Notes: Autodesk Fusion 360

Cutting a toolpath in half

Nice to be able to cut toolpaths in half when working on odd 3D shapes. That way I can clamp half of the piece down really well on one half while milling the other half and then switch.

  1. Make a construction plane offset from the surface you want to mill
  2. Draw a sketch on that plane around the area you want to mill
  3. In manufacture create your toolpath (adaptive, parallel, etc)
  4. In the geometry tab set the machining boundary to your sketch. Under Model select the faces to mill (KEY: uncheck "Include Setup Model". Under Avoid/Machine Surfaces you can select surfaces to avoid if you find your toolpath running into anything weird.

Ref: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-manufacture-forum/parallel-tool-path-is-plunging-on-the-end-of-a-face-selection/td-p/10035789#M71684

Inserting a canvas and tracing

This is useful for things like tracing a wrench to build a tool foam drawer

  1. Insert > Canvas
  2. Document explorer > Canvases > canvas you inserted > calibrate
  3. In the edit menu of the canvas you can flip it horizontally/vertically
  4. Trace a fit point spline around it. For tool foam I've found being a tiny bit wide of the tool is best (too tight then it is hard to get in and out)

Moving a canvas and spline sketch

Once I've inserted a canvas and drawn a spline it can be nice to move them together to adjust their positioning.

  1. Document explorer > canvases > canvas you inserted > edit > adjust x/y
  2. edit sketch > draw box around all points > press m key (for move) > move x/y same amount as canvas

Variables

Create: s (hotkey to open shortcuts menu) -> Change Parameters -> Click + button in dialog box to create new use

Use: When you need an amount just type the name of the var. Can be used in expressions too (2+outside_diameter)

Dogbones

Install this lib to make it easy to place dogbones for mortise/tenon in wood. https://github.com/DVE2000/Dogbone

s -> dogbone. You can manually select/deselect dogbones.

Mortise and Tenons

https://forge.carlin.com/e-carlin/F360MortiseAndTenon

s -> Mortise & Tenon

French Cleats

https://forge.carlin.com/e-carlin/F360FrenchCleat

s -> French Cleat Hook

Midplane in a body

Select two opposite faces on the body (like the two ends of the board).

Aligning design for manufacture

Arrange requires a commercial license. This is how to do it manually on the free personal license.

1. Convert bodies to components

2. Create a Manufacturing Model

3. Align each part flat on XY

4. Space the parts apart

5. Create the Setup