Deep Dive Into Fusion 360 (Part II)

Next, I watched a tutorial by Kevin Kennedy which explained how to create 2D drawing in Fusion 360. 2D drawings are extremely useful for manufacturing CAD designs, sharing designs with others, replicating 3D models, and much more. In this tutorial, I took an example model of a joint and created a 2D design of it. First, I opened the model in Fusion 360 and selected File > New Drawing > From Design. I kept the default settings and clicked "OK." Then, I created a wireframe image of the design, used the "Orthographic Projection" tool to create imaged from different viewpoints, and used the "Shaded" settings to create a more realistic image of one of the perspectives. Next, I used different dimensions tools to add dimensions to the wireframe images. This allows for easier replication and manufacturing. Finally, I exported my design as a PDF. Below is an image of my 2D design of the joint, as well as a 2D design I created for my bicycle rack from the last step.

Afterwards, I used the provided 2D drawing to designed a 1x4 Lego Technic Brick in Fusion 360. At first, it was challenging to approach the design and determine the dimensions of certain parts, but as I progressed, it because easier to interpret the drawing. Utilizing many of the tools I learned from tutorials in this unit as well as previous units, I successfully designed the 1x4 Lego Technic Brick. I started by creating a sketch of the interior shape of the lego brick. I extruded the sketch by the width of the brick minus twice the wall thickness. Then, I sketched the outside walls, extruded them by the wall thickness, sketched the another circle on the a walls, intruded them to create the two-circle effect on the sides of the brick, and mirrored the features to the other side of the brick. Lastly, I created the features on the top of the brick by simply extruding a sketch. To replicate the feature four times, I used the rectangular pattern tool.

Following the design of the Techinc Lego, I chose a lego a designed it in Fusion 360. Also, I created a 2D drawing so that other engineers and manufacturers can replicate the design. I started out by measuring the lego brick using calipers. I measured the length and width of the entire brick, the height of the base and the top circles, the diameter of the inner and outer circles (using the inner and outer jaws), and the distance from the circles to the edges of the brick. I recreated the lego in Fusion 360 (similarly to the method for creating the 1x4 Technic Lego in the previous step). Afterwards, I created a 2D design from my CAD model of the brick. Below are three images: the real-life lego brick I chose, my 3D model of the lego brick, and a 2D design generated from the lego brick.

Shortly thereafter, I exchanged my 2D design of the lego brick of my choosing (from the last step) and exchanged it with a classmate. I, then, used their 2D design to replicate their lego brick. Below are images of their 2D drawing and the 3D model I created from their design. I carefully examined all of the dimensions in their drawing to help my visualize their brick and recreate it in Fusion 360. I started with a 2D sketch of the base and extruded it upwards. Then, I used the shell command to hollow the cube (using the thickness dimensions provided in their 2D drawing). Next, I created the four circles on the top of the cube using the rectangular pattern feature before, finally, extruding the this sketch upwards by the height of the circles in the 2D design.

After completing the hinged box tutorial, I 3D printed the box. I had to export the file as an OBJ from Fusion 360, import the OBJ into PrusaSlicer, split the object into different bodies, scale it down to where the print would only take one hour, and export a sliced, GCODE file. Then I chose an available 3D printer, cleaned it off, uploaded the GCODE file from a different computer, and set it to print. Unfortunately, the pin for the hinge was too small to print, so the 3D printed hinge did not function well in real life.

The last step of this project was to choose a lego minifigure, record its dimensions using calipers, and recreate it in Fusion 360. First, I created several sketches to create the legs and the holes in the back of each leg. Then, I created a vertical sketch on the side of the leg and extruded it to create the join connecting the legs to the torso. To replicate it on both side of the figure, I mirrored it across one of the origin planes. Then, I created the shape for the torso and extruded it to form a 3D body. Afterwards, I created a two sketches on the slanted side of the torso: a fit-point spline an a circle perpendicular to the highest end point of the spline. Then, I used the sweep tool to extrude the circle along the spline. Next, I used the move tool to rotate the arm slightly and move it away from the torso. Then, I created a "sphere" form and placed it on the top of the arm. I combined this newly-created body with the arm to complete this part of the design. Then, I created a 2D, vertical sketch of half of the head and used the revolve tool to rotate the sketch around the vertical axis and create the head. Next, I created a different component for each of the parts of the design (legs, torso, left arm, right arm, head) and created joints to simulate movment. For example, I created a revolve joint between the arm and the body so that the arm rotates in Fusion 360 just like the minifigure in real life. Later, I added different "appearances" to the different components of the design to make it appear like the real-life minifigure. Shortly afterwards, I used the "Render" menu to render the minifigure in a realistic fasion. Finally, I exported the completed design as an OBJ file, imported into PrusaSlicer, and created a GCODE file. Slicing the design revealed that, if I were to print the minifigure, it would take 59 minutes. Also, I created a 2D drawing of my lego figure using Fusion 360 that displays all dimensions. Other engineers can use this drawing to replicate my design. A picture of the 2D drawing is displayed below, as well.

The largest challenge I encountered through the duration of this unit was using 2D drawings to determine the dimensions of certain aspects of 3D models. At first, this process was extremely time consuming and difficult, but as I practiced more, it became easier and I was able to, more efficiently, replicate others' 3D models. Visualizing the designs in my mind while examining the 2D drawings allowed me to expedite my design process and create CAD models from drawings faster.