Updated notes from 9/23/2023
Surprisingly, the appearance of Fusion 360 seems to have changed over the past several years.
The following notes are based on the youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvrHuaHhqHI
This video was apparently recorded in 2020 - so may already be quite dated. I was quite surprised to see that some of my original designs were still in the Fusion 360 cloud! (just a test block)
Gear design tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8A_11o7QZ0
Thread design tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGWrFeu8Hv0
In the upper right corner, click the "Save" icon (the floppy disk icon). Enter a name for the design. If desired, scroll all the way down (will need to scroll WAYYYY down - this may be off the screen for a standard laptop screen!) to click "New Project".
Once the new project is created, a New Folder can also be created - again, the New Folder button is on the BOTTOM of the dialog box, which will have to be moved up (till the top edge is off-screen on a small laptop with the resolution set to 150%...).
New Component:
Select the "Assemble" drop down in the top task bar. Then select New Component. This brings up a dialog box. Add a component name.
There is a design mentality with Fusion 360 that needs to be adopted to learn to use it. The tutorials show how to draw circles, lines, and boxes - but there's more to it than that. Especially when designing for 3D printing, a design component needs to be fully dimensioned.
One should possibly learn how to create construction lines before learning how to draw circles and boxes. The intended shapes need to be anchored to a dimension. It appears that laying out initial construction lines to anchor the design to should perhaps be the first step.
It is not possible to provide absolute coordinate for objects. Objects have to be drawn based on other points. Create construction lines referenced from origin. Then draw points or objects based on construction lines.
Start Drawing:
Select the view cube in the upper right hand corner. For most plate and simple box type designs, select the "top" view to lay out the 2D sketch. That 2D shape will then be extruded.
Under the "Solid" section of the top tool bar, select "sketch". The origin will appear. Click on the plane box, and the drawing options will appear.
Select the two point rectangle. Click on the orgin, drag in the direction. CAREFULLY type the width of the rectangle, then tab, then type the height of the rectangle, then hit enter.
To pan, press down the scroll wheel and move the drawing.
See this video on using the "pattern" feature in "create". This is done to create an array of objects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBck1OG7-ew
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Below are my notes on getting started with Fusion 360.
These notes were based on this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bc9c3S12g
Once the tool is installed, bring up the tool, and log in. It is slow, and will take a while....
Getting started:
In a blank workspace, go to the upper left corner, and be sure the work space is in "model".
Units: Under the model box, in the browser box, expand the Documents box, and check the Units.
Click the "units" box, then slide to the right until the "edit" box appears, and click that.
Note - Units can also be set as a default in the "preferences".
To set preferences, go to the upper right hand corner where the username is displayed. Drop down from there to get to account, preferences, profile, or sign out.
Basic moving around:
Zoom in and out: mouse scroll wheel.
Pan: Press down on the scroll wheel and move the mouse about the page.
Orbit: Shift and middle mouse button, then move mouse about the page.
Use the perspective cube in the upper right corner to pick the face you want to deal with.
Also use the view menu at the bottom edge to select pan.
Some other random notes:
Fusion 360 will not let you "move" an object with the mouse. To MOVE an object, you have to go to the "modify" drop down, and select the "move" option.
-or- Right click (to get options menu), and select "move"
On push/pull, see if there is an option to either "join" or "cut". Cut should allow taking away material by pushing back into the original object.
Check in the default settings (upper left corner), under project settings to see if the Z-axis is defaulted to the "up" axis.
Start Drawing:
Right click (and hold) the "unsaved" box immediately under the "Browser" box. Select "New Component".
In the "New Component" box, click slowly, then 2nd click to highlight name. Fill in new name for the component.
Hint: Can also right click to "delete" the component.
As you work on components, the "dot" to the right will indicate which component is active.
To activate Origin, click on the component to drop down the Origin box. Click the "light bulb" to enable viewing of the origin.
Check in the default settings (upper left corner), under project settings to see if the Z-axis is defaulted to the "up" axis.
Rule: 2D sketches have to start on a face or plane.
Right click on plane to start, when drop down menu appears, go down to select "create sketch". Plane will normalize to face you.
Type "s" - to get the tookbox menu for sketching (be PATIENT!). Type "center" in the search box to bring up the "center rectangle" option.
Right click the end to pin it to the "s" box so that it comes up every time.
Click "center rectangle".
Click origin to tie rectangle to origin of drawing. Drag out, and box will appear.
Highlighted dimension will appear on either side or top/bottom. Type in value of that dimension, then TAB, then type in value of other dimension. then Enter to finish (tabbing goes back and forth to other dimension).
To Extrude - type the key "Q" for "Push / Pull" menu. If it doesn't rotate the view, go to the upper right hand corner where the view box is and select the "home" button to get objective view.
Select the object to extrude. Pull the object up, and type the dimension in. Press Enter to complete.
To carve out the inside:
Position the object so that you can get to the top face.
Type S to get model menu.
Type "offset" into the search box. Select "offset".
Select the outside boundary of the object to hollow out.
Move in to get the dimension box, and enter the dimension (probably NEGATIVE). Press Enter.
Then use the perspective cube at the top to go to the home orthogonal view.
Press "Q" to push/pull.
Select the top face.
In the control box for the push/pull, go to the Extent property, select the "distance" drop down, and change it to "object".
Position to the bottom view of the box (click the corners of the view cube in the upper right corner and move around to get to the orthogonal view of the bottom of the box), and click the bottom surface of the box. Note that you need to click on the outside area of the bottom surface - since you're cutting away. It might even be ok to click on the outside line of the bottom face.
Fill in an offset (-.125), and click Enter or click "ok" in dialog box. (be sure to fill in the OFFSET box, not the distance box!)
To check, from the "inspect" toolbar drop down, select the section analysis, select the front surface of the box, push in to see the section.
To add Fillets to the edges
With the box in orthogonal view, select "S" for the model tool box.
Select the inside vertical edges of the box. In the orthogonal view, possibly orbited a bit, this should be easy. You can select through the box, don't have to directly see the full line. Select all 4 vertical lines. Enter the radius of the fillet (.125), then click OK. Can also type "F" for fillet, or select fillet from the "modify" drop down.
Repeat with the outside vertical edges. Used radius of 0.2" for outside edge.
Save design.
To print -
Select component or body, Right Click, and select "print to STL".
By selecting the top "bodies" box instead of a specific body box, you get all in one STL file.
Otherwise, if you select a single body, you'll get one body per STL.
Set "refinement" to "high" quality to get a smooth print. "Medium" may be fine for MOST applications. "Low" quality will be much rougher, but smaller files (and faster print?).
-or- on upper left corner, on the "file" button, next to the "save" button, select the 3D print option,
-or- select the "Make" option on the tool bar tab across the top.
Clicking the "Preview mesh" button to see what the level of detail (triangles) will be.
NOTE: In 3d print box, it may have the "send to 3d print utility" box already checked. UNCHECK this to print to STL file.
See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBJMgkzkaas
This is the tutorial: Fusion 360 tutorial - Get a grip on Components, Bodies, and Assemblies