Deep Dive into Fusion 360 (part 2)

This unit, Deep Dive into Fusion 360 (part 2), required students to take many of the skills equipped in part one and apply them comprehensively to designs of our own choosing. Rather than following tutorials, students must be proficient in measuring dimensions with calipers, creating various sketches in the application, extruding/sweeping/revolving, etc. There were several parts to this unit, including creating a bike rack, a technic lego block, a custom lego block (which we swapped with a partner), and finally a tutorial based design.

Bike Rack

To make the bicycle rack from the reference image, I first created a sketch in the horizontal plane (x), drawing a vertical line measuring 36mm from the origin. I proceeded to draw the rest of the lines, including the 16mm width connecting the vertical lines. Once the rough sketch was completed, I used the fillet tool, located under the "modify" drop down menu, to round the corners of the bike rack. I then finished the sketch and created a new sketch in the vertical plane (y). Using the circle feature (or by clicking keyboard shortcut "c"), I created a circle with the center located at the origin, with a diameter of 4mm. Finishing the sketch and returning to the 3D plane, I applied the sweep feature to make the design 3D: I selected the "sweep" function under the "create" menu, designating the circle as the profile and the main bike rack sketch as the path. To make the 3D design into a 2D drawing, I clicked on the file button in the application bar and selected the "new drawing from design." After clicking OK in the pop-up dialogue box, the page containing the 2D model will open. From this screen, I selected the "front" view in the right-hand window, as well as changed the scale from 1:20 to 1:16 (sizing it up). Next, I clicked on the "projected view" feature in the toolbar and selected the parent view as the base view --this allows me to create different views based on where I drag the design. I created a bottom view and a 3/4 view (shaded). Finally, I used the dimension tools to mark up the measurements of bike rack; this included the length, width, and thickness of the bike rack. I also used the angular dimension tool from the dimension's menu to measure the angle of the curve on the bike rack. 

Making a 2D Drawing

To create a 2D drawing from the initial 3D design, I first selected the "new drawing from design" button, located in the file drop down menu of the application bar. I clicked the OK button in the dialogue box, and I placed my drawing down in the new workspace. An alternative way to create a drawing is by right clicking the appropriate file in the data panel, before similarly selecting "new drawing from design." Once my design was added to the drawing page, I made several adjustments, such as selecting a specific view (top, front, etc.), changing the scale ratio, and adjusting the appearance settings (with shading, without, with non-visible lines, etc.). I created several more views by utilizing the "projected view" feature, which is in the toolbar. I chose the parent view as the base view and placed other projected views surrounding it. I created one final isometric view with full shading and saved the file. Below contains my 2D sketch for the connector joint.

Technic Lego Block From a Reference Photo

To make the 1x4 technic lego block with three holes on the side, I first created a sketch in the horizontal plane, drawing a 2 point rectangle with 31.8mm x 7.8 mm dimensions. After finishing the sketch, I extruded the design by 9.6mm and created a new sketch located on the top. I then drew two circles with diameters 3.2 mm and 4.8mm- one was located inside the other while sharing the same center. I extruded the outer ring (4.8mm circle) by 1.8mm and used the rectangular pattern feature to replicate and evenly space out the other three circles. Using the view cube to shift the view to the bottom corner, I then used the shell tool and hollowed out the inside of the technic brick. Next, I created a circle (6.2 mm diameter) on the side of the block. I exited the sketch and used the hole tool to create the semi-circle-like shape formed by the larger circle (not fully extruded through). I used the rectangular pattern feature again to duplicate it on the side of the brick. Once there were three circles, I created another sketch and drew a 4.8 mm circle. I extruded this fully through to the other side and used rectangular pattern to apply it to the other two circles. I created a sketch on the horizontal plane to make the cylinder-like legs that extended through the 6.2mm circles. Exiting the sketch one last time, I extruded the circles until they aligned with the rectangular walls of the lego block. Finally, I clicked on the save button to save my file.

Designing a Lego of my Choice

Firstly, using calipers, I measured the dimensions of my chosen lego block, including the length, width, and height (I also recorded the diameter of the circles and the distance from the circles to the vertical sides of the block). Then, creating a sketch in the vertical plane of Fusion 360, I designed the rectangle base and arch for the body of the lego. Next, returning to the 3D plane, I extruded them by the appropriate thickness and created a new sketch on the front face of the lego. I drew two circles - one inside the other - and used the dimension tool to correctly distance them from the sides of the lego. I repeated the process, creating two duplicate circles located directly above the original. I extruded these circles after exiting the sketch: the inner circle was extruded fully through, while the outer circle was only slightly extruded (creating the "indent" effect). In a new sketch, I created two identical outer circles on the opposite face of the lego, extruding them inward similarly. Next, to make the arch-design in the center of the block, I created a sketch in the vertical plane and drew a symmetrical arch using the 3-point-arc tool. I used construction lines to act as the "mirror line axis," before mirroring the design. I drew two lines connecting the arches from top to bottom--I filleted them to ensure the edges were round (reflecting the original design).  I exited the 2d plane and extruded these fully through, just like I did with the inner circles. For the last component of the design, I created a sketch on the bottom of the lego and drew out two squares and two 4mm lines (each distanced .93mm from the squares, which are 1.35mm from the sides); I used the tangent arc tool to connect the two lines. Finally, I extruded each component upward and saved my design.

Designing My Partner's Lego 

After receiving Ananya's 2D drawing of her lego block, I first created a sketch in the vertical plane: I used the line tool to sketch the side view of her block, which would eventually make up the body. I returned to the 3D plane and extruded the side based on the dimensions. Next, I created another sketch - this time on the flat top - and drew two identical circles, evenly spaced. I moved these circles to their appropriate location with the dimension tool and subsequently extruded them. Afterwards, I checked the thickness of the Ananya's lego block and shelled the inside accordingly. To create the circles on the bottom interior, I drew out two circles and press-pulled them until they were level with the sides. Finally, I saved the file through the application bar.

Creating a Design From a Tutorial