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What I Already Know About Fusion 360
I am very familiar with Fusion 360 and have used it for several years. I know many ways to create, distort, modify, and render 3D designs, and I have used many of the sketch capabilities that Fusion 360 provides and combined those with extrude, pivot, and many other features to change 2D-designs into 3D objects. Then I can modify these objects using the move, filet, shell, intrude, and push/pull features. Also, I know how to import STL and OBJ files into Fusion 360 and use the Mesh2BREP feature to convert the imported file to a format that I can modify. Also, using the Render section in Fusion 360, I can render my designs to see what they will look like in real life, and I am capable of changing the colors and materials of different bodies and components.
One Thing I Remember From Last Semester About Fusion 360
From our lessons last semester, I remember that, when import a STL or OBJ file in to Fusion 360, you need to use the "Convert Mesh" feature to convert the import into a mutable format. If you try to modify the body before converting it, the changes will fail and an error will appear near the bottom right of the screen. This is especially useful when importing files downloaded from open-source websites, such as Thingiverse, to build off of other people's designs.
Because my storage box from last semester is still functioning and holding together well, I will continue to use it this semester. The first step was to design the box using Corel Draw, a software for making 2D designs that can be laser cut. There would be four pieces that would act as the wall, and one piece for the base. The base piece must have tabs on all sides, because it will connect to four walls. The walls, on the other hand, only need three sides with tabs because there is no lid on the box. Then, I proceeded to design the box in Corel Draw. After laser cutting and hot-gluing the box together, I vinyl cut my last name and the Python (a programing language) logo. I placed these stickers on the sides of my box. This semester, I added another layer of hot-glue to ensure that the box will continue to stay together.
Fusion 360's Features
This is the Application Bar in Fusion 360. It allows to you navigate and easily switch between different open designs.
This is the Data Panel which allows users to organize their designs and navigate to different versions of them. You can sort different models into folders and save versions of designs that can be accessed later.
This is the Profile and Help section of Fusion 360. Here users can modify their preferences and find assistance with Fusion 360's many features.
Here is an image of the default preferences for my Fusion 360 account. These preferences can be easily modified through the Profile and Help interface.
The Toolbar in Fusion 360 allows for a quick-selection of tools in an organized, graphic manner. You can customize which tools appear in the very top and which appear in the drop down menus.
The Fusion 360 Browser displays the details of the open design, displaying the bodies, components, sketches, origin, construction planes, canvases, and much more. Different parts of you design can be selected and turned off temporarily here. Also, different bodies can be renamed for organizational purposes.
The View Cube in Fusion 360 provides an intuitive way to orient your viewpoint in a 3D environment. Users can either drag and rotate the cube or click on a face, edge, or corner to orient themselves to it.
To access the Canvas and Marking Menu in Fusion 360, users right click on anywhere in their design. This opens up different options including the last tool they used, appearance settings, and much more. If a user quickly drags after right clicking, they can more efficiently select a setting from the Canvas and Marking Menu.
The Navigation Bar and Display Settings are essential to efficiently designing 3D models in Fusion 360. They can be used to change what is visible in the design, the grid settings, as well as helping users move their viewpoint around the design using the Pan and Orbit tools.
Using the Display Settings in Fusion 360, users can select different "views" to see their design from. They allow for seeing/hiding blocked edges and faces, shading, and much more. Below are several picture of different views of a component of my Final Project from Semester 1.
The timeline in Fusion 360 allows for you to see different steps in your design. Users can "travel back in time" and modify an earlier step of their design, or even watch the progression of their design over time.
"Pro Tricks"
Pro Trick #1: Using the drop-down menu from the View Cube, users can set the "home position" to their current viewpoint. The user's perspective can be moved to the "home position" by clicking the house image to the top left of the View Cube.
Pro Trick #2: Users can set the grid to fixed or adaptive increments, allowing for a more customized designing process. This menu can be accessed from the Display Settings at the bottom of the screen.
Fusion 360 Interface
1) Application Bar
2) Data Panel
3) Profile and Help
4) Toolbar
5) Browser
6) View Cube
7) Canvas and Marking Menu
8) Navigation and Display Settings
9) Timeline
Example Designs
Paperclip
The picture on the left is my model of a paperclip in Fusion 360, and the picture on the right is the result from 3D printing the design. The process for creating this design can be split into two major phases: first, I created a flat sketch of the paperclip using the line and fillet tools. I also had to use horizontal/vertical constraints so that the fillets functioned correctly. Second, I created a sketch on a plane perpendicular to the sketch of the paperclip. On this sketch, I created a circle using the center-circle tool. Next, I used the sweep command to extrude this circle around the path of the paperclip.
Bottle
The picture on the left is my model of a bottle in Fusion 360, and the picture on the right is the result from 3D printing the design. To create this design, I first imported a picture of a bottle using the insert canvas feature. Then, I calibrated the size of the canvas (which can be accomplished by right clicking on the canvas in the browser). Next, I created points along the side of the bottle and used the spline tool to create a curve along those points. Afterwards, I used the revolve tool to rotate the sketch around a center line to create a body. Then, I used the shell command to hollow the bottle, used the intrude command to create the opening in the top of the bottle, and used the fillet tool to smooth out the bottom and top of the bottle. Directly after using the shell command though, I used the section analysis tool to view a cross-section of the bottle and ensure that my changes were functioning as I had planned.
Problems Encountered
There were two major problems I faced during this unit. First, using constraints to help create fillets when designing the paperclip in Fusion 360 was not working, and second, the paperclip would not stick to the print bed during 3D printing. To fix the constraints problem, I used Fusion 360's timeline feature to go back to the sketch and re-create the constraints. After doing so, the fillets worked perfectly. To address the paperclip sticking to the print bed, I both cleaned the printer and added supports in PrusaSlicer. These changed allowed my to print the paperclip perfectly.
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