, the user you will receive an

email notifying him or her of their
addition.

Step 3 – Make a design change

1. Drag the slider to the right to retract the

blade.

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Step 4 – Create a snapshot

1. Click Position > Snapshot to create a

snapshot to maintain the position.

Step 5 – Save the design

1. Click Save to save a new version.

2. Add a comment: “Retracted knife”.
3. Click OK.
4. Close the utility knife design.

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24.Create a referenced document

In this section, you create a drawing from the utility knife. Fusion maintains the relationship between
the design and the drawing.

Step 1 – Create a drawing

Fusion 360 maintains

associative relationships
between drawing and design
documents. What this means
is if you change the design the
downstream drawing will be
updated as well.

1. In the Data Panel,

right-click on the
05_Utility_Knife
design.
2. Click Create Drawing.

Step 2 – Place the base view

1. Left-click on the
drawing sheet to place
the base view.
2. Click OK to create the
view.

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Step 3 – Add projected views

1. Click View > Projected

View.
2. Click on the base view.
3. Click in the three areas
shown to create top,
right, and isometric
views.
4. Right-click and click OK
to create the views.

Step 4 – Save and close

1. Click the Save icon.

2. Click Save to accept the
default name and project.
3. Close the drawing.

You will see the association in a

later step.

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25.Access data in a web browser

Use Autodesk A360 to access your data in a web browser.

Step 1 – Access Autodesk A360

Fusion 360 allows you to

manage data centrally through
your web browser. Open your
design in a web browser.
1. In the Data Panel, click
the “i” icon on the
05_Utility_Knife to
display details about
the design.
2. Click Open Details in
A360.

Suggestion: Consider using

Google Chrome for this
exercise as your default
browser. Some features may
not yet be supported for Safari,
Firefox and Internet Explorer.

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Display versions and use the viewer: In this section, you use the viewer to display the different versions
of the utility knife. You also use the viewer to investigate the design.

Step 1 –View renderings

Each version that is saved is

archived and stored by
Fusion 360. View all three
versions that were created
for the Utility Knife.

1. Click the Rendering

icon.
2. Select each
version of the
utility knife to
display the
renderings of
previous versions.
The images were
created
automatically
when you saved a
new version in
previous steps.

Cloud based
rendering is
discussed further
in the Rendering
chapter.

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Step 2 – View versions

1. Click the Versions

icon (the watch
shaped icon).
2. Click the different
versions to view 3D
previews. Notice the
comments that
were entered in
previous steps are
also available to
view.
Step 3 – View the 3D design

1. Hold the left mouse

button to rotate the
3D model in the
viewer.
2. Left-click on an item
to select and
highlight specific
bodies. Notice that
information like the
material and weight
of the selected item
is displayed.

Step 4 – Isolate an item

1. Select an item.
2. Right-click and select
Isolate to display
only display the
selected item.
3. Right-click and select
Show all objects to
display the entire
design.

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Step 5 – Explode the design

1. Click the Explode

button at the
bottom of the
screen.
2. Use the slider to
expand and contract
the assembly.

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Document design decisions: In this section, you add a message to the design in A360. Messages can be
seen by anyone with access to the project.

Step 1 – Document activity

Fusion 360 allows you to

collaborate and articulate
design decisions within your
design. Create a message to
describe to your team a design
change you will make.

1. Click the Preview icon.

2. Click in the message
field and enter: “Really
like the green but the
request was for orange.
Revert.”
3. Click Post to post the
message.

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Promote a previous version: In this section, you promote a previous version to be the current version.
This let’s you “rollback” your design.

Step 1 – Promote previous

versions

Fusion 360 stores and allows

you to promote previous
versions. Any archived
version can be promoted back
to the current version.

1. Click the Versions icon

(the watch shaped
icon).
2. Click the Promote
icon.

View associated data: In this section, you view a list of data associated to the utility knife design then
close the view of the design.

Step 1 – View associated documents

Fusion 360 manages associativity between designs

and drawings. View the drawing that you created
in a previous step.

1. Select the Related Items icon.

2. The drawing is listed as an associated item.

Step 2 – Close the viewer

1. Click the X to close the viewer.

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Customize your project: You can add a custom logo to your project. This makes it easier to differentiate
between projects.

Step 12 –Add a logo to your

project

1. Select Add Logo in the

A360 web browser.
2. Select Choose File.

Step 2 – Select the image

1. Navigate to the png

image provided in the
chapter 5 dataset or
use any jpg or png
under 200x200 pixels.
2. Select the image then
click Choose.

Step 3 – Save the change

1. Click Save.

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Access data from a mobile device: In this section, you access the project from a mobile device.

Step 1 – Access data from a mobile device

Fusion 360 is accessible through your mobile

devices.

1. To access data from your apple mobile

device install the free Autodesk A360 App
via the Mac App Store or Google Play
Store.

Step 2 – Sign in

1. Sign in to the App using your Autodesk ID (it

is the same account you use for Fusion
360).

Step 3 – Select the project

1. Scroll to the New Design Project and select

it.

Step 4 – Select the design

1. Open the Utility Knife.

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Step 5 – Select the action

1. Select the Isolate icon.

Step 6 – Select the object

1. Choose Blade Cradle to isolate the blade.

Step 7 – View the object

1. Rotate the model by placing a finger and

moving on the screen.
2. Double tap on the model to change the
rotation pivot point, which will appear as a
green sphere.
3. Exit the app and return to your laptop to
complete the remaining exercises.

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Revoke access to the project: Fusion 360 allows the moderator of a project to add or remove access to
that project. Revoke the access of a project member.

Step 1 – Revoke access from a

project

1. Go to the New Design

Project in the A360
web interface.
2. Select People. This
shows all the
members of the
project.
3. Select Remove. This
removes the access of
the user you added
earlier in an earlier
step. The user no
longer has access to
the project from any
device.

Manage data: Familiarize yourself with common data management operations like move, rename and
delete by moving the Utility Knife into a new folder.

Step 1 – Create a new folder

1. Select Data to explore

the folder hierarchy of
the project.
2. Click New Folder.
3. Enter “Knife Project”
then click Save.

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Step 2 – Move data

1. Check the boxes next

to the design and
drawing.
2. Drag and drop the
items into the folder to
move them.
3. Open the Knife Project
folder.

Step 3 – Rename a design

1. Right-click on the
05_Utility_Knife
design and select
Rename.

Step 4 – Enter new name

1. Rename to:
“05_New_Utility_Knife”.
2. Select Save.

Step 5 – Delete an item

1. Right-click on the
05_Utility_Knife
drawing and select
Delete.

Step 6 – Close your browser

1. Close the web browser.

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26.Insert designs into other designs

In this section, you insert a design into an assembly design.

Step 1 – Refresh data

1. Return to Fusion 360.

2. Select Refresh in the
Data Panel. This will get
the most current data
and reflect the changes
made in the web
browser in the previous
step.

Notice that while you were

completing the previous
steps that Fusion 360 has
fully uploaded the bike
dataset and SolidWorks
wheel dataset. The wheel is
also combined into one single
Fusion design.
Step 2 – Insert a design into
an
assembly

1. Double-click the
Mountain Bike design
to open it.
2. Right-click on the
Wheel design and
select Insert to insert
the Wheel into the
Bike Design.

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Step 3 – Place the wheel

1. Use the manipulator to

position the wheel in
the bike assembly.
2. Click OK when done.

Step 4 – Lock the wheel

component

1. Right-click Wheel in the

browser and select
Rigid Group.

Rigid groups move as one

object. This will make it easier
to align to the wheel with the
bike in the next step.

Step 5 – Start the Align

command

1. Click Modify > Align.

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Step 6 – Select areas to align

1. Select the circumference

of the wheel and select
the circumference of the
bike frame’s dropout.
The wheel will axially
align with the bike
dropout.

Step 7 – Center the wheel

1. Right-click Wheel in the

browser and select
Move.
2. Drag the manipulator to
approximately center the
wheel.
3. Click OK.

The Assemblies tutorial will show

how to be more precise using
joints.

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Step 8 – Activity feed

1. Click the “+” to expand

the Activity Feed.

The activity feed is where you

see recent activity in the
design.

2. Click the Camera icon

to create a snapshot of
the screen to show
progress you have
made on the design.
3. Enter “Added Wheel”
in the comment field.
4. Click Post.

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27.Share designs
In this section, you create a public link to share your design. Then paste the link into a browser to see
what other stake holders see when using the link. Finally, you download the file from the public link.

Step 1 – Share public link

Regardless of whether a user

has an Autodesk ID, you are
still able to share and make
designs available for
download. Share a design
using a public web link.

1. Open the Data Panel

and browse to the
05_Utility_Knife.
2. Right-click on the
Utility Knife and
choose Share Public
Link.

Step 2 – Configure the link

1. Check the following:

• Share the latest
version with
anyone using this
public link
• Allow the item to
be downloaded
• Require a
password
2. Enter “Fusion!” as
your password.
3. Click Copy to copy the
link to your clipboard.

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4. Close the Share Public

Link dialog box.

Step 3 – Use the link

1. Open your web

browser.
2. Paste in the copied URL.
3. Enter the password,
“Fusion!”.

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Step 4 – View and download

1. A 3D preview is
displayed in the
browser.
2. Select a CAD format to
download.
3. Click Download.

Congratulations! You completed the Manage and Collaborate module.

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Assembly Design
Bodies and Components

If you’re more familiar with a CAD system that references external parts in an assembly, the first thing to
know is that Fusion’s equivalent to a “part file” is a “component,” and all components exist in the same
working Fusion file – there are no external references. Component groups act like sub-assemblies, and
bodies are physical objects that exist either in the global space, or in a component. There can be
multiple copies or instances of one component, and in that case, modifying one will modify all other
instances similarly.

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Open Fusion 360 design file: In this section you will open the first design file.

Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the icon

located at the top left of the menu bar.
2. The Data Panel will slide open.

Step 2 – Open the design

In this module we will be using the 06_Working

with Components.f3d file to complete the exercise.
If you haven’t set up a new project and uploaded
the necessary designs, please follow the steps in
the Introduction module.

1. At the top left of the Data Panel, select the

project where you uploaded the
06_Working with Components.f3d file.
2. Navigate to this design and either
doubleclick or right-click and select open.
3. When the design has opened in your
modeling window, click on the icon to
close the Data Panel.

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Working with Components: In this exercise, we’ll be exploring the different tools used work with
components and component groups.

Step 1 – Creating components

1. Right-click on the top node in the browser.

2. Select “New Component.”
3. Click on the name of the new component
in the browser.
4. Click on the name again to edit. Enter
“Carbon Main.”

Step 2 – Converting to Components

1. Expand the main “Bodies” folder in the

browser.
2. Drag the body “Carbon Layup” to the new
“Carbon Main” component.

The Body “Carbon Layup” is now defined in

relation to the component origin, not the global
origin. This is now effectively a “part” in an

“assembly.”

Alternatively, right-click on the body in the tree

and choose “Create Components from Bodies”
creates a new component that includes that body.

To pull any body or other object out of a

component, drag it to its desired destination, or
the top node in the browser.

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Step 3 – Component Groups

1. We want to move this component into a

component group.
2. Click on and drag the new “Carbon Main”
component, and release it over the
“Frame, Carbon” Component Group.
3. We’ve now moved it into a component
group.

By moving it into a component group, we’ve

defined its origin in relation to the subgroup’s
origin, which is in turn defined by the global origin.

By moving any component A to any component B,

component B will become a component group that
contains its original content, as well as component
A.

If a component group is moved into another

component group, it creates a nested component
group, accordingly.

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Step 4 – Instances/Referencing

1. Expand the component group “Swingarm

Assembly” in the browser.
2. In the group, expand the nested
component group “Bearing Assembly –
Swingarm to Frame”
3. Rename the first component that’s listed.
Change “SS 6003 2RS (10 X 17 X 35mm)” to
“Bearing.”

Note that the change also changed another

component listed in the “Bearing Assembly –
Swingarm to Frame” group. This is because the
component that is now “Bearing: 2” is actually just
another instance of the bearing component.
Making any change (renaming, materials, or any
modeling change) to one will make the same
change to any other instance of that component.
Instances are denoted with a :x, x being the 2nd,
3rd, 4th, etc. instance of that component.

Step 5 – Component Color Cycling

1. Click the “Home” button on the ViewCube.

2. Click Inspect > Component Color Cycling.
3. Expand the group “Swingarm Assembly” in
the browser.
4. Right-click on “Bearing Assembly –
Swingarm to Frame” and select Isolate.
5. Notice that even though the two identical
instances of the “Bearing” component are
shown, they are different colors to
distinguish them.
6. Click Inspect > Component Color Cycling to
turn off component color cycling.

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28.Move and Align

In this exercise, we move and align components in space. Moving and aligning position components, but
do not lock them into their new location. Joints (in an upcoming exercise) move and align components,
but also restrict their movement based on that definition. Moving and aligning simply shifts position in
the global space.

Step 1 – Move

1. Display the Data Panel.

2. Open “06_Moving and Aligning”.
3. Hover over the workspace switcher and
select Model.
4. Click the Home icon on the ViewCube.
5. Expand the group “Swingarm Assembly”.
6. Right-click on “Bearing Assembly –
Swingarm to Frame” and select Isolate.
7. Right-click on “Bushing 17mm X 85L” in
the browser then select Move.
8. Type – 20 mm as the Z Distance in the
dialog box.
9. Click OK.
We’ve moved a component, and not just a body.
Therefore, its origin has moved with it, and has
been redefined by the global origin.

Step 2 – Align Component

1. Select the front side face of the bearing

shown at right.
2. Hold Shift and select the inside back side
face of the bushing head.
3. Click Modify > Align.
4. In the dialog box, make sure “Align
Components” is selected for the Object
selector.
5. Click OK.

When aligning, the geometry that is clicked first

will move to the geometry that is clicked second.
Here, we’ve aligned two full components, not just
bodies.

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29.Create a Rigid Group

We create Rigid Groups in Fusion when we need to constrain multiple bodies to each other that have no
capability of movement relative to themselves. So instead of creating multiple

Rigid joints, it’s easy to use the Rigid Group command and constrain multiple objects at once. The Rigid
Group function locks the relative position of the selected components. The components are then treated
as a single object when moved or when joints are applied.

Step 1 – Open a design

1. Display the Data Panel.

2. Open the 06_Rigid Groups design.
3. Notice that the visibility of all other
components except the Frame is turned
off.

Launch Video
Step 2 – Expand a component group

1. Expand the Frame, Carbon component

group.
2. Notice that there are multiple components
within it. We need these components to
function as a single object and so we will
use the Rigid Group function to constrain
them.

Step 3 – Start the Rigid Group command

1. Hover over Frame, Carbon then click the

dot next to the name to activate the
component. We do this because we want
the Joint to associate with this component
group rather than the top level assembly.
2. Click Assemble > Rigid Group.

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Step 4 – Select objects

1. Select Carbon Layout, hold Shift then

select Mount, Damper, Upper, R. This
selects all components between those
two.
2. Click OK and all these components will
now function as one single object.
3. The Rigid Group is listed in the browser
under the Joints node.

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30.Joints
In this exercise, we’ll use the joints tool to align a component to others in an assembly. These joints will
also define the degrees of freedom by which these parts can move. Joints are enacted between
components, but are defined by certain features within the component, like a body face or edge. They
ultimate define how components can move and animate, and they drive motion studies.

Step 1 – Add Planar Joint

1. Display the Data Panel.

2. Open the 06_Joints design.
3. Hover over the workspace switcher and
select Model.
4. Select Assemble > Joint.
5. For Component 1, select the front face of
the rocker and snap to a point near the
hole in the center.
6. Rotate the model to view the back of the
rocker pivot (shown). Select the back face
of the rocker pivot and snap to the point
in the center of the face.
7. You’ll see Component 1 move to
Component 2, with an animation of the
degrees of freedom of the joint.
8. Under Motion Type, select “Planar.” The
animation shows the two selected planes
exiting on the same plane, with the
freedom to move along that plane.
9. Enter an offset of 0.65 mm to a space
between the two components. (Click the
Left View of the ViewCube to see this gap)
10. Click OK.

The animations you see are assuming no other

joints in the assembly. The animations ONLY
show the added constraints of the joint.

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Step 2 – Ground a component

1. Hold Alt then drag the rocker component

to move it around in space a bit.
2. Notice that everything in the assembly
moves with it. Something in the assembly
needs to be grounded – fixed in space.
3. Click Undo to put the components back in
the original positions.
4. Right-click the component “Frame,
Carbon” and select “Ground.” You’ll see
a pin appear on the icon in the browser. 5.
With the frame now fixed in space, hold Alt
and drag the rocker to move it around a little.
You will see the planar joint in action.

Step 3 – Add first of three cylindrical joints

You might need to move the rocker around or

rotate the model to select some geometry.

1. Select Assemble > Joint.

2. Set the Motion Type to Cylindrical.
3. For Component 1, select the midpoint of
the rocker face shown.
4. For Component 2, select the midpoint of
the bolt face shown.
5. Click OK.

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Step 4 – Add the next joint

1. Right-click and select Repeat Joint.

2. Make sure the Motion Type is set to
Cylindrical.
3. For Component 1, choose the rocker face
shown.
4. For Component 2, choose the pivot’s edge
shown. Be sure to select the edge and not
the face.
5. Click OK.

Step 5 – Add a cylindrical joint

1. Right-click and select Repeat Joint.

2. Make sure the Motion Type is set to
Cylindrical.
3. For component 1, choose the rocker face
shown.
4. For component 2, choose the bolt face
shown.
5. Click OK.

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Step 6 – Visualize joints

1. Hold Alt and drag the swingarm. Notice

the joints are honored as the parts move
throughout space.
2. You’ll also find folders in the browser that
contain joints in the global space, as well
as within component groups. The light
bulbs next to the folders and individual
joints will show/hide the joint icons in the
model, but will not suppress the joints.
3. Right-click on a joint to suppress it, edit it,
definite its limits, animate it, or lock it.

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31.As-built Joints
An as-built joint is used in the case of imported geometry or top-down design when the components to
be constrained are in the correct positions relative to each other, i.e. they don’t need to be moved. An
as-built joint maintains the position, and defines the relative motion.

Step 1 – Open the design and set visibility

1. Open 06_As Built Joints.

2. Use the light bulbs to turn off the visibility
of the Frame, Carbon and the Swing Arm
Assembly so that you only see the Damper

Step 2 – Component structure

1. Expand the Damper component group and

you will see that it is made of several
different components and components
groups itself.
2. We are going to constrain these components
in order to define how the damper will
function.

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Step 3 – Set your selection

1. Make sure your selection filters are set to

select only Bodies, Components, Joint
Origins and Joints. This will make it easier
to select the right components to
constrain.
2. Hover over Damper in the browser then
click the dot next to the name to activate
the component. Once it is activated, the
text should appear Bold.

Step 4 – Create a rigid joint

The first joint we want to create is a Rigid joint

between the Shock Retainer and the Shaft.

1. Click Assemble > As-built Joint.

2. Select the Shaft and the Shock Retainer as
the two components (you can do this in
the window or the browser under the
Shock Bottom component group). Make
sure that the Type of joint is Rigid, and you
will see an animation that depicts the Rigid
joint
3. Click OK.

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Step 5 – Create a cylindrical joint

The next joint we will create is a cylindrical as-built

joint between the Shock Top and the Shaft.

1. Click Assemble > As-Built Joint.

2. Set the Type to Cylindrical.
3. Select the Shaft and the Shock Top (in that
order) as the two components.
4. Select the profile of the shaft where they
both meet as the Position reference.
5. You will see an animation of how this join
will function. If this looks right, click OK.

Step 6 – Joint limits

The next thing we want to do is define limits for

this cylindrical joint.

1. Hover over the joint you just created and

click the Edit Joint Limits icon. You will
need to adjust these limits until you get to
the appropriate limits which best define
the motion of the damper.
2. Set the Motion to Slide.
3. Check the boxes for Minimum and
Maximum limits.
4. Enter a Maximum limit of 30 mm and you
will see the Shaft move in to represent
that limit. If this looks right, click OK.
If the shaft moved in the opposite direct (away
from the Stock Top), change the minimum limit to
-30 mm and the maximum limit to 0 mm.

You will now be able to click and drag the Shock

Retainer (under Shock Bottom) and will be able to
see the motion of the damper based on the joints
you just set up.

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32.Contact Sets

Contact sets designate which components do not interfere once they contact each other. A contact set
can be used to define the limits of motion allowed because the motion stops when the components
come into contact.
Step 1 – Continue with 06_As built joints

1. Continue working with the 06_As built

joints design.
2. Make sure the visibility of the Frame,
Carbon and the Swing Arm Assembly is
turned off so that you only see the
Damper.
3. Make sure Damper is activated.

Step 2 – Remove max joint limit

1. Hover over the cylindrical joint in the joints

folder and click the Edit Joints Limits icon.
2. Set the Motion to Slide
3. Uncheck the Maximum check box. Leave
the minimum limit as 0.00 mm.
4. Click OK.
5. Now when you drag the Shock Retainer
upwards, you will see that it interferes
with the Shock Top since there is no
maximum limit of motion. We need to set
up a contact set, so that when the Shock
Retainer contacts the Shock Top, it knows
that it cannot go any further.
6. Undo any movement you might have
done.

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Step 3 – Set up contact

1. Click Assemble > Enable Contact Sets.

2. Click Assemble > New Contact Set. The
New Contact Set dialog box displays.
3. Select the Shock Retainer and the Shock
Top as the two bodies. Click OK.
4. Drag the Shock Retainer towards the
Shock Top and you will see that it stops as
soon as it comes in contact with the Shock
Top.
5. Undo any dragging to return the
components to their original position.

Step 4 – Edit the contact set

1. To Edit or Suppress the contact set at any

point, right-click on the contact set in the
Browser and click Edit or Suppress.

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33.Motion Study
A motion study in Fusion 360 allows the user to animate the motion of the design based on the joints
and limits placed.
Step 1 – Open the design

1. Open 06_Motion Study.

2. Use the ViewCube to view the Front view.

Step 2 – Start a motion study

1. Click Assemble > Motion Study. The

Motion Study dialog box displays.
2. The first thing you need to do is select a
joint to animate. Expand the Joints folder,
and pick Rev31 as the joint to animate. The
joint is added to the list of joints in the
Motion Study dialogues box.

In the Motion study dialog box, you create a chart

of the motion to be animated. The X Axis on this
chart denotes steps or time. The Y Axis denotes
the extents of the motion. In the case of a revolute
joint the Y Axis denotes degrees, but in the case of
a slider joint, it denotes distance in in/mm.

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Step 3 – Set up motion

1. Click on the line to add a point.

2. Enter these values:
Angle: 5
Step: 10
3. Click another point on the line.
4. Enter in the following values.
Angle: 10
Step: 15
5. Continue putting in the following values
for the next 5 points Angle: 2 Step: 25
Angle: 7 Step: 30
Angle: 12 Step: 40
Angle: - 3 Step: 45
Angle: - 7 Step: 50

The goal of putting in these random numbers is to

simulate the motion of the bike as it goes over
different terrain.
Step 4 – Play the motion

1. Your chart will look like the one on the

right.
2. Change the Mode to Loop
3. Click the Restart button to bring the
counter back to Zero.
4. Click Play.

You will see the complete assembly reacting to the

motion that you just built in. All the joints in the
assembly are working to drive this motion. A
motion study is a way for the user to verify the
function of their designs.

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Top-down Design Methodology

Fusion uses a top-down design approach, which is essentially the breaking down of a system to gain
insight into its compositional sub-systems. In a top-down approach an overview of the assembly is
formulated, specifying but not detailing any base level parts. Each subassembly and part is then refined
in yet greater detail, sometimes in many additional levels, until the entire specification is reduced to
base elements.

In top-down assembly design, one or more features of a part are defined by something in an assembly,
such as a layout sketch or the geometry of another part. The design intent (sizes of features, placement
of components in the assembly, proximity to other parts, etc.) comes from the top (the assembly) and
moves down (into the parts), hence the phrase "top-down".

34.Using existing geometry to drive sketch curves

In this exercise, we’ll be designing a rocker and applying as-built joints to dynamically connect it with other parts of
the assembly. We’ll be working with existing geometry from existing components to sketch and extrude a new
component. By designing in one space alongside existing components, we eliminate the need to toggle back and
forth between part files, as we can easily drive component features based on the existing assembly. We can also
easily add an as-built joint to define the relationship between the parts.

Step 1 – Edit the sketch

1. Open the 06_Top Down Design design.

2. Right-click the visible sketch at the bottom
of the assembly.
3. Choose “Edit Sketch.”

We’ll being using the provided sketch, but adding

sketch curves based on the geometry of other
parts of the model.

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Step 2 – Project geometry

1. Click the Home icon on the ViewCube to

orient the model as shown.
2. Click Sketch > Project/Include > Project.
3. Hover over a circular profile from one of
the bolts or bearings that align with the
hinge of the rocker. You’ll notice the
preview of the projection in red. Click to
project the circular profile.

Project will take a profile of any outside

component, body, sketch, or construction feature
and project its profile onto the current sketch.
• Note that the sketch profile projected is
purple. This indicates that it is locked in
and defined by geometry outside of the
sketch.
Step 3 – Build off of the project geometry

1. Click Sketch > Circle > Center Diameter

Circle.
2. Use the center of the projected circle as
the center for a new circle.
3. Type in a diameter of 35 mm.

We created a relationship between the sketch

circle and the body used to project the geometry.

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Step 4 – Complete the Rocker Profile

1. Click FRONT on the ViewCube.

2. Right-click the Rocker component in the
browser, and choose “Isolate” to hide the
other components.
3. Click Sketch > Line.
4. Draw tangent lines between the three
circles, as shown at right. To automatically
create the tangent constraint, pick a point
on one circle then hold Shift and click a
point on another circle.
5. Click Sketch > Fillet. Select the top two
lines. Use a radius of 77 mm.
6. Click Stop Sketch.
7. Right-click on Rocker and select Unisolate.

Click Sketch > Constraints to manually apply

constraints. See module on Sketching for more
details.
Step 5 – Add revolute as-built joint

1. Click Assemble > As-Built Joint.

2. Set the Type to Revolute.
3. For the two components, click once on the
sketch, and once on the bearing.
4. For the position, click the center point of
the sketch circle.
5. Click OK.

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Step 6 – Add cylindrical as-built joint

1. Click Assemble > As-Built Joint.

2. Set the Type to Cylindrical.
3. For the two components, click once on the
sketch, and once on the bolt.
4. For the position, choose the center point
of the sketch circle.
5. Click OK.

Step 6 – Add a revolute as-built joint

1. Click Assemble > As-Built Joint.

2. Set the Type to Revolute.
3. For the two components, click once on the
sketch, and once on the bolt.
4. For the position, choose the center point
of the sketch circle.
5. Click OK.

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35.Extrude the sketch and interface with other parts

Now that we have a sketch and some as-built joints, we can extrude the sketch into a 3D rocker.

Step 1 – Extrude the sketch into a body

1. Continue with 06_Top Down Design.

2. Hover over Rocker and click the dot next to
the name to activate the component.
3. Click the Home view on the ViewCube.
4. Click Create > Extrude.
5. Click on all profiles of the sketch.
6. Set Direction to Symmetric.
7. Set the Distance to 24.125 mm.
8. Set the Operation to New Body.
9. Click OK.
10. If the body is not in the “Rocker”
component, be sure to find it in the
browser and drag it into the “Rocker”
Component.
Step 2 – Extrude-cut a split in the rocker

1. Right-Click Rocker and select Isolate.

2. Click the light bulb next to the Split sketch
to make it visible.
3. Click Create > Extrude.
4. Select the profile in the Split sketch
5. Set the Operation to Cut.
6. Set the Extents to All.
7. Click OK.

The Split sketch contains projected geometry from

other components. This is another use of topdown
design in the sketching environment.

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Step 3 – Boolean operation

1. Click Modify > Combine.

2. Select the rocker body as the Target Body.
3. Select Body Cut in the browser for the Tool
Body. (Component SS 6000 2RS )
4. Set the Operation to Cut.
5. Click OK.
6. Right-click on Rocker and select Unisolate
to display all components.

Challenge: Add two additional holes to the rocker based on the provided geometries and add any filets
to complete the rocker in the assembly. Add a brushed steel appearance, and render the full assembly.

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Rendering

Overview

Rendering is the process of generating an image by combining geometry, camera, texture, lighting and
shading (also called materials) information using a computer program.

Before an image can be rendered Appearance Materials are applied to the various parts of your design to
visualize how your design would look in the real word. Materials contain the visual properties of plastic,
glass, metal, paint and wood (and pretty much anything else you can think of) to create photorealistic
images.

Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn how to:

• Assign materials to your model

• Edit and replace materials
• Place decals on your model
• Change the environment settings and background color
• Change environment effects
• Render an image using the Real Time Ray Tracer
• Create images using the A360 Cloud Render feature

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36.Open Fusion360 file and go to Render Workspace

In this section you will open the design file for the Utility Knife and go the Render workspace so that you
can apply materials.
Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

1. Open the Data Panel by clicking on the icon

located at the top left of the menu bar. The
Data Panel will slide open.

Step 2 – Open the design

1. At the top right of the Data Panel, select the

project from the project drop down list.
2. Double-click on the design called
07_Rendering_UtilityKnife to open the design
in Fusion 360.
3. When the design has opened in your modeling
window, click on the icon to close the Data
Panel.

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Step 3 – Go to Render Workspace

1. Click on the Model icon in the left of the

toolbar to view other available workspaces.
2. Select the Render workspace.

You may notice that the environment changes slightly,

this happens because the environments you use for
modeling are different than the environments that
have been created specifically for rendering.

The Rendering workspace toolbar contains tools to

Setup your render and to create a Render.

In the Setup section you have access to

• Appearance materials library to apply materials
to your design
• Environment settings to change the
background and how lights are cast on your
design
• Decal tools for applying decals to your design
In the Render section you have access to
• Start/Stop a RRT Render
• Save an image of your design

37.Apply Materials
Now that the model is in the Rendering Workspace you can begin assigning appearance materials. There
are two types of materials in Fusion360:

Physical Materials dictate what the object is made of and is used in mass calculations. In the absence of
any appearance materials that have been applied to your design, you will see the default physical
material. The default physical material can be changed in your preferences.

Appearance Materials dictate how the object will look when rendered.

Note: in absence of Appearance material the Physical material will be shown in the render.

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Step 1 – Open Appearance tool

1. In the Render Workspace click on Setup >

Appearance.
2. The Appearance dialog box opens.

Appearance dialog box has several sections to it:

Apply To – Allows you switch between applying

materials to bodies/components or to individual
faces

In This Design – Shows which materials have been

assigned to parts of your design.

Library – In this section you can switch between

the new Fusion 360 Appearance Library and your
personal Favorites Library. It also contains the
folders and sub-folders of materials broken down
by common categories and example swatches of
the materials.

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Step 2 – Apply a Material directly to geometry

1. In the Appearance dialog box scroll down

to Plastic > Opaque > Plastic – Glossy
(Yellow).
2. Click and hold on the Plastic – Glossy
(Yellow) swatch icon and drag it on to the
main side body of the utility knife.
a. The material on the part changes to
Plastic – Glossy (Yellow)
3. Repeat these steps so that Plastic – Glossy
(Yellow) is assigned to both sides of the
utility knife.

In the Appearance dialog box you will notice that

there is only one swatch for Plastic – Glossy
(Yellow) even though that material has been
assigned to two separate bodies. If you assign the
same material to several bodies in your design and
do not edit them they will be automatically linked
to the one material. Editing the one material will
affect all of the bodies that have that material
assigned.

Step 4 – Apply a material to a body in the browser

1. In the browser locate the component

called Grip 1:1.
2. Click the arrow to the left of Grip 1:1 to
expand the contents of the component
3. Click the arrow to the left of bodies to
show the bodies that are assigned to that
component.
4. In the Appearance dialog box scroll down
to Other > Rubber > Rubber – Soft
5. Click and hold on the Rubber – Soft
swatch icon and drag it on to Grip 1:1 >
Bodies > Body 1 in the browser
a. The material on the grip changes to
Rubber – Soft.

To assign a material to all of the bodies in a

component, drag the material to the top-level
component in the browser.

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Step 5 – Apply additional materials

1. Using the method of your choice apply the
following materials to the parts listed •
Plastic – Textured – Polka to Grip
2:1
• Plastic – Translucent – Matte (Blue)
to Blade Cradle:1
• Metal - Stainless Steel – Satin to
Blade:1

If you apply a material to a component and one or

more of the bodies in the component already
have a material applied you will be presented with
and option to remove appearances applied to the
bodies.
Keep - only the bodies you selected that didn’t
already have a material applied will have the new
material applied.

Remove – all of the existing applied materials will

be replaced with the new material you applied to
the component.

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38.Editing Materials
Now that you have all the base materials applied to your design, you can customize the materials to look
the way you want.

There are two levels of editing for materials. The basic or “lite” editor window enables you to quickly
change:

• Change the name of the material

• Edit the color – either by dragging the color sliders or by
entering an RGB value.
• Change the scale of the texture or bump map that is
part of the material (if appropriate)
• Rotate the texture or bump map that part of the
material (if appropriate)
• Go to Advanced options

The options in the advanced editor will differ depending on the material you are editing. The example
below is for textured plastic.

Texture Mapping is a process in which a 2-D image called a texture map is wrapped around a 3-D object.
In the physical world this is similar to applying wallpaper or veneer to a real object. The texture map can
be used to change various properties of a material including the color of the material as is seen in the
Wood materials, or the way highlights hit a surface as in the Rubber materials.

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Bump Mapping is a technique for giving a 3-D surface the appearance of deformities and depth (e.g.:
wrinkles or bumps). Although a surface that has a bump map applied will appear to have real depth, the
surface of the underlying object is not actually changed. The textured plastic materials all use bump
maps.

You can use the scale and rotate tools in the material editor to change size and orientation of the images
that control the texture and bump results.

Projection Mapping is a method for placing one texture across several separate faces in order to give the
illusion that it is one solid or continuous object. The texture map is applied to the projection type and
“pushed through” the surfaces it projects on to. Fusion 360 has 4 projection types to choose from:

Planar The texture map is projected from a plane in a

user defined direction

Box The texture map is applied to a cube that

surrounds the object and creates 6 planar
projections

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Sphere The texture map is applied to a sphere that

surrounds the object. This projection type will show
a poll pinch point depending on the axis defined by
the user.

Cylindrical The texture map is applied to a cylinder that

surrounds the object.

To change the way the maps are projected on the surface right-click the body of the object in the
browser and select Texture Map Controls from the drop down menu.

In this section you will swap out one material for another and change the parameters for several of the
materials.

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Step 1 – Replace the Yellow Plastic Material

1. In the Appearance dialog box locate Plastic

– Glossy (Red).
2. Drag the swatch from the library on to the
swatch for Plastic – Glossy (Yellow) in the
“In this design” section of the Appearance
dialog box.

All the bodies that had Plastic – Glossy (Yellow)

applied now have Plastic – Glossy (Red) applied.
This is a quick method for swapping out materials
in your design.

Step 2 – Edit Plastic – Glossy (Red)

1. Double click on the swatch for Plastic –

Glossy (Red) in the “In this design” section
of the Appearance dialog box to open the
editor window for this material.
2. At the top of the dialog box is the current
name assigned to the material – double
click in the name field and change the
name to Plastic – Glossy (Orange)
a. This will make it easier to find the
material later if required.
3. In the middle of the dialog box there is
section that allows you to enter RBG values
for a specific color.
4. Enter 240, 114, 14 to change the color of
the plastic material to orange.
a. You can also use the sliders to
change the base color and the tone
of the color.
5. Click the Done button.

You should now see the swatch for the edited

material in the In This Design section of the

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Appearance dialog box. If you hover over the

swatch the modified name will appear.

If you want to see which materials have been

applied to which bodies in your design you can right
click on the swatch and select Select Objects
Applied To from the drop down list. Doing so will
highlight bodes in your design that have the
selected material applied.

Step 3 – Edit color and texture map for Plastic –

Texture – Polka

1. Change the name to Textured – Polka -

Blue
2. Using the method of your choice change
the color of Plastic – Textured – Polka to
blue.
a. If you wish to match the blue of the
blade cradle enter the RGB values
of 48, 59, 150
3. Change the scale of the texture map to 41.
a. The slider can be used to
interactive change the size of
the texture map.
4. Move the slider next to Rotate to
interactively change the orientation of the
texture map. When you are satisfied with
the orientation, click Done.

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Step 4 – Change the texture projection method for

Grip 2:1

Texture Map Controls are used to change the type

of projection method used on the object with a
texture map. Fusion 360 will automatically choose
the best projection method when a material with a
texture map is applied, if you are not satisfied with
the look of the texture you can change the
projection setting manually.

1. Close the Appearance dialog box by clicking

on the Close button.
2. In the browser, locate the component
labeled Grip 2:1 and right-click on it.
3. Select Find in Window to bring the part in
the center of the screen.
4. Zoom in further so that you can clearly see
the texture map on the surface.
5. Right-click on component Grip 2:1 and select
Texture Map Controls from the dropdown
menu to open the Texture Map Controls
dialog box.
6. In the dialog box, change the Projection
Type to Box
7. Click OK to accept the change.

Try selecting the other projection types to see the

different results. In some cases you may have to
choose an axis for a projection direction. In those
instances an axis widget will appear, simply click on
the axis that best matches the direction you would
like to project.

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Step 5 – Edit and duplicate a material

1. In the browser locate the component

labeled Blade:1
2. Right-click on Blade:1 and select Isolate
from the drop down menu list.
a. All of the other components
disappear leaving Blade:1 in the
window.
3. Right-click on Blade:1 and select Find In
Window from the drop down menu list.
4. Right-click on Blade:1 and select
Appearance from the drop down menu list
to open the Appearance dialog box.
5. In the Appearance dialog box, double click
on the Stainless Steel – Satin material in
the In This Design section.
6. Click on the button labeled Advanced… to
open the advanced editor window.
7. Change the name to Stainless Steel –
Blade by click on the name field.
8. The Roughness setting controls the
amount of reflection in the material,
change the setting to 0.50.
9. Click OK.
10. Right click on Stainless Steele – Blade and

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select Duplicate from the drop down

menu.
a. This creates a second material
called Stainless Steele – Blade that
has the exact same settings as the
original.
11. Double click on the copy Stainless Steele –
Blade material to open the Material
Editor.
12. Change the name of the material to Blade
Face
13. Change the color to 75,75,75.
14. In the Appearance dialog box change the
Apply To: setting from
Bodies/Components to Faces
a. Now you can only apply materials to
selected faces on a
body/component
15. Drag the Blade Face material to the side
face of Blade:1
16. Repeat this step on the other side of
Blade:1 so that both side faces have Blade
Face applied.
17. Close the Appearance dialog box.
18. Right-click on Blade:1 in the browser and
select Unisolate to show the rest of the
design.

NOTE: If you apply a material a body that already

has a material(s) applied to one or more of it’s
faces you will be presented with a choice to keep
or remove appearances applied to the faces:

Keep - all of the existing materials on the face will

not be replaced with the new material you applied
to the body.

Remove - all of the materials on the faces will be

replaced with the new material you applied to the
body.

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39.Apply A Decal
In this section you will apply an image of the Autodesk logo to the body of the utility knife using the decal
tool.
Step 1 – Download the image file

1. In the Data Panel find the item named

Autodesk Logo.jpg.
2. Double-click on the thumbnail to launch
A360.
3. Click on the blue Download button on the
upper right side of the window.
4. Place the file in a location where you can
easily find it. Your desktop for example.

Step 2 – Apply the decal

1. Select Setup > Decal

a. The Decal dialog box opens.
2. Click on the body of the utility knife to
highlight it. This is the surface you will
apply the decal to.
3. In the Decal dialog box, click on Select
Image
4. From the file menu go to the location
where you saved Autodesk Logo.jpg, select
the file and click Open.
a. The image appears on the face you
selected with a move manipulator
similar to the one you use for
moving objects.
b. The Decal dialog box also expands
to show additional inputs for
distance, angle and scale.

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Step 3 – Adjust the decal

1. Adjust your view of the knife so that you

can see the side of the handle
2. Use the rotate handle on the manipulator
to rotate the decal so that it is lined up
with the handle.
3. Use the XY Plane scale handle to scale the
decal down.
a. You can also input 0.85 in the Scale
Plane XY field in the Decal dialog
box.
4. Click OK to accept the decal location.

40.Environment Settings
The Environment Setting controls the lighting, background color, and visual effects in the rendering
workspace. In Fusion 360 an environment dome with an environment image map (called a high dynamic
range image or HDRI) attached to it constantly surrounds the 3-D model. These images reflect in the
surface of your model and are used to simulate lighting.

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In this section we will choose the environment, change the background color and turn on effects.

Step 1 – Change the Environment settings

In the Environment section you can pick the type of

environment map you want to use. There are eight maps
to choose from. Six of them are designed to simulate a
photo studio set up. The remaining two (Plaza and
Snowfield) are HDR photos of outdoor environments.
5. Click on Setup > Environment.
a. There are 3 main sections to this tool:
i. Environment
ii. Background Color iii.
Effects
6. Select several styles from the dropdown list.
Notice that the reflections change as well as the
pre-assigned background color for each style.
7. From the Style dropdown list select Sharp
Highlights.
8. Use the slider next to Exposure to change the light
level in the scene. Pick an exposure setting you
like.
a. If you want to go back to the default setting
type 0.0 in the field next to the slider
9. Use the slider next to Rotation to rotate the
environment image around the dome.
b. As you move the slider you will see
reflected highlights change on the design.
10. Rotate the environment until you see a highlight
across the right side of the knife.
c. You can also type 57 in the field next to
Rotation.

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Step 2 – Choose a background color

By default the background color is defined by the

environment style you choose. You have the option to
change the background color to whichever color you want.

1. In the Background Color section click on Custom

Color.
a. The background changes to white.
2. Click on the white swatch next to Custom Color to
open the color chooser dialog box.
a. This dialog box is similar to the color
chooser in the material editor. You can
pick colors by using the sliders or enter an
RGB value.
3. Keep the background color as white.

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Step 3 – Change the Ground Effects

You have the option to have your design cast a shadow or

to reflect your model on the ground plane of the
environment.

1. Click on the button next to Ground Shadow.

a. Now you can see a shadow being cast on
the ground plane.
2. In the Environment section change the rotation
value.
a. Notice that the shadow location is
changing based on the location of the light
sources in the chosen environment style.
3. Click on the button next to Ground Shadow to turn
it off.
4. Click on the button next to Ground Reflection.
a. Now you can see a reflection of your
design on the ground plane.

Correct shadow computation takes a lot of time to render.

If you want to speed up the render time avoid using
ground shadows.

In the Display Settings at the bottom of your screen there

are Effects setting that can affect your rendering. In
particular:
Ground Plane – turning off the ground plane will turn off
ground shadows and ground reflections.

Ground Shadows and Ground Reflections – are the same

commands that are in the Environment > Effects section.

All the other commands in Display Settings only affect the

GPU rendering in your modeling window (See Rendering
section for definition of GPU rendering) and will not affect
the results of Rapid Ray Tracer or Cloud renderings.

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41.Rendering
Now that the design has materials applied and the environment is set correctly it is time to create a
rendered image. There are 2 types of rendering methods in Fusion 360:

Graphics Processing Unit rendering (GPU) is the rendering you see in the modeling window and uses
your computer’s graphics card to show the materials and lighting that have been assigned to your model
and is similar to the technology used in computer gaming. This method uses the least amount of
resources on your computer to create the images. It shows the materials assigned to your design in real
time but is not photo-realistic. The analysis tools in the Model >Inspect dropdown (zebra, draft and
curvature map) also use GPU rendering to show the results.

Rapid Ray Tracer (RRT) in the Rendering Workspace can be used to create photo realistic images from
your Fusion 360 models. Ray Tracing attempts to simulate the natural flow of light in your scene using a
technique called Global Illumination (GI) which takes in to account not only the direct light that comes
from a light source but also indirect light that reflects off of other surfaces in your scene. The Real Time
Ray Tracer requires you to let the rendering engine complete multiple iterations in order to get a high
quality image – during this time you cannot interact with the workspace or the rendering will restart.

Under Render – Ray Tracing there are 3 quality settings Quick, Normal and Advanced

Quick: At this setting the materials in the scene are

approximated as either completely polished or completely
diffuse and completely ignores indirect light. In the rendered
image you will see reflections but you don’t get any indirect
light. This can be considered as a type of enhanced GPU mode.

Normal: At this setting the materials are approximated as either

completely polished or completely diffuse and the indirect light in
the scene is also approximated. This setting allows you to get to a
noise free image quickly and get a good view of the total light in
the scene.

Advanced: This setting does a full physically based rendering with full and accurate simulation of direct
and indirect light and a full simulation of all material properties. In this mode the image will start off
noisy before the image has converged and can take a long time to generate a photo realistic image.

Explore Fusion 360 rendering: In this section you will change the settings of the Render > Ray Tracing
quality settings to observe the differences, and use Render > Capture Image to save a PNG file to your
desktop.

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Step 1 – Start the Rapid Ray Tracer

1. From the Render toolbar select Render > Enable

Ray Tracing.
a. The Rapid Ray Tracer starts and the Ray
Tracer dialog box opens.

(Sample screenshot)
Step 2 – Change the Quality setting

1. Set the Quality setting to Quick

a. The image clears up rapidly but the
image is not high quality
2. Change the Quality to Normal
a. The image clears quickly but you will
notice that the edges of the model look
jagged or pixelated and will slowly
smooth out as the number of iterations
rise.
3. Change the Quality to Advanced.
a. The image is very noisy to start and will
continue to clear up over time.

The Rapid Ray Tracer is a real-time ray tracer, meaning that as soon as you click on the Enable Ray
Tracing icon your computer will start rendering the image immediately. The image will start off noisy
and will start clearing up. If you change the orientation of the model or change materials and
environment the Rapid Ray Tracer will restart the rendering process.

The length of time needed to create the image is dependent on the Quality setting and the number
iterations (or passes) that are needed to create the image.

Because materials and lighting are approximated, Quick mode creates an image in a short amount of
time.

For the Normal mode you usually only have to run around 10 iterations to get nice anti-aliased edges
and get the noise in shadows to disappear. This will vary somewhat depending on materials and lighting
but in general you would need quite few iterations. Once the image is free of noisy shadows or aliasing
the image will not get better by letting it render longer.

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For the Advanced mode the amount of time needed to create a good image will vary a lot more. Some
scenes and some materials will take a lot longer to get noise free. Frosted Glass is one such material for
instance. In general you usually need a couple of hundred iterations for a relatively complex scene to get
totally noise free. The length of time needed is totally scene and material dependent so really complex
scenes may need up to 500 iterations or more. In the Advanced mode you can generally see if that if an
image looks noisy, it will benefit from longer rendering time.

Advanced Mode – 50 iterations Advanced Mode – 500 iterations

Advanced Mode – 5000 iterations

For the image above a range of 1500 – 2000 iterations should be sufficient to create a high-quality
image.

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Step 3 – Pause and Disable the Ray Tracer

1. In the Ray Tracer dialog box – click on the

Pause button
a. The render pauses and both the Elapsed
Time and Iterations stop counting.
2. Click the Continue button to let the Ray Tracer
continue rendering where it left off.
3. Click on the Disable button to turn off the Ray
Tracer.

You can also click on the Disable Ray Tracing icon in the
tool bar to disable the render.

Step 4 – Create a Normal quality Ray Trace and Capture

an image.

1. Select Render > Enable Ray Tracing.

2. Change the Quality setting to Normal
a. Let the Ray Tracer run for about 120
seconds or until you are satisfied with
the look of the rendering.
3. Hit the Pause button in the Ray Tracing dialog
box.
4. Select Render > Capture An Image
a. The Image Options dialog box opens
b. In the Image Options you can change
the size of the image you want to save
and have an option to create a
transparent background.
5. Leave the Image Options at the default and click
on OK.
6. In the Save As box enter a name for the file and
set a location to save the image.
7. Click on the Save button.

A360 Cloud Render is also a ray trace renderer that uses the cloud resources in A360 to do the image
calculation rather than your desktop resources so you can continue to work while the images are being
created. The cloud renderer automatically creates small sized rendered images based on the Top, Front,

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Right and Home named views in your browser every time you save a new version or an auto save is
done.

If you want to create an A360 Cloud Render of a specific view you need to create a new named view.

In this section you will locate the cloud rendered versions of the knife design and create new named view
for a custom rendering.
Step 1 – Open data details in A360

1. Click on the icon in the upper left corner of the

screen to open the Data Panel.
2. Find the Rendering: Utility Knife file in the list
and click on the information icon in the bottom
right.
a. A window opens below the file to show
additional information.
3. Click on Open details in A360
a. Your default browser will launch and
take you the item details page of the
A360 project
b. By default a lite 3D version of the model
is shown
4. Click on the picture icon on the left hand side of
the window to show the renderings
a. You are now able to see the renderings
that were automatically generated
using the A360 cloud render. By default
you can see the last version you saved.
Thumbnails of the rendered named
views are visible on the left side of the
window. Clicking on any of them will
show you larger version in the main
window.
5. Hover your cursor on any of the thumbnails to
show additional information about the image.
6. Close the window by clicking the X in the right
corner.
7. Close your browser window.
8. Return to Fusion360.
9. Close the Data Panel

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Step 2 – Create new Named View

1. In the browser click on the small arrow next to

Named Views to expand the list of current
named views.
a. Named Views are basically preset
camera shots. By default there are Top,
Front, Side and Home
2. Click on any of the named views to see that
preset.
3. Arrange your design in the main window in a
way that you would like your A360 Cloud
Rendered image to look.
4. Right click on the Named View heading in the
browser.
5. Click on New Named View in the drop down
menu.
a. A new named view is created based on
the current window configuration with
the label NamedView
6. Double click on NamedView to highlight it and
type Render to change the label and hit enter
a. The label has changed to Render
7. Click on the Save icon to save a new version of
the design.

Name views can also be deleted or updated to a new

camera position by right clicking on the named view and
selecting Delete or Update Named View.

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Step 3 – Download the image from A360

1. Following the previous steps navigate back to

the thumbnails of the A360 Cloud Render.
a. A new thumbnail has been added called
Render.
2. Select any of the rendered thumbnails to see
the larger image in the middle of the screen.
3. Click on the Actions button at the bottom of the
window.
4. Select Download Image from the menu.

A360 Cloud Rendering service offers you the

opportunity to re-render any of your current thumbnail
images with new render settings. Depending on the
type of entitlement you have some of these options will
cost cloud credits.

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Drawings
Overview

This drawings functionality allows you to create 2D drawings from your Fusion 360 designs and supports
core drawing tools, which give the ability to generate PDF and DWG documentation of your Fusion 360
model. When you create a drawing, it is created as a derived document of a Fusion 360 model, and it
shows up in the Data Panel as a unique derived item in the active project.

Learning Objectives

• About Fusion 360 Drawings

• Create a Drawing of a model

• Create Views

• Create & Edit Annotations

• Drawing Settings and Preferences

• Output the Drawing

Introduction to Drawing Views

A drawing view is an object that contains a 2D projection of a 3D model.

When you create a drawing from the Fusion 360 modeling environment, the system automatically
launches a new tab of the Drawing workspace and generates a 2D projection of the components you
select. The drawing view generated is referred to as a base view. Once you place the base view in the
drawing, you can generate orthogonal and isometric projected views from it.
Projected views inherit the properties of the base view by default. When you change the properties of
the base view, the projected view properties also change. However if you override a property of a
projected view, that property stops following the changes you make to the base view.

Note: When creating a drawing, the system picks up settings such as the projection angle, annotation
format, and the drawing border and title block from Preferences.

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42.Create a Drawing
In this section you will open the design file for the Utility Knife and learn how to create a new drawing of
the assembly.
Step 1 – Open the Data Panel

In this module we will be using the 08_Drawings

Utility Knife file to complete the exercise. If you
haven’t set up a new project and uploaded the
necessary designs, please follow the steps in the
Introduction module.

1. Click on the icon in the upper left to open

the Data Panel.
2. The Data Panel will slide open

Step 2 – Open the design

1. At the top left of the Data Panel, select the

project where you uploaded 08_Drawings
Utility Knife.
2. Double-click on the design called
08_Drawings Utility Knife to open the
design in Fusion 360.
3. When the design has opened in your
modeling window, click on the ‘x’ icon to
close the Data Panel.
Step 3 – Initiate a new Drawing

1. Click on the File dropdown menu from the

top menu bar.
2. Select New Drawing from Design from the
file menu dropdown.

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Step 4 – Choose Assembly

1. Select Full Assembly from the dialog and

click OK to initiate the drawing.
2. Notice that a new tab is automatically
generated in Fusion 360 of the Drawing
workspace.

Note: If you un-check “Full Assembly” from the

New Drawing dialog, you have additional controls
to pick any set of components to create a drawing
from if the full assembly is not what you are
looking to document.

Step 4 – Commit a Base View

1. Move your cursor around the screen and

see the Base View preview is attached to
the cursor.
2. Click on the top left quadrant of the sheet
to place the view
3. Click OK to commit the view.

Note: Notice that after the view is committed, the

shaded preview matures into a 2D line drawing of
the view.

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About Projected Views & View Options

Projected views maintain a parent-child relationship with the base view it was generated from. They
inherit their properties from the parent base view. If necessary, you can override them after you create
the projected view.
The projection angle defines the method employed to generate projected views.

First Angle Projection

When you use first angle projection, projected views placed to the right of a base view depict the
appearance when viewing it from the left. Projected views placed below the base view depict the
appearance from above. The ISO drafting standard specifies that drawings use first angle projection.

Third Angle Projection

When you use third angle projection, projected views placed to the right of a base view depict the
appearance when viewing it from the right. Projected views placed below the base view depict the
appearance from below. The ANSI drafting standard specifies that drawings use third angle projection.

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43.Finish the layout:

Now that you have created a Base View of the model assembly, you will learn to create projected views
and edit their properties to create a complete drawing layout.
Step 1 – Initiate the Projected View
command
1. Click Views > Projected View.
2. Select the existing Base View
as the parent view that the
projected views will be created
from and associated to.

Step 2 – Place the views

1. Drag the cursor to the right of

the base view, and notice that
the projected view is
previewed based on this
alignment.
2. Select to the right of the
existing base view to place a
projected view.
3. Select to the bottom of the
existing base view to place a
second projected view.
4. Press Enter to finish the task

Note: Projected views inherit all its

properties from the parent. When the
properties of the parent view change,
the corresponding properties on the
projected view also change.

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Step 3 – Move the right view

1. Click anywhere inside the

selection boundary of the right
projected view to activate it.
2. Click the center grip to drag
the view.
3. Move the view to a new
location at the far right of the
layout.

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Step 4 – Move the bottom view

1. Click anywhere inside the

selection boundary of the
bottom projected view to
activate it.
2. Click the center grip to drag
the view.
3. Move the view to a new
location at the left bottom of
the layout.

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Step 5 – Create an isometric base view

1. Click Views > Base View.

2. Click to place the view in the
center of the sheet layout.
3. Set the Orientation to NE
Isometric.
4. Click OK to commit the view

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View Properties

Hidden Lines – Select On or Off from the drop-down list to display hidden lines within the selected base
view. The Hidden-line representation suppresses or exposes lines, edges and other objects that are
located behind other three-dimensional objects. This view property can be particularly helpful when
trying to visually communicate the inner workings or dimensions of a complex assembly or part.

Hidden Lines OFF Hidden Lines ON

Tangent Edges – Select Full length, Shortened or Off from the drop-down list to display Tangent edges
within the selected base view. Tangent edges mark the transition between a flat surface and a rounded
edge, most commonly seen as filleted edges. Tangent edges can be set to Full Length, Shortened, or Off.

Tangent Edges Off Tangent Edges Shortened Tangent Edges Full Length

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Interference Edges – Select On or Off from the drop-down list to display of Interference edges within
the selected base view. An interference edge occurs when two faces of two components intersect.
When Interference Edges are turned on, an edge is displayed that shows where the two components
meet. When selected, associated drawing views are to display both hidden and visible edges that
were previously excluded due to an interference condition (press, or interference fit conditions,
threaded fasteners in tapped holes where the hole feature is modeled with the minor diameter).

Interference Edges Off Interference Edges ON

44.Edit the layout views

Now that you have created a base view and several projected views of the model assembly, you will
practice using the View Properties settings to further customize the view layouts.

Step 1 – Edit the isometric base view

1. Double-click anywhere inside

the selection boundary of the
isometric view to activate it. 2.
Select the Scale ratio in the View
Properties dialog box to change
the scale.
3. Change the Scale to: 1:1
4. Click OK to accept the drawing
view changes.

If the projected view properties are

changed, they no longer inherit the
settings of the base view.

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Step 2 – Edit the right projected view

1. Double-click anywhere inside

the selection boundary of the
right projected view to activate
it.
2. In the View Properties dialog
box, click Hidden Lines and
select On.
3. Click Close to accept the
drawing view changes.

When the projected view properties are

changed, they no longer inherit the
settings of the base view.
Step 3 – Edit the bottom projected view

1. Double-click anywhere inside

the selection boundary of the
bottom projected view to
activate it.
2. In the View Properties dialog
box, change Tangent Edges to
Full Length.
3. Click Close to accept the
drawing view changes.

By now, your drawing should look something like this:

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45.Text and Annotations

At any point in the drawing creation, you can add a variety of text and annotations to the drawing and
the views to document additional detailed information. The tools for adding annotation and text to a
drawing include:

Dimension: Linear

Creates a horizontal or vertical dimension.

Dimension: Aligned

Creates a linear dimension that is aligned with the origin points of the extension lines.

Dimension: Angular

Measures the angle between selected geometric objects or 3 points.

Dimension: Diameter

Creates a diameter dimension for a circle or an arc.

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Dimension: Radius

Creates a radius dimension for a circle or an arc.

Text

Creates single and multi-line text.

Leader

Creates a leader note.

46.Text and Leader Notes:

In this section you will learn how to create, reposition and edit text and leader notes in the drawing.
Step 1 – Create Text

1. Click Annotation > Text.

2. Select two corners below the
Isometric Base View to create a text
box.
3. Type the following text into the text
box: NE Isometric View
4. Select anywhere outside of the text
box to commit the action.
5. Repeat process to add text below
the to the initial base view with the
text: Front View
6. Repeat process to add text below
the right projected view with the
text: Right View
7. Repeat process to add text below
the bottom projected view with the
text: Bottom View

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Step 2 – Create Leader Notes

1. Click Annotation > Leader.

2. Click near the blade of the bottom
view to place the start of the leader.
3. Click outside the view to place the
end of the leader.
4. Type the following text: Steel blade
5. Select anywhere outside of the text
box to commit the action.

Step 3 – Reposition Leader Notes

1. Click on the leader note to activate.

2. Drag the leader note using the text
grip to the left so that the leader is at
a 90 degree elbow.
3. Press the Esc key to commit the
changes and exit the command.

Step 4 – Edit Text

1. Double-click on the leader note to

activate the text editor.
2. Drag the < > to the right to format
the text into 2 lines.
3. Select anywhere outside of the text
box to commit the action.

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47.Dimensions
In this section you will learn how to create, reposition and edit a variety of dimension types in the
drawing.

Step 1 – Create linear dimensions

1. Click Annotation > Linear

Dimension.
2. Click the two midpoints of the
bottom view and a preview is
displayed on your curser.
3. Click again to place the
dimension.

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Step 2 – Create aligned dimensions

1. Click Annotation > Aligned

Dimension.
2. Click the top edge and bottom
point of the cutting blade of the
right view.
3. Move the cursor out to the left
and see a preview of the
dimension.
4. Click again to place the
dimension and finish the
command.

Step 3 – Create angular dimensions

1. Click Annotation > Angular

Dimension.
2. Select the left curved edge of the
front view.
3. Move the cursor out to the left
and see a preview of the
dimension.
4. Click again to place the
dimension and finish the
command.

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Step 4 – Create Radial Dimensions

1. Click Annotation > Radial

Dimension.
2. Select the blade slider of the
right view as the circle to
dimension.
3. Move the cursor down and to
the left and see a preview of the
dimension.
4. Click again to place the
dimension and finish the
command

Step 5 – Create diameter dimensions 1.

Click Annotation > Diameter
Dimension.
2. Select the circular boss in the
webbing of the right view as the
circle to dimension.
3. Move the cursor up and to the
right and see a preview of the
dimension.
4. Click again to place the
dimension and finish the
command.

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Step 7 Edit dimensions

–
Double-click the linear
1. dimension on the bottom view
to activate it.
4. Replace the current value with
0.80.

5. Select anywhere outside of the

text box to commit the action
and see the override

Step 8 Return dimension to measured

– value

1. Double-click the linear

dimension you just edited.
2. Highlight the text and delete the
“0.80” text.

3. Select anywhere outside of the

text box to commit the action
and see the initial associated
value (0.78 in).

By now, your drawing should look something like this:

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48.Drawing Settings & Preferences

You can change settings such as the default projection angle, sheet size, title block, annotation
properties and dimension precision.

The default settings are applied whenever you create a new drawing. If required, you can override some
of the settings once the drawing is created.

Change Drawing Settings: Making adjustments to the Drawing Settings are local and drawing-specific.
These preferences will be used as the default override for the active drawing only.

Note: If you would like any of these settings to permeate as a default in future drawings, you can use the
same workflow as below in the Preferences dialog. The Preferences dialog can be found in the
application bar under Your Name:

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Step 1 – Open Document Settings

1. On the application bar,

click the file dropdown
menu.
2. Select Document Settings
to display the Document
Settings dialog box.

Step 2 – Edit annotation

preferences

1. Check the box for

Annotation Unit Display.
2. Change the Annotation
Text Height to 0.24.
3. Change the Angular
Dimension Precision to
.123.
4. Click OK to accept the
changes

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Step 3 – Edit title block

1. Click Annotation > Text.

2. Add a description to the
Project section of the title
block.
3. Right-click and select
Repeat Text.
4. Add a description to the
Title section of the title
block.
5. Right-click and select
Repeat Text.
6. Add a description to the
Approved section of the
title block.

Associatively Update the Drawing

Any change you make to the model's geometry, the drawing views are immediately updated to reflect
the changes.

The 3D models are likely to change even after drawing views are created and annotated.
If any annotations associated with the drawing view geometry get disassociated because of the model
change, badges are displayed on the screen. To delete or manually re-associate these badged
annotations to the view geometry, you can snap to specify the points or select the objects you want the
dimension to get re-associated.

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49.Output the Drawing

When the drawing is completed, you have the ability to output the layout to either a PDF or DWG. Both
of these options creates a copy of the drawing and prompts you to save it locally onto your machine.

Step 1 – Save the drawing

1. Click File > Save.

2. Enter Utility Knife in the
Name field.
3. Click OK.

Step 1 – Output a PDF

1. Click Output > Output

PDF.
2. Navigate to a desired local
location on your
computer.
3. Click Save.

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Step 2 – Output a DWG

1. Click Output > Output

DWG.
2. Navigate to a desired local
location on your
computer.
3. Click Save.

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Notes

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Notes

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Notes

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Notes

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