MASTERING

AUTODESK
FUSION

27 STEP-BY-STEP 3D MODELING PROJECTS FOR

3D PRINTING, PROTOTYPING, AND MAKING

2ND EDITION . 22 - 22

Authors: Jake O Sugden & Joshua Manley

Published by CADclass
MASTERING AUTODESK FUSION Copyright ©2024 by Jake O Sugden and Joshua Manley/CADclass

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without
the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Graphics/pictures in this book of Autodesk Fusion are excluded from this copyright.

Disclaimer: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Any advice or recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or publisher. The
author and publisher Disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.

Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademark of their respective owners.
Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using
the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of
infringement of the trademark.

2nd Edition | 2024 - 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8-9881894-5-9 (Paperback)

ISBN-13: 979-8-9881894-6-6 (Hardcover)

Publisher: CADclass.org

Written By: Jake O Sugden & Joshua Manley

Weatherly, Isaac. “Electric Guitar.” Pexels, 3 Feb. 2019, (www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-guitar-near-

river-2156327/). Accessed 6 Apr. 2023. “Clear Light Bulb.” Pexels, LED Supermarket, 2 Aug. 2017,
(www.pexels.com/photo/clear-light-bulb-577528/). Accessed 6 Apr. 2023. Chapter Pages Image
was created by fanjianhua on Freepik and is licensed under Creative Commons(www.freepik.com/
free-photo/architectural-blueprints_1120487.htm#query=technical%20drawing&position=1&from_
view=keyword&track=ais).

For information on distribution, translation, or bulk sales, contact [email protected] directly.

 PREFACE iii

PREFACE
In the early 2010’s I was a first-year engineering student taking my first Computer Aided Design (CAD)
class . On the first day the professor walked in, handed us the syllabus, said, “this is going to be
difficult,” and walked out. I shot a confused look at my classmates, whose expressions resembled mine.
I wondered what I had gotten myself into and if this was what university was really like.

She was right; it was difficult. For the next 16 weeks, I read textbooks, attended office hours, asked
questions, and generally felt lost. I googled questions with complex answers I couldn’t understand. I
tried to find mentors or peers who could help but to no avail. I was on my own.

I struggled through the course, using willpower and a hefty dose of caffeine, but it was not easy. When it
was over, all I felt was relief. If it weren’t for people insisting on the importance of CAD, I’m sure I would
have sworn it off forever.

And now years later, I love making 3D models and use CAD every day. As I type this, my 3D printers are
working on autopilot, making 3D models I’ve designed for my clients, literally making money as I sleep.

The truth is, the course did not work well for me, but the professor was right. CAD is difficult to learn.

However, I now know that learning CAD does not have to be like this. With the right training program
and the proper guidance, learning CAD is like learning how to ride a bike. It’s fun and rewarding and
gets even better as you practice. Making a 3D model helps you visualize what could be.

So, I set out to build the CAD class I wished I had when I first learned. I wanted:

• To build models I found exciting and could make in the real world.
• To feel the real sense of progress from practice exercises that are not too hard but not too easy
either but build up from the foundation.
• A community of peers and mentors who understood where I was and when I was struggling and
could help when I ran into problems.
• To build my dream projects and feel confident doing them.

This is that CADclass!

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

• You’ve spent months or years imagining what you could do if only you knew how to make a 3D
model and share your ideas with the world.
• You’ve endlessly searched for free tutorials on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google, watched them and
tried to follow along but didn’t get what you needed and still don’t feel like you truly “get it.”
• You tend to get excited to start learning, progress through a few tutorials and make some progress,
but then give up a few weeks later.
 iv PREFACE

• You have questions but aren’t sure how to ask them due to your limited knowledge.
• You watch a tutorial, get stuck, and Google solutions but cannot find a suitable answer to your
question.
• You feel demoralized and conclude that learning CAD may be too difficult.

I have good news. The problem is not you, your intelligence, or your learning ability. The problem is the
system, or rather the lack of one, you are trying to follow. If you have the proper structure and relevant
content at the correct time, and you are surrounded by the right community and mentors, learning feels
enjoyable and happens naturally.

Is it impossible to learn online for free? Absolutely not. It’s simply going to take you a great deal of extra
time and quite a bit of frustration to do it. You will have to develop your syllabus, tutorials, learning
plan, and troubleshooting help when things get tough. If you persevere, you will get it, but the path will
be anything but straightforward and will likely take much more time than you anticipated.

What we’re offering to you is a well-thought-out plan engineered with your success in mind. You’ll have
access to a community of fellow CAD modelers working through the same projects simultaneously.

WELCOME TO CADCLASS
We are very excited to have you join an exclusive club of engineers, makers, artists, hobbyists, and
entrepreneurs. Throughout this course, you will learn everything you need to know to go from beginner
to being able to make your dream projects.

You will have a chance to connect with peers, the authors, and share what you build along the way.
This course is the best investment you can make for your future self. We believe it takes 3 things to be
successful with CAD modeling:

1 - Good instruction that starts with the basics and builds up from there.
2 - Access to a community of people working on the same thing.
3 - Practice, practice, and more practice.

Learning CAD is a useful skill allowing you to communicate your 3D ideas to people and machines.
Sharing your ideas increases your chances of getting hired, making a sale, or solving a problem.

Until recently, it was prohibitively expensive to learn CAD, and only a few specialists with access to
the software learned it. Now many programs have free trials or inexpensive subscriptions, making it
possible for anyone to learn. Still, not many people do. Why?

Learning CAD is hard. Not because learning the program is hard but because the resources available
are a mix of boring, outdated, unclear, tailored to the wrong skill level, and simply unhelpful.
This course covers 27 projects spanning 12 different topic areas. Each is engineered to introduce a
few new ideas and gradually become more complex and challenging. These projects will combine the
tangible art of making with the digital confidence of CAD.
 PREFACE v

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO GET STARTED

Internet + Laptop or Computer (most iPads, tablets, and Chromebooks will not work). Autodesk Fusion
is a cloud-based software and requires an internet connection to function fully. Ensure you also check
the latest computer specifications on the Fusion website for information about whether your machine will
work. 3D design software tends to be processor intensive.

A mouse with a clickable scroll wheel and two buttons. Some programmable mice may not work. You
can use a simple and inexpensive mouse to navigate around our projects.

Autodesk Fusion CAD software (Make sure you sign up for the free Hobbyist or Education version)

Join the Discord community: Discord.gg/5hbt6xDPqf

This is where you will Discuss projects and progress with your fellow students. Please do join and
Discuss! If you need help with this, email [email protected], and we’ll set you up.

And here are some things that are nice to have but not necessary:

• An inexpensive second monitor can be a game changer. If you can afford a second monitor, buy it.
• Calipers - These are great for making and modeling Dimensionally accurate practical objects.

WHAT IS AUTODESK FUSION?

Autodesk Fusion (formerly known as Fusion 360) is the Swiss army knife of design and manufacturing
tools. As the name implies, it is a fusion of several different types of software.

With Autodesk Fusion, you can design parts, make blueprints, create photo-realistic images, animate
assemblies, render objects, simulate CNC manufacturing, create Exploded Diagrams, and more.

You can build various practical CAD skills by combining a visually helpful toolset with complex and
powerful workspaces.

ERRATA
Since the publication of the 1st Edition and the growth of our vibrant community, we have incorporated
thousands of suggestions, comments, ideas, and software updates into this version. As Autodesk Fusion
is a dynamic program, it continually receives updates with new tools, designs, and functionalities. At
CADclass, we are committed to staying current and explaining the latest tools Fusion has to offer. This
Edition not only includes a wealth of improved and more enjoyable models to create and build but also
places a greater emphasis on professional CAD techniques to enhance your efficiency and expedite
your projects.
 vi PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We want to acknowledge those who helped us establish a love for building and design, the
worldwide communities of helpful and enthusiastic makers, and those friendships built on sawdust,
sweat, and pints.

A special thanks to our Beta Testers, Discord Moderators, and CADclass Graduates who helped
polish, advise, and edit, and who affirmed our belief that the best way forward in CAD education is
alongside a friendly community of like-minded tinkerers and manufacturers. Their months of help
and assistance improved this book, our courses, and the future of CADclass.

Finally, a big thank you to our contributor, Ed Charlwood, whose invaluable insights and creativity
have been instrumental in shaping this book’s content and ensuring its quality and fun factor stay
high.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jake O Sugden is a mechanical engineer and lifelong maker
passionate about engineering and design. He taught many making
Disciplines at one of the nation’s premier makerspaces, testing many
of the concepts found in this book over the last six years with thousands
of students. He is co-owner of CADclass, an additive manufacturing
company focused on product development and education. He’s a
Autodesk Fusion expert who works with the program daily.

Professor Joshua Manley is an entrepreneur and educator with a

passion for making. He is a published scientist who ran a science
tutoring business in New York City, teaching Math, Chemistry, Biology,
Physics, and SAT/ACT prep. He then led the education department
of one of the nation’s largest and most successful makerspaces. He’s
taught thousands of students, educators, and administrators worldwide.
His TED-Ed talk about bicycle physics has millions of views.

DEDICATED TO
This book is dedicated to our families and loved ones. Thanks to you, we kept our heads high
and our minds clear as we wrote this book and continue to build our business. Without Kasey and
Ilana’s unwavering confidence, Wayne, Jane and Holly’s unending support, Libby’s unquestioned
positivity, and the many words of encouragement from those closest to us, we would not have
succeeded.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE......................................................................................III

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................. VI

CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS.......................................................12
INTRODUCTION OF CAD MODELING WITH AUTODESK FUSION
THE BASICS................................................................................................ 14
CLASSIC DONUT....................................................................................... 22
SATURN V ROCKET..................................................................................... 30
FINGER SURFBOARD.................................................................................. 40
TENSEGRITY TOWER................................................................................... 48
CARABINER................................................................................................ 56

CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN...............................................66

THE BASICS OF DESIGN USING MANUFACTURING PRINCIPLES
PLAY BRICK................................................................................................ 68
GEOCACHE HIDE...................................................................................... 76

CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN................................................86

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR DESIGNS WITH DIMENSIONS AND PARAMETERS
METRIC BOLT............................................................................................. 88
PROTOTYPE DRONE................................................................................... 96

CHAPTER 4 ASSEMBLIES............................................................110
HOW TO BUILD YOUR PROJECT WITH MULTIPLE PARTS
FIRE PISTON............................................................................................. 112
3D PRINTER HOT END.............................................................................. 124

CHAPTER 5 JOINTS...................................................................142
HOW TO JOIN PARTS FOR REALISTIC MOVEMENT
PIZZA CUTTER.......................................................................................... 144
TESLA TURBINE........................................................................................ 156

CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION.............................................178

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MODEL MOVE AND COME ALIVE
STRANDBEEST.......................................................................................... 180
GEAR TRAIN............................................................................................. 188
ROBOTIC HAND...................................................................................... 196
CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES........................................................208
HOW TO GIVE YOUR 3D MODELS COLOR, TEXTURE, AND DECALS
AMERICAN FOOTBALL.............................................................................. 210
SMARTPHONE CASE................................................................................. 218

CHAPTER 8 RENDERING............................................................226
HOW TO MAKE YOUR PARTS LOOK PHOTO-REALISTIC
EDISON BULB.......................................................................................... 228
A.I. VILLAIN.............................................................................................. 240

CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS......................................254

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BLUEPRINTS
DRUMSTICKS........................................................................................... 256
SPACE PROP EMITTER............................................................................... 262

CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS..........................................272

HOW TO EXPLODE YOUR PROJECTS AND REBUILD THEM
JAPANESE PULL SAW................................................................................ 274
MACHINIST HAMMER............................................................................... 286

CHAPTER 11 CAM.....................................................................298
HOW TO MANUFACTURE PARTS ON A CNC WITH COMPUTER-AIDED
MANUFACTURING
WOODEN LONGBOARD.......................................................................... 300
ELECTRIC GUITAR..................................................................................... 312

CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC..............................................................328

BRING EVERYTHING YOU’VE LEARNED TOGETHER IN A FINAL PROJECT
SPACE PROP HILT..................................................................................... 330

TOOL REFERENCES / INDEX.......................................................354

CHAPTER ANSWERS..................................................................356

RESOURCES..............................................................................357
x PREFACE

WHERE TO TURN...

CADCLASS.ORG AUTODESK FUSION COURSE

Everyone learns new tools in different ways; some prefer physical books they
can hold, some prefer the handiness of a digital PDF file, and some prefer the
visual assistance of video content.

Here at CADclass we want to offer our services in your CAD education in the
format that works best for you. Our online Video Course follows along with the
projects in this book with additional design and engineering information on
each project. The projects in the 1st Chapter are free to watch at CADclass.org.

As a thank you for purchasing this book,

here is a discount code: 25CADCLASS to
help you along the way on your CAD
education.

CAD eduction works best using multiple

different formats simultaneously to
enhance learning and cater to various
learning styles.

WEEKLY YOUTUBE PODCAST

Need live help with your projects? Then check out the CADclass Podcast
streamed live every Wednesday at 9:30 am PST to explain the newest updates
in Fusion, highlight our favorite community builds of the week, and
philosophize on the nature of being and how 3D Printing fits into it all.

Visit the CADclass Official YouTube channel to get any questions you may
have answered live by the authors and hang out with your fellow community
members.

With featured guest experts, CADclass

graduates, and community makers who
share their insights and experiences,
offering unique perspectives on CAD
design and 3D printing, the CADclass
Podcast provides a rich and diverse
learning environment that caters to all
skill levels and interests.
 PREFACE xi

...WHEN YOU’RE STUMPED

CADCLASS DISCORD SERVER

We all have experiences of asking questions on a
forum and receiving unhelpful or overly
advanced responses that leave us feeling more
confused and frustrated than before.

The CADclass Discord Server aims to eliminate

all of those problems by mixing a vibrant and
helpful community of fellow makers with
individual channels for each project so you can
get specific help on a specific project.

Make a Discord account and sign into:

Discord.gg/5hbt6xDPqf to get access.

Here, you can post questions, images, screen

recordings, or your Fusion file to an audience of
your program peers and CADclass Graduates.

A.I. HELPERS
Learning CAD from the ground up isn’t easy, and in
the beginning often feels like you need a helper
right next to you. With the new advancements in
A.I., learning CAD has become easier and more
efficient than ever before.

Fusion’s new Autodesk Assistant can answer any

specific question by linking to their excellent index
of articles for information about tools, UX, or design
techniques. This tool can be found in the bottom
right corner of the program.

Other A.I. tools like ChatGPT allow you to take

pictures of your screen, upload them to your A.I.
tool of choice, enter a brief description of your
problem, and will give you step by step solutions to
your issues and where you might have gone wrong.
CHAPTER 1
FUNDAMENTALS

THE BASICS OF DESIGN AND CAD

MODELING WITH AUTODESK FUSION

THE BASICS
CLASSIC DONUT
SATURN V ROCKET
FINGER SURFBOARD
TENSEGRIT TOWER
CARABINER
 FUSION
SORTCTS
DESIGN WORKSPACE ANIMATION WORKSPACE
Appearance A Auto Explode All Le4el U
As-!uilt Joint Shift8J Manual Explode E
Compute All CTRL 8 B CMD 8 B Pu!lish Video P
Extrude E Transform Components M
Freeform Selection 2 View C
Hole H
Joint J CAM WORKSPACE
Measure I
Duplicate CTRL 8 D CMD 8 D
Model Fillet F
Generate Toolpath CTRL 8 G CMD 8 G
Design Shortcuts S
Scripts and Add-Ins Shift 8 S
Mo4e M
Show Log CTRL 8 L CMD 8 L
Paint Selection 3
Press Pull Q
Show/Hide
RENDER WORKSPACE
V
Component Color Shift8 Appearance A

Window Selection 1
SYSTEM COMMANDS
SKETC WORKSPACE Reco4er7 Sa4e CTRL8Shift8S CMD8Shift8S
Sa4e Version CTRL8S CMD8S
2-point Rectangle R
Center Diameter Circle C
Line L CANAS SE ECTION
Construction X
Cop7 CTRL 8 C CMD 8 C
Offset O
Cut CTRL 8 X CMD 8 X
Pro)ect P
Or!it Shift8Clic*8Hold Middle Mouse
S*etch Dimension D
Pan Hold Middle Mouse
Trim T
Paste CTRL 8 V CMD 8 V
Redo CTRL 8  CMD 8 
DRAWING WORKSPACE Undo CTRL 8 Z CMD 8 Z
Balloon B Zoom Roll Middle Mouse
Center Mar* C
Dimension D
Mo4e M
Pro)ected View P
Text T
14 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

C H A P T E R 1

This chapter covers the user interface

features inside of Autodesk Fusion 360
helping you build a foundation for using the
software.

It will be helpful to know the major menus by

name since we will reference them often.
DIFFICULTY:
Those menus include the data panel,
browser, timeline, workspaces, navigation
bar, and view cube.

TIME ESTIMATE:
1 HOUR

KEY LEARNING:
Menus: what they do
How to make and edit basic shapes
How to na'iate usin you# mouse
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 THE BASICS 15

INTRODUCTION
Learning how to make simple designs in Autodesk Fusion (formerly Fusion 360) is the quickest way
to improve your familiarity with the interface while building a solid foundation using the software. As
you work through these projects, your skill set will improve, and you will soon be designing complex
models on your own. When inspiration hits, you’ll be able to design it and make it.

CAD models are 3D objects made from 2D sketches that can have dimensions, appearances, and
physical materials. Single parts, known as components, can be joined together to make an Assembly.
You will learn more about Assemblies in a later chapter.

If you’re new to Autodesk Fusion, you will want to work through these projects sequentially as each
introduces you to a few new concepts, workspaces, and ideas.

Autodesk Fusion is a cloud-based software that is updated and improved monthly. To keep up with
the changes, you can find the most up to date version of this book at CADclass.org. This PDF
version is searchable with the Find tool (Ctrl/Cmd+F) to locate specific keywords or to be able to
zoom into photos to see finer detail.

Good luck and happy making!

CAD
Open the software. You’ll see
a large white grid with a small
white dot in the middle. This
dot, known as the Origin, is the
critical starting point for most of
your designs.

The 3 x 3 grid at the top left is your Data Panel, a powerful tool for
organizing your Fusion files. Like your computer, you can create folders
and subfolders to organize your projects.

If you are using the paid license, click on your name in the top left
corner and notice you can create a team. You and your peers can
create teams to work on group projects while seeing each other’s
progress.
 16 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

To keep the projects you

will make in this course
organized, click New Project
and name it Mastering
Autodesk Fusion Edt. 2.

Click New Folder and name it 1 - Fundamentals, to store the files from
Chapter 1. Repeat this process for Chapters 2-12.

Click on the 1 - Fundamentals Folder to open it and see an empty file

soon to be filled with your first projects!

Click the X at the top right of the Data Panel to close it.

The Browser is on the top left and is where you will find information such as Units, 3D objects,
Construction Planes, and 2D Sketches. As you design new objects, this section will expand with more
information and sections like.

Click on the triangle next to the word Document Settings;

the Units should be set to Millimeters (mm). If they are not,
hover your mouse over the word Units and click on the
small pop-up to the right that says Change Active Units.

This will open a pop-up known as a Dialog Box. Click on

the pulldown next to Unit Type, set it to mm, check the box
that says Set as Default, and click OK.

Click the Eye Icon in the Browser next to the word Origin. Notice the
Planes, Axes, and Origins that appear or disappear on your screen.

Eye Icons represent information that can be hidden or shown.

Triangles indicate that information can be expanded or rolled up.

If your vertical Axis is green instead of blue, don’t worry; this will be
fixed later in this chapter.

These Planes are the 2D surfaces where you sketch 2D geometry,

such as circles, rectangles, and text. Click the Eye Icon again to Hide
the Origin.
 THE BASICS 17

In general, it is best practice to choose the plane that logically makes your project appear like it does
in real life. Designing a coffee mug standing up, not on its side or upside down, makes the most
sense.

This skill may be confusing now, but it will improve as you design more projects in this book.

The Timeline is on the bottom left of the screen. It will populate your project’s history as your design
progresses. Each icon represents different types of Features and Operations.

If you want to edit a feature in your project, you can double-click these icons in the Timeline or right-
click it and select Edit Feature.

You can also drag the black vertical line

known as the History Marker at the far right
to roll back or roll forward changes.

In the top left corner of your screen, you will see a gray box that says Design. This refers to the
workspace you are currently working in. Each workspace includes unique tools. If you change the
workspace, your tools change. The Design workspace is where you will spend most of your time and
is where 2D sketches and 3D models are created.

Click on Design and notice the other workspaces in the dropdown

menu, such as Render, Generative Design, Simulation, and
Manufacture. Some of these are blocked behind a paywall, denoted
by a blue starry circle, and are only accessible if you pay for a
license. You will not be using any of the paid workspaces in this
book.

The Design Toolbar is along the top of the screen. In this course, you
will navigate to the Create, Modify, Assemble, Configure, Construct,
Inspect, Insert, and Select menus.

The Configure menu is a new addition to the program and won’t be

used in this course. It is advanced and most often used in prototyping
products that require multiple configurations to test.
 18 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

The Create menu lists tools for converting a 2D Sketch into a 3D Body, such as
extruding a square into a cube.

The Modify menu lists tools to change the 3D Body, such as rounding the sharp
corners on a cube.

You will see the Navigation Bar on the

bottom middle of the screen. This is where
you can move your view, change your
layout, hide or show grid lines, and modify
the workspace. For the most part, you will
avoid using this menu throughout this book
because shortcuts are more accessible and
faster.

For example, let’s edit the grid. Click on Grid and Snaps, Grid
Settings, check Fixed, change the Major Grid Spacing to 50 mm,
change Minor Subdivisions to 5, and click OK.

This will give you a cleaner workspace and

make it easier to design.

Uncheck Reference Numbers to remove

the scale values on the axes.

The other primary way to navigate is by using your mouse. It is essential to have a 2-button mouse
with a clickable scroll wheel. Some gaming-style programmable mice may not work correctly.

You can operate this software with a trackpad on a laptop, but it is much more challenging and slows
down your design momentum. Other types of mice will also work with Autodesk Fusion, but you
might need to adjust the settings.

• To zoom in and out, roll the scroll wheel forward and backward.
• To pan, click and hold down on your scroll wheel and move your mouse side to side.
• To orbit, hold down Shift on your keyboard while clicking and holding down the scroll wheel as
you move your mouse to orbit in 3-Dimensions.

The View Cube is in the top right corner. This cube has clickable faces,
edges, and corners and will help you quickly orient your view. You can
orbit by clicking on it and moving your mouse around.

Now, hover your mouse over the View Cube. Notice a small house icon
that appears above it. Clicking on the house icon will give you an Isometric
view of the project. An Isometric view is a diagonal downward view, which
is good for quickly seeing a standard 3-dimensional view. You will click on
this house often.
 THE BASICS 19

Clicking a face such as TOP will orient your view for a top-down
perspective.

Click the edge between the Top and Front faces and notice how your view
orients between the two.

Clicking the View Cube and moving your mouse is another way to orbit
around the workspace. You will often go back and forth between this and
the mouse shortcut.

Several settings can improve your CAD experience in Fusion. To modify them,
click on the profile icon at the top right and then click Preferences.

This pop-up lists the various areas within the program and should currently
show the General options. Navigate to Default modeling orientation and
ensure it is set to Z up.
 20 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Click on Design in the left column and check the following options:

Check: Auto Project Edges on reference

Check: Auto Project active geometry on sketch planes
Check: Scale entire sketch at first dimension

Click Apply and OK.

We will discuss many other features and menus throughout this book. For now, we simply want you to
know about customization possibilities inside the Preference menu.
22 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

C H A P T E R 1

Glazed? Jelly Filled? Mathematically

accurate Torus-shaped?

How ever you like your donuts, the classic

cartoon-ish donut with pink icing is an
instantly mouthwatering desert beloved by
all nuclear power-plant working fathers of
Springfield.
DIFFICULTY:
This project is all about how complex-
looking 3D models can be made simply
and %uickly with almost no dimensions TIME ESTIMATE:
1 HOUR

KEY LEARNING:
Revolve Tool
2D Sketches
Splines
Split o'
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
Decl Appe#nces
 CLASSIC DONUT 23

CAD
Most projects in this course will be made in mm. On rare occasions, like metalworking or
woodworking projects, using inches is a more appropriate unit, considering the tools involved in
manufacturing the project. All other projects will be made in mm, a more globally accepted unit,
especially in the world of 3D printing and laser cutting.

Verify your project is set to mm by clicking on the triangle

next to Document Settings.

If the Units are set to inches, hover your cursor over Units: in,
click on the Change Active Units pop-up, set the Unit type to
mm, and check Set as Default.

Sketches are the 2D blueprints that become 3D models and include

geometries like lines, text, polygons, and curves. In Fusion, most projects
start with a 2D sketch.

Start a new Sketch by clicking Create Sketch in the top left corner below
the word SOLID. This will prompt you to click on 1 of 3 yellow squares
(AKA Planes) that run through the 3 axes (the red X-axis, the green Y-axis,
and the blue Z-axis). If you do not see these Planes, you may need to
show them by clicking the Eye Icon next to Origin in the Browser.

Click on the yellow square between the red X-axis and the blue Z-axis
to select the Front Plane. You can also click Front on the View Cube and
select the Plane in view. After selecting it, the View Cube should say
FRONT. Verifying this each time you start a new sketch is good practice.

If the vertical axis is green instead of blue, review the Z up setting in

Preferences on page 19.

Notice the new tools that populate across the top of your workspace. These
tools change each time you start or finish a new Sketch and can confuse
beginners.

Notice the Sketch Palette that appears on your workspace's right side. Since
you will rarely use it, you can click the ( - ) symbol to minimize it, and click
and drag it to the right side of the screen giving you more room to work. If
you don’t see it, it may be collapsed by default. In this case, you should see a
small ( + ) next to the words Sketch Palette. If that’s the case, you can leave it
as is.
 24 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Type C for Circle, click to the right of the Origin near the X-axis, move your cursor upwards, and click
again to define the circle's size. Notice that the circle’s center isn’t perfectly aligned with the X-axis;
you will correct this in a later step.

Also, notice the circle icon next to your cursor, indicating

that the Circle tool is still selected. Since you don’t need to
make any more circles, press the Esc key to deselect the
Circle tool.

Currently, both the location and the size of the circle are
unknown or undefined. You are able to click and drag the
center of the circle around the Workplane and click and
drag the circle’s perimeter to change the diameter.

To define sketches, you will first apply constraints and then add dimensions. In general, the fewer
dimensions on a sketch, the better. This methodology makes sketches cleaner and easier to edit in the
future.

To horizontally align the circle's center with the Origin, navigate

to Constraints >> Horizontal/Vertical constraint and select the
circle’s center and Workplane Origin. It should snap in place on
the X-axis.

If it is closer to the X-axis, it will snap to the X-axis. If it’s

closer to the Y-axis, it will snap to the Y-axis.

Type D for Dimension, click the Workplane Origin, the circle's

center, move your cursor upwards, click again, type 40, and
press Enter.

With the Dimension tool still enabled, click the circle’s

perimeter, move your cursor away, click again, type 40, and
press Enter.

Notice how the circle started blue and is now black. When
sketches are blue, they have an undefined size, location, or
both. Now that your circle has both, your sketch is defined!

Defining 2D sketches is generally best practice in Fusion since

undefined sketches can be moved or resized, sometimes
without you noticing, leading to future mistakes.
 CLASSIC DONUT 25

Now click the green Finish Sketch check mark in the top right corner to
return to the 3D Design workspace.

As a rule of thumb, when transitioning from a 2D Sketch to a 3D

Workspace, you should be in a 3D view, known as an Isometric view. To
get this view, move your cursor to the View Cube and click on the house
icon that appears.

To make this a Donut, you will use the Revolve tool, which
rotates a 2D profile around an axis to make a rotationally
symmetric part.

Navigate to Create >> Revolve. Because there is only 1

profile, the circle will be auto-selected. Click on the blue
vertical Z-axis as the Axis of Revolution to make a torus (the
mathematical name for a donut) and click OK. You may
need to zoom out to see or click it.

Congratulations, you have just made your first 3D object!

In Fusion, this is called a Body. Click on the triangle next to

Bodies in the Browser and see Body1. If you were to make
multiple 3D objects in this file, they would populate this
area as Body2, Body3, Body4, etc.

Click on the Eye Icon next to Bodies. Don’t worry, your

project hasn’t been deleted! It has simply been hidden. Click
the Eye Icon again to Show the Body.

A common beginner mistake (both authors included) is

hiding the model and thinking it has been deleted. It may
simply be hidden.
 26 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

To make the donut look more…like a donut, you can

add a donut-colored material to give it the illusion of
fried dough.

Press A for the Appearance tool, click on Fusion

Appearances, scroll down through the types of
material, select Wood, click the download arrow next
to Oak, and drag the Oak material icon onto the
donut.

In the “In This Design” window, you can see the Original
Steel appearance for the default material and the new Oak
appearance. Double-click on the Oak cube appearance
and change the Scale to 44%. Click Done and close the
Appearance Dialog Box.

To add the classic pink icing to the top of the donut, you need to
cut it in half some way.

One method is to use the Split Body tool, but that would
leave you with an unrealistic, perfectly sharp edge of
icing.

Instead of a horizontal cut, we want a curved cut that's more

organic to give the appearance of icing flowing down the
donut.

Navigate to Create >> Create Sketch and select the Front

Plane, which intersects the blue and red axes.

Navigate to Create >> Spline >> Fit

Point Spline and click above and below
the X-axis 6 times so the spline’s first and
last points are outside the Donut. Press
Enter to finish the Spline tool. Unlike
other tools, pressing Esc to deselect the
Spline tool will delete the spline itself.
 CLASSIC DONUT 27

Splines are one of the few tools that aren’t dimensionally driven. Instead,
they can be better described as organic or artistic shapes.

Trying to define dimensions would be frustrating and time-consuming.

Instead, navigate to Constraints >> Fix/Unfix and click the Spline.

This turns it green, signifying that its position and size are now fixed
without adding values or relationships.

Click the green Finish Sketch check mark in the top right corner.

Navigate to the Browser and verify that the Eye Icon next
to Sketch 2 is selected and the Spline is visible in the 3D
workspace.

Navigate to Modify >> Split Body, and select the

Donut Body. Click “Select” next to Splitting tool, and
select the Spline sketch. Click OK.

Verify Sketch 2 is hidden. If it is still visible, click the

Eye Icon next to Sketch 2 in the Browser to Hide it.

The Split Body will leave you with an upper and lower
half of the Donut that was cut with the wavy line of the
Spline.

To take a bite out of the Donut, navigate to Create >> Create

Sketch and select the Top Plane, which intersects the green and
red axes.
 28 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Type C for circle and draw

3 overlapping circles near
the outer edge of the donut,
where the circle’s centers are
outside the donut’s Body.

Press Esc to deselect the

Circle tool.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select

each circle’s perimeter, and
click the Fix/Unfix constraint.

Click the green Finish Sketch check mark in the top right corner.

Move your cursor to the View Cube and click the house icon for a 3D view.

Navigate to Create >> Extrude, and select the 3 circles

and 2 overlapping areas. In the Dialog Box, change the
Direction to Symmetric so the circles cut up and down
simultaneously.

Click and drag the blue arrow up so the profiles cut through
the Donut completely. You can also type 20 mm in Distance
since the Measurement is set to Half Length and the total
height of the donut is 40 mm.

Note that the volume is transparent and red because you

are performing a cutting operation. Click OK.

Press A for Appearance and double-click the Steel-Satin cube appearance.

Change the color by clicking somewhere in the color box, moving the ( + )
symbol to the top left corner, and moving the color slider above it until you
find a pink color you like. Click Done.
 CLASSIC DONUT 29

To add the pink color only to the top of the donut,

change the “Apply To” from Bodies/Components
to Faces, and click and drag the new pink
appearance to the donut’s top.

Congratulations! You just finished your first CAD

project!

Hold down the Shift key and your mouses scroll

wheel to Orbit around you model.

Click the Save icon in the top

left corner. Save the name as
Classic Donut in the Week 1 -
Fundamentals Folder.

DISCUSSION
10 Editable Files
The free version (Hobbyist version) of Autodesk Fusion allows for 10 files to be Editable at a time.
To make an 11th file, you must change one file from Editable to Read Only. As soon as you want
to work on that file again, you must change it back to Editable. You may make as many files as you
want, but only 10 are immediately changeable.

CHALLENGE
Make a Sketch of a vertical line from the
Origin, make a series of arcs, lines, and splines
on the right side of the line, enclose the profile
with a horizontal and vertical line, and revolve
the profile about the vertical line.

Add a wooden appearance to the Body and a

green felt-like appearance to the bottom face.

@Vasile
Discord User #498
C H A P T E R 1

Recreate the Saturn V Rocket that took man to

the moon in July 1969!

Use simple tools and appearances to

customize your own rocket.

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
1 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Basics of making finished project

Cylinder Tool

Tapering

Appearances
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 SATURN V ROCKET 31

INTRODUCTION
In July 1969, NASA sent humans to the moon for the first time, captivating the world and ushering in
a new era of space travel. An estimated 400,000 engineers, scientists, and manufacturers worldwide
are accredited for helping build the rocket.

To commemorate this milestone, you will model the Saturn V Rocket responsible for the journey at
1/180th of the Original scale. The design can be exported and viewed in augmented reality and
saved as an STL for 3D printing. The bottom cavity will fit a model rocket motor if you want to 3D
print and launch one!

As the broadcaster of Apollo 8 said in 1968, “And we have liftoff!” If you would like to download the
CAD or augmented reality file, navigate to CADclass.org and select the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.

CAD
Verify the Units are set to Millimeters (mm) by expanding the
Document Settings.

Expand the Create pulldown in the top left and click Create Sketch.

Select the Top Plane (which intersects the red X-axis and the green Y-axis) since
you will be building this rocket from the bottom up.

Press C for circle, click the Workspace Origin, move your cursor
away, and click again to define the first circle. Repeat this operation
to make a second smaller circle.

Press D for Dimension, click on the larger circle, pull your cursor
away, click again, type 58, and press enter. This will define 1 circle
as having a diameter of 58 mm.

Repeat this operation for the other circle but set it to 24 mm. This
inner hole allows you to fit a hobby rocket motor in it.
 32 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Click Finish Sketch (green check mark) in the

top right corner.

Move your cursor to the View Cube in the top

right corner, and click on the house icon to get
a 3D view of your Sketch.

Press E for Extrude, click on the ring profile in the Sketch, and set it to a
Distance of 365 mm. Click OK.

Press A for Appearance, and type “White Paint” in the

search bar. Click and drag 1 of the options onto the Body to
change its color. Right-click on the white cube appearance
and click Add to Favorites which will add this material to
a customizable list found on the right side of the dialog
box. This course will often use a white color, a black color,
Polished Aluminum, and Polished Brass. Click OK.

Create a new Sketch on the top of this Body by clicking new

Sketch and selecting the top surface. This will give you a top-
down view.

Press P for Project, click on the ring profile, and click OK. This
should turn the 2 circular edges purple. This allows us to click
on the top ring and middle circle on this layer. Click Finish
Sketch.

Press E for Extrude. Click on the ring profile and

the inner circle and pull the blue arrow upwards 32
mm. You can also type 32 into Distance.

Notice the black and white ring icon above the

arrow. This adjusts the extrusion’s Taper angle. Set
the Taper angle to -16 degrees and click OK.
 SATURN V ROCKET 33

If you didn’t Project the top surface, then the Extruding step would only
taper the ring profile, not the entire flat top. By Projecting the top surface,
you were able to click both the ring profile and the inner circle at the same
time.

Type A for the Appearance tool and search for Black Oxide.

Right-click it and add it to your Favorites too. Change the

“Apply To” to Faces, and click and drag this appearance to
the outer tapered surface.

The building blocks of this project will be a series of cylinders and

tapered cylinders stacked on top of each other. Both can be made
using the Extrusion tool.

The nice thing about the Extrude tool is that you can extrude any flat
face without making a new sketch every time.

Press E for Extrude, click on the top of the tapered cylinder, type 66,
and click OK.

On the real Saturn V Rocket, this cylinder has a black ring at the top, but if you added the Black
Oxide appearance to this surface, the entire cylinder would turn black. Alternatively, if you tried to
extrude two cylinders on top of each other, they would merge into one cylinder. The solution is to use
the Split Face tool to cut the outer surface into a top and bottom, but still be one part.

Navigate to the Construct menu and select Offset Plane. Select the top flat surface of the cylinder and
type -13 mm to create a new Plane that intersects with the cylinder.

Navigate to Modify >> Split Face, select the outer curved surface of the cylinder, click “Select” next to
Splitting tool, select the Offset Plane, and click OK.
 34 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Type A for Appearance, set the “Apply

To” to Faces and drag the Black Oxide
appearance onto the top curved
surface of the cylinder to change its
appearance.

Click the Eye Icon next to Construction

in the Browser to Hide this Offset
Plane.

Press E for Extrude, click the top of this

Cylinder and set it to 57 mm tall with
a -9 degree Taper. Click OK.

Create these 6 extrusions on top of each other:

• Extrusion 5: 23 mm

• Extrusion 6: 7 mm, -35.7 degree Taper

• Extrusion 7: 15 mm, -6 degree Taper

• Extrusion 8: 3 mm, -30 degree Taper

• Extrusion 9: 27 mm

• Extrusion 10: 5 mm, -25 degree Taper

Type A for Appearance, search for Stainless

Steel - Brushed Linear Long, and drag it onto
Extrusion 5’s Face.

To replicate the cross-hatch frame on the Saturn

V Rocket, search for Stainless Steel Mesh -
Square Large, drag it onto Extrusion 7, double
click on its Appearance in the Dialog Box, and
change the Rotation to 45 degrees. Click OK
and notice how this decal has gaps known as
a Cutout Decal, which will be covered in more
depth in Chapter 7: Appearances.

With the main body done, you will work on the 4 thrusters and
fins at the bottom of the rocket. Because they are equally spaced
around the bottom, you can use a new tool called Circular
Pattern, saving time, as you only need to make 1 thruster and 1
fin.
 SATURN V ROCKET 35

Make a new Sketch on the bottom face

of the rocket Body. Press C for circle,
click to the right of the Origin away from
the rocket, pull your cursor away, and
click again. Select the Horizontal/Vertical
constraint, and click on the Origin and
the circle’s center. This will prevent it
from moving up and down.

Select the Coincident constraint, click on this

circle’s center and the rocket’s outer circle’s
circumference.

Finally, press D for Dimension, click the sketched

circle, move your cursor away, click again, type
25, press Enter, and click Finish Sketch.

Press E for Extrude, click on the 2 profiles that make up the circle, and
orbit your view to the top side of the rocket. Extrude the 2 profiles 52
mm up with a -11 degree Taper.

Because you are making something that interferes with another

existing Body, the cone will be red. Change the Operation from Cut to
Join at the bottom of the Dialog Box, and click OK.

To round over the top of the cone, type F for Fillet, click the top
curved edge (not the top face), type 2.9, and click OK.

Fillet (pronounced Fill-et), is a radius cut onto an edge.

To make the rocket’s fin, Create a new Sketch on the Front

Plane. Press L for the Line tool and roughly make the shape
in the picture.

Press Esc to get rid of the Line tool.

 36 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

The shape should have blue lines and have a pale light blue
filling, meaning it is fully enclosed.

Select the Coincident constraint, click the bottom horizontal

line, and the Origin

This tool extends an imaginary line to intersect at a point.

Press D for Dimension and add the dimensions

shown. Note that when you click on two points and
move your cursor around, you will see that you can
define the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal distance
between the two.

Depending on the order in which you added

dimensions, you may notice that the sketch stretches
or shrinks in strange ways. Remember that as long
as a line is blue, it can be clicked and dragged to
more closely resemble the pictures. Click Finish
Sketch.

Press E for Extrude and click on the new profile.

Change the Direction to Symmetric, the Measurement from Half

Length to Whole Length, set the Distance to 2.4 mm, and click
OK.

On the real Saturn V Rocket, the left and right faces of the fins
were black and white to help with thermal control.

To get this effect on your fin, you can split the fin in half.

Navigate to Modify >> Split Face, click the angled and vertical
faces on the thickness of the fin (highlighted in the picture),
click “Select” next to Splitting tool, click the triangle next to
Origin in the Browser to expand it, select the XZ Plane (Front
Plane), and click OK.
 SATURN V ROCKET 37

Type A for Appearance, set the “Apply To” to

Faces, orbit your view around to the right side
of the fin (Shift+click Scroll Wheel), and drag
the Black Oxide appearance onto the 3 faces.

Click and drag the Stainless Steel - Brushed

Linear Long appearance onto the 2 faces of
the cone.

Now you have 1 thruster and 1 fin and will use the Circular Pattern tool
to make 3 more.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select Circular Pattern. Change
the Object Type to Features and click on the 4 highlighted Features in the
Timeline.

As a reminder, the Timeline is in the bottom left of your

screen.

Click on Select next to Axis, select any round surface on

the Rocket Body, change the Quantity from 3 to 4, and
click OK.

And you are done! This replica is now ready to be exported for Augmented Reality.
 38 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Navigate to File >> Export >> and change the file

type to .USDZ.

Save this file to a cloud account of your choosing

(like iCloud Files, an AR viewer app, or Google
Drive) so you can open it up on your smartphone.

If you are using iOS, save the file to your Files app, and open it.

Move your camera over a tabletop, and it should appear. You can move
your camera to look at details or double-finger pinch to scale it up or down. Magic!

CHALLENGE
If you feel energized by this process, consider using
other tools inside of Fusion to customize your rocket and
make it look even cooler.

Experiment with the Appearance, Decal, and Emboss

tool to customize your own Rocket.

@ Raluca A
Discord User #794
40 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

C  A  

CAD modeling often feels abstract,

making it difficult to relate objects on your
screen to objects in the real world. For this
reason, we enjoy modeling things we use
and then thinking about how the model
on our screen relates to the real thing.

D I F F I C U L T Y :
In this project you will model a simple
surfboard that you can ride out of your
car’s window, using some surprising
techniques to make it easy.

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
1 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Loft Tool

Offset Planes

Canvases

D I S C O R D L I N K : Intersect Projection

D
D Tracin )it S$lines

 FINGER SURFBOARD 41

INTRODUCTION
If continuing from a previous project, click + at the top to make a
new tab.

In this lesson, you will use the Loft tool to make a Finger Surfboard.
The Loft tool connects 2 or more 2D profiles into a hybrid 3D object.
For example, you can turn this:

Into this
>>

You will make a series of ellipses at different distances from the Origin and then use the Loft tool to
loft between them to make a continuous 3D Body that flows through each 2D Sketch.

CAD
Expand Document Settings in the Browser and verify your Units are
set to mm.

You will make a series of ellipses on new Planes. To

make a new plane, navigate to Construct >> Offset
Plane. Select the Right Plane intersecting the green Y-axis
and the blue Z-axis, set the Distance to 24 mm, and
click OK.

If your Origin is still visible, click the Eye Icon next to

Origin in the Browser to Hide the Original Origin/
Planes.

Start a new Sketch on this new Offset Plane. Notice in the

Browser that there is a new section called Construction. This is
where all the Construction planes will be available to show or
hide.

Navigate to Create >> and select Ellipse. Draw an ellipse by

clicking somewhere below the Origin near the Y-axis, moving
your cursor to the right, clicking again, moving your cursor up,
and then clicking one last time.
 42 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Use the Horizontal/Vertical constraint to constrain the ellipse

vertically by selecting the Origin and the small white circle at the
ellipse’s center.

Press Esc to deselect the Horizontal/Vertical constraint.

Click and drag the ellipse’s center and see how the Vertical
constraint restricts it to only vertical movement.

Type D for Dimension, set the ellipse’s width

(the horizontal orange dashed line) to 26.00
mm, and the ellipse’s height (the vertical black
dashed line) to 3.50 mm.

Click the Origin, then the ellipse’s center, and set

this distance to 5.20 mm.

Afterward, the ellipse should be black, which indicates it is now fully defined. If it is still blue, double-
check that you’ve entered all dimensions and constraints. Click Finish Sketch.

Click the triangle next to Sketches to expand it, and click Sketch 1’s Eye Icon to Hide it.

Using the same process, you will make 3 more ellipses on 3 more Planes. The numerical values are
in the table below.

1. Construct an Offset Plane from the Right Plane

2. Make a new Sketch on this Plane
3. Draw an ellipse below the Origin, Vertically Constrain it, and add the height, width, and center to
the Origin dimensions.
4. Finish Sketch, Hide the sketch, and repeat.

Plane Offset
Ellipse # Ellipse Width Ellipse Height Ellipse Center-to-Origin
Distance
2 72 mm 38.0 mm 4.0 mm 7.0 mm

3 116 mm 29.6 mm 4.0 mm 6.0 mm

4 140 mm 18.0 mm 4.0 mm 4.2 mm

Note that it is sometimes easier to work on a blank

Canvas. You can turn on or off the previous Sketches by
navigating to Browser >> Sketches and clicking the Eye
Icon to the left of the Sketch you want to Hide/Show.

Click each Sketch’s Eye Icon to Show all 4. Once you

have completed all four Sketches, click the house icon
next to the View Cube, and your workspace should look
like this:
 FINGER SURFBOARD 43

Navigate to Create >> and select Loft. This will

allow you to join your ellipses into 1 Body.
Click the ellipses in Sketch 4, 3, 2, 1, and then
the Workspace Origin in that order.

The surfboard shape will appear as you go.

Click OK.

Press A for Appearance and search for Polystyrene (AKA Styrofoam),

a Decal Appearance. Click and drag the material to the part.

Double click on the Appearance icon and st the Scale to 25%.

Zoom in closely on the surface and notice the color has changed
and that there’s a new bubbly foam Decal.

Visit CADclass.org and navigate to the Free

Downloads tab. This will open a Google Drive
folder containing this course’s necessary files and
documents.

This Google Drive is organized by book chapters

or weeks of the online course. Inside “1 -
Fundamentals”, you will find all files pertaining to
this project.

Download the Surfboard Canvas.png file to your

computer.

Navigate to Insert >> Canvas, Insert from my computer, select the PNG file, select the Front Plane,
and click FRONT on the View Cube.

Set the Scale Plane XY (not Scale X or Scale Y) to 8.25 and click Horizontal Flip in the Dialog Box.

Drag the white square to position the Canvas over your model as closely as possible, and click OK.
 44 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Now you will make the fin and join it to the surfboard’s underside. This step can be tricky since the
surface is rounded, unlike the flat planes you have worked on previously.

First, you need to know the shape of the

surfboard’s underside. You can find that shape
using the Intersect tool, which traces around the
Body where the Plane Intersects.

To use the Intersect tool, Create a Sketch

on the Front Plane. Navigate to Create >>
Project/Include >> and select Intersect. Click the
surfboard and click OK. Notice the new purple
curves.

Navigate to Create >> Spline >> Fit Point Spline. Click on the fin’s
top left corner so it snaps onto the bottom projected purple curve.

Click on 3 more points along the fin’s perimeter, click on the top
right corner of the fin where it snaps to the projected purple line,
and press Enter or click the small gray check mark that appears
next to your cursor.

Then press Esc to close the tool.

Each of the Spline’s points has green tangent lines connected to

them; you can change the angle and the length of these lines to
adjust the Spline’s curvature at that point.

Play around with the location of the Spline’s 3 lower points and
their green vertex lines until they roughly form the shape of the fin
in the picture.

This may take some time and is an iterative approach to tracing

over a Canvas. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but tracing images
with splines to recreate 3D objects from pictures is a valuable skill
to develop.

This Spline is not dimensionally driven, meaning it is

impractical to define it with dimension.

To fix its position, click on the Fix/Unfix constraint and click

on the Spline. It will turn green and cannot be moved. Click
Finish Sketch.

Click the Eye Icon next to Canvases in the Browser to Hide it.
 FINGER SURFBOARD 45

Press E for Extrude and select the fin profile. Change the
Direction to Symmetric, the Measurement to Whole Length,
the Distance to 2.4 mm, the Operation to Join, and press
OK.

If the fin is gray steel, then you accidentally set the Operation to
New Body. To fix this, double-click the most recent feature in the
Timeline and change the Operation to Join.

Click OK, and notice that the fin is now the same off-white
color as the rest of the surfboard.

Make a new Sketch on the Top Plane, type

C for circle, and add a small circle at the
surfboard’s tail.

Select the Horizontal/Vertical constraint

and select the Origin and the circle’s
center.

Type D for Dimension, click the circle’s center and the

Surfboard’s right edge, move your cursor away, click again, and
set it to 2 mm.

Click the circle’s perimeter, move your cursor away, click again,
and set it to 2 mm.

Note the circle with an angled line icon in front of the second
dimension denoting this value refers to a circle’s diameter.

When dimensioning arc in future projects, there will be an “R”

before the value denoting the value is a radius dimension.
 46 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Finish the Sketch and click on the house icon on

the View Cube to get an Isometric View.

Type E for Extrude and the circle’s profile will

automatically be selected. Change the Extent
Type to All and click the Flip button so there is
transparent red cut through the entire Body. Click
OK.

This hole will allow you to pass some string

through it to tie it to your finger.

Press F for Fillet, select both the fin’s edges and the hole’s inner
surface, set the radius to 1 mm, and click OK. Note that you don’t
click the fin’s outer faces, just the edges.

If you get an error, it is likely caused by a too-sharp curve in your

fin’s spline. Reduce the filet’s radius to 0.5 mm or lower to fix it.

Notice that the Fillet tool applies a radius to the edges you selected.
Because you also selected a curved face, the fillet is applied to any
edges that touch the face, i.e., the hole’s top and bottom edges.

Save this file to your Data Panel in the 1 - Fundamentals Folder as Finger Surfboard.

3D PRINTING
If you have access to a 3D Printer, navigate to File > Export and save the file as an STL to your
Desktop.

Open your 3D Printer slicer

software of choice, import your
STL model, and rotate it 90 so it is
standing up on its tail.

For this print to be successful,

enable support material to hold up
the fin while printing, set the wall
count to 3 and the infill to 0% to
minimize weight, and add a Brim
of 10 mm so this tall model doesn’t
fall over and break mid-print.
 FINGER SURFBOARD 47

The surfboard’s top surface should be grippy to be ridden from a car window. This can be achieved
in multiple ways:

One way is to add grip tape or non-slip tape with the Cut Out Template PDF. Another is to enable
Fuzzy Skin in your slicer, which vibrates the nozzle during the outer layer to give a textured, grippy
surface.

Thread some string through the hole, tie a knot, and tie another end around your ring finger.

Have a friend get up to speed, lower your window, and ride your surfboard in the air!

Save this file to your computer and get 3D Printing!

CHALLENGE
Use the Loft tool and Offset Planes to make
a type of glass bottle with a distinct and curvy
profile. Make a Canvas on the Front Plane
of your glass bottle of choice and use it as
a guide to make shapes on Offset Planes
parallel to the Top Plane.

@ Merlwynd @ Vasile
Discord User #385 Discord User #498
48 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

C H A P T E R 1

Defy gravity with a model to confuse your

friends and family!

Tensegrity Towers use the power of tension to

levitate parts in mid-air!

With only 1 file you can make this desktop D I F F I C U L T Y :

anomaly yours!

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
1 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Extruding Profiles

Chamfers

2D Mirroring

Color Com%onents Tool

D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 TENSEGRITY TOWER 49

INTRODUCTION
In this project, you will design a 3D printable Tensegrity Tower that appears to float in mid-air using
only the tension of strings. The tower will consist of 2 identical 3D-printed parts, a few bolts, and
some fishing line to hold it together.

CAD
If continuing from a previous project, click + at
the top to make a new tab.

Verify you are working in millimeters (mm).

Projects you plan on 3D printing work best
when starting in millimeters, as most 3D
printing slicing software operate in metric.

Create a new Sketch on the Top Plane.

Make a hexagon at the Origin by navigating to the Create menu

>> Polygon >> Circumscribed Polygon, clicking the Origin,
moving your cursor up and to the right, and clicking again.

Don’t worry about the scale or if it is tilted slightly.

Add a Horizontal / Vertical Constraint to the top horizontal

line.

Press D for Dimension, click on the leftmost point, the

rightmost point, move your cursor above the hexagon, and
click to place the dimension.

Type 100 and press Enter. The hexagon should turn black and
be defined.

If, when you enter the dimension, the polygon becomes

larger than your screen or incredibly tiny, you may not have
the correct preferences enabled on page 19.
 50 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Press L for Line, X for Construction, click the top left point of the
hexagon, the Origin, and finally the top right point of the hexagon to
make a V-shape of dashed Construction lines.

Press X again to return to standard Sketch geometry, not

Construction geometry.

Press L for Line and make a triangle inside the Construction

lines.

You may notice that when you make sketches, Fusion will
automatically add constraints for you.

For example, in this sketch, because the top line of the sketched
triangle was drawn perfectly horizontally, a Horizontal/Vertical
constraint was added.

If your sketch added a Parallel constraint between the triangle’s

top line and the hexagon’s top line, then you would achieve the
same result. Start identifying these constraints in your sketches to
better understand how and when to use them.

Select the Equal constraint tool and make the triangle’s left and
right lines equal in length.

Select Parallel constraint and select the left sketched line and
the left Construction line to make them parallel with each other.
Repeat the operation for the right lines.

If you see an error message in the bottom right corner, then this
constraint was automatically added when you sketched the lines
and can be ignored.

Press D for Dimension and set the left sketch line and the left
Construction line to be 3 mm apart.

Add the same dimension for the right sketch and Construction
line.

Set the top horizontal line of the triangle and the top horizontal
line of the hexagon to be 6 mm apart.
 TENSEGRITY TOWER 51

Navigate to Create >> Circular Pattern. Double-click on the

triangle’s horizontal line to select all connecting lines, click
“Select” in the Dialog Box next to Center Point, select the Origin,
change the Quantity to 6, and click OK.

This will make 6 copies of the triangle about the Origin that are
all evenly spaced.

Press C for Circle, click anywhere on the left Construction line,

move your cursor away, and click again.

Using the Coincident constraint tool, select the circle’s center

and the top triangle’s top horizontal line.

Press D for Dimension, click the circle, and set it to 3.5 mm.

This circle will be a 3D printed hole, allowing an M3 bolt or a

piece of 2.75mm filament to fit into and secure some fishing
line. Note that not all 3D printers are built the same, and
tolerances may vary; after printing one part, you may need to
reduce or increase the diameter of this hole by 0.2 - 0.4 mm.

Click on the eye icon next to Origin in the Browser. You should see
an orange rectangle (Top Plane), a green vertical line (Y-axis), and
a horizontal red line (X-axis).

Navigate to Create >> Mirror, select the 3.5 mm circle, click

Select next to Mirror Line, and click the vertical green Y-axis. Click
OK.

Repeat this process for the 2 circles to be mirrored about the

horizontal red X-axis.

Click the Eye Icon next to Origin in the Browser to turn them off.

Click Finish Sketch.

 52 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

To get an Isometric view of

the 3D workspace, hover your
mouse over the View Cube,
and click the house icon.

Press E for Extrude, select the

inner profile, type 6 mm, and
click OK.

Press A for Appearance and double-click on the Steel-Satin

appearance icon.

Move the color slider to change the Body’s color. If you have a
3D printer, add a color of the filament you have on hand.

Make a Sketch on the Front Plane. Verify you

are on the correct plane if the View Cube reads
FRONT.

Press P for Project and select the highlighted

face in the picture. Press OK. You should now
see 4 purple points on each corner of this face.

Press L for Line, and move your cursor to Body’s top horizontal edge
until an X appears.

The X means that any line that is made will be coincidently attached
to the Body.

Roughly draw this shape with 5 lines and press the Esc key
to deselect the Line tool.

Verify it is an enclosed profile by placing your cursor inside

the shape; this profile should turn blue.
 TENSEGRITY TOWER 53

Select the Parallel constraint tool and click both angled lines. The
order of your clicks doesn’t matter.

Verify the top left lines have T-shaped Perpendicular constraint

icons.

Add the following dimensions to the sketch.

Test the sketch by clicking and dragging the top

left point; it should only be able to shift left and
right.

Note the blue lines in the sketch meaning it is

undefined.

Navigate to Create >> Point, move your cursor to the

bottom horizontal line until you see a triangle, and click.

This triangle icon denotes that

the Point is at the midpoint of
the line.

Click the Horizontal Constraint

tool and select this Point and the
Origin.

This Sketch should be fully

defined. Click Finish Sketch.

Click the house icon above the View Cube to get an isometric
view.

Press E for Extrude and select the profile.

Change the Direction to Symmetric, change the Measurement

to Whole Length, and set the Distance to 6 mm.

Press OK to make the Arm of the project.

 54 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Navigate to Modify >> Chamfer,

select the arm’s inner corner, set it to
20 mm, and click OK.

This will add material to strengthen

the 3D print.

Orbit to the underside of the project by holding down Shift,

clicking and holding the scroll wheel, and moving your
mouse. Zoom in the under-surface of the Arm.

Press H for Hole and select the face shown.

Click and drag the blue dot at the hole’s center to

snap to the white dot at the face’s center.

Change the Extent to All, set the hole’s diameter

to 3.5 mm, and Press OK.

Click the house icon above the View Cube to get an isometric
view of the Body.

Highlight the entire project, select Modify >> Chamfer, and

change the dimension to 0.5 mm.

These chamfers will make screwing in the bolts easier and

make the entire project stronger.
 TENSEGRITY TOWER 55

Save this File to the 1 - Fundamentals Folder as

Tensegrity Tower.

Right-click Body1in the Bodies section in the

Browser, and click Save as Mesh.

If your favorite slicer software of choice is Cura,

check the Send to 3D Print Utility box, select Cura,
and click OK. This will open the Cura program
and automatically import your model into the
workspace.

3D print 2 copies of this parts with solid infill and

support material.

Cut 5 pieces of fishing line to pass through the 5 sets

of holes and screw in 10x M3x6 bolts through all the
holes to secure the fishing line in place.

If the bolts cut the fishing line, add another 0.5mm to

the hole diameter and reprint the parts.

Trim the excess fishing line and place objects on top to

make the project float in thin air.

CHALLENGE
Model a simple Domino. This object can be made by extruding a rectangle, making a new Sketch on
the front face, cutting in the pips and lines, and adding fillets to the corners.

@ IAmKale
Discord User #990
56 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

C H A P T E R 1

Design a 3D printed Carabiner that's as

tough as it is versatile.

With 3D printing, you can refine every

curve and detail, ensuring it's not just a
tool, but a stateent of innovation ready
to tacle any challenge.
DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
1 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Basics of making functional projects
Sweeping Tool
Extrude Cutting
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 CARABINER 57

CAD
If continuing from a previous project, click + at the top to make a
new tab.

This project will primarily use the Sweep tool to make a 3D Body.
Sweeping is a design tool that traces a profile along a path, like
tracing a circle along a coil to make a spring or a hexagon along an
L shape to make an Allen key.

Start by verifying that your Units are set to mm. Projects you plan to
3D print should almost always be designed in mm, so you don’t have
to deal with strange scaling factors when using other units.

Navigate to Create >> Create Sketch, and

select the Top Plane, which intersects the
green Y-axis and red axes X-axis.

This project requires you to make a carabiner shape using the Line
tool and a special trick, so let’s practice before you start.

This trick allows you to make a

series of lines and arcs connected to
each other without switching back
and forth between the Line tool and
the Arc tool.

Type L, click on the Origin, move

your cursor up to make a straight
line, click and hold your left mouse
button, and move your cursor to the
right to make a tangent arc.

Repeat this trick a few times until

you can successfully create this
line-to-arc snake.

Once you have done this, press

Esc to deselect the Line tool,
highlight the entire sketch,
and press Delete to clear the
workspace.
58 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Type L for Line, click on the Origin, and

move your cursor up to see the blue vertical
constraint preview icon next to the line.

Click and hold your left mouse button, move

your cursor over to the left to automatically
make a tangent arc, and release your
mouse to place the end point of the top arc.

Move your cursor below and to the left of the Origin

to make another straight line, click and hold to make
another arc, move your cursor to the Origin, and
release.

Notice that there are Tangent constraint icons on the

top right and bottom left endpoints.

You need to add Tangent constraints to the other

2 endpoints. Navigate to Constraints >> Tangent,
click on the top arc, then the left line, then click on
the bottom arc, and then the right line.

Verify that there is a Tangent constraint icon on

each of the 4 endpoints.

Press D for Dimensions, click the top arc,

move your cursor up, click again to place the
dimension, type 20, and press Enter.

With the dimension tool still highlighted, click

on the right line, move your cursor to the
right, click again, type 50, and press Enter.

Click the bottom arc, move your cursor down,

click again, type 12, and press Enter.
 CARABINER 59

Navigate to your Browser and click on the triangle next to

Sketches. You should see a red padlock icon to the left of
“Sketch 1” to signify that the sketch is fully defined. If you see a
pencil icon, then something in your sketch is undefined.

A common problem when making this sketch is that one line can
accidentally be drawn as an large diameter arc, which has the
appearance of a straight line.

Navigate to Create >> Slot >> Center to Center Slot. Click on the bottom arc’s center point, trace
your cursor along the bottom arc until it snaps to the midpoint (denoted with a blue triangle), click to
define the slot’s length, move your cursor to the right, and click again to define the slot’s width.

Press D for Dimension, click on the slot’s bottom

arc, move your cursor away, click again, type 1,
and press Enter to set the slot’s radius.

1 mm radius also equals a 2 mm Slot width.

 60 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

This slot will remove some material from the

Carabiner’s inner surface so it can flex better without
breaking, but one slot isn’t enough.

Navigate to Create >> Circular Pattern. Click on the

slot’s 2 lines and 2 arcs. Verify the Dialog Box reads
“4 Selected” next to Objects.

Click “Select” next to Center Point and click on the slot’s top
center point. This will give you a preview of 3 slots patterned
around this point.

In the Dialog Box, change the Quantity to 8 and check

Suppression. This will add check marks to each slot, allowing you
to hide the slots you don’t need.

Uncheck the top 5 check-boxes and click OK.

Press Finish Sketch.

Click the house icon on the

View Cube to get an isometric
view and start a new Sketch
on the Front Plane, which
intersects the blue Z-axis and
the red axes X-axis.
 CARABINER 61

Navigate to Create >> Rectangle >> Center Rectangle. Click

on the Origin, move your cursor up and to the right, type 8,
the Tab key, 8, and Enter.

Now, you have a profile and a path to use the Sweep tool.
Click Finish Sketch.

Navigate to Create >> Sweep. Select the square

profile made in the previous sketch.

Click “Select” next to Path and click on the Carabiner

shape from Sketch 1, not the slots. Click OK.

For this to be a working Carabiner, you need a latch

mechanism that allows it to spring open and then snap
closed.

Navigate to Create >> Create Sketch and select the Top

Plane, not the Carabiner’s top face, which intersects with the
green and red axes.

Type P for Project, click on the left and right vertical lines of the
top surface, and click OK.

Verify you selected the correct lines by orbiting to

an angled view to see 2 purple lines that have been
projected from the top surface of the Body onto the
Top Plane.
 62 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Click TOP on the View Cube to

return to a top-down view.

If your View is sideways, hover your

cursor over the View Cube and click
on the rotation arrows to turn your
view 90 degrees.

Press L for Line and click on the top

left purple projected point.

Move your cursor horizontally to the right, type 6, click, move

your cursor down vertically, type 4, click, move your cursor to
the left horizontally, type 3.5, click, move your cursor down
vertically, type 3, click, move your cursor to the right horizontally
and click on the right edge.

Press O for Offset, click the lines, change the

Offset Position to 0.5 mm, and click OK.

This inner profile will be cut away from the

Body in a later step for a latch mechanism.

Click Finish Sketch.

Look at the Sketches in the Browser and notice that all 3 sketches
now have a red padlock, meaning they are all defined and ready
to proceed to the next step.

Click the Eye Icon on Sketch 3 to turn it off.

 CARABINER 63

Navigate to Modify >> Chamfer and orbit your view to the underside of the Carabiner by holding
down the Shift key and your mouse’s scroll wheel and moving your mouse.

Select the bottom face, set the chamfer distance to 2 mm, and click OK.

Orbit to a top view of the Carabiner. Navigate to Modify >> Fillet and select the chamfer’s top edge
and the Carabiner’s top face. The Dialog Box should read “1 Face, 4 Edges”. Set the dimension to 4
mm and click OK.

When 3D printing, you want a substantially flat surface touching the build plate so the part doesn’t
break away mid-print, leading to the deliciously named fatal error of 3D Printing: Spaghetti-ing.

Carabiners need to be smooth and rounded.

If they had a perfect circular profile all the way
around, they would build up pressure and break.
Adding chamfers to the bottom and fillets to the
top and side walls gives you the best of both
worlds.

In fact, you can click on the model’s flat underside

and see that the area has been calculated for you
in the bottom right corner to be 812.278 mm^2.
This value will decrease slightly as we cut away the
latch and spring mechanic next, but it is a good
final estimation.
 64 CHAPTER 1 FUNDAMENTALS

Expand Sketches in the

Browser and turn on Sketch
1 and 3. Click the Eye Icon
next to Bodies to Hide the
Carabiner Body.

Press E for Extrude and

click on all the profiles that
make up the latch profile
and the 3 slots.

In the Dialog Box, set the Direction to Symmetric, click the Eye
Icon next to Bodies in the Browser to show the Body, and set
the Extent Type to All.

Because the profiles are now extruding into the Carabiner’s

Body, the Operation is changed to Cut, displayed as a red
transparent operation on the model. Click OK.

The reason you hid the Body and then turned it back on was
because the sketches were inside it, which would make it hard
to select the necessary profiles to extrude. Finally, click the Eye
Icon next to Sketches to Hide them.

To smooth over the spring

mechanism’s sharp edges, navigate
to Modify >> Fillet, click the 3 inner
surfaces of the spring, set the radius
to 0.4 mm, and click OK.

Click the Save icon in the top left

corner. Save the name as Carabiner
in the 1 - Fundamentals Folder.

CHALLENGE
Make a Mobius Strip by Sweeping
a center rectangle at the Origin
about a circle that runs through the
rectangle’s center with a 180-degree
Twist Angle. Add 2 mm chamfers to
the 2 edges.

@ GhostPepper @ Merlwynd
Discord User #540 Discord User #385
 65

CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS
1. Transitioning from a 2D Sketch to a 7. How would you edit a dimension?
3D Body would require a tool from the
_______ menu? a. Double click the dimension value

a. Create b. Right-click the dimension value

b. Modify c. Single click the dimension value

c. Sketch d. You cannot edit dimension values

d. Utility 8. To see the previous steps of the project

build, navigate to the...?
2. A red padlock icon next to your Sketch in
the Browser ensures that it is...? a. Browser

a. A broken Sketch b. Data Panel

b. Workable but about to be broken c. Timeline

c. Fully Defined d. Navigation Bar

d. Over Defined 9. Before making the first sketch, you must

first…?
3. The ring icon in the Extrude tool does
what? a. Select a plane

a. Rotates the direction of extrusion b. Set a dimension Unit

b. Makes circular extrusions c. Draw geometries

c. Changes taper angles d. Open the dimension tool

d. All of the above 10. To change Dimension Units, you would

navigate to...?
4. To pattern 2D geometry about a central
point, you would choose the _______ a. Data Panel
Pattern tool? b. Workspace Navigator
a. Rectangular c. Browser
b. Circular d. Navigation Bar
c. Along a Path
d. Axial
5. What is the Extrude tool’s shortcut?
a. X
b. E
c. Shift+^
d. Shift+E
6. Constraining the center of a circle to the
Origin would require a…?
a. Concentric constraint
b. Horizontal / Vertical constraint
c. Cocentric constraint
d. Coincident constraint
CHAPTER 2
MECHANICAL DESIGN

THE BASICS OF DESIGN USING

MANUFACTURING PRINCIPLES
PLAY BRICKS
GEOCACHE HIDE
 67

MECHANICAL DESIGN
The goal of designing a CAD model is often to create a digital representation of a manufacturable
object. A mechanical design approach to CAD modeling considers tools, machines, tolerances, and
technicians.

Making objects in the real world presents a few challenges. For

example, a 1” pin will fit perfectly into a 1” hole in Autodesk
Fusion, but not in the real world. A CAD modeler must add
a small gap, known as a tolerance, to allow these parts to
interface.

Machines and people also have limitations on how they can

produce a part. For example, communicating your project with
others requires more foresight and organization. This includes
but is not limited to the following:

• Naming Features, Sketches, and Bodies

• Organizing Sketches and Dimensions
• Limiting the number of features in the Timeline

In this chapter, you will learn how to make models using real-
world Dimensions, Fillets, Chamfers, and other mechanical
design principles as if you or someone you know will make the
object in real life.
C H A P T E R 2

Plastic building toys have inspired engineers

and makers for decades. At first glance, they
appear simple.

However, there are many subtle design

features that make them more complex than
meets the eye. DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Rectangular patterns
Shell a part to turn a solid body into a
thin-walled part
D I S C O R D L I N K : Add draft angles for PIM
D
D
 PLAY BRICKS 69

INTRODUCTION
Simple building toys are often the spark that leads people to pursue careers in engineering and
manufacturing. Often, plastic building blocks, although simple, contain ingenious plastic engineering
secrets that make them infinitely reconfigurable and easy to manufacture. In this build, you will explore the
world of plastic manufacturing by learning about draft angles, wall thicknesses, tapers, and more.

CAD
Verify you are working in Millimeters (mm).

The basic geometry of the PLAY brick is a rectangular box, and

luckily, Fusion has a tool to make one quickly and efficiently without
needing to sketch a rectangle and
then extrude it into a box.

Navigate to Create >> Box, select

the Top Plane, click the Origin,
move your cursor to the right, type
31.8, press the Tab key, type 15.8,
press Enter, type 9.6, and click OK.

Create a new Sketch on the top surface of the box. Press C for circle
and make a small circle in the bottom left corner of the rectangle.
Dimension this circle to 4.8 mm in diameter. Position it 3.9 mm above
the Origin and 3.9 mm to the right of the Origin. Finish the Sketch.

Reorient the model to get an isometric view and extrude this circle 1.8 mm
upwards.

Now, you will add draft angles. A draft angle makes removing plastic
parts from the mold easy by giving the edges a taper and reducing friction
between the mold and the part.

Navigate to Modify >> and click Draft. Select the top face
of the cylinder as the Pull Direction, the curved surface as the
Face, set the angle to 1 degree, and press OK.
 70 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select the

Rectangular Pattern tool.

Change the Object Type to Features. Navigate to the

Timeline and select the most recent Extrude and the Draft
features. Objects should state 2 selected.

For Axes, select the brick’s length and width. Click and drag
the blue arrows to see how this tool makes a grid of the
features selected. Set the Distribution to Spacing instead of
Extent.

Set Axis 1 to a Quantity of 4 and set Distance to 8 mm. Set Axis 2 to a Quantity of 2 and a Distance of 8
mm. This will give you a 4 x 2 grid of evenly spaced cylinders.

Note this may be reversed depending on the order you clicked on the
length and width of the brick. If your cylinders are replicated in the
wrong direction, add a negative sign (-) to the Distance value.

Navigate to Modify >> and select Shell. Select the bottom face, set the
Inside Thickness to 1.2 mm, and press OK.

Start a sketch on top of the circle and make a text box

around the circle. Type any 4-letter word of your choosing,
select bold and italic, set the height to 1 mm, and select
middle and center alignment. Press OK. Apply a Tangent
constraint between each line of the rectangular text box and
the circle. Add a Horizontal Constraint to the top line.

Extrude the text up 0.1 mm. Note that you don’t want to click the entire top
circle, just the text.

Using the same Rectangular Pattern Settings as above, pattern the

Text Extrude feature to the 8 cylinders.

This operation was done in a separate step as the Shell operation

can often crash when analyzing complex surfaces found in the text.
 PLAY BRICKS 71

The rest of the design for this project will be made on

the bottom face of the PLAY Brick. Because the “lighting”
in the software comes down from above, sketching on
the underside of a part can be a little hard due to the
shadows.

The solution is to rotate the part 180 degrees, finish

the design, and finally rotate it back into the correct
orientation.

Type M for the Move tool, expand Bodies in the Browser,

click on Body 1, change the Y Angle to 180, and click OK.

Start a new Sketch on the current top face of the Body that is
highlighted in the picture.

The geometry on this face will be extruded down, but this part
could also be deigned by sketching on the bottom face of the
shelled surface and extruding up.

If your sketch is in the vertical orientation instead of the horizontal view as in

the pictures, move your cursor to the View Cube and notice the two curved
arrows in the top right corner that you can click to rotate the sketch’s view 90
degrees.

Draw 3 sets of 2 Concentric circles as shown.

Apply an Equal constraint to the 3 outer circles by
holding down Ctrl/Cmd, clicking the perimeter of
each circle, and then selecting the Equal constraint.

Repeat this process for the 3 smaller circles.

Navigate to Create >> Point, move your cursor along the left vertical line until you see
a triangle denoting the midpoint of that line, and click to place a Point.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, click on this Point and the 3 circle’s centers, and select the
Horizontal/Vertical constraint.
 72 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Dimension the outer circles’ diameters to 6.51

mm and the inner circles’ diameters to 4.8 mm.

Set the distance between the left and middle

circles to 8 mm and the distance from the right
to the middle circle to 8 mm. Set the distance
from the left circle to the left vertical line to 7.9
mm.

Draw a line from the center of the middle circle

vertically downwards to the first horizontal line below.
You should see a triangle next to your mouse icon,
indicating the midpoint of that line. Make another line
from the middle circle’s center to the left and click on
the midpoint.

Click on the lines and press the X key to turn them

into Construction Lines. You’ll use these 2 new lines as
Mirror Lines.

Draw 3 rectangles as shown in the

picture. Use the Equal tool to set
all lengths and widths equal. Note
that this may be tricky due to hidden
Constraints in Autodesk Fusion.
Dimension these rectangles to be 0.2
x 0.6 mm.

Press P for Project and select the entire inside face,

highlighted in blue. Click OK.

This will add a projected purple point at the center of

the circles, and you will use these points to line up the 2
rectangles.
 PLAY BRICKS 73

Use the Point tool, and click on the

midpoint of each of the 0.6 mm
lines of the 3 rectangles. Select the
Horizontal/Vertical constraint and click
a Point and the circle’s center. Do this
for the other 2 rectangles. This will
align the center of the rectangles with
the center of the circles.

Use the Mirror tool to select all 3 rectangle’s edges as the Objects
and the Horizontal Construction Line as the Mirror Line, and press
OK.

Repeat this process with the Original 3 rectangles and the 3 newly
made rectangles and select the Vertical Construction Line as the
Mirror Line.

You should now have 12 rectangles.

Finish the Sketch, click the house icon on the View Cube, and
type E for Extrude.

Extrude all 12 rectangles and the 3 circular ring profiles -8.4

mm. Verify the Operation is set to Join and press OK.

Start a new Sketch on the bottom surface of the inside

of the block.
 74 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Draw a Vertical Construction Line in the middle

of the brick. Draw 2 vertical lines to the left of
the Construction Line that touch the outer circle
and add a Collinear constraint to these 2 lines.

Mirror these 2 lines about the Vertical

Construction Line and dimension them to be
0.80 mm apart.

Press P for Project and select the middle circle’s

ring profile and outer rectangular profile.

Click the area inside to verify you have 2 enclosed profiles.

Extrude the top and bottom profiles up 6.3 mm. Verify that the
Operation is set to Join and press OK.

This may be a negative number, depending on your view and

orientation.

Type A to open the Appearance tool and search for “red

plastic”, click and drag Plastic - Glossy (Red) onto the part.

Orbit around the part to see the reflections off the glossy
surface.

Select the Draft tool, click the top of the circles as the Pull Direction, and all inner surfaces except for the
small rectangular extrusions as the Faces. Change the Angle to 1
degree. The Dialog Box should read 23 faces.

This doesn’t look like an important step, but this is part of the
genius behind plastic engineering. The plastic building bricks
must be perfectly square on the outside but requires angles on
the interior to relieve pressure while being pulled from the mold.
Interior angles allow the best of both worlds—the correct draft
angle and the square outsides.
 PLAY BRICKS 75

Type M for the Move tool, click on Body 1 in the Browser, and set the Y Angle to 180 degrees to rotate it
back to the correct orientation. Notice that although it is rotated correctly, it is not in the correct location.

In the Dialog Box, click on Point to Point, click on a bottom corner of the PLAY Brick, click on the Eye next
to Origin in the Browser, and click on the Origin. Click OK. The Move tool’s options can look a little
intimidating to beginners, but most of the Move commands you will use in this course are simple rotation
and Point to Point moves.

And you are done!

CHALLENGE
Using these same principles, design another
Plastic Construction Brick, such as a 1x4 or
2x2. Apply a different color to it. You may
need to research the underside of these
bricks to make them accurately.

@ Steel Monkey

User #304
C H A P T E R 2

Join the worlds largest treasure hunt and

design a 3D printable Geocache hide
container.

By adding threads, knurls, and chunky walls,

this container should last years through all
weather conditions.
DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Work with multiple bodies at the same
time
Add a thread or knurl to a part
D I S C O R D L I N K : Emboss text into a surface
D
D Emboss an SG
 GEOCACHE HIDE 77

INTRODUCTION
Geocaching® is an international treasure-hunting sport that uses GPS and coordinates to hunt for
camouflaged hidden containers in urban and rural areas.

In this class, you will learn how to make a 2-piece threaded container that can be 3D printed and screws
together easily. While this may sound simple, there are a few design considerations you need to make to
ensure your threads unscrew and screw easily. Without enough clearance between the mating threads, the
3D-printed container will not screw together. You will also add a textured grippy surface called a knurl to
aid in unscrewing.

In addition, this container will be thicker than most common containers since Geocaching® containers
need to survive months or years outside in the elements.

CAD
Verify your Units are set to Millimeters (mm).

Unlike previous examples, you will create a Cylinder instead

of drawing a circle and extruding it. You can use the premade
geometries in the Create menu for simple shapes like cylinders,
boxes, torus, and spheres.

Navigate to Create >> and select the Cylinder tool, select the
Top Plane, set the Diameter to 33 mm, the Height to 16 mm, and
press OK.

Navigate to the Browser, expand the Bodies tab, double-click on Body1,

and rename it Bottom Screw.

When working on projects, it is generally a good idea to name each

Body to stay organized.

Most Geocache Hides need to be camouflaged to be hidden

in plain sight from Muggles (non-Geocaching folk). An
easy way to do this is to 3D print this container in a color
that matches the surroundings of where you want to hide
it. In most cases, green prints blend in very well with the
environment. Type A for the Appearance tool, search “Green
Plastic”, and add Plastic - Glossy (Green) to the cylinder.
 78 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Navigate to Modify >> Chamfer, click

the top edge of the cylinder, type 3,
and click OK.

Navigate to Create >> Thread, select

the cylindrical face, check Modeled,
and click OK.

A common mistake beginners make

is to chamfer the top edge of a
cylinder, add the thread, and then
leave it. Unfortunately, as can see,
this makes a part that has no entry to
the thread and cannot be screwed in.

In the Timeline, click the Thread feature and drag it before the
Chamfer feature. Orbit around the chamfered edge to see the
start of the thread in the chamfer.

If done correctly, you should be able to see the start of the thread
come to a point inside the chamfered surface.

Male and female threads that are exactly the same size
will never screw into each other, there needs to be a small
gap between the two parts to allow them to screw together
firmly. It is almost always easier to do this operation on the
male thread since it is easier to access.

Navigate to Modify >> Offset Faces, click the 4 faces of

the thread, type -0.25, and click OK.
 GEOCACHE HIDE 79

To make the cavity inside this part for the logbook and maybe a small
trinket, navigate to Create >> Cylinder, click the top flat surface to define
the plane, click on the Origin, move your cursor away, type 25, press
Enter, type -16 and press Enter to cut away a cylinder.

Navigate to Create >> and select Cylinder. Click the bottom of your
Body, click its Origin, pull your cursor away, and click.

Set the circle’s Diameter to 40 mm in Diameter and either -8 mm or +8

mm in thickness so that it Extrudes away from your other Body.

Now you’ll add some grip to the screw cap known as a knurl.

Navigate to Create >> and select Coil. Move your view to the underside of the part. Click the bottom
face, select its Origin, and enter 40 mm for Diameter. A red coil and a large Dialog Box will pop up.

Add the following settings:

Type: Revolution and Height

Diameter: 40 mm
Revolutions: 0.1
Height: -10 mm
Angle: 0.0 degrees
Section: Triangle (Internal)
Section Position: Inside
Section Size: 1.0 mm
Operation: Cut

Navigate to Create >> and select Mirror for a 3D Mirror feature. Set
the Type to Features and then select the Coil feature in the Timeline.

Use the Front or the Right Plane as the Mirror Plane and click OK.
You may need to hide the Body to make this easier.
 80 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select Circular Pattern.

Change the Type to Features. Select the Coil and the Mirror feature in
the Timeline.

Select the Z-axis for Axis. Change the Quantity to 25 and press OK.

Compress the Timeline to clean it up before moving on.

Select the first feature in the Timeline, hold down the Shift
key, and select the last feature to highlight all the steps.
Right-click and select Create Group to merge them all.
You can always click the small plus sign ( + ) to expand
this group or the small minus sign ( - ) to collapse it.

Turn off the part by expanding the Bodies tab in the Browser and clicking the Eye Icon next to Bottom
Screw to Hide the Body.

Start a new Sketch on the Front Plane

and draw this shape. Apply a Coincident
constraint between the left vertical line and
the Origin, as well as the bottom horizontal
line and the Origin.

Add a Parallel constraint between the 2

angled lines.

Add the dimensions listed in the picture

and Finish the Sketch.

Revolve this profile around the Z-axis and name

this part Top Cap in the Browser.

Add the same green color appearance to this

new Body.

Type F for Fillet, and add 3 mm fillets to the top

2 outer edges.
 GEOCACHE HIDE 81

Orbit to the underside of your part, navigate to Modify >> Chamfer, click the inner bottom edge, type 2,
and click OK.

While in the same view, add a thread to the inside surface of the Top Cap, uncheck Full Length, set the
Length to 18 mm, and click OK.

Click and drag the Thread features in the Timeline before the chamfer. Notice that the start of the thread
should now come to a point inside the chamfer.

Start a new Sketch on the Front Plane and use the Line tool to draw the sketch shown in the picture.

Apply a Coincident constraint between the left vertical line and the workspace Origin. Apply a Parallel
constraint between the 2 angled lines. Add all the dimensions shown. Mirror this sketch about the left
vertical line.

Extrude this profile Symmetrically, change

the Measurement to Whole Length, set
the Distance to 6 mm, and change the
Operation to Join. Press OK.

Apply 0.75 mm fillets to the outer 6 faces

to eliminate sharp edges on the part.
 82 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

To add writing to your container, you will use the Emboss tool by projecting text
from an Offset Plane.

Navigate to Construct >> Offset Plane and set it to be -30 mm from the Front
Plane and press OK.

Create a new Sketch on this Offset Plane, select the Text

tool, and make a text box in front of the cylindrical face of
the Top Cap.

Type these words: “UNSCREW CAP OFFICIAL GEOCACHE.”

Change the Font to Stencil or Impact and set the Height to
7.5 mm. Center and middle align the text, and press OK.
You can grab and move the text in whatever location you
like.

Navigate to Create >> and select the Emboss tool.

Select the text as the Sketch Profile and the cylindrical
face as the Face. –Set the depth to 0.75 mm and press
OK.

It is good practice in 3D printing to emboss text outwards

instead of recessing it into the model on vertical walls.
By having text that is proud of the surface, it only adds
a tiny amount of material to the entire print. Inversely, if
you wanted recessed text, you would need to add more
thickness to the entire Body except for the area that has
text.

In addition to text, you can also emboss graphics and logos.

Create a new Offset Plane 30 mm from the Front Plane and click
OK. Verify this plane is on the opposite side of the embossed text on
the front of the Body.

You will add the Geocache Logo to the back of this project by using
an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic). This is a file type used in graphic
design that can scaled up without losing quality because it is made
of mathematical curves, not pixels like a picture. You can find it in
the FREE DOWNLOAD tab at CADclass.org.
 GEOCACHE HIDE 83

Create a new Sketch on the new Offset

Plane and verify the View Cube reads
BACK.

Navigate to Insert >> Insert SVG,

Insert from Computer, and select the
downloaded .SVG file.

Change the Scale Plane XY to 0.3, click Horizontal Flip and

Vertical Flip, set the X Distance to -15 mm and the Y Distance
to 2 mm, click OK, and Finish Sketch.

This should put the Geocache® logo in the correct orientation

and centralized over the cylindrical face.

In the same process as the Text, select the Emboss tool in the Create menu,
select the logo as the Sketch Profile and the cylindrical face as the Face,
emboss this logo to 0.75 mm, and click OK.

Select all Features in the Timeline that make up the Top

Cap, right-click, and click Create Group.

Navigate to Inspect >> Section Analysis to visually

cut the project in half to see inside it.

Depending on where you clicked when you made

the threads, they may not line up perfectly. The
starting point of the threads is randomized, so to
some, they will look perfect; to others, they will
intersect with each other. Regardless, it doesn’t
matter as they will screw together perfectly in real
life.

To turn this view off, click the Eye Icon next to

Analysis in the Browser.
 84 CHAPTER 2 MECHANICAL DESIGN

Now, you will export these for 3D printing.

Because this file has two Bodies, you
cannot just export the entire file as an STL.

Right-click on a Body in the Browser and

click Save As Mesh. Select STL Binary
format with High Refinement, and press
OK to save it. Repeat this process for the
other Body.

Your files are now ready to be sliced and

3D printed. Happy printing!

CHALLENGE
Make a custom Geocache® Hide that can be camouflaged to look like an everyday object. A popular
hide is a container shaped like an acorn or a bolt. Post this hide and its coordinates on
Geocaching.com.

@Raluca A
User #794
 85

CHAPTER 2 QUESTIONS
1. Which is an example of a correct metric 7. A common draft angle in plastic injection
thread identifier? molding is …?
a. 33m a. 1 degree
b. 33M b. 45 degrees
c. M33 c. 15 degrees
d. m33 d. 10 degrees
2. True or False? Text can be sketched on 8. What is the most common file type for 3D
curved and flat surfaces. Printing?
3. To turn a Construction Line or Arc into a a. 3MF
Sketch Line or Sketch Arc, you would select
the geometry, a type … ? b. OBJ

a. X c. DXF

b. Shift+X d. STL

c. C 9. What is the purpose of an Offset on a

threaded surface?
d. Shift+C
a. It is purely aesthetic
4. An appearance that is not simply a solid
color is known as a...? b. Better printing quality

a. Picture Appearance c. Allows the threads to screw into

each other
b. Decal Appearance
d. To change the thread pitch
c. Texture Appearance
10. Compressing multiple Features in the
d. Roughness Appearance Timeline is accessed by highlighting the
Features in the Timeline and … ?
5. RGB stands for?
a. Right-click
a. Roughness, Gradience, Blankness
b. Double-click
b. Revolve, Ground, Boundary
c. Left-click
c. Roughness, Gradience, Bump Map
d. Press C for compress
d. Red, Green, Blue
6. Knurls are … ?
a. Small hardware similar to nuts
b. Texture on metal parts used for
grip
c. A defect on the surface of a metal
part
d. Plastic clumps used to make
3D-printed filament
CHAPTER 3
PARAMETRIC DESIGN

HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR DESIGNS

WITH DIMENSIONS AND PARAMETERS
METRIC BOLTS
PROTOTYPE DRONE
 87

PARAMETRIC DESIGN
There are a handful of CAD milestones that separate the beginner from the intermediate modeler.
One of those milestones is parametric modeling. For many CAD designers, parametric modeling is
a game changer.

Until now, you’ve entered dimensions manually for each line, angle, or plane in your models. If
you need to make changes to your model, you’re stuck having to either redo it or make individual
edits to each dimension. This works for simple designs with a limited number of dimensions but can
quickly get out of hand in more complex models with hundreds or thousands of dimensions.

Parametric modeling allows you to attribute names, values, and equations to dimensions instead
of a single number. These names, along with their corresponding values, define a parameter.
Parameters store numerical information that can easily be changed, automatically updating the
model.

For example, you can manually enter

20” for height and 10” for width to
create the rectangles below. Or, you can
create a 20” Height parameter and a
10” width parameter and apply them to
all 3 rectangles. This way, if you need to
change these dimensions later, you only
need to edit Height and width, and the
changes will automatically update the
rectangles.

If you change the Height parameter to 30” and the Width parameter to 20”, all 6 dimensions
update, as shown.

You’re now 3-times more efficient. Not bad! If you were using traditional dimensions, you would
need to individually change each one of these numbers. That’s manageable for 3 rectangles, but
what if you have 100? We hope you can see that it quickly gets out of hand.
C H A P T E R 3

Supercharge your workflow in Fusion 360 by

thinking parametrically and designing models
that can be changed with only a few new
dimensions.

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
1 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Simplify a design parameters

Add a partial thread to a body

Where to find importable hardware

D I S C O R D L I N K : online.

D
D
 METRIC BOLT 89

INTRODUCTION
Bolts are a standard piece of hardware with many variations, making them a great parametric modeling
project. Instead of creating each bolt variation from scratch, you can create 1 bolt using parameters
and then edit a few parameters to make an entirely new bolt instantaneously. In this lesson, you will
parametrically model the commonly found M5x25 bolt and learn parametric design principles.

CAD
Navigate to Modify >> and select
Change Parameters. Notice the 3 preset
Parameters called Favorites, User, and
Model Parameters. Model Parameters
list every dimension in a project. User
Parameters list all of your custom
Parameters. Favorites are a quick list of
Parameters you are likely to change often.

Click the plus sign ( + ) at the top of the Dialog Box, add t`he name,
Head_Diam, and the Expression 8.5, and click OK.

Parametric names are case-sensitive and often have underscores to

separate names.

An easy mistake is to add a space before a Name.

Add the following Parameters from this

table to your User Parameters list.

Note that a Parameter’s Expression may

also contain another Parameter such as
Thread Length always being half of the
Shank Length Value.

Note that the last Parameter, Quantity

does name have mm as its Unit. Because
it is an amount, set the Unit to No Units.
 90 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Create a new Sketch on the Front Plane and draw this profile on
the horizontal and vertical axes.

Sketch a horizontal Construction line above the profile.

Use the Coincident constraint to constrain the Construction line’s

endpoints to the left and right edges of the bolt’s profile.

Select the bottom horizontal line, click the Sketch Palette ( + )

symbol to expand it, and click Centerline next to Linetype.

This turns the bottom horizontal line into an Axis of revolution,

so every time you dimension geometry to it, it will display the
diameter instead of the radius.

Dimension the top left horizontal line to the Centerline as the

Parameter Head_Diam by pressing D for Dimension, selecting
the 2 lines, pressing H, and selecting Head_Diam from the
dropdown.

When you start typing a Parameter’s name in a dimension

box, it will only show the parameters that contain the letter you
typed. For example, as you type H for Head_Length, it won’t
show “Bolt_Diam” or “Quantity”.

Add the following sketch dimensions. Set the top left horizontal line to Head_Length=fx: 5.00, the middle
horizontal line as Shank_Length=fx. 45.00, and the right vertical Parameter as Bolt_Diam=fx: 5.00.
 METRIC BOLT 91

Select the Revolve tool. The Profile and Axis will automatically be
selected because there is only 1 profile and a Centerline was set,
click OK.

As you get more comfortable with the tools in Fusion, consider using
the Search tool. For example, press the S key and type “rev”. You can
select the Revolve tool here instead of going into the menu. This can be
especially useful for tools you don’t use often.

Start a new Sketch on the bolt head. Draw a 6-sided polygon in the
center and apply a Horizontal/Vertical constraint to the top edge.

Add the Wrench_Width=fx: 4.00 to the edge-to-edge dimension.

Extrude Cut this profile a Distance of -Wrench_Depth. Remember, the volume

will turn a transparent red when cutting the material away. If it doesn’t, verify the
Operation is set to Cut. Press OK.

Add a 1 mm chamfer to the end of the bolt, click the ( + ) symbol in the Chamfer Dialog Box, add 0.5
mm chamfers to both of the bolt head’s ends, click the ( + ) symbol again, and add 0.25 mm to the 6
outer edges of the hexagon. Click OK.
 92 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Adding threads to a cylinder or hole in Fusion is easy to do but can be tricky when you don’t want threads
on the entire length of the bolt. The trick in Fusion is that partial threads will be applied to the section
closest to you in your view. Orbit the shank’s end so it is facing you.

Navigate to Create >> Thread and select the bolt’s shank.

Uncheck Full Length and type Thread_Length in Length. Click OK.

Correct Orientation Incorrect Orientation

In a similar operation to the Geocache thread in the previous chapter, navigate

to the Timeline, and drag the Thread feature before the Chamfer feature.

If you look at a standard metric bolt, you will find some lines around the bolt head, called straight knurls.
Knurls add texture that makes it easier to hand screw them in. You can recreate these knurls by extruding
a triangular profile and patterning it around our Axis of Revolution.

Create a Sketch on the top of the Bolt’s head, project the chamfered edge, sketch a simple upside-down
triangle above the bolt, and Equally constrain all 3 sides of the triangle,

Apply a Horizontal/Vertical constraint to the top line, Vertically constrain its bottom point to the Origin,
add a Tangent constraint to the top of the triangle and the outer projected circle, and dimension the top
edge to 0.10 mm. Finish the Sketch.
 METRIC BOLT 93

Extrude the triangle through the Bolt’s head. Change the Extent Type to To
Object and select the Bottom Face of the Bolt’s head.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select

Circular Pattern. With the Object Type set to
Features, select the most recent extrusion on
the Timeline and select the Bolt head’s curved
surface as the Axis. Change the Quantity to 40.
Press OK.

Type A for Appearance, search “Anodized”, and click and drag your
favorite color onto the Bolt.

Anodization is a manufacturing process of increasing the durability

of a metal surface with the benefit of adding interesting colors to the
metal.

Navigate to Modify >> Change Parameters

and change the Length value to 25 mm and
see how the bolts and thread length update
automatically without needing to make a brand
new part from scratch.

Expand Sketches in the Browser and click the Eye Icon next to Sketch 1 to
show the Construction Line above the profile.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> Circular Pattern, click on the Bolt, click
“Select” next to Axis, click the horizontal Construction line above the bolt,
and set the Quantity to the parameter Quantity. Click OK.

And just like that, you have 6 fully customizable bolts!

 94 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

DISCUSSION
Advanced Units

While this is one example of a parametric model, many other use

cases exist. Parameters can represent other information such as mass,
cost, viscosity, luminance, and much much more.

Fasteners tool

A new tool to Autodesk Fusion is Fasteners in the Insert menu. It is a vast library of every type of hardware
you may need in your project, but it has one flaw: It can be overwhelming for someone unfamiliar with
fasteners like bolts and nuts and their truly endless specificities.

CHALLENGE

Design a coffee cup with a parametrically driven height, circumference, and wall thickness.

@Biikjo
User # 160
96 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

C H A P T E R 3

Supercharge your workflow in Fusion 360 by

thinking parametrically and designing models
that can be changed with only a few new
dimensions.

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
2 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Import STEP files

Copy and Mirror components

Where to find importable hardware

D I S C O R D L I N K : online.

D
D
 PROTOTYPE DRONE 97

INTRODUCTION
Making a Drone used to be a fantasy. However, thanks to readily available parts, relatively simple
CAD models, and 3D printers, many enthusiasts now build and iterate at home.

In this project, you will build a parametric Drone frame connected to off-the-shelf components. By
modeling the frame parametrically, you can create a new prototype by changing a few values. This
modeling approach is ideal for projects that are likely to be changed in the future.

You will import pre-designed components, apply new material properties, and measure the weight of
your build to know if it will be under the 250-gram limit for hobbyists.

This Drone has five major parts: the frame, propellers, motors, AIO (all-in-one) board, and a Li-Po
Battery. Combined, these parts must weigh no more than 250g (0.55 lb). If you exceed this weight
limit, you will need an official Drone pilot’s license to operate in the US and Europe.

Before we begin, let’s discuss the critical design considerations.

Learning CAD is an art and science that requires a technical understanding of the programs as well
as a real-world understanding of material properties, mechanical and electrical systems, art/design,
and more. For this project, our biggest concerns are:

1 - Weight
2 - Strength/Rigidity
3 - Stability

The primary drivers of strength/rigidity are material choice, frame thickness, and arm length. Carbon
fiber has a high strength/weight ratio and will behave differently than 3D-printed PLA or PETG, which
are weaker. Both may work but will have different CAD design features.

Stability requires a delicate balance between arm-to-arm length, propeller choice, motor choice,
weight distribution, material choice, and many more factors. Therefore, a parametric frame design is
ideal since getting the balance right on the first few attempts is unlikely.

We encourage you to consider the real-world design implications of your CAD models, as these will
impact how you approach your work in Fusion.

CAD
This is the first multi-part assembly project, though this topic
will be discussed in more depth in the Joints and Assemblies
chapters later.

Make a New Folder named “Prototype Drone” in the 3 -

Parametric Design Folder.
 98 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Save a new file to this Folder called Prototype Drone.

Verify that you are working in mm.

Navigate to Assemble >> New Component, verify Internal is checked,

change the Name to “Drone Frame,” and click OK.

Notice in the Browser that the Root Component at the top,

Prototype Drone v1, has 3 stacked white cubes denoting it as an
assembly.

This is because it houses the Drone Frame component, denoted

by a white cube inside it. Also note the anchor icon on the white
cube, which means it is grounded and will not move around the
workspace.

Create a sketch on the Top Plane, press L for

Line and X for Construction, and make the
following two lines that meet at the Origin.

Press C for circle, then X to deselect

Construction geometry, and make two
concentric circles on each of the line’s
endpoints.

Dimension the top circles to 9.2 and 3.5

mm to match the dimensions of the motors,
and dimension the inner bottom circle to
1.8 to match the mounting hole on the AIO
board.

Navigate to Modify >> Change Parameters, click the (+) symbol to Add
a new User Parameter called Support_Width, and set the Expression to 4
mm. Click OK to close the Change Parameters Dialog Box.

Press D for Dimension, click the two lower circles, move your cursor
away, click again, type S, press Enter to auto-fill the parameter, type /2 to
half the value, and press Enter.
 PROTOTYPE DRONE 99

Sketch a circle inside the top circles

on the vertical Construction line
that is 1.6 mm in diameter and 3.3
mm below the circle’s center.

Navigate to Create >> Circular

Pattern, click the circle you just
sketched, click “Select” next to
Center Point, click the large circles
center, leave the Quantity at 3, and
click OK.

Dimension the center of the lower circles to be 13 mm to the right

and up from the Origin.

Sketch two vertical lines on either

side of the vertical Construction
line that touches the larger outer
circle.

Apply the Symmetry constraint

by clicking the constraint tool,
click the left sketch line, the right
sketch line, and the Construction
line in the middle.

Dimension the distance between

these lines with the parameter
Support_Width = fx: 4.00.

Add Horizontal/Vertical constraints

to the bottom 2 endpoints of the
lines.

Dimension the left bottom endpoint

to the Origin’s vertical distance as
Support_Width/2 = fx: 2.00.
 100 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Sketch a Construction line from the lower circle’s center to the right
vertical line.

Note that you may need to click and drag the upper circle up so this
line terminates at the vertical sketched right line.

Add a Perpendicular constraint between this Construction line and the

other angled Construction line.

Press X to return to normal sketching. Sketch two angled lines on either side of the new Construction
line that touches the outer circle and the right vertical Sketch line, and add two Parallel constraints
between the 3 lines.

Add a Symmetric Constraint by clicking the Symmetry constraint, one of the sketch lines, the other
sketch line, and the middle Construction line.

Dimension the distance between the two lines as the parameter Support_Width = fx: 4.00.

The last dimension to constrain is the height of the vertical

constriction line, which defines the Drone’s arm length. This is a
critical dimension; the propellers will collide if the arms are too short.

If they are too long, it makes for a weaker, flimsier, and heavier
design that is harder to fly and more prone to breaking in
transportation. For that reason, it is helpful to set upper and lower
bounds of this dimension.

Start by navigating to the Modify >>

Change Parameters tool. Create a new
User Parameter called “Arm_Length”, set
the Expression to 53 mm, click OK, and
click OK again.

Dimension the length of the vertical

Construction line Arm_Length = fx: 53.00.
 PROTOTYPE DRONE 101

Navigate back to Change Parameters and click the (+) symbol to make
another User Parameter called “Limits_Arm_Length”.

In the Expression box, type “min”

and press Enter; this will add the
minimum function and put your
cursor between two parentheses.

Type “100” and a semicolon “;”. This number,

counterintuitively, defines the maximum value.

Type “max” and press Enter; this will add the maximum
function and put your cursor between two parentheses.

Type “45”, a semicolon “;”, and “Arm_Length”.

The Expression should read:

min(100;max(45;Arm_Length)).
Click OK and click OK again.

Return to the Sketch, double-click the parameter fx: 53.00, type

Limit_Arm_Length, and press Enter.

Open the Change Parameter tool, double-click the Expression of

the Arm_Length to 50, and the sketch will automatically shrink.

Double-click and change this value to 40 mm, but note that

the dimension in the sketch reads 45 mm because that is the
minimum value set in the Parameters and will not go any
smaller than that.

Change the Arm_Length value to 110 and see that it will max
out at 100 mm.

Change this value back to 53 mm and click OK.

 102 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Navigate to Create >> Mirror, click the two angled sketch

lines, click “Select” next to Mirror Line, click the highlighted
Construction line in the picture, and click OK.

Highlight the entire sketch, navigate to Create >> Circular

Pattern, click “Select” next to Center Point, click the Origin,
change the Quantity to 4, and click OK.

The current design, known as a Toothpick frame, is lightweight

but has flimsy arms. You can join the arm ends with supports to
make a Square Frame to strengthen them.

Draw two lines that touch the two outer circles of two arms and
add a Parallel constraint to the two arms.

Add two Tangent constraints to the upper line and the two
circles at either end. Dimension the distance between the two
lines with the parameter Support_Width.

Use the Circular Pattern tool to pattern the two lines about
the Origin to a Quantity of 4.

If your patterned lines remain blue, continue to the next step.

Finish the Sketch and get an Isometric View of the Sketch.

 PROTOTYPE DRONE 103

Press E for Extrude and

click all 21 profiles except
for the circle’s centers.

In the Distance, type “Thickness= -2.5 mm” to extrude the profile down
and click OK.

This is the second and much faster way to create a Parameter: Type the
name and value in the dimension box.

The Thickness Parameter has now been added to the Parametric table as a
Favorite Parameter.

To add more strength, you can type F for Fillet and add internal
2.5 mm fillets to the vertical lines of the frame where you see
fit.

Orbit around the model and click on the corners that you think
would benefit from being stronger.

Highlight the entire model, navigate to Modify >> Chamfer,

and set the value to 0.25 mm.

The default material in Autodesk Fusion is steel, which is

significantly heavier than Carbon Fiber.

To change this value to the correct density of 1.6 g/mm^3,

navigate to Modify >> Physical Material, double-click on the
Steel icon in the “In This Design” window.

Click Advanced, Physical, Mechanical, change the Density to

1.6 g/cm^3 click Apply, Cancel and Close.
 104 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Type A for Appearance, and apply any of the Carbon Fiber

appearances to the frame.

The Drone Frame component is now done.

Right-click “Prototype Drone v1” at the top of the Browser,

known as the Root Component, and click Activate or click
the small white dot to the right of the it’s name.

Activating the Root Component after working on another

component will become routine when creating new parts
inside Components as you practice modeling complex
multi-part assemblies.

Next up in the project is importing and joining the CW (Clockwise) and CCW (Counterclockwise)
Propellers & Motors, Li Po Battery, and AIO (All-In-One) Board.

You can find the 4 STEP files for this project on the FREE DOWNLOADS tab at CADclass.org.

If you are working on a project that requires

components for your CAD model, you will want
to look for .STEP or .STP files. These are similar to
STLs used in 3D Printing but retain some of the CAD
model’s design information, allowing you to move
and edit files between various CAD software. Note,
however, STEP files don’t transfer information about
how the part was made, physical material properties,
or decals.

You can find similar files on GrabCAD.com, Printables.com, and many other online repositories.

There are many places to find and

download 3D models, but most
models are designed for artistic
3D modeling, 3D Printing, or are
expensive.

Download these files onto your

computer, open the Data Panel, click
the blue Upload button, select the
files from your computer, and click
Upload. The files will now be saved
to the Prototype Drone folder.
 PROTOTYPE DRONE 105

Right-click on “STEP CCW EX1103

11,000 KV Motor & Propeller” in the
Data Panel and click Insert into Current
Design.

In the Dialog Box, change the Y Distance

to Arm_Length.

Orbit to the motor’s underside and

notice how the 3 mounting holes line up
with the holes on the Frame. Click OK.

In Drone building, the CCW (Counter Clockwise) and

CW (Clockwise) motors must be diagonal to each other
to resist the rotation of the other motors. This is a similar
principle to the small blade on the back of a helicopter;
without it, the main top blades would have nothing to
push against and the helicopter would spin in place
without moving up or down.

To duplicate the part, click the CCW Motor & Propeller

Component in the Browser, Copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) &
Paste (Ctrl/Cmd+V), change the Y Distance to -2 *
Arm_Length, change the Z Angle to 180 to rotate it, and
click OK.

Right-click on “STEP CW EX1103 11,000 KV Motor & Propeller” in

the Data Panel and click Insert into Current Design.

Change the X Distance to Arm_Length and click OK.

Click the CW Motor & Propeller component in the

Browser, Copy (Ctrl/Cmd+C) & Paste (Ctrl/Cmd+V),
change the X Distance to -2 * Arm_Length, change the Z
Angle to 180 to rotate it, and click OK.
 106 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

In the Data Panel, right-click the STEP AIO Board X12 12amp,
click Insert into Current Design, and click OK.

Orbit above the project and see how the mounting holes on
the AIO (All In One) board line up with the holes on the Drone
Frame.

Finally, right-click on the STEP 450 mAh Li Po

Battery in the Data Panel, click Insert into Current
Design, set the X distance to -30 mm, the Y
Distance to -7.5 mm, and the Z Distance to -14.5
mm, and click OK.

Due to their small capacity, batteries on hobby

Drones are often swapped out during flight days,
so temporary holding mechanisms like rubber
bands, Velcro straps, and zip ties are often the
best choice for securing them to the frame. Hence,
there is no strict need to include holding elements
in the design.

None of the components are locked in place except the Drone

Frame, which was automatically grounded when created.

If you have accidentally moved any parts in the assembly

process, you can always undo this move with the shortcut Ctrl/
Cmd+Z.

To lock all these parts together, hold down Ctrl/Cmd,

click on all 7 components in the Browser, navigate to
Assemble >> Rigid Group, and click OK.
 PROTOTYPE DRONE 107

Now that the design is complete, you can analyze the Drone’s
weight to verify that it doesn’t exceed 250g.

As stated before, STEP files do not transfer Physical Material

Properties and revert to the default Steel density. The real-world
combined weight of the 4x Motors (4x 3.8=15.2g), 4x Propellers (4x
1.3g = 5.2g), AIO Board (5.1g), and Li Po Battery (29g) is 54.5g. As
long as the Drone Frame is under 195.5g, then it will be a successful
Hobby Drone.

Right-click Drone Frame in the Browser, click Properties, and

look at the Mass in the Physical section.

With a density of 0.002 g/mm^3 (rounding from 0.0016

g/mm^3), that leaves you with a final total weight of 65
grams, well under the 195.5 gram limit!

This is a testament to the modern engineering that goes into

making materials stronger, lighter, and more accessible for
all making projects.

Experiment with your design by changing all

parameters and seeing what amazing styles
you can create!

Pictures taken by the CADclass community Drone Expert @Dairy Air, cheers mate
 108 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

DISCUSSION
Components
AIO Board - Esc/FC AIO Board- Happymodel X12 12Amp 1-2S capable 25-400mw VTX ELRS
AIO Board or All In One refers to all of the important electronic components for flight being included
on one convenient board. This board contains an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) for the motors
and a Flight Controller (FC). This Happymodel board runs at 12 Amps and supports a 1-2S battery.
It is capable of Video Transmission (VTX) for short-range flying at 25 mW to longer-range flying at
400 mW. Express LRS (ELRS) is the low latency and high-performance protocol that is used to pilot a
Drone with a remote control.

Motor - EX1103 KV11000

EX is the motor’s identifier/series number while the 1103 denotes the size of the brushless motor.
11000 KV, refers to the RPM (revolutions per minute) per Volt. A KV rating of 11000 means the motor
will spin at 11,000 RPM for every volt applied. High KV ratings like this are typically used for small,
high-speed Drones.

Props - T2.5 X 3.5 X 3

Diameter: 2.5”, Pitch: 3.5, Blades: 3. The Pitch number refers to the theoretical linear distance
the propeller would move in one revolution. These propellers come in packs of 4, 2 being CW
(Clock Wise) and 2 being CCW (Counter-Clock Wise). They are often made of strong materials like
polycarbonate but are usually inexpensive as they can be damaged and need to be replaced.

Battery - 2S 450mAh 80/160C

2s refers to the number of cells in the battery that are wired up in series. If one cell was 3.7V,
then the combined voltage would be 7.4 V. 450 mAh refers to the battery capacity. The higher this
number, the longer it will live, and Drones will be able to fly longer. Paradoxically, the larger the mAh
of the battery, the larger and heavier it will be leading to shorter flights. 80/160C is the discharge
rate of the battery, or how quickly the electricity can “leave” the battery. This battery can be safely
discharged at a rate of 80 times its capacity; 80 * 450mA = 36,000 mA = 36A. Think of this value
as the rate of electricity going from the battery to the motor when it is casually flying. 160C refers to
the burst discharge rate which the battery can only handle for a few seconds of high acceleration;
160 * 450 mA = 72,000 mA = 72A. Think of this value as the rate of electricity going from the
battery to the motor when it is quickly accelerating from resting to full speed.

CHALLENGE

Add a top frame, connected with stand offs above the AIO Board to add more stability to the Drone
and protect the delicate parts.

Use an AI image generator, like DALL-E or Newarc.ai, to get inspiration on how to make this
project look better or to render it in an epic background.
 109

CHAPTER 3 QUESTIONS
1. STEP files are most similar to…? 9. If a formula in a dimension box is red, it
may be … ?
a. Sketches
a. Contains spelling mistake
b. JPEG
b. Does not have a closing
c. STL
parenthesis
d. DXF
c. Multiple algebraic symbols next to
2. The name of the item at the top of the each other
Browser is called the ...?
d. All of the above
a. Root Component
10. The Combine tool is used for … ?
b. Top Component
a. Combining components or Bodies
c. It doesn’t have a name
b. Cutting one component/Body from
d. Root File another

3. True or False? All parameters require c. Neither

dimensions.
d. Both
4. What are Model Parameters?

a. Parameters you enter in yourself

b. Parameters from dimensions

c. Parameters you favorite/star

5. True or False? Sketches need to be fully

defined to be used in Create feature.

6. True or False? Dimensions can include

both parameters and mathematics.

7. Before making a New Component, you

should … ?

a. Activate the top Assembly

component

b. Activate the current component

c. Do nothing in specific, proceed as

normal

d. Insert a mesh

8. True or False? Parameters that are edited

will update the model immediately without
needing to update the entire file.
CHAPTER 4
ASSEMBLIES

HOW TO BUILD YOUR PROJECT WITH

MULTIPLE PARTS
FIRE PISTON
3D PRINTER HOT END
 111

ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies are a collection

of components joined
together. For example, a nut
and a bolt are individual
components and become
an assembly, as shown.

There are two primary ways to make Assemblies in Autodesk Fusion: using Internal Components
and External Components.

External Components

External Components are individual files that

can be organized in a folder, imported into a
separate Assembly file, and joined together.

Internal Components

Alternatively, Internal Components are all

housed inside a single Assembly file, not in
a separate folder. This is easier to manage
for assemblies with fewer components, but
it can be computationally heavy for larger
assemblies.

It is your personal preference about which

type to choose. This chapter’s projects will
teach you why we used Internal vs. External
Components.

Free vs. Paid

If you are using a free Hobbyist or personal Autodesk Fusion trial, you will have trouble making
these and any future projects using External Components.

If you want the full functionality of Autodesk Fusion, consider purchasing it for a monthly, annual,
or lifetime fee. You may also want to see if you are eligible for an Education or Start-Up License,
which will give you free access to the paid version.
C H A P T E R 4

Use knowledge about thermodynamics and

physics to survive in the wild.

A fire piston uses pressure and force to

generate enough energy to start a fire.

No matches, no lighter, no problem!

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
2 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :

Add a rigid joint to two components

Cylindrical Joints

Joint Limits
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 FIRE PISTON 113

INTRODUCTION
There are various ways to make fire on demand, but few are as exciting as the fire piston. Load
flammable fuel inside the cylinder, smash the piston down, and you’ll have a smoking piece of tinder if all
goes well. The spike in pressure leads to an increase in temperature high enough to start a fire.

In this class, you will design a fire piston as you begin to learn about advanced CAD design using
Assemblies. Although you have already created New Components, you will better understand how to
connect different Components while keeping your designs organized and your parts working correctly.

CAD
Set your Units to Inches and save this file to the 4 - Assemblies Folder
as Fire Piston.

Navigate to Assemble >> New

Component. Name this component
Piston Body and set it to Internal.

Notice the small anchor icon next to

the new component, indicating that it is
Grounded and cannot move.

Piston Body
Create a new Sketch on the Front Plane and draw this
rough sketch with the Line tool. Set the bottom horizontal
line to be a Centerline using the Sketch Palette and make
its endpoints coincident with the vertical lines above it.
 114 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Add the following dimensions from the picture:

The diameter of the highlighted horizontal line to the Centerline is

25/64”. This odd number is 1/64” larger than the 3/8” piston that will
pass through it.

Revolve this profile around the

Construction Line and add an internal
3/8” thread to the right side of the hole.
Keep the Thread as Modeled and click OK.

Because this model won’t be 3D printed,

the threads can remain as a decal instead
of being set as Modeled.

Chamfer the inner edge on the right face to

3/32”, click the ( + ) symbol, and set the outer
right edge and the left face to 0.02”.

Navigate to Construct >> Offset Plane, select the left face, and Offset the
plane -0.5” into the Body.

Navigate to Create >> Coil, click the Offset Plane, click on its Origin, and
make a circle to start the knurl.
 FIRE PISTON 115

Click and drag your mouse from the Origin to the outer edge.
Start the Coil by dragging the axial arrow, so it travels down the
length of the Piston Body, and type in the following settings:

Diameter: 0.70”
Revolutions: 1.5
Height: -3.00”
Section: Triangular Internal
Section Position: Inside
Section Size: 0.02”

Select the Mirror tool, set the Object Type to Features, select the
Coil feature in the Timeline, and select the Front Plane as the
Mirror Plane. Click OK.

Navigate to Create >> Patterns >> Circular Pattern. Change

the Object Type to Features and select the Coil and Mirror
features from the Timeline.

Set the Axis as the X-axis and the Quantity to 6.

Search Anodized in the Appearance tool and add any anodized

appearance to this component or make your own custom
colors.

This component is completed, so before you make the next one, you
must activate the entire assembly file.

Click on the white dot to the right of the Root Component at the top of
the Browser to Activate it.

You can also right-click the Root Component and select Activate.
 116 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Click the first feature in the Timeline, hold down the Shift
key, select the last feature, right-click, and Create a Group.
Right-click the Group in the Timeline and rename it as the
component’s name. Do this step for all of the components
in this project.

Body End Cap

Create a new Internal Component by clicking New Component in the

Assemble menu and name it Body End Cap. This part will have mating
threads that affix to the Piston Body that has an O-ring in between it.

Make a new sketch on the Front Plane and draw the rough shape of the Body End Cap away from the
Piston Body. Make the bottom horizontal line a Centerline using the Sketch Palette, set the Centerline to be
Coincident with the Origin, and add 2 Tangent constraints to the arc and their connecting lines. Add the
following dimensions from the picture and note that the left edge is positioned 4.5” from the Origin.

Revolve this part about the Centerline, add a Polished Brass Appearance, add a 0.05” chamfer to the left
edge to 0.05”, two 0.02” chamfers to the bolt’s head’s edges, and add a Decal Thread to the shank.
 FIRE PISTON 117

This component is completed, so click

on the white dot to the right of the Root
Component at the top of the Browser and
Create a Group in the Timeline of the
features that make up this Component.

As there is no joint that connects the Piston Body and the Piston End Cap,
you can click and drag the End Cap away and then type Ctrl/Cmd + Z to
undo this movement.

Because the Piston Body is grounded (note the anchor icon in the Browser),
it is unmovable.

You will now add the O-ring that will go in

between these parts. Navigate to Insert >>
McMaster Carr Component, and search for part:
9452K19.

Download the 3D STEP file. This will automatically

insert the part at the Origin.

Change the Y Angle to 90 degrees and click and drag the X Distance
arrow down the length of the Piston Body till it is in between the two
components.

Select the Joints tool in the Assemble

menu; click the O-ring and the curved
surface at the end of the threads on
the Body End Cap.

When making joints, the first object

you click moves to the second object
you click.
 118 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

It is important to note that, in Fusion, you can only make joints between 2 components, not between 2
Bodies.

Using the same Joint tool, select the circular edge on the underside of the Body End Cap’s head and on
the outer edge of the Piston.

Note that when you select this edge, a circular icon known as the Joint Origin appears at the center of the
circle. When joining any 2 components, 1 Joint Origin will move to another and become Coincident.

If you do a Section Analysis of the Front Face, you can see the
O-ring interfering with the Body End Cap. Because this is a
rubber part that can deform and stretch over rigid metals, you
don’t need to worry about this. As you can see, the O-ring would
squish to form an air-tight seal by the chamfer on the Piston
Body.

Piston End
Make a new Internal Component called Piston End.

Hide the other 2 components and start a new Sketch on the Front
Plane of the following profile.

Set the center of the circle at the midpoint of the top

horizontal line, the vertical highlighted line is Coincident
to the Origin, and set the bottom horizontal line to be a
Centerline.

Verify the Centerline is Coincident with the Origin.

 FIRE PISTON 119

Add the following dimensions to the sketch.

Type the 0.313” dimension as 5/16” and set

the circle’s diameter to 1/16”.

The 0.125” wide groove, commonly known

as a gutter in machining, is a handy way to
establish the end of the threads during a lathe
operation known as Threading.

Revolve this part about the Centerline, add a Polished Brass Appearance, add the same chamfers to this
component that you did on the Body End Cap component, and add a thread to the bolt’s shank.

Activate the Root Component at the top of the Browser and Create a Group in the Timeline of the features
that make up the Piston End.

Piston

The Piston will screw into the

Piston End, hold onto an O-ring,
and have a small cavity to hold
flammable material.

Make a new Internal Component called Piston, right-click the component in the
Browser, and click Isolate. This will hide all of the components except for the
one you have Activated.
 120 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane of the profile and set the bottom horizontal line as a Centerline.

Type H for Hole and select the right face next to the groove.
Click the drag the blue circle to the center, where it will snap in
place.

Change the Hole Type to Countersink. Set the Countersink

Diameter to 0.25”, the total depth to 3/16”, and the hole
diameter to 1/8”. This hole will have the geometry that can
hold onto the tinder. Click OK.

Make a new threaded hole and center it on the left face of the Piston. This
hole will screw into the Piston End.

Change the Hole Type to Simple, the Hole Type to Tapped, the size to
0.3125”, and the Depth to 0.5”. Change it to Modeled and click OK.

Add a 0.02” chamfer to the right outer edge of the Piston to make it easier
to insert into the bore of the Piston Body.

Click on the white dot to the right of the Root Component at the top of the
Browser and Create a Group of the features that make up the Piston.

Click the Eye Icon next to the Piston End component to Show it.

Navigate to Assemble >> As-Built Joint and click on the

two components to add a Rigid joint. Click OK.

The As-Built Joint was chosen over the Joint tool because
the 2 components are already in the correct location.
 FIRE PISTON 121

Insert another McMaster Carr O-ring by going to Insert >> McMaster Carr and downloading part:
9452K16.

Rotate it 90 degrees and place it

roughly in the correct location.

Press J to open the Joint tool, select

the O-ring, and the grooved surface
and the O-ring will slide into place.

O-rings are made of flexible rubber, so the part will interfere with the Piston to the point where you can
barely see it. This O-ring will stretch over the part in real life, so there’s no need to worry about this error.

Right-click the Piston component in the Browser and

click Unisolate to show the other components.

Navigate to Assemble >> As-Built Joint, click the

Piston End, then the Piston Body, then select any
circular edge on the Piston End. Click OK.

In Slider joints, the direction that the component

moves runs parallel to the axis of revolution of the
circular edge you selected.

Click and drag the Piston and notice how it realistically moves in and out
of the Piston Body.

Unfortunately, if you push the Piston too far, it can clip into the Body.

To fix this, expand Joints in Browser, hover your cursor over Slider joint, and click on the orange arrow
pop-up called Edit Motion Limits. Check Minimum and Rest, and press the Preview Limits button.

Depending on your view’s orientation,

the Piston End may clip through
the Piston Body, which is obviously
incorrect. Click Flip which checks
Maximum and press Preview Limits
again to see the Piston End moving
away from the Piston Body. Click OK.
 122 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

By having Rest set at 0”, when you click and drag the Piston away
from the Body and release, it will automatically reset back to the
starting position.

To see this movement better,

right-click Piston Body in the
Browser >> Opacity Control
>> 70% and click and drag the
Piston again.

And you are done!

DISCUSSION
Anodized Aluminum

The Piston Body is Anodized Aluminum. Anodizing is an electrolytic process that encourages an oxide to
form on the outside of metals. Oxide is usually bad, like rust on steel, which degrades the material rapidly.
However, aluminum oxide is more durable against impact and scratches and incredibly durable against
thermal (heat) energy. Anodizing increases the oxide layer in a controlled way, often by submerging it in
a bath of sulfuric acid while passing a current through it. This process also makes it easier to add dyes.
Chances are you own an anodized aluminum part. Look for carabiners on backpacks, colorful keys, or
heat sinks in your computer.

CHALLENGE
Design and recreate another camping/survival tool
with multiple parts, such as a multi-tool, a compass, or
a wood-splitting hatchet.

@Raluca A User #794

124 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

C H A P T E R 4

3D printers are amazing machines,

turning spools of plastic into real 3D
objects.

The hot end is the component that melts

the plastic and is critical for the rise and
ultimate success of 3D printing.
DIFFICULTY:
In this project you will learn how they
work, what their main components are,
and how to model one from scratch.

TIME ESTIMATE:
3 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Add dual chamfers to edges
As uilt joints and ho) the* differ from
standard joints
D I S C O R D L I N K : When to use rigid joints
D
D
 3D PRINTER HOT END 125

INTRODUCTION
3D printing has revolutionized the manufacturing industry and captured the imagination of millions.
Robust, inexpensive printers now cost under $200 and are used for prototyping projects and making parts
on demand. Chances are you either already have a printer or are considering purchasing one.

In this project, you will make a 3D Printer (3DP) hot end. The hot end is responsible for melting the plastic
filament and is vital to the proper function of a filament-based printer. There will be many components, so
staying organized is essential.

CAD
Verify you are working in Millimeters (mm). Save the
file and name it 3DP Hot End Assembly.

0.4 mm Nozzle

Create a new Internal Component and name it 0.4

mm Nozzle. It is important to name each part to stay
organized.

Create a hexagon on the Top Plane that is 5.95 mm tall with a

Horizontally Constrained top edge. Extrude this profile up 13 mm and
hide this new Body.

Draw a rectangle, a triangle, and the

6-sided shape on the Front Plane as
shown in the picture.

Add 3 Collinear constraints to the top,

right, and bottom sets of lines.

Dimension the Sketch and verify it is

fully Constrained.
 126 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Revolve the 3 profiles around the vertical Axis.

Set the Operation to Cut, ignore the error, turn the Body
back on, and click OK.

Navigate to Modify >> Physical Material >> Metal >> and drag Brass onto the Nozzle.

Add a 0.75 mm chamfer to the top outer edge of the Nozzle, click the ( + ) symbol, and add 0.1 mm
fillets to the top inner hole and the bottom outside edge of the Nozzle.

Create a Modeled Thread on the top cylinder to make an M6 thread.

Start a Sketch on the hexagon’s front face, create a text box that reads 0.4
that is 1.5 mm in Height.

This value refers to the outlet Nozzle diameter. 0.4 mm is the most common
size in 3D printing.

Extrude Cut this text into the component -0.1 mm.

Click the white dot to the right of the Root Component at the
top of the Browser to Activate it, and Create a Group in the
Timeline of all the component’s features.

Again, notice the anchor icon, next to the 0.4 mm Nozzle

component. This indicated that it is a grounded part that is
fixed in place.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 127

Click the Gear Icon in the bottom right corner of your screen and check Component Color Swatch.

This will add a colored marker to each component in the Browser and a corresponding header in the
Timeline, making it easier to see which features correspond to which components.

Heater Block

The heater block is a brick of aluminum that connects the Nozzle and the heat break. It also holds the
heating element and the thermistor, which melts the plastic.

Create a new Internal Component

called Heater Block.

Make an Offset Plane 9 mm above

the Top Plane. This puts the plane 1
mm above the hexagonal face on the
Nozzle, which is quite hard to select
when it is transparent.

Click the Eye Icon to Hide the Nozzle.

Start a new Sketch on this Offset Plane, and sketch a

rectangle and three circles. Verify that the View Cube reads
TOP in the correct orientation; if the text is upside down,
rotate your view.

Apply a Horizontal and Equal constraint to the 2 outer

circles.

Constrain the middle circle to the Origin and dimension

the sketch.

Extrude the profile up 10 mm and set the Physical Material to Aluminum.

Aluminum conducts heat very well, so the energy from the Heater Element
can be transferred to the Nozzle to melt filament efficiently.
 128 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Orbit to the underside of the component and add 1.375 mm chamfers to

the hole’s edges for 2 countersunk bolts and add a Modeled M6 thread
to the center hole to screw into the 0.4 mm Nozzle.

Create this Sketch on the right side of the block.

Vertically Constrain the 2 smaller circles and Finish the

Sketch.

Show Sketch 2 during the next 3 extrusions and Hide it when you have completed the following. Extrude
Cut the top right circle -4 mm and the bottom right circle -5 mm. Extrude Cut the left circle by setting the
Extend Type to All and clicking Flip to flip the direction of the extrusion.

Create a new Sketch on the underside of the Heater Block, sketch a circle, Vertically constraint it to the
Origin, dimension it and Finish the Sketch.

Extrude the circle, change the Extent Type to To Object, and select the inside surface of the 6.05 mm hole.

Add a Modeled M3 thread to this hole, this hole will house a small M3 set screw to hold the Heater
Element in place in a later step.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 129

Add a Modeled M3 thread to the top right hole.

Unfortunately, you can’t add a chamfer to Threaded holes.

Click and drag the 1st Threading feature next to the most recent
two in the Timeline.

Move the Timeline Playhead to the left of the first Threading

features. Now, you can edit the holes without the threads.

Using the Chamfer tool, select the top,

4 side faces, and the outer edge of
the small circle on the bottom. Set the
value to 0.25 mm.

Move the Timeline back to the end of

the features.

Click the white dot to the right of the Root Component at the top of
the Browser to Activate it and Create a Group of the Heater Block
features.

Show the 0.4 mm Nozzle component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint
between the 2 components.

If the Joint icons become distracting, turn them off in the

Navigation Bar by going to Display Settings >> Object Visibility
>> and uncheck Joints.
 130 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Thermistor

Thermistors are electric thermometers. This thermistor is a small, delicate

glass bead with an electric current passing through it. As it heats up, the
current passing through it changes, and the motherboard measures this
change. This value is interpreted as the temperature of the Nozzle.

Two wires extend out of this part, which supplies resistive thermal
information.

Go to CADclass.org, navigate to the FREE DOWNLOADS tab, and download the three STEP files for
this project: STEP Heater Element, STEP Thermistor, and STEP Bowden Connector.

Open the Data Panel and click the blue Upload button, select the 3 STEP files from your computer, and
click Upload.

Right-click the STEP Thermistor file and click Insert Into Current Design.

Move the component: X Distance:

7.0 mm, Y Distance: -2.50 mm, Z
Distance: 11 mm.

Navigate to Assemble >> As-Built

Joint, select the Heater Block and the
Thermistor, and click OK. Because
Rigid joints don’t move, the order
in which you select the components
doesn’t matter.

Heater Element
This part converts electrical energy into thermal energy to melt
the plastic in the Hot End. Heating elements are often made from
ceramic, which can reach high temperatures without failing.

Right-click the STEP Heater Element file in the Data Panel, click
Insert Into Current Design, and click OK.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 131

Type J for Joint and select the outer edge of the silver cylinder. Note how you can also select the inner
silver edge because the Joint Origin would be in the same location, its center.

Click the outer edge of the large hole on the Heater Block. Note that if you clicked the inner edge of the
hole’s chamfer, the Heater Element would be incorrectly joined deeper into the hole.

Heat Break

Heat Breaks are thin-walled couplers that connect the Heater Block to the
Heat Sink.

Its purpose is to limit the heat traveling up from the Heating Element and
prematurely melting the plastic. The thin-walled section limits thermal
transfer due to a smaller cross-sectional area.

This part often gets broken when replacing a clogged Nozzle, as some
people unscrew it while it is still cold, causing it to become over-torqued and
sheer off.

Create a new Internal Component called Heat Break.

Hide all components except for the Heat Break and 0.4 mm Nozzle.

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane and draw the profile and the
vertical Centerline from the midpoint of the Nozzle’s projected top face.

Project a Point on the Nozzle’s top surface.

Add a Coincident constraint to a Projected
Point on the Nozzle’s top and the bottom
horizontal line.

Add a Parallel constraint to the two angled

lines.

Add the following dimensions and Finish

the Sketch.
 132 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Revolve the part about the Z-axis and add a Modeled M6 thread to the bottom cylinder. Activate the Root
Component, Create a Group in the Timeline, and add a Rigid As-Built Joint between the Heat Break and
the 0.4 mm Nozzle.

Heat Sink

Heat Sinks are heat exchangers that move energy away from electronic parts to avoid
overheating. These parts are common in computing hardware to prevent failure
(thermal runaway). Often heat sinks are immediately next to a fan to blow the hot air
that clings to surfaces, known as the boundary layer effect. This part is also made of
aluminum (an excellent thermal conductor) to translate as much heat as possible.

Make a new Internal Component called Heat Sink and start a new Sketch on
the Front Plane.

Project the top of the Heat Break and add a vertical Centerline from the Origin.

Add a Collinear constraint to the 3

selected lines in the rough sketch.

Add two Horizontal/Vertical constraints

between the ends of the 3-point arc
and the arc’s center to form a
quarter of a circle.

Add a Coincident constraint

between the two selected points
in the rough sketch.

Now add all dimensions.

 3D PRINTER HOT END 133

Use the Rectangular Pattern tool to

make the snake pattern by selecting the
4 highlighted lines and patterning
them upwards. Change the Distribution
to Spacing, the Quantity to 9, and the
Distance to 1.8 mm.

Draw the three blue lines shown. Add a

Coincident constraint between the 2 blue
points and add the dimensions.

Verify your Sketch is fully Constrained, then revolve

this profile about the Z-axis.

Change the Physical Material to aluminum,

anodized, red.

To make the cutouts for the flat front and

back faces, make a new Sketch on the top
surface, sketch a Center Rectangle that is
Vertically Constrained to the Origin, and add
the dimensions.

Extrude Cut this profile, set the Extent to To

Object, and select the underside of the Heat
Sink. Mirror this Extrude Cut feature about
the Front Plane.

Add a 0.5 mm chamfer on the top hole edge.

Add an M10 thread to the top hole for the Bowden Connector.
 134 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Sketch two circles on the Heat Sink’s front face

of the Heat Sink. Equally and Horizontally
constrain the circles, and add the following
dimensions.

Extrude Cut these holes to the back side of the

Heat Sink. The circles overlap with the curved
edge of the part, so you’ll have to select 4
profiles for the two holes.

Start a Sketch on the back face of the Heat Sink and

sketch a diagonal Construction line and a 3 mm circle at
its midpoint.

This hole will house a set screw that will tighten the Heat
Sink to the Heat Brake.

Extrude Cut this circle to the inner surface of the hole and add an M3
thread.

Show the Heater Block by clicking its Eye Icon.

Start a Sketch on the Heat Sink’s bottom face.

Project the holes on the Heater Block onto the

underside of the Heat Sink.

Select the circles and Extrude Cut

them to the underside of the bottom
rib.

Add an M3 thread to the 2 holes

by holding down Ctrl/Cmd and
clicking both holes’ surfaces.

Click the white dot to the right of the Root Component at the top of the Browser to Activate it, add a Rigid
As-Built Joint to the Heat Break, and Create a Group of the Heat Sink features.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 135

Bowden Connector

The Bowden Connector holds the PTFE tube, which

guides the filament into the hot end. This fitting has
a mating M10 thread to go into the Heat Sink. It has
a plunger mechanism, which, when depressed, will
retract teeth, allowing the PTFE tube to be removed.

Right-click the STEP Bowden Connector file in the

Data Panel and click Insert Into Current Design. Click
and drag the Bowden Connector upwards 44.50
mm.

Add a Rigid As-Built Joint to lock it in place.

PTFE Tube

The last component to model is the PTFE tube. PTFE, more

commonly known as Teflon, is a low-friction plastic used
to direct filament from the cold end to the hot end of a 3D
printer.

To visualize how far the PTFE tube goes into the Assembly,
show all the components, and make a Section Analysis on
the Front Plane. Hide this analysis from the Browser.

The PTFE Tube is inserted at the top and rests on top of the
Nozzle.

Hide all components other than the Nozzle,

make a new Internal Component called PTFE
Tube, and make a Sketch on the Nozzle’s top.

Draw the 2 circles at the Origin that are 2 and

4 mm in diameter and Finish the Sketch.
 136 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane of an 80 mm vertical line from the center of the Nozzle’s top face,
hold down the left mouse button, and make a tangential 3-point arc. Finish the Sketch.

The arc length of the arc can be left undefined.

Using the Sweep tool, select the circles shown as the profile, and the line and arc as the Path.

Change the Physical Material to

PTFE under the plastic tab for this
component.

Double-click the PTFE icon in the In

This Design window, click Advanced,
navigate to the Appearances tab,
click Color, change the color wheel
or slider to royal blue, and apply it
to the Component.

Add a Rigid As-Built Joint between the PTFE Tube and the Bowden
Connector. Note that you can add As-Built Joints between any two
components even if they don’t touch.

Show all the components in the Browser and Activate the Root
Component.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 137

Use the McMaster Carr plugin to add all the

hardware. Download the 3D STEP file for the
M3 x 4 mm Set Screw: 91390S098.

This set screw will be used to hold the

Heating Element in place. Move this screw
near the heat block as shown. Click OK.

Navigate to Assemble >> and select Joint. Click the circular edge on the screw’s head next to the
Hexagon. The Joint Origin should float in the middle of the circle.

Select the outer edge of the threaded hole on the Heater Block so the Joint Origin is at the center. This will
move the screw so the two Joint Origins are Coincident.

Click and drag the blue arrow to position the screw, as shown in the picture. Click OK.

Click the Set Screw in the Browser and copy and paste it into the workspace. Move and rotate the part so
it lines up as shown on the back face of the Heat Sink.

Add a joint between the duplicated set screw and the Heat Sink. Click OK.
 138 CHAPTER 3 PARAMETRIC DESIGN

Import a M3x20 countersunk bolt with the code 91294A136 to pass through the Heat Block and screw
into the Heat Sink.

Add joints to the bolts by selecting the top edge on the bolt’s head and the outer chamfered edge on the
Heater Block. Copy and Paste the bolt 14 mm to the other hole and add an As-Built Joint.

The next bolt will hold the Glass Bead Thermistor in place with an M3 x 4 mm Phillips bolt with the code:
92000A113.

Add a joint to the circle of the underside of the bolt’s head and the outer circular edge of the threaded
hole on the Heater Block. If the screw is in the wrong orientation, click the Flip button at the bottom of the
Dialog Box.

Finally, add the M3 x 16 mm button head bolt, 92095A184, that will pass through the Heat Sink.

Copy, Paste, and Join a second bolt to the other hole on the Heat Sink.
 3D PRINTER HOT END 139

Congratulations, this project is done!

DISCUSSION
6061 Aluminum
Aluminum is an excellent thermal conductor, meaning the
heat from the heating element goes into the Nozzle with
little thermal resistance. 6061 is a common aluminum
alloy in machining. Most alloys have a 4-digit code which
defines which metals are present. 6061 has about 1%
magnesium, 0.8% silicone, and trace amounts of copper
and chromium. You may also see T6 after its name,
indicating that it has undergone a treatment (T) where
it has been tempered (6) or hardened from its Original
annealed softened state.

CHALLENGE
Recreate a tool made of multiple parts. Measure each component and add joints between all components.
Examples: Adjustable Wrench, Box Knife, Lineman Pliers, or Combination Square.

@Conny @Moses Shaib

User #485 User #681
 141

CHAPTER 4 QUESTIONS
1. To apply a Rigid As-Built Joint to more than 6. The McMaster Carr tool is a great tool for
2 components in one feature, you would importing … ?
choose which tool?
a. New environments to view your
a. Contact sets project in
b. Rigid group b. Other users projects
c. Joints c. Hardware like bolts, motors and
springs
d. Multi-joints
d. STLs from 3D printer hubs like
2. Which of these choices only applies to As- Thingiverse
Built Joints?
7. If two components are already in the right
a. The first component clicked will location, you would join them with which
move to the other tool?
b. Linear movement in X,Y,Z is a. As-Built Joint
available
b. Joint tool
c. Rotational movement can be set in
the Angle box c. Join
d. The components don’t move at all d. Fix / Unfix
3. Internal Components would be the best 8. To edit a joint type (ex. Change a Rigid joint
choice for which project? to a revolute joint), you would…?
a. A large project with hundreds of a. Click on the joint icon in the model
components
b. Right click on the Joint in the
b. A simple project with a small Browser
number of components
c. Either
c. A project where each component
may need to drastically change d. None of the above
d. A project that is shared across a 9. What does a Grounded Component mean?
large team of CAD engineers
a. Moves a component below the
4. To not accidentally make a subassembly other components
under an assembly file when making a new
component, you should … ? b. Places the component on the Top
Plane
a. Activate the top Assembly file
c. Locks the component in place
b. Activate the current component
d. Automatically makes its physical
c. Activate the next component you’re material a non-conductive default
about to make
10. What does Enable Contact Sets do?
d. Fusion 360 does this automatically
a. Allows for haptic capabilities to be
5. What does the Rest setting do? incorporated
a. Stops a Joint from moving b. Allows components to push each
other
b. There is no setting called Rest, only
Reset c. Adds a reference contact to each
model to track its progression
c. Returns a Joint movement to this
location d. Allows you to save sign in
information for your account
d. Darkens the screen slightly for
easier viewing.
CHAPTER 5
JOINTS

HOW TO JOIN PARTS FOR REALISTIC

MOVEMENT
PIZZA CUTTER
TESLA TURBINE
 143

JOINTS
Joints are static or dynamic connections between components. It is important to note that Joints can only
be added between components, not Bodies.

Here is a list of available Joint types within Autodesk Fusion:

• Rigid: Locks 2 or more parts together. If one component is Grounded, neither will move. Example:
two wooden boards glued together.
• Revolute: Allows a component to spin about a central Axis that can be adjusted to spin a full 360
degrees or just a part of an arc. Example: A spinning car tire on an axle.
• Slider: A linear movement along a single dimension. Example: a piston traveling up and down in a
cylinder.
• Cylindrical: Allows parts to rotate and move linearly at the same time. Example: a woodworking
clamp; the clamping screw mechanism requires cylindrical spinning and linear movement.
• Pin Slot: A component can rotate about one Axis and move linearly along a different axis. Example:
A rolling pin on some pizza dough; the pin’s axle is perpendicular to the direction of travel.
• Planar: Allows a component to rotate but is confined to only being able to move in one plane.
Example: An object placed on a desk that can be moved around the desk and can rotate but can’t
pass through the table or be lifted upwards.
• Ball: A component can rotate in all 3 axes of rotation. Example: a ball joint on top of a camera
mount.

Adding Joints in Autodesk Fusion places a Joint Origin on both components and connects them. For
example, the nut’s circular edge and the bolt’s circular edge join, as shown. Notice the Joint Origin in the
center of each circle and how they connect.
 C H A P T E R 7

There's nothing like the smell of a sizzling

pizza fresh out of the oven.

In this project you will join multiple parts

together to make a pizza cutter, ready for
slicing up a fresh pie.

DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
120 MINUTES

KEY LEARNING:
How and when to use different types
of joints
Make a plane for mirroring operations
D I S C O R D L I N K : Mo*e re*olute joints
D
D Add eccentricity to a joint
 PIZZA CUTTER 145

INTRODUCTION
A Pizza Cutter is a simple project that illustrates the power of different Joint types inside Autodesk Fusion.
With a few clicks of a button, you will learn how to rotate the blade as if you were slicing a fresh piece of
pizza. You will continue practicing with Assemblies in this lesson and for the remainder of the program.

CAD
Set your default Units to Inches.

End Cap

Make a new Internal Component called End

Cap.

Draw this shape on the Front Plane using the Line tool and a 3-point
arc.

Make the bottom horizontal line

a Centerline by expanding the
Sketch Palette, selecting the line,
and clicking Centerline.

Coincidently constrain the arc’s center and the Centerline; this

effectively makes the arc tangent to the vertical Z-axis without needing
to open and close the Origin tab in the Browser.

Add the dimensions shown, set the 1.00” dimension

as the distance from the top horizontal line to the
Centerline, and Finish the Sketch.
 146 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Click the home icon on the View Cube, revolve the profile about the Centerline, add a 0.04” chamfer to
the end of the shank, add a Modeled ¼”-20 Thread to the shank, and drag the Thread features before
the Chamfer feature in the Timeline.

Add a Brushed Stainless-Steel Appearance to the part.

Most metal products in the food industry are made from stainless
steel for its hygienic properties.

Inner Body

Activate the Root Component and

make a new Internal Component
called Inner Body.

This inner metal core will add

stability to the Pizza Cutter.

Start a Sketch on the Front Plane, Project the right face of the End
Cap’s head, and hide the End Cap Component.

Sketch a rectangle from the midpoint of the purple projected

line, make the bottom horizontal line a Centerline, and add the
following dimensions.
 PIZZA CUTTER 147

Revolve this Profile about the

Centerline to make a cylinder.

Add a 0.02” chamfer to either

edge of the cylinder by clicking the
cylindrical face.

You can make a threaded hole with a light countersink in 1 feature

using the Hole tool. Select either of the cylinder’s faces and drag the
hole’s blue dot to the circle’s center.

Add a Countersunk, Tapped hole with the following values: 0.625”

depth, 0.25” chamfer, and a size 0.25” hole 1/4”-20 Thread.

Instead of duplicating this operation, mirror it. That way, if one hole’s dimensions change, the other will
update as well.

Since there is no plane that bisects the

middle of the cylinder, make one using
the Midplane tool in the Construct menu.
Select both end caps of the cylinder, and
click OK.

Use the Mirror tool to mirror this hole

feature to the other side.

Expand Construction in the Browser and Hide Plane 1 and add a

Brushed Stainless Steel Appearance.

Activate the Root Component, show the End Cap, navigate to

Assembly >> As-Built Joint, select both components, verify the joint
is set to Rigid, and click OK.
 148 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Right-click the End Cap component in the Browser and select

Unground From Parent.

Without moving the components, right-click the Inner Body

component in the Browser, and click Ground To Parent. The small
anchor icon should now be on the Inner Body component.

Wooden Handle
Make a new Internal Component called Wooden Handle.

This will be made out of teak wood, a dense, water-resistant wood with
a high oil content that is often used for high-quality cutting boards or
on boat decks due to its waterproof nature.

Hide the Inner Body and project the cylindrical face of the End Cap’s
head. Sketch a horizontal line from the top right projected point and
make the rest of the sketch using three 3-point arcs and Lines. Note
that the top left horizontal line is coincident with the projected point.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select all 4 top

horizontal lines, and apply Collinear
and Equal constraints.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select all 3

arcs, and add Equal constraints.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select all 4

horizontal lines, and apply Equal
constraints.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select

all 3 arc’s centers, and apply a
Horizontal/Vertical constraint.

Dimension the total length of

the sketch to 4.00” first, then
dimensions the left horizontal line to
be 0.25”, the arc’s radius to 1.50”,
and the bottom horizontal line to be
0.25” above the Origin.
 PIZZA CUTTER 149

Revolve this Profile about the X-axis.

Add a 0.25” fillet to the curve’s inner

edges.

This can be done by selecting the

3 curved surfaces or the 6 curved
edges.

Mahogany is the closest-looking wood to teak in the Autodesk

Fusion Library. Drag this Appearance onto the part.

Double-click the Wood Appearance and change the rotation to

90 degrees and the scale to 40% to look more realistic.

Activate the Root Component at the top of the Browser and Show The
Inner Body.

Add an As-Built Joint between the Wooden Handle and the Inner
Body.

Wheel Bracket

The next component is the Wheel Bracket which joins the Blade to
the Handle.

Make a new Internal Component called Wheel Bracket.

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane and Project the Wooden
Handle’s right face.

Right-click the Wheel Bracket component in the Browser and

click Isolate to hide the other parts.
 150 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Make the rough Sketch and Horizontally

constrain both arc’s centers to the Origin.

Add a Tangent constraint between the right arc

and the horizontal line.

Set the bottom horizontal line to be a

Centerline.

Add dimensions to the Sketch and Finish it.

Revolve the profile, add a 0.04” chamfer

to the shank of the Wheel Bracket, add a
¼”-20 Modeled Thread to the shank, and
drag the Thread feature before the Chamfer
feature in the Timeline.

Add the Brushed Stainless Steel appearance

onto the part.

Start a sketch on the Top Plane and project the

cylindrical surface of the component.

Sketch a rectangle from the bottom left

projected point that is 1.75” wide and 0.28”
tall. Note that the rectangle’s top horizontal
line extends slightly above the Origin.

Finish the Sketch.

 PIZZA CUTTER 151

Symmetrically Extrude the Rectangle through All in both directions.

Add a Hole to the center of the

hemispherical end. Click on the new
flat face you just made. Add the same
dimensions as the previous countersunk
threaded hole. 0.625” deep, 0.25”
countersink, 0.25” size, 1/4”-20
designation.

Add a 0.02” fillet to the flat face.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to

the Wooden Handle and the Wheel Bracket.

Shoulder Bolt

The next component is the shouldered bolt that passes through the Blade
while allowing it to spin.

Make a new Internal Component called Shoulder Bolt and Isolate the
Shoulder Bolt component.

Make a new Sketch on the Right Plane and sketch this

profile to the left of the Origin.

Make the bottom horizontal line a Centerline and

Coincident to the Origin.
 152 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Add the following dimensions:

Revolve this part about the Centerline and give it a

Brushed Stainless Steel Appearance.

Add a 0.04” chamfer to the shank’s end, add a

thread to the smallest cylinder, set it as a 1/4”-20
Thread, and move the Thread feature before the
Chamfer feature.

Make a sketch on the bolt head and make

a 0.08” tall Center Rectangle at the Origin.
Make one of the vertical lines tangent to the
outer circle.

Extrude Cut this into the head 0.16”. This is a

standard-size slot for a flat-head screwdriver.

Add 0.01” chamfers to the Bolt head’s round and front surfaces.

Activate the Root Component and move the Shoulder Bolt near the threaded
hole on the Wheel Bracket.
 PIZZA CUTTER 153

Add the Rigid joint to the shoulder edge and

the threaded hole.

This component has a 0.06” wide shoulder,

which will join with the Blade and leave a
small gap to allow for rotation.

Blade

The last component is the Blade, which you will make from 18 gauge (0.050”)
stainless steel. This will allow enough tolerance for the blade to spin freely but
not wobble side to side. Sheet metal comes in gauges; the higher the gauge,
the thinner the material. These numbers change based on the type of metal you
choose.

Make a new Internal Component called

Blade, Isolate the component, and make
the rough Sketch on the Right Plane.

Mirror the 3 lines about a vertical

Centerline that is coincident to the Origin.
Add the following dimensions and note
that the 1.375” will give you a 2.75”
diameter Blade.

This 0.05” wide blade will sit on the

0.06” wide shoulder of the Shoulder Bolt
allowing enough tolerance to spin freely.

Revolve this profile about the Y-axis and add a Brushed Stainless Steel
Appearance.
 154 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Activate the Root Component and move the Blade nearer the
Shoulder Bolt.

Type J for Joint, change the Joint Type to Revolute, select the front edge of the Blade’s hole, orbit your view
to the back, and select the back edge of the shoulder on the Shoulder Bolt.

Before clicking OK, click and drag the Y-axis 0.005” so the Blade sits symmetrically on the Shoulder Bolt.

You can animate this motion by selecting the Motion tab in the Dialog Box and clicking the play button.

Activate the Root Component and save the file.

Expand Joints in Browser, right-click on Rigid 1, Edit Joint,

change the Type to Cylindrical which will allow it to rotate
and linearly move.

Click on the round edge of the End Cap which defines the
axis that the End Cap will linearly move along, and click
OK.
 PIZZA CUTTER 155

Right-click Cylindrical 1 in the Browser, click Edit Motion Limits,

change Motion from Rotate to Slide, check Minimum and Rest, and
click Preview Limits to verify that the End Cap is moving away from the
Pizza Cutter, not into it. Click OK.

Click and drag the End Cap and notice that it can move outwards and
rotate, but not like a bolt would, so let’s fix that.

Navigate to Assemble >> Motion Link, click Cylindrical 1 in the Browser,

check Link with Same Joint, set Distance to 1/20 because this thread makes
20 revolutions per inch, and click OK.

Now, you can click and rotate the End Cap to unscrew it from the Pizza
Cutter, just like in real life!

This project is all done and is a sign from the universe for you to go out
and grab a slice!

CHALLENGE
Recreate another kitchen utensil with moving parts. For example, a can opener, tongs, or an ice cream
scoop.

@Maximusber @Moses Shaib

User #338 User #681
C H A P T E R 5

This project is a tribute to Nikola Tesla, one

of the most prominent inventors the world
has ever known.

It is also a compelling Autodesk Fusion

build, bringing together many concepts
you've learned so far into one of the
complex builds of this book.
DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
4 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Make Subassemblies
Mo&e components to make copies
Pattern or mirror a component
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 TESLA TURBINE 157

INTRODUCTION
Nikola Tesla was one of the most prolific inventors of all time, developing many ingenious devices
and ideas throughout his life. One of those inventions was a new type of blade-less turbine that
relied on the drag force of fluids passing over a surface. This is the same force you feel when you put
your hand out the window of a car.

This Tesla Turbine will be made closely to scale to Nikola Tesla’s Original patent. It should be noted that
when Tesla designed this turbine, it was impossible for it to work due to the limiting material sciences of
his time.

In this lesson, you will build a Tesla Turbines scaled down to be manufacturable in a small machine shop.
You will continue to explore the use of Joints and Components and gain a deeper understanding of how
they work together.

This is one of the longer and more difficult builds in this book, so stick with it, and good luck! If you can
complete this project, it’s easy sailing from here on out!

CAD
Because Nikola Tesla filed a U.S. Patent on this turbine, this
model will be designed in inches, so verify your Units are set to
inches.

This project can be broken down into 2 main parts: the Stator
and the Rotor. The Stator will consist of the Housing, the Inlet
and the Outlet, all parts that are stationary that direct the flow
of the fluid, i.e. Steam. The Rotor subassembly will consist of the
Discs, Spacers, and Axle, all parts that rotate and convert the
flow of fluid into harnessable energy.

Housing & Inlet Tube

The Housing & Inlet Tube is a large ring that encompasses

the turbine discs while allowing steam into to enter through
tangentially. Holes in the Inlet Tube allow the steam to be
accelerated to spin the turbine discs faster to generate more power.

Make a new Internal Component called Stator Subassembly and

make another new Internal Component called Housing & Inlet Tube
inside it.
 158 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Make the following sketch on the Front Plane of 2

Concentric circles, a rectangle, a triangle, and a horizontal
Centerline.

Set the rectangle’s top left point to be Coincident with the

inner circle and Vertically constrained to the Origin.

Add a Coincident constraint between the bottom point of

the triangle and the Centerline.

Dimension the inner circle to be 9.00” *

1.02. This makes the inner surface 2% larger
than the spinning 9” Disc’s diameter you will
make later. This tight tolerance improves the
turbine’s efficiency.

Finish the Sketch and Symmetrically Extrude the 2 profiles that

make up the ring to a Whole Length of 2.25”.

This Housing must have a thick Wall to handle high rpm

vibrations and large thermal loads and be able to stand up to
welds without melting.

Note that you are designing this project symmetrically about

the Origin and the Front Plane to mirror and pattern parts
more easily. This is a big part of becoming better at CAD
and how you can make life easier for yourself down the line.
Several components in this project are mirrored about the
Front Plane, so symmetrically extruding this part is beneficial.
 TESLA TURBINE 159

Make a Sketch on the Right Plane of a

0.84” diameter circle that is Vertically
constrained and 4.17” above the Origin.

Finish this Sketch and Extrude Cut it

through the right side of the Housing Body.

Show Sketch 1, revolve the 4 Profiles that make up the Inlet Tube,
and set the Operation to Join.

Extrude cut the inner circle’s profile symmetrically to a Whole Length of

2.25” to cut away the revolved section.

Add a Polished Aluminum Appearance to the Body.

Add a 0.25” fillet where the Inlet Tube meets the Housing’s outer
surface, and 0.04” chamfers to the Housing’s flat faces and the
outer edge of the Inlet Tube.

The chamfers on the flat faces will make for an easier real-world
assembly of the project, and the chamfered inlet hole will make for a
stronger weld as it allows weld to penetrate deeper into the joint.

Make a new Sketch on the right face of the Inlet Tube, sketch a 1/16”
circle at its center, select the Rectangular Pattern tool, select the 1/16”
circle, change the Distribution to Spacing, set the Quantity to 5, the
Direction to Symmetric, and click OK.
 160 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Extrude Cut the 5 profiles -1.25” into the Inlet Tube.

These holes more evenly distribute the airflow to the rest of the Discs
instead of a single central hole, which only forces fluid at the middle
Discs.

Click the house icon on the View Cube so the end of the Inlet Tube
faces you, and apply a Thread to the Tube. Uncheck Full Length,
set the Length to 0.75”, and change the Thread Type to ISO Pipe
Thread.

In the real world, this Inlet Tube would receive a 1/2” NPT
(National Standard Pipe Thread Taper) thread. This feature is
currently available for internal threads but not external threads.

Housing Gaskets

Two rubber Gaskets will be placed on either side of the Housing to seal it. A
Gasket is a thin sheet of material that seals off a cavity, usually made from
rubber or cork.

They are commonly found in engine compartments, food containers, and

water-tight appliances, among many other things.

Activate the Stator Subassembly and make a new Internal

Component called Housing Gaskets.

Note that you Activated the Subassembly, not the Root

Component at the top of the Browser, which will place the
Housing Gaskets component inside the Subassembly, not on the
same level as it.

You will mirror these parts on either side of the Front Plane,
meaning you can make one and duplicate it to the other side. If
you need to change it in the future, you can adjust the 1st one,
and the 2nd will automatically update.
 TESLA TURBINE 161

Extrude the front face of the Housing to 0.025”

and verify the Operation is set to New Body.

Open the Appearance tool, search for Rubber-

Soft, and drag it onto the component. Double-
click the Soft Rubber Appearance in the menu
and change the color slider to red in the top
left corner.

Navigate to Create >> Mirror, select

the Housing Gasket, verify the Object
Type is set to Bodies, and Mirror about
the Front Plane. Expand Bodies under
the component and notice that there are
2 Bodies in 1 Component. Click and
drag one of the Gaskets and notice that
the other will move with it because both
Bodies are inside 1 Component.

Ctrl/Cmd + Z to undo that movement, activate the Stator

Subassembly, and add a Rigid As-Built Joint between the Housing
Gasket and the Housing & Inlet Tube.

Power Side Wall

To cap off the Housing, you will need 2 Walls on either side with a circular
recess to accept the Housing, the Gaskets, and a bearing in the middle to
reduce friction when spinning. This Wall is where the Axle will extend to attach to
a generator. The other Wall is where excess steam will exit.

Make a new Internal Component called Power Side Wall.

 162 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Orbit to the back side of the Stator

and make an Offset Plane 0.125”
from the back Gasket.

Make a new Sketch on this Offset

Plane, sketch a Center Rectangle,
two concentric circles at the
Origin, and a circle on the Center
Rectangle’s diagonal lines in the
top right corner.

Navigate to Modify >> Fillet, click 2 edges to see

the red fillet preview, repeat on the other 3 corners,
and set the Fillets to 0.50”.

Add Equal constraints to the rectangle’s edges, add

the following dimensions, and Circularly Pattern the
0.25” circle about the Origin to a Quantity of 4.

Finish the Sketch and extrude the outer and inner

profiles -0.125”into the Turbine.

Show Sketch 1 in the Browser, extrude all 3

profiles away from the turbine 0.125”, Hide
Sketch 1, and add a Polished Aluminum
Appearance.

Type H for Hole, click on the back face of the component, and
click and drag the hole till it snaps on the center white dot.

Set the Hole Type to Counterbore and add the following

dimensions: 0.25” in depth, 0.625” in top diameter, 0.2 in
Counterbore depth, and 0.55” in bottom diameter.

This stepped hole will allow for a bearing to be seated.

 TESLA TURBINE 163

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select all 4 holes’ inner faces, select the Thread tool
to apply a ¼”-20 Thread, and click OK.

Activate the Stator Subassembly and add a Rigid As-Built Joint between
the Power Side Wall and the Housing Gaskets.

With the McMaster Carr tool, import the sealed bearing 3759T58, and rotate and move it to the back side
of the Power Side Wall.

Type J for Joint, click the outer edge of the bearing, the outer edge of the counterbore hole, and click OK.

Steam Side Wall

This Wall is almost identical to the Power Side

Wall but has holes that allow steam to escape and
threaded holes for attaching an exit funnel.

Activate the Stator Subassembly, navigate to Create

>> Mirror, set the Object Type to Components,
select the Power Side Wall and the bearing in the
Browser, select the Front Plane as the Mirror Plane,
and click OK.

Double-click the Power Side Wall (Mirror) component in the Browser

and rename it Steam Side Wall.
 164 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Add a Rigid As-Built Joint between the Steam Side Wall component and its bearing.

Select the As-Built Joint tool, change the Type to Slider, select the Steam Side Wall component, select the
Housing & Inlet Tube component, and click any circular edge on the bearing so the Steam Side Wall slides
away from the turbine.

Right-click the Slider joint feature in the Timeline, click Edit Motion Limits, check Minimum and Rest, and
verify the Steam Side Wall is sliding away from the turbine, not into it. If it is passing through the Turbine,
click Flip.

Activate the Steam Side Wall

component in the Browser and make a
new Sketch on its front face.

Sketch a 0.266” circle that is concentric

with the top right hole and two 0.19”
circles that are Vertically constrained to
the Origin and 1.25” and 0.55” above
the Origin.

Extrude Cut the 2 circles and the ring profile -0.25”.

 TESLA TURBINE 165

Perform 3 Circular Patterns by changing the Object Type to faces and selecting the hole’s inner surface:
the 0.266” hole to a Quantity of 4, the top 0.19” hole to a Quantity of 6, and the bottom 0.19” hole to a
Quantity of 12.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select the 6 Circularly Patterned holes, select the Thread tool, change the
Designation to 10-32, and click OK.

Activate the Stator Subassembly in the Browser,

import 91251A553, a ¼”-20 x 2.75” bolt from
the McMaster Carr tool, and rotate and move it
near the top left hole of the Steam Side Wall.

Type J for Joint, change the Joint Type to Slider,

click an edge on the underside of the bolt’s
head, and click on the front edge of the hole.

Click the Motion tab on the Joint Dialog Box, check

Minimum and Rest, and verify the bolt is moving away from
the turbine.

Expand Joints in the Browser under the Stator Subassembly.

Navigate to Assemble >> Motion Link. Click Slider 5, then
Slider 6, Type 1.00” in the top Distance and 2.00” in the bottom
Distance to make for a 1:2 movement ratio.

Now, when you click and drag the Steam Side Wall, the bolt will
move twice as far.
 166 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Navigate to Create >> Circular Patter, set the

Object Type to Components, select the ¼”-20 x
2.75” bolt, select the Y-axis as the Axis, and set
the Quantity to 4.

Navigate to Assemble >> Rigid Group, select

all 4 bolts and click OK. Now, when you click
and drag the Steam Side Wall, all 4 bolts will
be joined together without needing to make
individual Motion Links on each bolt.

Outlet Nozzle and Gasket

The last 2 components in the Stator are the Outlet

Nozzle and Gasket.

The Nozzle directs steam from the 12 circles on the

Steam Side Wall into a central pipe with the same
NPT pipe thread as the Inlet. If the Inlet and the
Outlet don’t have the same cross-sectional area,
efficiency will decrease by throttling the steam.

Make a new Internal Component called Outlet Gasket, make a

new Sketch on the front face of the Steam Side Wall, and make
the following sketch of 3 circles. Note the top 0.25” circle is
coincident to the threaded hole in the Steam Side Wall.

Circularly Pattern the 0.25” circle about the Origin to a Quantity

of 6 around each bolt hole.

Extrude the Profile 0.025” and add the Red

Rubber Appearance used on the Housing
Gaskets.

Activate the Stator Subassembly and add a Rigid

As-Built Joint between the Outlet Gasket and the
Steam Side Wall.
 TESLA TURBINE 167

Make a new Internal Component called Outlet

Nozzle and make a new Sketch on the Right Plane.

Project the front face of the Outlet Gasket and

make the following sketch that includes 2 parallel
lines and a Centerline. Coincidently constrain the
sketch’s right line to a projected point, and Finish
the Sketch.

Revolve this profile about the Centerline and add a

Polished Aluminum Appearance.

Right-click the Outlet Nozzle in

the Browser and Isolate it. Make a
new Sketch on the back face of the
component of a circle that is Vertically
Constrained to the Origin, dimensioned,
and Circularly Patterned about the Origin
6 times.

Extrude Cut the 6 Profiles through the

entire component.

Highlight the entire part and add a 0.02” chamfer.

Add an ISO Pipe Thread to the cylinder, which should

be the same as the Inlet Tube.
 168 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Activate the Stator Subassembly, Unisolate the Outlet Nozzle, and add a
Rigid As-Built Joint to between the Outlet Nozzle and the Steam Side Wall.

Note that you could also add the As-Built Joint between the Outlet Nozzle
and the Outlet Gasket, too, for the same result, but the Steam Side Wall is
easier to select.

Using the McMaster Carr tool, import the

10-32 ½” bolt, 91251A342, and rotate and
position it near the Outlet Nozzle.

Add a Rigid joint between the underside of

the bolt’s head and the Outlet Nozzle’s top
hole’s outer edge.

Navigate to Assemble >> Duplicated with Joints, click the

10-32 bolt, and select the other 5 outer edges of the Outlet
Nozzle.

This new tool patterns the components and adds the joints
at the same time. It is most effective when all the duplicated
components need to be facing the same direction.

Collapse the Stator Subassembly, activate the Root Component at

the top of the Browser, and create a new Internal Component called
Rotor Subassembly.
 TESLA TURBINE 169

Central Axle

This part rotates and holds the Discs, Spacers, and Brass
Shoulders.

It supports the weight of the spinning Discs and must be

made from a hard material, such as stainless steel.

With the Rotor Subassembly still Activated, make another new Internal
Component called Central Axle.

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane and project the Front face of the
Steam Side Wall and the back face of the Power Side Wall.

Click the Eye Icon of the Stator Assembly to Hide it.

Sketch a rectangle whose bottom

horizontal line is coincident with the
Origin and a Centerline. Dimension
its left edge to be 0.25” to the left of
the left projected line and 1” to the
right of the right projected line.

Sketch 2 more smaller rectangles inside the Central Axle profile that are on
the outside of the projected lines. Add Equal constraints to the width and
height of the rectangles.

Revolve the 3 profiles about the Centerline.

This will leave you with a cylinder with square
grooves to accept two retaining rings.
 170 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Make a new Sketch on the Right Plane of four equally sized rectangles with four sets of Collinear
constraints. Dimension the sketch as the following:

Extrude the four profiles Symmetrically to a Whole Length of

0.25” and add a Polished Stainless Steel Appearance.

You cannot use the All Extent Type because you have a curved
surface.

These cutouts are the flat surfaces that 4 set screws screw
down into. If you tighten screws onto a round surface, they
can easily slip and rotate with the Axle.

Brass Shoulders

Brass Shoulders will be rigidly locked to the Central Axle, allowing the Discs
and Spacers to be compressed together and secured in place.

Activate the Rotor Subassembly and make a New Component called Brass
Shoulders.

Make a Sketch on the Right Plane, Project the front face of

the Central Axle, and make the following Sketch of six lines:

Revolve this part about the Y-axis. This part will attach to the Central Axle,
hence having a hole the same diameter as the Axle.
 TESLA TURBINE 171

Sketch two Vertically and Equally constrained

0.112” circles on the stepped face and extrude
cut these profiles through the component.

Make a new Sketch on the Right Plane, check Slice

in the Sketch Palette for a bisected view, and sketch
and dimension a 0.112” circle that is Horizontally
Constrained to the Origin.

Finish the Sketch and Symmetrically Extrude Cut the

profile to a Whole Length of 0.5”.

Highlight the entire component and add 0.01”

chamfer to all edges.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select the four hole faces, and

add 4-40 Threads.

4-40 is often the smallest size bolts you will find in

machine shops.

Select the Mirror tool, change the Object type to

Bodies, select the Brass Shoulder, and Mirror it about
the Front Plane.

Again, because this step will make 2 Bodies inside 1

Component, when you move one Brass Shoulder, the
other will move with it.
 172 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Rotor Discs

The Rotor Discs are the most essential part of a Tesla Turbine, as they rotate when
steam is let into the system. The Disc is made from thin sheet metal with a central
hole for the Central Axle, 2 eccentric holes for long 4-40 bolts, and 6 patterned
holes to allow the steam to escape.

Activate the Rotor Subassembly and make a new Internal Component called
Rotor Discs.

Make a new Sketch on the Front face of the Mirrored Brass

Shoulder and Isolate the Rotor Disc component.

Sketch a large 9.00” circle at

the Origin and the following
geometries inside it.

Extrude the Profiles 1/32” and add a Polished Aluminum Appearance.

Rotor Spacers

Spacers between the Rotor Discs allow steam to enter, spinning the turbine.
Ideally, the gap between the Discs is equal to 2 boundary layers; any more than
that and there is free-flowing steam that doesn’t contact the Discs. This boundary
layer is a function of the turbulence and the viscosity of the steam entering the
turbine. Conveniently for this turbine, the boundary layer is roughly equal to the
Disc’s thickness, so having 2 Spacers between Discs works well.

Activate the Rotor Subassembly and make a new Internal Component

called Rotor Spacers.

Make a new Sketch on the front face of the Rotor Disc, Project the front
face, and sketch a 0.90” circle.
 TESLA TURBINE 173

Extrude this profile 1/16”.

For Tesla Turbines, it is critical that the Rotor Spacers

are double the thickness of the Rotor Discs for the best
transfer of energy from the steam to rotational energy.

Activate the Rotor Subassembly and Show all components

inside the Subassembly.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> Rectangular Pattern,

set the Object Type to Component, select the Rotor Disc
and Rotor Spacer components, select the Y-axis as the
Axes, set the Distribution to Spacing, set the Quantity
to 16 and the Distance to -3/32” ( 1/32” Disc + 1/16”
Spacer).

Notice that the Browser is now very long with 16

Spacers and 16 Discs. To compress this, make a
new Internal Component called Discs and Spacers,
click the top Rotor Disc in the Browser, hold down
the Shift key, click the bottom Rotor Spacer to
highlight them all, and click and drag the selected
list into the new Internal Component.

Use the McMaster Carr tool to import a 4-40 x 1-7/8” bolt, 91772A516, rotate it, and move it in front
of the Rotor Assembly. Add a Rigid joint by clicking an edge on the underside of the bolt’s head, and the
Brass Shoulder’s top outer edge.

Select the Duplicate With Joint tool, select the bolt, and click the bottom hole’s outer edge.
 174 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Type M for Move, click the front face

of the Central Axle, and rotate it 90
degrees so the flat faces line up with
the radial threaded holes.

Use the McMaster Carr tool to import

a 4-40 x 1/8” set screw, 94355A130,
rotate it, and position it near the
threaded hole on the Brass Shoulder.

Add a joint to the center of the flat face on the

underside of the 4-40 set screw, and the center of
the flat face on the Central Axle.

Use the Duplicate With Joint tool to duplicate this set screw to
the other flat face on the right side of the Central Axle.

Use the Mirror tool to mirror the 2 set screw components about
the Right Plane.

Use the McMaster Carr tool to import a

Retaining Ring, 97633A130, to prevent
the Axle from moving axially when
spinning.
 TESLA TURBINE 175

Select the retaining ring component in the Browser,

Ctrl/Cmd + C (Copy), Ctrl/Cmd + V (Paste) the component, and
set the X distance to 2.833” to the other groove.

Select the Rigid Group tool, select the Rotor

Subassembly in the Browser, and click OK to join all
parts together.

Activate the Root Component at the top of the Browser, right-click the
Central Axle component, click Unground From Parent, and expand the
Stator Subassembly.

Select As-Built Joint, change the Type to Cylindrical,

select the Central Axle and the Housing component
in the Browser, set the Motion to Slide, and check
Maximum and Rest so the Axle is rotating and moving
away from the turbine.

Select the Motion Link tool, expand Joints

under the Root Component and under the
Stator Subassembly, click on the first Slider
joint under the Stator Subassembly, then the
Cylindrical joint under the Root Component, set
the Distances to 2.00” and 1.00” respectively,
check Reverse and click Animate to verify that
the Rotor Assembly moves out of the Stator
Subassembly at half the speed of the Steam
Side Wall.
 176 CHAPTER 5 JOINTS

Select the Motion Link tool again,

select the Cylindrical joint under
the Root Component, check Link
with Same Joint, and click OK.

Now, when you click and drag

the Steam Side Wall, the 4
bolts will eject, and the Rotor
Subassembly will come out of the
Housing and rotate at the same
time!

DISCUSSION
Laser Cutter File Type

DXF files are commonly used for laser cutting. You can right-click any sketch and save it as a DXF
from the Browser. In this project, you can save the Gasket Sketch as a DXF, since laser cutters are
sometimes used to produce them.

CHALLENGE
Find one of the mechanical mechanisms on 507movements.com. Recreate it and apply moving,
Revolute, and Slider joints.

@Paul Hobbiest @Moses Shaib

User #763 User #681
 177

CHAPTER 5 QUESTIONS
1. Which one of these is not a type of joint? 8. Which of these is not a way to duplicate
components?
a. Revolute
a. Pattern tools
b. Planar
b. Copy and paste
c. Ball
c. Duplicate
d. Coaxial
d. Create Copy
2. Which of these is not an example of a
revolute joint? 9. To change the starting position of an
extrusion you would adjust the … ?
a. Rack and pinion gears
a. Starting Offset
b. Bicycle wheel
b. Ending Offset
c. Pizza cutter wheel
c. Extent type
d. Spur gears
d. Distance Type
3. How many degrees of freedom does a
Planar Joint have? 10. To measure the distance between two
components, you would use which tool?
a. 3: 2 rotational, 1 linear
a. Distance
b. 2: 2 rotational
b. Measure
c. 3: 1 rotational, 2 linear
c. Inspect
d. 2: 2 linear
d. Inspect Distance
4. True or False? Joint Origins can only be
placed on corners, centers or midpoints.

5. True or False? External components

require a folder to house components,
internal assemblies do not.

6. True or False? A component that is rigidly

joined to grounded component will not
move.

7. If a component is inconvenient to make in

place in the assembly you should … ?

a. Make the component in a separate

stand-alone file and import it later

b. Push through and make it in place

c. Make it in a separate assembly file

and import it

d. Import a premade file from a 3D

model hub
CHAPTER 6
MOTION ANIMATION

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MODEL MOVE

AND COME ALIVE
STRANDBEEST
GEAR TRAIN
ROBOTIC HAND
 179

MOTION ANIMATION
Now that you are comfortable with Assemblies
and Joints, the next step is animating them.

All Joints, except for Rigid joints, allow a

degree of freedom linearly, rotationally, or a
combination of both. In this chapter, you will
make a motion study to learn how to animate
these Joints and see how your entire project
moves.

Motion studies are helpful for hobbyist

robotics, product prototypes, gears, kinetic art,
and more.
C H A P T E R 6

A sciency, nerdy, bioengineered sculpture,

the Strandbeest is truly a mythic creature,
walking along beaches using only the
wind.

Theo Jansen's creations have captured the

imagination of many.
DIFFICULTY:
In this project, you will recreate some of
the beast's joints and e$plore its
movement.

TIME ESTIMATE:
1 HOUR

KEY LEARNING:
How multiple revolute joints affect
each other
Animate a model's joints
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 STRANDBEEST 181

CAD
INTRODUCTION
Strandbeests, or beach beasts, are animal analogs
designed by Dutch mathematician Theo Jansen.

These “animals” are self-moving creatures made

from recycled material, wind-powered, and walk by
mimicking quadruped animals.

By utilizing Autodesk Fusion’s movement animation

capabilities, you will apply motion to a Strandbeest
Leg.

CAD
Set the Units to Millimeters (mm) and make a new Internal
Component called Pins.

Make the following Sketch on the Front Plane of 2 Equally

Constrained 2 mm circles and dimension them as follows.

Extrude these 2 profiles -6 mm towards you.

Since the Original Stranbeests (roughly translated from Dutch

to Beach Beasts) are made of PVC, they eventually become
sun-bleached and yellowed as they walk across the beaches of
the Netherlands. To make your Strandbeest look more realistic,
search ABS, drag it onto both cylinders, double-click the ABS
icon, and change the color to be more yellowed.

This project consists of several stacked arms linked with Revolute joints
and driven by one axis. You will design each part layer by layer and
join them together later, so do not worry about the exact location of
your sketches, as they will be moved.

This diagram shows the component names of all the parts of this
Strandbeest Leg.
 182 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal

Component called A Link, and make a Sketch on the
Front Plane.

This project will contain many Center to Center Slots. To

save time, you can make a custom shortcut.

Select the 3 vertical dots next to Center to Center Slot and

select Change Keyboard Shortcut. Since S is already taken
with the search tool, type Shift+S and click OK.

Other common custom Sketch Shortcuts include: Shift+R

for the Center Rectangle tool, Shift+T for the Text tool,
and Shift+P for the Polygon tool.

Type Shift+S to select the C2C Slot ( Center To

Center Slot) tool, click the center of the right Pin’s
profile, move your cursor down and to the right, click
again, move your cursor away, and click again to
define the width.

Sketch a 2mm circle at the other arc center,

dimension the C2C distance at 15 mm, and set the
slot’s width as the Parameter: Width=5mm.

Their Center-to-Center lengths will be the only difference. This slot can be left undefined as the angle will
change as it rotates. Because this component will move, it is not necessary to fully define this sketch.

Extrude this profile with the Parameter, Thickness = -2 mm

and add the yellow ABS appearance.

Revolute joints will be added once all components in each

layer are completed.
 STRANDBEEST 183

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal

Component called DGF Plate, and make a sketch
on the Front Plane.

Sketch a triangle of three C2C Slots from the

Origin, sketch three 2 mm circles at each corner,
dimension the slot’s width with the Parameter Width,
and dimension the length of the C2C slots: D =
41.5 mm (Right), F = 55.8 mm (Left), G = 40.1
mm (Bottom).

Extrude the 6 profiles the Parameter Thickness and add the yellow
appearance.

Verify that the Pin’s back and the Plate’s back are coplanar.

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal

Component called IJK Plate, and make a sketch on the
Front Plane.

Make a similar sketch to the DGF Plate of an upside-

down triangle of C2C slots, sketch three 2 mm circles at
each corner, dimension the slot’s width with the Parameter
Width, and dimension the length of the C2C slots: I =
36.7 mm (Top), J = 65.7 mm (Left), K = 61.9 mm (Right).
Activate the Root Component.

Extrude the 6 profiles the Parameter

Thickness and add the yellow
appearance.

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint

between the right Pin and A Link
and snap to any circular edge on
the right Pin.
184 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint between the left Pin and DFG Plate and
snap to any circular edge on the left Pin.

Now, A Link and DFG Plate can both rotate about their respective Pins;
do not move the IJK Plate as it needs to be planar to the other Link and
Plate.

Make a new Internal Component called B Link, make a new Sketch

on the front face of A Link, and project the right
circle of A Link.

Make a 50 mm C2C Slot from A_Link’s hole

up to the left. Add the 2 mm circle and the
dimensions shown.

Extrude the 2 profiles -Thickness away from

the first layer of components and change its
appearance to the yellow ABS.

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal Component called E Link,
and make a new Sketch on the front face of
the DFG Plate.

Project the right Pin, sketch a 39.3 mm C2C

slot from the projected point downwards, and
sketch a 2 mm circle.

Extrude the profile -Thickness away from the

first layer and change its appearance to the
yellow ABS.

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal Component called H Link,
and make a new Sketch on the front face of the DGF Plate.

Project the left hole of the DFG Plate, sketch

a 39.4 mm C2C slot from the projected point
downwards, and sketch a 2 mm circle.

Extrude the profile -Thickness away from

the first layer of components, change its
appearance to the yellow ABS, and Activate
the Root Component.
 STRANDBEEST 185

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint to A Link and B Link and click on any circular edge they share.

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint to E Link and DFG Plate and click on any circular edge they share.

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint to H Link and DFG Plate and click on any circular edge they share.

Type J for Joint, verify the Joint Type is set to

Revolute, click the back edge of B Link’s top
hole, click the front edge of DFG Plate’s top
hole, and click OK.

Verify you are joining your parts correctly by clicking and rotating A Link to
see DFG Plate move back and forth.

Type J for Joint, click the front edge of IJK

Plate’s top right hole, click the back edge of E
Link’s bottom hole, and click OK.

Click and drag E Link so the holes on H Link

and IJK Plate are much closer together.
186 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Type J for Joint, click the front edge of IJK Plate’s top left hole, click the back
edge of H Link’s bottom hole, and click OK.

Move the A Link into a

horizontal position, make a new
Internal Component called C
Link, and make a sketch on the
front face of B Link.

Project the front face of B Link

and sketch a 61.9 mm long
C2C Slot and a 2 mm circle.

Extrude the profile -Thickness away from the second layer

and change its appearance to the yellow ABS.

Add a Revolute As-Built Joint to C

Link and B Link and click on any
circular edge they share.

Type J for Joint, click the front edge of

E Link’s bottom hole, click the back
edge of C Link’s bottom hole, and
click OK.
 STRANDBEEST 187

MOTION ANIMATION
The simplest form of motion animation in Autodesk Fusion
is to animate a single joint that runs an entire system of
joints.

In this project, the joint where A_Link revolves around its Pin
is the driving joint. If you animate this joint, the entire model
moves.

If the model doesn’t move, 1 of the joints was likely

accidentally set to Rigid instead of Revolute.

To animate this system, expand the Joints

in the Browser, right-click Joint Revolute 1,
Animate Joint. This will activate that joint
alone and suppress the other joints and
Components. Press Esc.

Since you want the entire system of joints to

move, right-click the Joint Revolute 1 again,
and select Animate Joint Relationship. Now
everything should move.

Pan around and check it out!

CHALLENGE
Make a double-sided Strandbeest with a leg on the left
and the right powered by only 1 input.

@Dairy Air
User #569
C H A P T E R 6

What happens when gears interact? It can

take millions of years to make 1 revolution!

Here you will explore the world of gears and

gear reduction ratios by building a gear
train

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
2 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Fusion Plugins and where to find them

Mathematics behind gear trains

Add multiple motion links to a

D I S C O R D L I N K : complex project
D
D
 GEAR TRAIN 189

INTRODUCTION
Gear trains are gear systems that transmit power by reducing speed in exchange for higher torque and
vice versa. They can be found in stand mixers, hand drills, and bicycles, to name a few popular items.

The math for gear systems is simple. For example, a 25-tooth input gear spinning at 1 rpm and Meshing
with a 50-tooth output gear has a gear ratio of 25:50, or 1:2. The output gear spins at 1/2 rpm.

In this lesson, you will practice animations using components and joints as you build a gear reduction
system called a gear train. You will use the pre-built library that comes standard with Autodesk Fusion. We
highly recommend making this in real life if you can access a 3D printer.

CAD
Two gears attached to each other that share the same axis are known as
a Compound Gear. Make as an Internal Component called Compound
Gear.

Set your Units to Millimeters (mm) and select the Utilities tab at the top of
the screen.

Navigate to Add-Ins >> and select

Scripts and Add-Ins. Scroll down to the
bottom, click either of the Spur Gear
tools, and Click Run.

Make a Metric gear, 20 Deg, 1.5 Module, 20 Teeth, 0 Backlash, 0.88 mm Root
Fillet, 8 mm Thick, and an 4 mm Hole Diameter.

This will produce a pitch diameter of 30 mm. See the Discussion at the end
of the chapter for more information and
definitions.

Click OK and notice the feature group in the

Timeline.

Also, notice the green Construction circle.

This is the pitch circle and defines the ideal
distance between 2 meshing gears which will
be used later in the Gear Rack component.
 190 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Make another gear with the same values except use 100 teeth and 4
mm thick. This will produce a 150 mm pitch diameter gear, giving you
a 1:5 gear ratio; 20:100 = 1:5. Click OK. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select
both Spur Gear components, and drag them into the Compound Gear
component.

Type M for Move, click the center of the 20

teeth Spur Gear’s hole, set the Z Distance
to 4 mm, and the Z Angle to 360/20/2 for
a half tooth rotation.

Navigate to the SOLID Tab, add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the 2 Spur
Gears. Expand the Compound Gear component.

The large and small gears pitch diameter’s sum is 180 mm, half of this
value, 90 mm, is the ideal distance between the meshing gears centers.

Type M for Move, click the Spur Gear (100 Teeth)

component in the Browser, click Set Pivot, orbit to
the underside of the gear, select the bottom edge
of the hole, and click the green check mark next
to Set Pivot in the Dialog Box. Set the X Angle to
90 degrees which will rotate about the Origin, the
location of the newly selected Pivot.

Make the following Sketch on the front face of the 20 Tooth Spur Gear.

Extrude this ring profile 4 mm, the difference in thickness of the gears, and add a 2 mm chamfer on the
top edge. This reduces surface area and friction between spinning gears that are stacked on each other.
 GEAR TRAIN 191

Create a Sketch on the front face of the 100 Tooth Spur Gear to reduce weight. Draw a vertical and
angled Construction line from the Origin, 2 lines parallel to the Construction lines, 2 Concentric arcs,
and add the following dimensions. Circularly sections the profile about the Origin and Extrude Cut all 6
profiles.

This Gear Train is a reduction system, meaning that the speed

of each successive gear is exponentially slower than the
previous one. To track how slowly the Compound Gears are
spinning, you will make one tooth a different color that can be
3D Printed separately to the rest of the gear.

Make the following Sketch on top

of the large gear’s front face, add
Tangent constraints to the angled lines
and the curved edges of the teeth, and
0.4 mm fillets to the bottom corners.

Navigate to Modify >> Split Body,

select the large gear as the Body To
Split, select the Sketch as the Splitting
Tool(s), uncheck Extend Splitting Tool(s),
and click OK.

Open the Appearance tool and apply ABS to the Compound Gear and
a contrasting accent color to the gear tooth.

Collapse the Compound Gear component, activate the Root

Component, and make a new Internal component called Gear Rack.
 192 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Hide the Compound Gear component, start a new Sketch on the Front Plane, and sketch and dimension
this sketch. Sketch the top left 4.00 mm circle at the Origin.

Extrude the profile 4 mm away from the

Compound Gear and add 4 mm chamfers to the
6 lower edges for strength.

Show the Compound Gear component

and Copy and Paste it 90 mm in the X
Distance and -8 mm in the Y Distance.

Orbit around the meshing and note how

the gear teeth mesh perfectly. This is due
to the gears Pitch Diameters mentioned
earlier. (30 mm + 150 mm) / 2 = 90
mm Pitch Radius found on the Gear Rack
sketch and the half tooth rotation.

Navigate to Create >> Rectangular Pattern, select both Compound

Gear components, set the Y-axis as the Axis, set the Distribution
to Spacing, the Quantity to 5, the Distance to -16 (the height of 2
Compound Gears), and click OK.

Copy and Paste the first Compound Gear component and move it -80 mm
along the Y-axis to make a total of 11 Compound Gears. This will make the
last gear in the train spin at 1 Revolution Per Year! If you’re interested in the
math of how to find out how many gears you need for this Gear Train, then
refer to the Discussion section of this project.
 GEAR TRAIN 193

Activate the Gear Rack component, expand Bodies, and Copy and Paste
the Gear Rack Body -100 mm along the Y-axis.

Right-click the Gear Rack component and Isolate it, start a new Sketch on the front face of the new Body,
and sketch 3 center point arc slots that are equal in diameter and horizontally constrained to the hole’s
center.

Add the following dimensions, mirror to the other hole, and Extrude Cut through the Body. This springed
joint is an effective way to hold onto metal rods with 3D Printed parts; as you push the rod in, the arms
flex out of the way and then hold a metal rod tightly without the need for glue or hardware.

Start a Sketch on the bottom face of a Rack and sketch a rectangle that is coincident to the inner corners.
Extrude this profile upwards 8 mm and Verify the Operation is set to Join.

Extrude cut the small triangles on either side of the Gear Rack’s base through all and change its
Appearance.

Unisolate the Gear Rack component and Activate the Root Component at the top of the Browser.
 194 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Make a new Internal Component called 4 mm Rods, sketch two 4

mm circles on the front of the Gear Rack that are coincident to the
Compound Gear’s centers.

Extrude these profiles to the back face of the Gear Rack, add the
Polished Aluminum Appearance to the two Bodies, and Activate the
Root Component.

Add a Rigid As-Built Joint between the Gear Rack and the 4mm Rod
component.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd, select all 11 Compound Gear components in the

Browser, right-click, select Unground From Parent, and right-click the Gear
Rack component and select Ground To Parent.

MOTION ANIMATION
The purpose of this project is to apply Motion Links between gears that match the 5:1 gear ratio so they
spin in realistic ways. Unfortunately, the Motion Animation in Fusion only lasts a few seconds. This is
enough time to see the first few gears successively spin slower and slower but not long enough to see
all gears move. Because of this, you will only be applying Revolute joints and Motion Links to the first 5
Compound Gears, as they are only ones you will be able to see move although technically, all of them are
moving, just incredibly slowly.

Select the Revolute As-Built tool, set

the Joint Type to Revolute, select
Compound Gear:1 in the Browser,
then the 4 mm Rods component in the
Browser, click the round edge of left
4mm Rod and click OK. Now your first
gear can revolve.

Perform the same operation on

Compound Gear:2 and the right 4 mm
Rod.

Expand Joints in the Browser, navigate to Assemble >> Motion

Link, click Revolute 2, Revolute 3, check Reverse and set the
second Angle to 360/5 because of the 1:5 gear reduction.
 GEAR TRAIN 195

Click and drag the first gear and see how the second
gear rotates at a fifth of the speed but in the opposite
direction.

Continue this pattern of steps: Add a Revolute As-Built

Joint to the 3rd Compound Gear and the 4 mm Rods,
add a 5:1 Motion Link between Compound Gear 2
and 3, and continue until you Motion Link the 5th
Compound Gear.

Right-click the first Revolute joint in the Browser, click

Animate Motion Relationship, and see the gears spin!

DISCUSSION
Gear System Math

To achieve a 1 year per revolution speed for the last gear, you need to know 3 pieces of important
information: the input speed, the gear ratios, and how many gears are in the gear train.

An input speed of 100 RPM from a hobby motor will drive the first compound gear. The gear ratios of 5:1
mean that the 2nd gear will spin at 20 RPM, then the 3rd 4 RPM and so on.

The formula for this gear train is: Input RPM / Output RPM = 5 ^ X, where X is the number of gears.
The Output RPM is 1/ (60 mins * 24 hours * 365 days). The gear ratio (Output RPM / input RPM) for this
train is 52,560,000.

To solve for the number of gears: log(52,560,000) / log(5) = approx. 11 gears. To move the last gear 1
gear tooth, you would need to spin the first gear for over 810 miles!

CHALLENGE
Make an animated piston system that mimics the
movements of a car’s engine. This will require Revolute
and Slider joints. Add complexity to this model by
designing an engine Body with 8 pistons for a V8
configuration.

@Vasile
User #498
C   E 

Explore the world of robotics and add a

touch of humanity to this metal hand.

Control the motors to replicate a human

hand wave.

Master the movement of this hand and

you’ll be well on your way to making a
DIFFICULTY:
robotic automaton in no time!

TIME ESTIMATE:
3 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
What selection box is and how to
change it
Pattern a joint
D I S C O R D L I N K : Make a construction axis component
D
D Perorm a motion stud.
 ROBOTIC HAND 197

INTRODUCTION
The advancement of hobby robotics is a testament to the development of computer science and
inexpensive, robust hardware. Microcontrollers like Arduino paired with inexpensive motors, sensors, and
other hardware can be programmed in a single afternoon.

In this project, you will make a robotic hand that can be 3D printed and affixed with servos to move like
a human hand. You will apply a Motion Study to Motion Links that will mimic the necessary information to
make this hand in real life.

CAD

Digit 1

Set the file to mm, make an

Internal Component called Digit
1, and start a new Sketch on the
Front Plane. Make an ellipse at
the Origin and add the following
dimensions. Finish the Sketch

If you have a pair of calipers, you can measure your fingers and adapt
the project to make a robot replica of your own hand!

Start a new Sketch on the Top Plane and project the ellipse.

Make a Construction rectangle that starts from the Origin, is 28 mm tall,

and has its corner Coincident with the right projected point.

Make a Fit Point Spline from the top left to the bottom right corner of the
rectangle and adjust the vertices to make a top-down finger profile.

Add a Tangent constraint to the Spline and the right vertical line, and
between the Spline and the top vertical line. Mirror the Spline about the left
vertical line.

Make a new Sketch on the Right Plane and make a

similar profile with the same Constraints.

Note that splines that are too sharp may cause issues in
later steps.
 198 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Open the Loft tool. Select the ellipse and the point directly across
from the Origin.

Click on the cursor icon next to Rails and select the 4 Fit Point
Splines. Click OK.

Create a sketch on the Front Plane of a center rectangle at the Origin.

Project the ellipse.

Show the previous sketch and

Extrude the left and right profiles
5 mm away from the Body. Click
OK.

Extrude Cut the middle profile -5

mm into the Body.

Start a sketch on the Right Plane and draw a 3 mm circle at the Origin, extrude this profile Symmetrically
through All in both directions. Highlight the entire component and add a 0.5 mm fillet to it.
 ROBOTIC HAND 199

Digit 2

Activate the Root Component

and make an Internal
Component called Digit 2.

Start a sketch on the Right

Plane and project Digit 1’s
inside face and the fingertip
point.

Make the Sketch of a 3 mm circle at

the Workspace Origin, a center arc, 6
sketched lines, and 1 Construction Line.

Add the appropriate Equal, Tangent, and

Collinear constraints to make this sketch
horizontally symmetric.

Add the dimensions shown and Mirror

the 8 lines and arcs about the vertical
Construction Line.

Extrude this profile

symmetrically to a Whole
Length of 12 mm.

Highlight this component and

add a 1 mm fillet to all edges.

Digit 3

Activate the Root Component and make an Internal Component

called Digit 3.

Show Digit 1 & 2. Start a sketch on the Right Plane and project
the tip point of the finger and the leftmost arc.
 200 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Make the following sketch of an arc, 6 sketched lines, and a

vertical Construction Line.

Make the 2 right vertical lines Equal and Collinear, the 2 right
horizontal lines Tangent with the arc, and the arc’s center
Horizontally Constrained to the Origin. Add a midpoint to the
projected arc and the new arc as shown.

Add the following dimensions to the Sketch and note the

distance from the vertical Construction line to the finger’s
tip is 76 mm.

Mirror this sketch about the Construction Line and add a 3

mm circle on the new left arc’s midpoint.

Symmetrically Extrude this profile to a Whole Length of 12 mm.

Make a new Sketch on the right face of this

component and project Digit 2’s left circle. Draw a
25 mm Center to Center Slot 9 mm wide from the
projected center point.

Extrude this profile outwards 3 mm, mirror it about the Right Plane, Hide Digit 1 & 2, highlight the entire
component, and add a 1 mm fillet.
 ROBOTIC HAND 201

Palm

Activate the Root Component and

make an Internal Component
named Palm.

Create a new Sketch on the

Top Plane and project Digit 3’s
leftmost hole (while looking from
the Right Plane)

Make the following vertically symmetric sketch around the projected

purple edges of the hole using two points that are Vertically Constrained.

Add Equal and Collinear constraints to the top horizontal lines and
Horizontal Constraints to the bottom 2 points. Add the dimensions shown.

Rectangularly Pattern the 7 lines, set the Distribution to a Spacing of 24

mm, and a Quantity of 4.

Make the rest of the Palm by drawing an additional 3 lines and

dimensioning them as the following:

If you want to add other geometry that makes it look more hand-
like, now is the time.

Extrude this profile Symmetrically to a Whole Length of 14.2 mm

to match the thickness of the other components.
 202 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Add fillets to the Finger Extrusion’s top and bottom edges. Set this fillet to 14.2mm/2 to make a full
180-degree arc.

Type H for Hole, select the right face of the Palm, move the blue dot to the center of the fillet, set the Extent
to All, and the diameter to 3 mm.

Highlight the entire component and add a 1 mm fillet to all edges.

Axle

Activate the Root Component and make the last modeled Internal
Component called Axle. This component will contain only a
Construction Line.

Open the Axis Running Through Cylinder tool in the Construct

menu and select the hole on the first finger slot on the palm.

Unground Digit 1 component, Ground the Palm component, and

Show all of the components.

Finger 1

Make a new Internal Component called Finger 1. This is a subassembly

to house the 4 components. This process is how to pattern both Joints and
subassemblies at the same time. Activate the Root Component.

Drag Digit 1, 2, 3, and Axle into the Finger 1 component.

 ROBOTIC HAND 203

Click on the View Cube’s house icon, add Revolute As-Built Joints between Digit 1 and Digit 2, Digit 2 and
Digit 3, and Digit 3 and Axle, and a Rigid As-Built Joint between Axle and Palm.

Notice that the Revolve icon’s flag must be facing the same way on each joint, very important!

Expand Joints in the Finger 1 Subassembly and rename the Joints Revolute 1, Revolute 2, and Revolute 3.

Without changing your view, right-click Revolute 1, Edit Motion Limits, check both Minimum and
Maximum, set the Minimum to 0.0 deg, and the Maximum to 120 deg.

Repeat these steps for Revolute 2 & 3 but set the Maximums to: 72 deg and 12 deg respectively.

To mimic how a finger curls in, you will add 2 Motion links to the 3 Revolute joints.

Navigate to the Assemble >>

Motion Link, select Revolute 1 and
Revolute 2 in that order, and set the
Angles to 600 and 360. Click OK.

Repeat the process for Revolute 2

and Revolute 3, and set the Angles
to 360 and 60. Click OK.
 204 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Now, you can click and move Digit 3 up and down

to curl the entire finger inwards.

Rectangularly Pattern the Finger 1 Subassembly, set

the Distribution to Spacing set to 24 mm, and set the
Quantity to 4 so the Fingers are already in the right
location.

The Rigid joints between the Axles in Fingers 2-4

must be joined with As-Built Joints not just Joints.

Because all of the Joints in the Subassemblies are

Patterned, the Motion Links and the Motion Limits are
automatically applied to the other fingers.

Expand Finger Subassemblies 2-4 and add 3 Rigid As-Built

Joints between each Axle and the Palm.

MOTION ANIMATION
Navigate to the Motion Study tool in
the Assemble menu.

This Timeline, from 0 to 100 steps,

plots the degree of rotation or linear
motion over time.

Each joint will make a line graph. The

more points, the more complex its
movement is.

For example, if you wanted a gear to make a half revolution and

then return to its start, you would start a point at 0 degrees at step
0, 180 degrees at step 50, and end at 0 degrees at step 100.

You can fast-forward, reverse, start over, or play using the button
on the bottom left. You can also loop the animation or change
from forwards to reverse and back again.
The speed adjustment bar is at the bottom.
 ROBOTIC HAND 205

Important Note: Click OK to save this motion study. You can always reopen
it in the Browser.

However, if you make the project and accidentally click Cancel, your work
will be lost.

An good way to think about Motion Studies is to

imagine them as a Timeline in a video editing
software, at a certain time code, an event will
happen, i.e. at Step X the Angle will be at Y deg.

Select Revolute 3 in Finger 1, which will put a flat

line on the Timeline representing 0 degrees of
movement from Step 0 to Step 100.

Move your cursor along the line and click on Step

9 and set the Angle to 0 degrees.

Move your cursor to step 32 and set the Angle

to12.

As you can see, positive angle rotations are above

and negative rotations would be below.

Finally, click on Step 52 to return to 0 degrees.

Reduce the Speed to its minimum, set the Mode to Loop, and watch the
animation of the finger curling up and down.

Note that the loop ends at the last point instead of 100 steps. Finger 4
will fix this with an additional point at 100 steps.
 206 CHAPTER 6 MOTION ANIMATION

Finger Step @ 0 deg Step @ 12 deg Step @ 0 deg Step @ 0 deg

1 9 32 52

2 15 40 54

3 19 49 70

4 30 55 75 100

Move onto Revolute 3 on Finger 2, and you will see a different

colored line; perform the same operation editing the 3 points.

Use the following chart to change the 3 points for all 4 fingers
to 0 deg, -12 deg, and 0 deg.

In the end, your Motion Study should look like this.

It’s a good idea to press OK after each line, saving the Motion
Study.

You can always bring it back up by right-clicking on the

Motion Study and clicking Edit in the Browser.

Press play with a loop, reduce the speed all the way down, and notice how realistically the hand curls and
then releases.

You can apply a motion study to various Joints. The Slider joint allows for linear and rotational movement
that can be manipulated in both axes at the same time.

This tool is so powerful that you can even incorporate it into a rendering project so you can see your
project moving as realistically as possible!

CHALLENGE
Add a thumb to this robotic hand. This will require you to
make a thumb with only 2 digits, a new palm, and a new
motion study path.

@iks
User #239
 207

CHAPTER 6 QUESTIONS
1. Which tool would be used to animate an 7. A Motion Study of a wheel with a flat line
entire project? would produce what effect?
a. Animate Joint a. CW rotation
b. Animate Joint Relationship b. CCW rotation
c. Animate workspace c. An error message
d. Move d. No motion
2. In which scenario would Contact Sets not 8. To increase the speed of a Motion Study of
be a good idea to use? a rotating wheel, you can … ?
a. Projects with several components a. Increase the rotation degree
b. Projects with Bodies joined, not b. Decrease the rotation degree
components
c. Decrease the time interval
c. Projects with only a couple of
components d. Increase the time interval

d. Projects with imported components e. Both A and C

3. What are rails? f. Both B and D

a. Another word for a path in the 9. To reopen a Motion Study, navigate to the
Sweep tool …?

b. Another word for the Slider joint a. Timeline

c. The outer surface of a lofted part b. Browser

d. The path of a lofted surface c. Motion Study tool

4. Motion links work with gears if you know d. Animation workspace

which piece of information? 10. If joint icons disappear, you could turn
a. Their hole diameter them back on in the … ?

b. Both of their number of teeth a. Browser

c. The outer diameters of the gears b. Data Panel

d. None of the above c. Preferences

5. True or False? Construction Geometry (Ex. d. Navigation bar

Offset Planes) can also be components.
6. Direction of rotation of a revolute joint
being in the positive or negative direction
can be caused by … ?
a. Your camera’s view
b. 50/50 random choice by the
software
CHAPTER 7
APPEARANCES

HOW TO GIVE YOUR 3D MODELS

COLOR TETURE AND DECALS
AMERICAN OOTALL
SMARTPHONE CASE
 209

APPEARANCES
The simplest way to bring your CAD projects to life is to add colors, textures, and other physical
Appearances as you go. With minimal effort, you can transform a default gray-steel colored rectangle
into something that looks like any material.

In future lessons, you will work in the Render workspace to bring even more life into your projects.
Below is an example of the default color, an Appearance, and a render.

Appearances are loosely broken up into two categories: those without decal images (e.g. Steel), and
those with decal images (e.g. Cherry Wood). There are a variety of editable visual properties, such as:

• Reflectivity
• Roughness
• Emissivity luminance
• Transparency
• Bump Maps
• Cutouts

After this chapter, you should consider adding appearances to your own projects to bring them to life!
C H A P T E R 7

In this lesson, you will model a football and

then attempt to make it look as realistic as
possible.

This is a great way to show off models

before making them in real life.

DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Make custom appearances
Calibrate the size of a canvas
Explore the rendering workspace
D I S C O R D L I N K : Pattern a feature along a path
D
D
 AMERICAN FOOTBALL 211

INTRODUCTION
An American Football is often made from leather and played with on fields, beaches, and backyards
worldwide. Even if you’ve never touched one, you can likely picture the roughness of the leather, the
shape of the curve, and the worn-in feel of the materials. For these reasons, it is a great appearance
project because if something doesn’t look “right,” it will be apparent.

CAD
Create a Sketch on the Front Plane and set your Units
to Inches.

Navigate to Insert >> and select Canvas and upload

the JPEG Football Canvas found at:
CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.

You can leave the Canvas in the current location but

set the rotation to 1 degree.

Navigate to Browser >>

Canvases >> Football, right-click
the American Football Canvas,
and click Calibrate.

Select either end of the football

as close to the tips as possible
and type 11.25” to set the length
of the part.

Note: If you use this tool in one of your projects, consider taking a picture with a ruler in the frame.

Navigate to the Browser, right-click the image, click Edit Canvas, and use
the square moving icon to position the left point of the football over to
the Origin.
 212 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Draw an 11.25” line from the Origin to the

right-hand side of the ball and a 3.375” vertical
Construction line from the midpoint.

Select the Fit Point Spline tool, click on the Origin,

click the top point of the vertical Construction
line, and press Enter.

Use the Mirror tool to Mirror the Spline about the

vertical Construction line.

Add a Tangent constraint to both Splines and

adjust the left Spline’s green vertexes till it
matches the American Football’s profile.

This iterative approach requires changing each

line slightly and then correcting for that change
until the curve is perfect. Once you’re done,
apply a Fix/Unfix constraint to the Splines and
click Finish Sketch.

Navigate to the Browser and turn off the Canvas by clicking the Eye Icon next to Canvases.

Navigate to Create >> and

select Revolve. Revolve this
shape 90 degrees around
the line on the X-axis to
make 1/4 of the football
shape.

Add a 1/8” fillet on the

outer 2 curved edges.

Circularly Pattern the Body about

X-axis and set the Quantity to 4.

Use the Combine tool to combine

the 4 Bodies into 1.
 AMERICAN FOOTBALL 213

Navigate to the Navigation Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Click Display Settings >> Visual Style >> and choose Shaded.

Press A for Appearance, expand the Leather and Cloth section, and
add the Leather-Matte (Red) to the Football at 75% Scale.

To add a custom leather appearance to this project, download the

Brown and White leather files from the FREE DOWNLOADS tab on
CADclass.org.

You should see the 4K image of the brown leather, the Roughness
map, the bump map titled _disp, and the EXR file.

Right-click the Red Leather icon in the Appearance menu, and select
Duplicate.

Double-click the new Appearance icon and rename it Custom Brown

Leather.

Click Advanced and click on the image title 1_mats_

leather_colors_red. This will bring up your File Browser. Find
the files you downloaded and select Brown Leather Image.
jpg.

Repeat this process for Roughness and the Bump Map

images. Click Apply and then click Cancel.

Select the Render workspace by clicking the gray box in the

top left-hand corner and selecting Render.

Navigate to Setup >> and click Scene Settings.

Click on the Environment Library tab and download

the Field Environment. Drag this Environment into the
background.

From here, you can press A for Appearance again, cycle

between your two Leather options, and pick which one you
think looks best.
 214 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Navigate back to the Design workspace, Hide Body 1, and Show Sketch 1.

Make a new Sketch on the Front Plane and

Project the Spline and the vertical line.

Type O for Offset, select the Spline, and type

3/32”.

Draw two vertical sketch lines that join these

curves, dimension them to 6.00” apart, and
apply the Symmetric Constraint about the
vertical line.

Extrude this 0.25” and add a 1/16” fillet

to the top face and the 4 vertical edges.

If you have trouble adding fillets to this

part, try adding them individually.

Hide Sketch 1

Mirror this Body about the Front Plane

and note that if you had Extruded this
face Symmetrically, you couldn’t add the
fillets in the middle. This fillet makes it
look like two laces.

Construct a New Offset Plane 11.25”/2

from the Right Plane.

Create a new Sketch on the New Plane. Draw two

3-point arcs and connect them with lines to complete
the shape.

Add a Concentric constraint to the two arcs. Add a

Coincident constraint between the Origin and the
arc’s center. Add Coincident constraints between the
lines and the Origin.

Add the following dimensions and click Finish Sketch.

 AMERICAN FOOTBALL 215

Navigate to Create >> and select Sweep. Select the new

shape as the Profile and the Projected Spline as the Path.

Set the Distances to 0.05 on either side. This isn’t a

dimension but rather a percentage of the length of the path.

Finally, change the Orientation from Parallel to Perpendicular

and the Operation to New Body. Click OK.

Add a fillet and add a 1/16” fillet to the top face and the 4
vertical edges of the lace.

Again, if you are running into issues with this operation,

experiment with the order of how you add the fillets.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select

Pattern Along Arc. Change Object Type to
Features and select the two most recent features
in the Timeline as the Objects. Select the Projected
Spline you traced the football with for the path.

Change the Direction to Symmetric and the

Orientation to Path Direction. Set the Distribution
to Extent, the Quantity to 7, and the Distance to
5.75”. Click OK.

Combine the 8 laces into 1 Body by selecting them in the

Browser using the Combine tool.

Open the Appearance menu, right-click your Custom Leather

and click Duplicate.

Double-click on the new Appearance

and change its name to Custom
White Leather.

Open the Advanced section and add the White Leather 4K picture and
the new Roughness Map.

Once again, these files can be found at:

CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.
 216 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Set the new White Leather’s scale to 50% and apply this
new Appearance to the Laces.

Finally, select Shaded Lines from the Navigation Bar, open

the part in the Render workspace, and check out your final
product!

DISCUSSION
Delete Appearances
You can right-click the empty space in the In This Design
window and Delete All Unused Appearances.

Roughness and Reflectiveness

You also have the option to change the Roughness or
reflectiveness of a surface. A high Reflectiveness and a low
Roughness will result in the shiniest possible surface.

In contrast, a low reflection and a high Roughness will be

matte but will also take longer to render as there is now data
about surface texture to take into account.

Advanced Images
Woods, fabrics, leathers, and stones have images of their respective
materials inside the Advanced Settings. You can double-click the
image in the Parameters area and import a new picture to make
custom materials. Note that for an effective end product, this pattern
should be a repeating image to avoid a distracting grid of pictures.
 AMERICAN FOOTBALL 217

Roughness Image

The Roughness Image is a gray-scale version of the image and reflects light in realistic ways. Without it,
you will see a flat glare off a rough image like rocky terrain, which won’t look realistic.

Translucency vs Emissivity
Translucency defines the opacity of an object and is often only applied to glasses and some clear
plastics like acrylic.

Emissivity refers to how much light is produced by an object, like LEDs, LCD screens, or lightbulb
filaments. Much like Translucency, this effect only looks correct in the Render workspace.

Relief Patterns (AKA Bump Maps)

Bump Maps is another type of image that can be superimposed on a surface and acts as a raised
texture. This is only a 2D representation but allows the part to cast shadows onto itself.

Cutouts are images similar to relief patterns

but are PNGs that allow light through the model.
For example, adding perforated leather to this torus
allows you to see through the model, like in the
picture.

CHALLENGE
Download a brick wall texture from PolyHaven.
com (not affiliated with CADclass) and make a
custom Appearance.

Recreate your room or office with a tape measure

and apply the custom Brick Appearance to the
walls.

@Conny

User #485
C H A P T E R 7

Explore texturing, map controls, grain

direction, and more as you design a
phone case and phone holder.

Use this project to test your reverse

engineering skills by recreating your own
phone and adapting a custom case
around it!
D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
2 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Import a STEP file

Detect if two components are

interfering with each other

D I S C O R D L I N K : Te,ture Map Controls and how to

D
D adjust them

 SMARTPHONE CASE 219

INTRODUCTION
Phone cases are great for combining pre-made CAD models with custom designs. In this class, you
will work with a CAD file that can be downloaded from CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS
tab, but you are also encouraged to recreate your phone and make a custom case.

This project will have less information since your skillset is advancing. If you plan to model your
phone, you can find CAD files and dimensions for almost any product with a simple Google search.

CAD

Navigate to the Data Panel and make a Smartphone Case

folder. Open this new folder and click Upload.

Upload the F3D Phone 16 Plus file from the FREE

DOWNLOADS tab at CADclass.org.

Save your blank workspace to this folder

called Smartphone Case.

Right-click the F3D Phone 16 Plus file and

click Insert into Current Design.

Note that you will see a chain-link icon next to

the name of this component to show that it is
externally linked to the Assembly file, known
as an External Component.

Activate the Root Component and make a

new Internal Component called Phone Case.

Verify you are working in Millimeters (mm).

Start a new Sketch on the Top Plane and Project the 3 faces as
shown in the picture.

This Sketch will house the Profile used to Sweep along a Path to
make a bumper around the Phone model.
 220 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Type O for Offset, uncheck Chain

Selection, select the projected
5 lines and curves of the outer
perimeter, type 2 mm, and click
OK.

Draw 2 Collinear vertical lines 2

mm to the right of the projected
vertical line.

Finish the Sketch and verify your

enclosed Profile matches the one in
the picture.

Navigate to Create >> and select

Sweep.

Sweep the Offset profile about the

phone’s perimeter. As the Phone’s file
is transparent, it may be hard to see
the edges.

Create a new Sketch on the bottom of the

phone case.

Navigate Create >> Slot >> Center Point

Slot at the Origin that is 5 mm tall and 45 mm
Center to Center.

Extrude Cut the profile -2 mm through the case.

 SMARTPHONE CASE 221

Orbit to the of the Phone Case, verify with the

View Cube, start a Sketch on the back face of the
F3D Phone 16 Plus model, not the Phone Case
component, and Project the Phone’s back surface.

Sketch a 35 mm circle at the Origin, extrude this

profile 2 mm, and set the Operation to Join.

Navigate to Inspect >> Interference, select both components, click

Compute, and notice the red volume indicated where the Phone
and Case model overlap with each other.

The Power, Volume, and Action Buttons are interfering with the
Case.

To cut the Phone model overlaps from the

Phone Case model, Navigate to Modify
>> Combine, select the Case as the
Target Body, select the Phone as the Tool
Body, the Operation as Cut, and click
OK.

Now, when you use the Interference tool,

it should read No Interferences Detected.
 222 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Activate the Root Component, hide the Phone component, type E and Extrude Cut all 4 buttons
through the entire Phone Case from the inside.

Add 1 mm fillets to the outer edges of the 4 button holes.

Add one of the Carbon Fiber Appearances

to the case.

Download the Carbon Fiber – Twill and drag

it onto your case.

Double-click the new Appearance and notice

the Bump Map is a blue/purple color.

This is a common way to display this data

rather than the black-and-white version used
in the American Football project.

To add any image onto the flat or curved surface, navigate to Insert >> Decal, select any PNG file
(we have supplied the CADclass Logo as a test for you), and click the back surface of the Phone
Case.

Click and drag the gray square around and see how the image conforms around curves accurately
as if it were a sticker on a final product.
 SMARTPHONE CASE 223

Right-click the Smartphone component

and click Unground From Parent, type
M for Move, change the Object to
Component, select both components,
and tilt them back 20 degrees about the
X-axis.

Create a new Internal Component

called Wooden Stand. Make a new
Sketch on the Right Plane and capture
the position. Project the back and
bottom edges of the phone case.

Use this projected geometry to draw a

phone stand. Dimension and constrain
the sketch, so it touches the edges of
the projected geometries.

Symmetrically Extrude the Profile to a Whole Length of 100 mm, apply the Oak Wood Appearance
onto the stand at 28% Scale, and add a 5 mm fillet to all external faces of the Stand.

Activate the Root Component so you can see all components.

Right-click any surface on

the Wooden Block and click
Texture Map Controls.

With this tool, you can make

the wood pattern look more
accurate.

Change the Projection Type to

Box and play around with the
ring icon to change the grain
pattern direction until it looks
more realistic.
 224 CHAPTER 7 APPEARANCES

Navigate to the Render

workspace in the top left corner
and check out your final phone
case and stand!

DISCUSSION

3D model resources

GrabCAD, Turbosquid, and Gallery.autodesk are

all great resources for finding premade CAD models.
Some models are free, and some are paid.

CHALLENGE
Recreate another tech you use daily and add a realistic
Appearance, material properties, and other accessories.
Examples: computer mice, smart watches, headphones, and
laptops.

@Ughh
User #592
 225

CHAPTER 7 QUESTIONS
1. Which of the following is true about Decals 7. Texture Map Controls are used to … ?
and Canvases?
a. Change the texture of a decal
a. Canvases cannot be placed on appearance
curved surface
b. Change the texture of the Bump
b. Decals cannot be placed on Map
curved surfaces
c. Adjust a folder of appearances
c. Decals can be calibrated just like
d. More accurately conform the decal
Canvases
appearance to a realistic product
d. Canvases should always be
8. To make the most textured material
centered on the Origin
possible you would adjust which
2. True or False? Calibrating between parameters?
points will always be either a vertical or a
a. Maximize roughness, Maximize
horizontal line.
reflectiveness
3. What can you apply appearances to?
b. Maximize roughness, Minimize
a. Components reflectiveness

b. Bodies c. Minimize roughness, Maximize

reflectiveness
c. Both
d. Minimize roughness, Minimize
d. Neither
reflectiveness
4. Sweeping distance is defined by...?
9. True or False? Adjusting Physical Materials
a. Inches or mm also adjusts the Appearance of the
Component/Body.
b. Percentage of distance of the path
10. Which of these choices is not a way to
5. To clean up the Appearance dialog box,
make parts translucent?
you should … ?
a. Set the component to Transparent
a. Compress the appearances in a
in the Browser
folder
b. Adjust the Opacity Control
b. Delete unused appearances
c. Set the appearance to glass
c. Combine appearances in a Group
d. Set the Physical Material to glass
d. Merge appearances together

6. True or False? Appearances can only be

applied to individual components/Bodies
not entire assemblies.
CHAPTER 8
RENDERING

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PARTS LOOK

PHOTO-REALISTIC

EDISON BULB
A.I. VILLAIN
 227

RENDERING

Now that you’ve developed your CAD modeling skills, it’s time to incorporate another aspect of
Autodesk Fusion into your workflow; the Render workspace. Rendering your models allows you
to showcase what you’ve made more realistically. While you may not see many uses for it now, it
helps showcase products to clients and visualize what you may eventually make in real life. Most
of our students claim they’ll never render their models, but after a few quick tutorials, they render
their projects regularly. If you’ve already spent hours, days, or weeks creating a model, why not
spend a few minutes making it look even better?

Below is an example of the default material, a Wood Appearance, and its render.
You can treat the Rendering workspace like a virtual photo shoot with cameras, lighting, and
backdrops. You can convince people that your CAD model is a real-world object with practice.

Note that the rendering terminology is the same as photography and videography. If you have any
camera experience, you will understand what these terms mean. Otherwise, we encourage you to
explore the terms elsewhere for a more detailed explanation.
C H A P T E R 8

Edison bulbs are trendy lights you may

have seen in coffee shops throughout
the world.

They expose the bulb's filament in a

beautiful and elegant way, transfixing
onlookers with their glow. DIFFICULTY:
This proect will give you an excellent
excuse to play around with
appearances to try to mimic the actual
bulb. TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
In-depth look at the Rendering
workspace
Intersect a plane into a component
and sketch on it
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D Where to import HDRIs from
Set up a virtual photoshoot
 EDISON BULB 229

INTRODUCTION
For this project, you will recreate an Edison bulb and render it in an environment that feels more natural
and fitting to the product. You’ll learn a few more tips with CAD and then spend time gaining familiarity
with the Render workspace.

Feel free to have more fun with this project by playing with different environments, lights, and more. After
all, the best way to learn is to practice. Have fun, and as always, we’d love to see what you make.

CAD
Metal Cap
Set your Units to Millimeters (mm) and import the Edison Bulb image as a
Canvas on the Front Plane. As usual, you can download this image from
CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.

Right-click the Canvas in the

Browser and Calibrate the image
so the Metal Cap’s top is 26 mm
wide.

This is a standard E26 thread

found on most lightbulbs meant
for lamps.

Right-click the Canvas and click Edit Canvas. Rotate the image 1 degree so
the bottom tip of the Metal Cap and the top point of the glass are vertical.

Click the square icon on the image and move the Canvas around the
workspace until the Metal Cap’s lowest point is on the Origin.

Since this project only contains 4 components, using Internal Components is

advantageous and easier as you don’t need to make a folder to house the
components.

Make an Internal Component called Metal Cap.

 230 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Make the following sketch on the Front Plane using the Line tool. The bottom horizontal line starts at the
Origin, and the top 2 points are Horizontally Constrained.

Add a 2 mm Offset to the sketched lines. If the red lines are on the outside of the sketch, click the flip
button or change the sign from + to -. Connect the end with lines to enclose the profile.

Revolve the profile about the Construction Line or the vertical Z-axis and add a 3 mm fillet to the 3 edges
shown in the picture.

Lightbulb threads are not standard machining threads and, therefore, are unavailable in the Threading
tool menu. Since this is meant as a visual project, simply choose the closest one visually. Select the
Threading tool, click the outer curved surface, and set the Thread type to ANSI Unified Screw Threads and
the designation to 1 1/16-8 UN Thread. Check Modeled, uncheck Full Length, and set the Length to 17
mm. If the thread is on the top, change your workspace viewing angle and try again.

Select the 2 outer and 2 inner edges

and add a 0.39 mm fillet.

Most light bulb caps are made from

low-grade steel with a zinc finish, which
gives them a yellowish-rainbow color.
Double-click on the Steel Appearance,
and enter the following RGB values:
255-250-230.
 EDISON BULB 231

Glass Bulb
Activate the Root Component and make an Internal
Component called Glass Bulb.

Start a Sketch on the Front Plane, Create >> Project/

Include >> Intersect, and select all inside surfaces of the
Metal Cap. Click OK and hide the Metal Cap component.

You should see a projected purple curve that intersects the

Metal Cap component with the Front Plane.

Make a vertical Construction Line from the Origin to the top of the
Lightbulb Canvas and add a Fix/Unfix constraint to the top endpoint.

Make a 3-point arc that has its center coincident with the Constriction
Line and add the following dimensions.

Add a Fit Point Spline to join the projected point and the arc. Adjust the spline’s green vertices until it
closely matches the bulb’s shape.

Press O for Offset and uncheck Chain Selection. Select the arc, the spline, and the 6 projected lines on the
Construction Lines right side, and the line across the Y-axis. Set the Offset to 0.8 mm. Enclose the profile
with 2 small vertical lines on the Y-axis.

Using 5 lines, trace the right half

of the inner glass section and
connect the shape along the bottom
projected line. You do not need
to include the dimensions as your
profile may differ slightly. This
project is for aesthetic reasons,
so accurate dimensions are not
critical.

Note that you cannot enclose a

profile with a Construction Line. The
left vertical line of the inner profile
must be a regular sketch line.
 232 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Revolve the 2 profiles around the Z-axis.

Add the Glass (Clear) Appearance to this component to finish it.

Activate the Root Component.

Filament

Make a new Internal Component called Filament. This is a metal that

emits light when a current passes through it.

Make an Offset Plane 60 mm above the Top Plane to start the Coil.

Make a 22 mm Coil on this new plane

with the following dimensions:

Diameter: 22 mm
Revolutions: 1.75
Height: 65 mm
Section: Circular
Section Position: On Center
Section Size: 2 mm

Add a Circular Pattern to this Body about the Z-axis to make a second
coil.

To join the 2 ends of the coils, you can Sweep a Body between the 2 ends.

Make an Offset Plane roughly 125 mm up from the Top Plane, which should
put the plane through the middle of the coil. If it does not, adjust your plant
until it goes through the middle, as shown.
 EDISON BULB 233

Create a sketch on this Offset Plane and project the circular ends of the coils. Add in 2 3-point arcs that
start at the middle of the projected purple lines and end at the Origin. Add a Vertical Constraint to the
arc’s center and the Origin.

Using the Sweep tool, select the 2 arcs as the Path and 1 of the circles (ends of the coils) as the profile.

Add 0.7 mm and 4 mm Fillets to the top and bottom edges where the coils meet the swept Body.

Make another coil on the first

Construction Plane from the center
of the workspace that is 22 mm in
diameter and has a -10-degree
taper.

Mirror this Coil feature around the

Z-axis to make a second tapered
coil. Change the Quantity to 2 and
press OK.

Verify that the top set of coils lines up

with the bottom set.

To allow the component to emit light to mimic a lightbulb’s filament, open the
Appearance tool and search for LED. Drag and drop any of the appearances
and double-click on the appearance in the In This Design window.

Change the RGB value to 241-160-43 to add an orange glow that

differentiates Edison bulbs from regular lightbulbs.

You won’t be able to see the change in color due to the high Luminance
value, which you will adjust in the Rendering workspace.
 234 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid Group to the 3

components.

Unground the Glass Metal Cap component.

Rotate the Assembly with the Move tool by changing the

Move Object to Components and rotating the Glass Bulb
-79 degrees so it lies flat on the surface.

Wooden Board
Create a new Internal Component called Wooden Board and
draw a Center Rectangle on the Top Plane.

Add 10 mm fillets to all the corners and Equal constraints to the

sides. Set the height of the rectangle to 200 mm.

This simple component is an excellent trick in Rendering. Adding

props for the object to interact with can make the rendering more
realistic.

For example, if you wanted to render a writing desk in an

office, you could add pencils, lamps, rugs and wall art to the
environment to “sell it”.

Extrude this profile -10 mm and add 2 mm fillets to the top

and bottom edges. Add a Cherry Wood Appearance to the
Board and set the Scale to 48%.

Ground this component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the

Metal Cap.
 EDISON BULB 235

RENDERING
Navigate to the Render workspace. The tools used in this workspace act
similarly to setting up a light booth for a real-life photo shoot where you need
lighting in the right location and a camera with the correct exposure and focal
length.

You have already used all the tools in the Setup menu except for Scene Settings.
The other tools work in the same way as the Design workspace.

Open the Scene Settings tool. The settings tab defines how the image changes
based on tools that affect the camera, environment, and project.

The Environment section adjusts the screen’s brightness in Lux, a standard light unit
commonly used when describing smartphone statistics.

The Position value rotates the background while keeping the project in the same
view.

Change the solid color background by clicking the gray rectangle and adjusting the
color bar.

Navigate to the Environment Library tab at the top.

You are in the Sharp Highlights Environment. Adjust
the Position and note how the studio lights reflect off
the Glass Bulb’s surface.

Check Ground Plane and Flatten Ground, which will

place the project on a flat surface and add shadows.
If you do not see shadows, Fusion may have added
a graphic limiter that throttles your image to save on
computing power.

Click the Help button (? Icon) in the top right corner >> Support
and Diagnostics >> Graphic Diagnostics >> and uncheck Limit
Effects to Optimize Performance.

You can add a Reflection, but this is rarely used in rendering.

Move the slider to a low number, around 0.1, to get a realistically

blurry reflection.
 236 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Change the Camera from Perspective to Orthographic to see the difference.

Orthographic is a head-on view with parallel sights, which is suitable for
the Design workspace but looks unnatural in real life.

The Perspective View uses a single viewpoint, mimicking human eyes, which
looks more realistic.

While in Perspective View, adjust the Focal Length. Focal Length is

the distance from the camera’s sensor to the point in the lens where
the image is flipped. The human eye is about 50 mm.

Higher numbers are for further away objects like telephoto lenses
for sports with a narrow view. Lower numbers give you a wider view
and are often used in landscape photography.

Exposure is the amount of light let into the camera’s sensor. Play
around with the exposure to see how your image changes.

Enabling Depth of Field will allow you to select a point on the

model that will stay focused while the rest of the image will
increase in blurriness with distance from the camera. Setting a
value of 0.1 is a good starting point.

You can change the aspect ratio to save rendering time. For example, if you
plan to post your render on Instagram using 1:1 square photos, you will select
1:1. This helps save rendering time and computing power.

The Environment Library tab is how you change the background. Click and
drag an Environment into the background and notice what happens.

The In-Canvas Render menu is a toolset that gives you a quick live rendering
preview instead of waiting for the final processor-intensive render.
 EDISON BULB 237

The In Canvas Render tool will render the image but is

computationally heavy. Every time you move your camera’s view,
the rendering will restart. To stop this tool, click the red stop symbol.

The In Canvas Render Settings tool adjusts live rendering. Leave the
Fast tab enabled and lower the Resolution slider to 20% for a quick
rendering. Capture Image works like a screenshot where you can
adjust the aspect ratio of the final shot, and it will not render the
image.

Finally, the Render tool will render your image to a final quality and
size.

Rendering is computationally heavy. You have the option to

render using your local machine (your personal computer) or
using Autodesk Fusion’s servers. Autodesk Fusion servers will
require you to pay for Cloud Credit. The bigger the image, the
more credits it requires. Local rendering is the faster option.

Select Local Render and enable Advanced Settings to change the

render quality. Local rendering at standard quality is free. As a
rule of thumb, 25% is draft quality, 50% is standard, 75% is final,
and 100% is excellent quality. Once completed, select the file
type. PNG is a standard option, but a TIFF file often gives you the
best quality on large photos.

You can see that without changing any values, this render is a
poor-quality picture.

The background is boring, the emissivity of the filament is

too bright, and the angle is strange and shows more of the
wooden base than the bulb itself.

To change the background to something more fitting,

search for a free HDRI Environment on a website like
PolyHaven.com,(not affiliated with CADclass) a
royalty-free page hosting hundreds of environments.
Look through the categories for an environment you
can imagine an Edison Bulb would fit in best.

Download the Old Cinema environment from

CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.
 238 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Go to Scene Settings tool >> Environment Library >> Attach Custom Environment and upload the file.

Drag this file into the background. Note you may need to change the Background to Environment in the
Settings tab.

If you have access to an AI software that can produce these types of images in an HDRI file type, you can
have a lot more fun and make custom backgrounds and environments.

Cinemas are dark, so lower the brightness to 3000 Lux.

Increase the exposure to 9.8 EV and notice more detail
from the surroundings are visible.

You can also position the bulb more in the frame and tilt
it to show more of the attractive shape of the glass rather
than the boring metal threads.

Use the position tool to rotate the background and move

the view of the product to your liking.

After rendering with these settings, the image

looks more realistic, but the brightness of the
filament is ruining the picture.

Open the Appearance tool and

double-click on the LED Appearance
on the filament.

By default, the brightness is over

30,000 cd/m2 (Candela or luminous
power per square meter).
 EDISON BULB 239

Reduce the emissivity to 3,000 cd/m2, and notice

that you can now see more detail in the image.
It’s still slightly too bright, but heading in the right
direction. Reduce it to 300 cd/m2. Now it’s too
low. 1500 cd/m2 is about right.

Rendering is an art, not a science. Play with

the settings until the scene, angles, lights, and
reflections feel right.

Set this final render to a web

High-Quality Render and toggle
the advanced settings to 75%
quality to see the final product!

With new A.I. programs coming out every week, we wanted to highlight one that blends your CAD
design with an easy-to-use UX. Newarc.ai (not affiliated with CADclass) is a very beginner-friendly AI
tool. You can upload screenshots of your models and describe a fitting environment, and it will create an
accurate image. While these new AI tools are very exciting and easy to use, they don’t offer quite as much
customization or control as making your own renders from scratch. Depending on your project, you may
want total control on the final project, or you may be comfortable with a program doing most of the heavy
lifting, the choice is yours.

CHALLENGE
Rev a colored LED with legs, the bulb, and the shape of the
internal diode. Render this part with the correct luminance
values to show off the detail of the part.

@Conny
User #485
C H A P T E R 8

Reproducing movie props is an excellent

way to get better at CAD modeling.

By recreating one of film's most unique

villains, you can start to appreciate its
visual impact on te art form.

D I F F I C U L T Y :

T I M E E S T I M A T E :
3 . 5 H O U R S

K E Y L E A R N I N G :
Du&licate com&onents with oints

Emboss text around a curved face

How and why to add artificial colored

lights to a render
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D Add a named view
 A.I. VILLAIN 241

INTRODUCTION
For this project, you will render an artificial intelligence (A.I.) robot villain with a glowing red eye, speaker
panel, camera Body, and a sleek minimalist frame. To create a replica that is both visually compelling
and functional, you will render it in an environment with artificial lighting, combining the CAD and Render
workspace in a unique way. This is a fun and rewarding project for those interested in AI, robotics, and 3D
modeling, as it combines elements of each.

CAD

Wooden Body
Make a new Folder in the 8 - Rendering folder called A.I.
Villain. This project will be made in 2 separate files that will be
joined together.

Verify your Units are set to mm (Millimeters) and make

an Internal Component called Wooden Body.

Start a sketch on the Front Plane and draw a Center

Rectangle and a vertically constrained circle.

Extrude this profile back 16.85 mm.

Make a new Sketch on the front

face and draw a 3 mm tall
rectangle.

Set the corners to be Coincident

with the vertical edges of the
Wooden Body.

Extrude Cut this profile -6.5 mm

into the Body.
 242 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Extrude Cut the bottom face -3 mm into the

Wooden Body.

This will allow the next component, the Grill, to

keep the top surfaces coplanar.

Make a new Sketch on the Wooden Body’s back

surface and draw a 86 mm circle Concentric to
the hole.

Extrude the ring profile. Change the Extent Type to To Object, select the
front surface, and the Offset to 12 mm.

The Appearance of this part is jet-black wood. One option is to

import an image of black stained wood, and the other option is to
adjust the color of preexisting material.

Drag and drop Walnut Wood onto the Wooden Body and double-
click on the icon in the In This Design window.

Change the Scale to 42% and select the Advanced section. Click on
the image of the wood, not the image name below, and lower the
brightness slider to 20%.

Grill

Activate the Root Component, make a new Internal

Component called Grill, and Extrude the lower face
of the Wooden Body 3 mm.
 A.I. VILLAIN 243

Make a new Sketch on the front surface and

draw a 1.5 mm circle that is tangent to the
bottom and left edges.

Extrude Cut this profile through the entire

Body.

Add a Rectangular Pattern of the Extrusion

Cut feature with 18 vertically and 22
horizontally that have an extent of 68.5
mm and 106.5 mm, respectively.

Add a Stainless Steel linear Brushed

Appearance to this piece and verify the
lines run horizontally.

Activate the Root Component and make a

Rigid As-Built Joint between the Grill and
the Wooden Body.

Divider Wall

Make a new Internal Component called Divider Wall.

Extrude the 3 mm tall slot in the Wooden Body outwards 8.5 mm

and add a Polished Aluminum Finish to the component.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint

to the Divider Wall and the Wooden Body.

Side Walls

Make a new Internal Component called Side Walls.

 244 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Start a new Sketch on the back face of the Wooden

Body.

Make a Center Rectangle from the Origin that is

350 mm tall.

Sketch a diagonal line from the top right corner of the Wooden Body to the top
right corner of the Center Rectangle, and dimension the line to be 45 degrees
from a vertical line.

Sketch 2 more diagonal lines from the Wooden Body’s top left and bottom right
corner to the Center Rectangle’s corners.

Extrude the right profile 19 mm towards your view,

Show Sketch 1 again, and extrude the top profile
to the same height with the Operation set to New
Body.

Hide Sketch 1 and set the Appearance to Polished

Aluminum.

Make a new Sketch on the right face of the right Wall, add a Point to
the top of the face, dimension it 16.85 / 2 mm from the right edge, and
350 / 16 mm from the top edge.

This will give you evenly spaced points for 8 countersunk holes down
the length of the component.

Add a Countersunk hole to this point, 4 mm in depth, 4.5 mm Countersink

diameter, and 2.25 mm drill diameter.
 A.I. VILLAIN 245

Rectangularly pattern this feature downwards. Change the Quantity to 8 and

even spacing of 350/8 mm.

Add a Polished Aluminum Appearance to this part.

Finish Editing in Place and activate the Root Component.

Top/Bottom Walls
Make a new Internal Component called
Top/Bottom Wall which will be identical
in construction to the Side Walls but will
have 4 holes instead of 8. This component
has been left empty as an exercise for the
reader. Note that the total width of the part
should be 115 mm, 3.5 mm thick, and
19 mm deep. The first hole is 115 / 8 mm
from the edge, and the hole spacing is 115
/ 4 mm.

Activate the Root Component, add a Rigid As-Built Joint

between both Side Walls and the Wooden Body, and open the
McMaster Carr tool.

Download a flathead countersunk screw, 91781A081.

The threads will be inside the Wooden Body and not visible, so
download it as a 3-D STEP no threads file to save data space.

Rotate the part 180 degrees in the Y

Angle and add a Rigid joint to the top
hole on the right Wall by clicking the
outer edge of the bolt head and the
countersink’s outer hole.
 246 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Click the house icon on the View Cube, navigate to Assemble

>> Duplicate With Joints, select the countersink screw, and
click the outer chamfer edges on all 7 holes of the right Wall
and the top 4 holes on the top Wall.

This new Fusion tool duplicates the component and the joint
at the same time.

Create >> Circular Pattern, set the Object Type to Components, hold down Shift,
click the Walls component, click the bottom screw component, and pattern all 13
components 2 times about the Y-axis. This is the advantage of designing symmetrically
and about the Origin and using the Center Rectangle.

Add a Rigid Group to the Wall components and the Wooden Body.

Activate the Root Component and make an Internal Component called Screws.
Highlight all the screw components and drag and drop them into this new component
to act as a folder for all the screws. Highlight all actions in the Timeline pertaining to the
screws, right-click, and Create a Group.

Nameplate
Make a new Internal Component called Nameplate.
Draw a 17.75 mm by 90 mm Center Rectangle on the
front of the Wooden Body that is and 8 mm below its
top edge.

Extrude this profile 1.5 mm outwards and add the Stainless Steel -
Brushed Linear Long appearance to it.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to this
component and the Wooden Body.
 A.I. VILLAIN 247

Click the ( + ) symbol to open a new Tab and save this blank
file to the A.I. Villain Folder as Camera Subassembly.

This new file will house the several components that make up
the camera. Because of its complexity, it makes more sense
to model this part about a new Origin in a blank workspace
and then import the subassembly into the main assembly as
External Components.

Camera Ring
Make a new Internal Component called Camera
Ring and make the following Profile on the Right
Plane and a horizontal Construction line from the
Origin.

Make the right vertical line Coincident with the

Origin and the 2 highlighted lines Collinear.

Add the following dimensions and note that

the 47.5 mm is from the top right point to the
Construction line.

Revolve this Profile about the Y-axis and add a

Polished Aluminum Appearance to it.

Camera Body

Activate the Root Component and

make a new Internal Component called
Camera Body.

Start a new Sketch on the Right Plane,

Project the inner stepped face of the
Camera Ring, and Hide the Camera
Ring.

Set the 4 highlighted lines to be

Collinear and add the following
dimensions.
 248 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Revolve the profile about the Y-axis and add a Paint-Metallic (Black) Appearance to it.

Make a new Sketch on the front-most face and project its outer edge. Make a right triangle with equal
left and right edges, its lowest point Vertically constrained to the Origin, and a Tangent coincident to the
projected edge.

Extrude Cut this profile through the entire Body.

Circularly Pattern this feature about the Y-axis 100 times to mimic the focus
grip on a camera.

If your computer has trouble calculating this many features, reduce the
number by half and try again. Remember, these details are purely aesthetic
and don’t need to be exact.

To add the text around the Camera Body, make an Offset Plane 50
mm above the Top Plane and start a Sketch on this plane.

Make a text box with “Fish - eye - NIKKOR 1:8 f=8mm” inside using
the Text tool. The text has 9 spaces between NIKKOR and 1:8, and 5
spaces between 8 and f=8.

Make the font Arial and bold; Make the height of the text 2.75 mm
and the text with a middle alignment. Click OK.

Add Coincident constraints to the text box’s left edge and the Origin
and the text box’s top edge Collinear with the front of the Camera
Body.

Navigate to Create >> Emboss and deboss this text into the curved
top face with a -0.25 mm cut.
 A.I. VILLAIN 249

Add a White Paint Appearance to the text

faces to make them more visible. Set the
“Apply To” to Faces and note that you can
highlight the letters 1 word at a time and
apply the White Paint Appearance.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid

As-Built Joint to the two components.

Red Eye
Make a new Internal Component called Red
Eye, make a cylinder on the back face of
the Camera Body that is 6 mm in diameter
and 3 mm deep, and add the red LED
Appearance to the component.

Set the LED (Red) Appearance’s Luminance

to 20,000 cd/m2.

Activate the Root Component and add a

Rigid As-Built Joint to either of the parts.

Lens

Make an Internal Component called Lens, make a new Sketch on the Right
Plane, and project the highlighted face on the Camera Body.

Make the following sketch from a horizontal

line that is coincident to the Origin, 2
Concentric 3-point arcs, and two horizontal
lines.

Add a Horizontal Constraint to the Origin and

the 2 3-point arc’s center and add the following
dimensions.
 250 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Revolve this profile about the Y-axis and add

a Glass-Clear Appearance to it.

Activate the Root Component and add a

Rigid As-Built Joint to the Camera Body.

Save the Subassembly file, open the A.I. Villain Assembly File, right-
click the Subassembly file in the Data Panel, and click Insert Into
Current Design.

Note how the Subassembly file has a chain link icon in the Browser
denoting it is a linked External Component; external because the
file’s data is stored outside the Assembly file.

Pull the Subassembly away from the Assembly and add a Rigid joint from the back edge of the Camera
Ring and the inner edge of the Wooden Body’s step.

RENDERING
You can add studio lighting within the Design workspace to accent the
project you are rendering.

Make 2 new Internal Components on the Top Plane that are Cylinders,
75 mm in diameter and 360 mm tall.

Drop on LED Appearance to each cylinder. Make each one a different

color. Red and Blue is a classic approach in photography. Increase the
LED’s luminance values to 1500 cd/m2.
 A.I. VILLAIN 251

Make another Internal Component called Light Box that is simply a

20x400x400 mm Box with a LED (white) Appearance added to it.

Lower the Luminance to 100 c/m2 to act as a soft light illuminating

the front face of the prop instead of angled lights, which will cast
strange shadows and hides detail.

There is no need to Ground or join any of the 3 lights, so you have

the opportunity to reposition them if necessary.

Navigate to the Render workspace and open the Scene Settings

tool. Change the aspect ratio to 1:1 for less rendering time. This
will also hide the accent-colored lights from view.

Move the camera to a bottom-up view called the “Larger than Life”
shot by some photographers.

Change the camera to perspective for a more realistic view, and

adjust the focal length to your liking. 23 mm will give a fish-eye
lens effect.

Once you get a viewing angle that suits you, right-click Named Views
in the Browser, and click New Named View.

This will save the angle and zoom from that view. Now, if you move
your camera, you can click this new view to return to it, similar to the
View Cube.

Reduce the brightness to 400 lx, as the scene will be lit with the
accent lights you created earlier in the Design workspace.

Change the Background from Solid Color to Environment, open the

Environment tab, and drag the Grid Lights to the Background.
 252 CHAPTER 8 RENDERING

Use the Position tool to rotate the

background to your liking.

Return to the saved view and

click the In-Canvas Render tool to
preview what the final Render will
look like.

Move the blue and red cylinders

outside the frame, and start the
render.

Click the Render tool and set the

Custom image size to 1600x1200,
1.9 MP, to capture as much detail as
possible.

Render the image using Fusion’s Cloud

servers or using your local machine.
Enable the Advanced Settings and adjust
them to a high quality, about 75%.

Depending on your computer’s

capabilities, rendering may take 10 or
more minutes.
Once done, you will have a fantastic
photo of the villain from a great film!

CHALLENGE

Recreate a prop from your favorite movie and render

it in an environment that suits the film.

@Dairy Air
User #569
 253

CHAPTER 8 QUESTIONS
1. True or false? There is no difference
between the Appearance tool in the 7. How can you make a scene brighter?
Design workspace and the Rendering
a. Adding extra lights
workspace.
b. Increasing brightness
2. What does the Position tool move?
c. Change to a brighter environment
a. Linearly moves the background
d. All of the above
b. Rotationally moves the background
8. Which is faster, Local or Cloud rendering?
c. Linearly moves the project
a. Local
d. Rotationally moves the project
b. Cloud
3. What does the Flatten Ground tool do?
9. Which is a more realistic camera view?
a. Converts the curve HDRI into a flat
environment a. Perspective
b. Removes rough textures from the b. Orthogonal
environment
10. To place a company logo on a product
c. Moves the project to the ground of rendering, which tool would you use?
the environment
a. Canvases
d. Removes the Ground from the
grounded component b. Decals

4. True or False? Rendering at a draft quality c. Neither

will make for a clearer picture ready for d. Both
high quality printing.
5. Which tool should you use to save a
specific a certain view and zoom?
a. Named View
b. New Detail View
c. Detail View
d. New Named View
6. If you do not see certain high quality
rendering elements you should … ?
a. Consider upgrading your
computer

b. Delete and re-download Autodesk

Fusion
c. Navigate to Graphics and
Diagnostic
d. None of the above
CHAPTER 9
ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN

BLUEPRINTS
DRUMSTICKS
SPACE PROP EMITTER
 255

ENGINEERING DRAWINGS
Engineering Drawings are blueprints to aid in the manufacturing of products and parts by
individuals and teams. Parts often require plans that give information about dimensions,
thread specifications, surface quality, and more. If a manufacturer is only given a 3D file, they
will know the dimensions but may miss other important manufacturing details.

Engineering Drawings are a communication tool with strict formats and guidelines. Here are some
of the things often included in Engineering Drawings:

• Who made and verified the drawing

• Revision history
• Welding specifications
• Exploded Diagrams for disassembly and reassembly
• Product weight and material
• Detailed and Section Views
• Quality control standards

This chapter exposes you to a New Drawings workspace in Autodesk Fusion. Each separate
workspace has new tools and new functionality and is almost like learning a new program. Each
workspace will become another tool in your toolbox as you advance your CAD modeling skills.
You will return to this workspace later in the program with Exploded Diagrams.
C H A P T E R 9

Learning CAD allows you to communicate

your 3-dimensional ideas to people and
machines.

Engineering drawings help you

communicate specific design features,
such as material and size, to other people.
DIFFICULTY:
Drumsticks offer an excellent opportunity
to explore engineering drawings.

TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Set up an engineering drawing
Add multiple views
Make a detail view of a body
D I S C O R D L I N K : Importance of material choices and
D
D finishes
 DRUMSTICKS 257

INTRODUCTION
Drumsticks are relatively simple objects to model and make in real life. They are made of flexible woods
on a wood lathe, and need to be manufactured to exact specifications and dimensions. In this project, you
will model and then create an Engineering Drawing for a drumstick as if you were going to give it to a
manufacturer in real life.

CAD
Set the Units to Inches since most lumber sold in the USA is listed in imperial units at quarters.

Make a new Sketch on the Front

Plane of a 3-point arc, an ellipse, a
Centerline that extends to the right
side of the Ellipse, and two lines.
Horizontally/Vertically Constraint the
arc’s endpoints to its center.

Add the following dimensions:

Revolve this shape by selecting the top two Profiles and the bottom horizontal line as the Axis. Click OK.

Add a Pine Wood Appearance, set the Scale to 48%, and the Rotation to 90 degrees to match the correct
grain direction for a Drumstick. This mockup of a drumstick is all you need for the Engineering Drawing.
 258 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

To open the Drawing workspace, navigate to

File >> New Drawing >> and select From
Design.

This will open up a pop-up showing which

Standard you are using, ISO (International
Organization for Standardization) or ASME
(American Society of Mechanical Engineers).
Choose ASME, Sheet Size B.

Click the new screen to place the Base View

anywhere on the screen and set it as a 1:1 ratio.
You will notice it no longer fits on the page when
you do this.

There are a few ways to fix the problem of the

drumstick not fitting on the page. You can reduce
the Scale or add a Section Break. Since this
drawing has repeating information, you will add a
Break.

Navigate to Create >> and select Break View. Click 2 locations in the middle of the drumstick as shown
in the photo. Notice this shortened view has symbols denoting that the part has been cut at these points.

The manufacturer will be able to tell that the information in the middle is an extension of what’s on either
side of the cut. If you do this to a part, you should not cut out any important information such as drilled
holes, decals, grooves, or other geometries.

You also want to see a head-on view of the back end of the drumstick so you can show the outer diameter.
Navigate to Create >> and select Projected View. Click the part and pull to the left to see a circle with the
same diameter as the Base view. Click the green check mark.

Having at least 3 views is a standard

minimum when making a part.
An isometric view is almost always
helpful since it conveys an overall
picture of what is being made.
 DRUMSTICKS 259

Navigate to Create >> and select Detail View.

Make a circle around the drumstick’s tip by clicking
the center, pulling away, and clicking again. Click
somewhere else on the workspace to place the view.

Change the Scale to a 3:1 ratio. If your Detail View

shows a break, simply remake it until the break
disappears.

Use the Projected View tool, click the Base view, pull diagonally
down to the right, and click the green check mark. Double-click this
view, change the Scale to 1:2, and the Style to Shaded.

Now, you can click and move the Views around to organize the
workspace. It is good practice to keep a space in the middle to add
notes about the final product.

Navigate to Create >> Detail View,

click at the Drumstick’s head’s center,
pulling away, and clicking again to
make a circle. Click below and to the
right to place a zoomed in Detail View
of the head.

Change the Scale to a 3:1 ratio and

click OK. This Detail View makes some
of the smaller details in the model large
enough to add dimensions to.

First, you need to define your Linear Precision,

or how many digits after the decimal you need
for accuracy. To verify this precision, navigate
to the Browser, expand Document Settings,
and click on Change Dimension Units.

This will open a Dialog Box where you can

verify that the Linear Precision is 0.12”.

Click the first 2 boxes in Zeros/Units to add

Leading and Trailing Zeroes.
 260 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

Expand the dimensions menu and notice the different types

of dimensions. Select the Diameter Dimension, click the
circle’s circumference, move your mouse away, and click
again to set it.

Note, you aren’t going to deal with tolerances in this project,

as this tutorial will just be covering the basics.

Type D for Dimensions and make the following on the Detail

View. Note that the dimension lines cross over each other which
is bad practice in Engineering Drawings as the reader can’t be
sure it isn’t a 90 degree corner of a sketch.

Navigate to Dimension >>

Dimension Break, select both
dimension lines, and click OK.

Navigate back to the Front View and select and dimension the
angled line length. It will default to dimensioning the hypotenuse,
but you want its horizontal length.

Pull the dimension up and move your cursor to the left, which will
measure the horizontal dimension.

You will encounter some issues when you try to add the drumstick length. If you just click on the arc on the
left side, it will snap to the arc’s center.

To resolve this issue, press D, hover your mouse over the semicircle,
right-click, and select Quadrant. This will add clickable points on 4 circle
quadrants (top, bottom, left, right). Now you can hover your mouse over the
right end of the drumstick, click it, and dimension the entire part length.
 DRUMSTICKS 261

Notes are a critical part of drawings as they can transmit

information about the part that isn’t dimensional. You
can add notes by typing in a simple text box or making
a leader note with text pointing to a specific part of the
model. Add the notes and anything else you think might
be relevant to a manufacturer.

Finally, you will edit the Title Block in the bottom right
corner of the sheet. The Title Block houses information
about the file, who made it, who approved it, tolerances,
and physical properties such as weight or volume. Make this Title Block as accurate as possible, and
pretend you are handing your model to a manufacturer. Double-click the Title Block and add the
information shown. Some parts will require a text box.

DISCUSSION
Material Tolerances
Some projects require extreme precision, such as aerospace
manufacturing, where material tolerances are often 0.001” (1
thou) or less. Other projects, such as carpentry, do not require
such high precision since wood expands and contracts.

CHALLENGE
Make an Engineering Drawing for the Tensegrity Tower from Chapter 1.
C H A P T E R 9

If you look closely, you can spot this prop in

the hands of a powerful wizard in your
favorite Space Opera movie!

For this project, you will create an

engineering drawing of a space prop
emitter, one component of a space prop you
will make later.
DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
2.5 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Make multiple projected views
Split a body and view its cross-section
What a leader note is and what
D I S C O R D L I N K : information goes in it
D
D
 SPACE PROP EMITTER 263

INTRODUCTION
Prop replication is an art. When a prop is needed, pre-made parts are often cobbled together instead
of manufacturing them from scratch. Some films in the 1950s, 60’s and ’70s were famous for making
futuristic-looking weapons from junk car parts, bathroom fittings, and even World War II weapons,
making them feel “lived in” and “in universe.”

For this project, you will recreate an iconic end of a space film prop known as the Emitter, and make an
Engineering Drawing stating exactly how to build it.

CAD
Change your Units to Inches since many USA-based
manufacturers work in inches.

Start a Sketch on the Front Plane. It is critical to select the correct

plane for this project. You won’t be able to change it in the
Drawings workspace.

Draw a horizontal line on the X-axis and dimension to

1.22” as shown.

Draw the shape in the picture. Ensure the left vertical

line is on the Y-axis, and the bottom horizontal line is
on the X-axis. Add all the dimensions as shown.

Click Finish Sketch.

Navigate to Create >> Revolve and

revolve the profile about the bottom
horizontal line.

Navigate to Modify >> Physical Material

and set the component as Aluminum
6061, a common subtype of Aluminum
used in machining.
 264 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

Navigate to the Browser, turn off the Body, and turn on Sketch1 by
clicking the Eye Icon next to each.

Create a new Sketch on the Front Plane. Press P for Project and
click the left, right, and bottom lines. Press OK. Draw the new lines
shown in the picture that has 5 horizontal lines.

Add the dimensions shown in the picture.

The bottom sketch will appear darker blue

than the top sketch since there is a sketch
inside of another sketch.

Click Finish Sketch.

Revolve the lower, darker blue profile about the

bottom horizontal line and turn the Body back on to
make the cut.

Add a 0.04” chamfer to the 2 sharp external edges.

Add a 1/4” - 20 Modeled Thread to the back hole.

Add 0.04” fillets to the internal corners on the inner

cavity.

These fillets mimic the radius of the cutter that

would make this part on a metal lathe. By not
specifying this radius on the part, the cost to make
this component would increase exponentially.
 SPACE PROP EMITTER 265

Create a new Sketch on the

second face and draw a circle
on this surface. Vertically
Constrain the circle to the Origin.
Dimension the diameter to be
1/8” and the center-to-Origin
distance to be 0.60”.

Extrude Cut this circle into the part

-0.50”.

Create a new Sketch on the

2nd from the inner face. Draw
a 1/16” circle with a center-
to-Origin distance of 0.255”,
and Vertically Constrain it to the
Origin.

Click Finish Sketch and extrude

cut this circle to -0.50”.

Navigate to Create >> Pattern >> and select Circular Pattern.

Change the Object Type to Features and select the 2 most recent
extrusions on the Timeline.

Select the Axis of Revolution as the X-axis, set the Quantity to 16, and
click OK.

Navigate to File >> New Drawing >> and select From

Design.

Select ASME for Standard, Size B for Format, and click OK.
 266 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

Click anywhere to place your Emitter on the screen. Change the Scale
to 2:1 and click OK.

Double-click the Emitter and change the Style to Visible Edges. Click
OK.

Navigate to Create >> and select Projected View.

Click the emitter, drag your cursor around the screen, and click again when
your part is in the orientation shown.

Double-click the new view. Change the Scale to 1:1 and the Style to Shaded.
The Isometric View should often be a close, realistic representation of the final
product.

Add another Projected View to the right as shown.

You may need to drag your mouse around the screen for the
correct orientation.

To get an internal view, navigate to Create >> and click Section View. Click
the right drawing.

Move your cursor to the Origin and then down. You should see a green
dashed line. Click outside the outermost circle as shown.

Move your cursor up above your

part, click outside the circle,
and select the check mark that
appears. Click OK.

Now, you should have a dashed

line that is perfectly vertical and
intersects with the center of the
part.
 SPACE PROP EMITTER 267

A new tool to Fusion in the Drawing

workspace is the Auto Dimension tool.

After enabling it, Fusion offers several

formats for dimensioning parts.

Some of these automatically created

dimensions are helpful and need only minor
adjustments, some are over complicated.

Navigate to the Document Settings and

click its gear icon.

Because this is a metal part, set the

Linear Precision to 0.123 and enable
the first 2 Zeros/Units settings.

If you need to move a part connected to the Base view, hold Shift, and
you can now drag the part wherever you want.

Press D for Dimension and add the following dimensions. Note, you
can click on points and lines and will sometimes need to move your
mouse around the screen to get the correct dimension.

Press Esc to exit the Dimension tool.

Double-click the 1.22”

dimension, check the
Tolerances box, expand the
Tolerances pull-down, and
enter 0.02” for Tolerance.

Add the following dimensions to the Section View.

Add a Dimension Break for any lines intersecting using the Dimensions
>> and select the Dimension Break tool. You can also right-click a
dimension and select Add Dimension Break.
 268 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

Add a Note denoting the drilled holes in the Projected

View and their Quantity.

Add the following dimensions to this Projected View

too.

Add a Note to the Isometric View and check Properties in the Dialog
Box.

Set the Type to General, the Property to Material and click the ( + )
symbol. Set the Type to Physical, the Property to Mass and click the ( + )
symbol.

Press N for Note and select the threaded face on the section view.

This note defines the threaded hole as a 1/4”-20 Thread cut to a class 3B,
which regulates how tight a fit it is.

Add another note for a light chamfer on the edges shown by clicking
1 edge, typing “Light Chamfer”, and clicking OK.

Click the other edge and drag the line down until it meets the word
Light Chamfer. Click OK.

These chamfers are small and aesthetic, meaning you don’t need
high accuracy. Machinists will know what Light Chamfer means and
will file these edges appropriately.

Add the following information to the Title Block in the bottom right by double-clicking it.

To add the text in the top left, navigate to

Text >> and select Text. Make a text box in
the blank box of the Title Block.

To add the ( ± ) symbol for tolerance,

navigate to the Dialog Box, and select
Symbols. Find the appropriate symbol and
press Close.
 SPACE PROP EMITTER 269

Now you can pass this information off to a manufacturer and have them make a perfect Emitter for you!

DISCUSSION
A good ethos about Engineering Drawings is that you want to display all the information you need and no
more. Avoid duplicating the same dimension, and ensure everything is as neat as possible.

CHALLENGE
Make an Engineering Drawing of the
Plastic Building Brick from Chapter 2.

@Conny
User #485
270 CHAPTER 9 ENGINEERING DRAWINGS

CHAPTER 9 QUESTIONS
1. Engineering Drawings are traditionally 8. A common Linear Precision for metal
used between _____ and ______ ? products would be … ?
a. Proprietor, Distributors a. 0.01”
b. Engineers, Manufacturers b. 0.001”
c. Manufacturers, Distributors c. 0.0001”
d. Engineers, Distributors d. 1/64” increments
2. A colored version is most often reserved 9. True or False? Leader Notes have
for which view? “smart qualities” and can identify thread
specifications without requiring you to
a. Detail View enter them in manually.
b. Base View 10. What is the most common export file type
c. Isometric View for engineering drawings?

d. Break View a. PDF

3. When would the Break Dimension tool be b. JPG

used? c. STEP
a. To cut a view in half d. DXF
b. To delete a dimension
c. To intersect dimension lines
d. It isn’t used in the Drawing
workspace
4. True or False? You can pattern multiple
features at the same time.
5. What is the most likely element to find in
the Title Block?
a. Name of the project
b. Tolerance of a specific dimension
c. Location of light chamfers
d. The isometric view
6. True or False? You cannot draw a sketch
on top of an engineering drawing.
7. To make 4 clickable points on an ellipse,
you would right-click the geometry and
select?
a. Midpoint
b. Endpoint
c. Quadrant
d. Corners
CHAPTER 10
EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

HOW TO EXPLODE YOUR PROJECT

AND REBUILD THEM
JAPANESE PULL SAW
MACHINIST HAMMER
 273

EXPLODED DIAGRAM
Exploded Diagrams show expanded drawings of individual components. To make them, you must
first understand how to make exploded animations. Since you learned how to make animations in
the previous chapter, now is the perfect time to make exploded animations.

Exploded Diagrams often display information about the reassembly order and match each
component with a number and a code, so consumers can order a replacement part to fix
something themselves. Below is an example you will make:

This requires entering the Animation workspace, where an Assembly can be manipulated and
moved sequentially. Additionally, it can be used to animate the Joint movements in a final product.
For example, animating a helicopter’s blades spinning and propelling it up and out of frame.
C H A P T E R 1 0

Sometimes simple tools are all that's needed.

While a pull-saw lacks complexity, it provides

an excellent opportunity to create an
illustration that "explodes it" and puts it back
together.
DIFFICULTY:
Exploded diagrams show how unique
components fit together.

TIME ESTIMATE:
2.5 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
In-depth look at the animation
workspace
View and move blocks
Reversing a storyboard
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D Publishing a video
 JAPANESE PULL SAW 275

INTRODUCTION
Japanese Carpentry is known to be one of the most precise and intricate forms of woodworking and
requires a lifetime of skills to master. A pull saw is an essential tool in the trade.

In this lesson, you will learn how to make an exploded diagram of a Japanese Pull Saw. Exploded
Diagrams are a powerful communication tool that allows you to quickly communicate Construction and
Assembly ideas.

CAD
Blade

Save an Assembly file as Japanese Pull Saw Assembly and set your
Units to Millimeters (mm).

Make an Internal Component called Blade and start a new Sketch

on the Front Plane.

Draw this shape and make it symmetric about the X-axis.

Horizontally Constrain the circle to the Origin.

Add the following dimensions to the sketch.

 276 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Symmetrically Extrude this profile to a Whole Length of 0.5 mm and

add 8 mm fillets to all 8 internal and external corners.

Add a Brushed Stainless-Steel

Appearance, rotate the image 90
degrees, and 50% Scale.

Make a new Sketch on the Blade face and Sketch a right

triangle with its top edge Collinear to the Blade’s top edge.

Extrude Cut this through the part.

Rectangular Pattern the extrusion 55 times with a 4

mm Spacing along the Blade’s top edge.

An error may pop up about the large number.

Ignore it.

Make a new Sketch on the Blade’s front face and draw

another right triangle with its bottom line Collinear to the
Blade’s bottom edge.

Extrude Cut this profile through the Body and pattern it to a

Quantity of 110 and a Spacing of -2 mm.

Arms

Activate the Root Component and make a new Internal Component

called Arms.
 JAPANESE PULL SAW 277

Start a new Sketch on the Blade’s front face.

Project the Blade’s right-most geometries and join the ends

with a 3-point arc tangent to the top and bottom projected
lines.

Extrude this profile outwards 1.5 mm and add a Brushed Stainless-

Steel Appearance.

Activate the Root Component.

Move the Arm component and check Create Copy. Move the second
Arm 2 mm to the other side of the Blade.

You should now see Arm 1 and Arm 2 in the Browser.

Ground the Blade and add a Rigid Group to the 3 components.

Nut

Activate the Root Component and make a new

Internal Component called Nut.

Make a new Sketch on the front Arm. Project the

hole and make a 5 mm circle in the middle.

Extrude the ring profile -3 mm into the Saw.

Add an M5 thread to the inside of this tube.

 278 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Make a new Sketch on the cylinder’s front

face of and draw a 14 mm Concentric circle.

Extrude the profiles 4 mm outward and add

a 4 mm fillet to the outer edge to make a
dome.

Make a new Sketch on the front face of the

Nut and draw a 1.8 mm x 14 mm center
rectangle at the circle’s center. Project the
fillet’s surface.

Extrude Cut this profile into the Nut -3 mm to

make a flathead screwdriver slot.

Move your view to the back side, type

E, select the inside face of the hole, and
extrude it through the Nut.

Add a Polished Stainless-Steel Appearance

to the Nut, activate the Root Component,
and add a Rigid As-Built Joint.

Import the McMaster Carr tool bolt, 92095A308, and rigidly join it to the
back of Arm 2.

Handle
Activate the Root Component and make a new Internal Component
called Handle.
 JAPANESE PULL SAW 279

Create an Offset Plane 30 mm from the end of

the Blade.

If you accidentally select either Arm, your Origin

won’t be in the middle.

Make a new Sketch on the Offset Plane, draw a

Center Point Slot from the Origin, and dimension
the slot.

Extrude this profile to the 300 mm

and add a 2 mm chamfer to the
outer edges.

Select the Combine tool, change

the Operation to Cut, set the
Handle as the Target Body, and
the other components as the Tool
Bodies. Check Keep Tools.

Add an Oak Appearance to the Handle, rotate the wood

grain 90 degrees, and Scale it to 40%. Activate the Root
Component and show all the components.

Add Rigid joints to the rest of the components, and this

model is done!

EXPLODED ANIMATION

Navigate to the Animation workspace, where you can animate the

movement of individual components and how they exploded away from
each other.
 280 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Move the play head to the Scratch Zone (to the left of time-
point 0) and click the View Cube’s top right corner. This will
set the Original viewing angle of the project. Move the play
head to 2 seconds, rotate your view, and zoom into where the
Handle and the Arms meet.

Note that a blue Camera View block will appear in the

Timeline, noting a change in the camera’s view while the
camera is recording. Press the spacebar to play this action
and notice that it doesn’t show the final product for long.

Click the Camera View block and move it to the right so

it starts at 1.50 seconds. This value does not have to be
accurate; if it reads 1.52 seconds, that is fine.

Play the video again and notice how the full model stays in the
frame for longer and then zooms in quickly.

Right-click the Camera View block and select Duration. Press the up arrow
to 3.0 seconds and click the green check mark.

Replay it a notice it’s a more fluid motion. You could have also selected Edit
Start/End and set the block to 1.5 and 4.5 seconds to achieve the same
result.

Move the play head to 7 seconds and click the View tool
to turn off the recording. Zoom out, select the Transform
Component tool, and click the Handle Component. Pull
the arrow to slide the Handle out of the Saw 60 mm.
Click OK.

Set the new Move block to start at 5 seconds and end at

7 seconds by right-clicking and selecting Edit Start/End.
Turn the View back on.

Move the play head to 9.5 seconds and move the camera’s view, so the
Nut and Bolt are in the screen’s center. Move your cursor to the View
block’s left side and drag the arrow to 7.5 seconds.
 JAPANESE PULL SAW 281

Move the play head to 13 seconds and Transform the

nut -25 mm in the Y Distance and Rotate 360*31.25
degrees about the Y Angle. The thread of the nut is
an M5x0.8 that moves 25 mm (25mm / 0.8 pitch =
31.25 revolutions) for a more realistic disassembly.

Enable Trail Line Visibility to show where the Nut

component’s starting location was, and click OK. Set
the Move block to start at 10 seconds.

Move the play head to 14 seconds, move the camera to the

other side of the Saw, and centralize the Bolt on the screen.
Set the View block to start at 10 seconds.

Note that a camera movement and component movement are

happening simultaneously. This complexity is a hallmark of an
elevated Exploded Diagram video.

Move the play head to 14.5 seconds and Transform the nut 25 mm in
the Y Distance and Rotate 360*31.25 degrees about the Y Angle with
Trail Lines Enabled.

Hold down Ctrl and select both the Move and Rotate block in the
Timeline, move your cursor to the left side of the block, and move to 11.5
seconds.

Move the play head to 17 seconds and change the view so the
Arms are centered and lower in the frame. Start this View block at
15 seconds.

Note the 0.5 seconds between the end of 1 View block and the
start of another. This avoids the “jerkiness” of camera movements
and makes for a more comfortable viewing experience.
 282 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Expand the Browser, select Arm 1 and Arm 2, and Transform them up
60 mm with Trail lines from 17.5 to 19.5 seconds.

Click and drag the storyboard upwards since the 2 components will be
lower down in the component list.

From 20 to 22 seconds, Transform the Arm closest to the camera

60 mm and the further Arm -60 mm away from the camera.

With the play head still at 22 seconds, move the camera’s view to
show the Arms fully Transformed away from each other like in the
picture. Leave this View block to start at 19 seconds.

Move the play head to 25.5 seconds, click the View

Cube’s top right front corner, like in the first view,
and try to match the amount of zoom from the first
shot.

Set this view to be from 22.5 to 25.5 seconds.

 JAPANESE PULL SAW 283

Right-click Storyboard 1 in the bottom left corner of the Timeline and

select Copy.

Ctrl+V paste this, and you will see Storyboard1-copy next to it.

Right-click this new storyboard and click Reverse, which will flip the
order of Operations of the Timeline, showing an Assembly instead of a
disassembly.

Change the Visual Style of the Saw and the

environment to make it look more visually aesthetic.

Navigation bar >> Visual Style >> Shaded, and

Environment >> Tranquility Blue or Infinity Pool.

Click the Publish tool and change the Video Scope from
Current Storyboard to All Storyboards. This will stitch both
of them together.

Set the Resolution to the highest you can, 16:9 1920x1080,

and save it to your computer.
 284 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

DISCUSSION
New Storyboard - The first tool in the toolbar is New Storyboard; a
storyboard is a Timeline of components and camera movements. You can
make multiple storyboards to show different parts of Exploded Diagrams.

Transform - The Transform menu is where the most useful tools are.
Like the Move tool, the Transform Components tool allows you to move
Components manually.

Restore Home - Moves components back to their Original location.

Auto Explode - One Level and All Levels are both rarely used tools that will do all the work for you.
Unfortunately, as of the publishing of this book, these automatic Operations fail to make functional
Exploded Diagrams.

Manual Explode - Similar to the Transform Components tool, this tool only allows components to move
linearly but is easier for sequential movements.

Show/Hide - Allows components to fade slowly, reducing workspace clutter.

Annotation/Create Callout - This tool allows notes to

be pinned to components and is often used to transfer
information across teams about assembly. They will show
up in the final video if not removed.

View - allows a virtual camera to record camera movements while panning, orbiting, or zooming.

Publish - Exports the exploded diagram as a video at a set resolution and quality.

Animation Timeline – Found at the bottom of the screen and consists of an empty Timeline, a play
head to scrub through the video, the Scratch Zone at 0 seconds where the camera is not recording, and a
list of components that have been moved on the left.

CHALLENGE
Animate the exploded Assembly of the 3DP Hot End in Chapter 4. Avoid exploding the project in one long
line.
C H A P T E R 1 0

We've come a long way since hammers

were made from sticks and rocks millions
of years ago.

And yet, the hammer remains a staple in

toolkits across the world.

For this project, you will model and then

DIFFICULTY:
create an exploded diagram for a
machinist hammer, one of the most
useful tools in a machinists toolkit.

TIME ESTIMATE:
3 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Make a parts list on an exploded
diagram drawing
Animate a movement
D I S C O R D L I N K :
Add alloons to a drawing
D
D How to design an exploded diagram
 MACHINIST HAMMER 287

INTRODUCTION
Machining is a subset of metalworking that uses machines, such as lathes, mills, and CNCs, to accurately
and repeatedly make precise parts. Machinists often read Engineering Drawings to gather the necessary
information to produce those parts or to repair whole machines.

In this lesson, you will use an Engineering Drawing to make a CAD model of a machinist hammer. You
will then create an exploded animation, and an exploded Engineering Drawing from that model.

All the steps to make this hammer have been used several times in previous projects, and it will be up to
you to figure out how to make these parts based on the drawings.

CAD
Save an Assembly file called 000 Machinist Hammer Assembly to a new folder and set the Units to Inches.

Grip

Make a new Internal or External Component called Grip and

make the following part with the dimensions found in the
Engineering Drawing on this page or the next one.

Make the Sketches for this part on the Front Plane and set your
Units to Inches.

We created this in 10 features, but you may use a different number depending on how you create yours.

1. Sketch on Front Plane

2. Revolve about X-axis
3. Knurl Sketch on Front Plane
4. Revolve about X-axis
5. Coil Cut
6. Mirror Coil Cut about Front Plane
7. Circular Pattern Coil Cut and Mirror features
8. Rectangular Pattern to make 4 knurled sections
9. Chamfer on the back edge
10. ¼-20 Threaded Hole
288 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

The knurled section of the Grip can be made using a revolved rectangle that sits proud 0.02” from the
main cylinder’s Body.

Follow the same steps as the Geocache Hide knurls from Chapter 2.

Note, you will revolve this profile and create a triangular coil
on its edge. You will then use a combination of mirror, circular,
and Rectangular Patterns.

Specific values for the coil are not necessary. Give it your own
Style.

Set the Physical Material to 6061 Aluminum.

Finish this component and activate the Root Component.

Threaded Rod

Make a New Component called Threaded Rod. This is

a threaded cylinder with chamfered ends, and it can
be made into a stand-alone file in a new tab or inside
the Assembly file.

The Threaded Rod is 0.75” long and is positioned

0.125” from the bottom of the 0.25” hole on the
Grip.
 MACHINIST HAMMER 289

This part can be made in 4 features:

1. Circular Sketch on an inside face in the Grip

2. An Offset Extrusion
3. 2x Chamfers
4. ¼-20 Modeled Thread

Keep the Physical Material as the default Steel and Activate the Root
Component.

Handle

Make a New Component called Handle.

This component can also be made in the Assembly file by

extruding the 0.5” hole inside the Grip.
This component can be made in 6 features:

1. Circular Sketch inside the Grip

2. Circular Extrusion
3. Countersunk, ¼-20 Tapped Hole
4. Outer Edge Chamfer
5. Midplane of flat faces
6. Mirror Hole and Chamfer features
 290 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Give this part a Physical Material of 6061 Aluminum.

Finish this component and activate the Root Component.

Ground the Grip and add a Rigid Group to all 3

components.

Threaded Rod: 2

Copy and paste the Threaded Rod, and move the new
component to the Handle’s front.

This will show up as Threaded Rod: 2 in the Browser.

Add a Rigid joint to the Threaded Rod’s outer edge and the Handle’s outer edge and set a -0.375” Offset
so the Threaded Rod: 2 sticks out halfway from Handle.

Head Body

Make a New Component called

Head Body on the Front Plane
and project the geometry shown.

This component is a simple

cylinder with an axial threaded
hole.
 MACHINIST HAMMER 291

This component can be made

in 4 features:

1. Circular Sketch on the Front

Plane
2. Symmetric Extrusion
3. Combine Cut
4. ¼-20 Threaded Hole

Add a Physical Material of 6061 Aluminum to the component and finish the component.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the Head Body and the Handle.

Threaded Rod: 3 & 4

Use the Rectangular Pattern tool to make 2 more Threaded Rods

anywhere in the workspace.

Rigidly Join both the Threaded Rods to the ends of the Head
Body by selecting the outer edge of the Threaded Rod and the
outer edge of the Head Body and Offsetting them -0.375” into
the Head Body.

Open the Section Analysis tool on the Top Plane, and note how the
Threaded Rods don’t interfere with each other.

Cancel the tool.

 292 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Brass Head
Make a New Component called Brass Head.

This component can be made in 4 features:

1. Circular Sketch on the front face of the Head Body

2. Extrusion
3. Chamfer
4. ¼-20 Tapped
Hole

Add a Brass Physical Material to the component,

finish the component, and Activate the Root
Component.

Delrin Head
Mirror the Brass Head component about the Front
Plane and rename the new component in the Browser,
Delrin Head.

Add the Physical Material Acetal Resin White to the

new component. Acetal is another name for Delrin, a
common plastic used in machining known for its easy
cutting.

Add a Rigid Group to the rest of the components to

lock them in place.

EXPLODED ANIMATION
Navigate to the Animation workspace and start a new Storyboard.

Move the play head in the Scratch Zone where the

camera isn’t recording.

Select the View Cube’s top front left corner and move
the Machinist Hammer into the middle of the frame.

Move the play head to the 4 second mark and expand

the components in the Browser to show the 000
Machinist Hammer Assembly file.
 MACHINIST HAMMER 293

Using the Transform tool, select

the Assembly file and rotate it 90
degrees about the X-axis. Move
the camera’s view to a Front View
and zoom in appropriately.

Click OK and shorten both the

View and Move Blocks to start at 1
second.

Move the play head to 5.50 seconds, open the

Transform tool, and select the assembly.

Rotate the Hammer 25 degrees upward, mimicking

a hammer hit, and set this to start at 4.5 seconds.

Move the play head to 6.5 seconds and rotate the

hammer back down to horizontal. Start the rotate
block at 5.5 seconds.

Zoom where the Grip meets the Handle to

make a View Block from 4.5 to 6.5 seconds. Set
the view block to start at 4.5 seconds.

In this project, the Handle will be the “grounded”

component, and the other components will explode away
from it.

Move the play head to 10 seconds and Transform the

Grip -2.5” to the left. Click OK and start this Move block
at 7 seconds.
 294 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Without moving the play head, Transform the Threaded

Rod -1.25” to the left. Click OK.

Move the left side of this Move Block to line up with the
start of the previous Move Block.

Move the play head to 13.5 seconds and rotate the

View Cube so the Hammer’s head is in the middle
of the screen. Set the start of this View Block to 10.5
seconds.

Move the play head to 15 seconds and expand the Assembly in

the Browser.

Open the Transform tool, select the Head Body, hold down Shift,
select the Delrin Head, and move all 5 components upwards
1.50”. Click OK.

Scroll down in the Storyboard to select all 5 Move Blocks at the

bottom and set them to start at 12 seconds.

With the play head still at the 15 second mark, Transform the
Threaded Rod: 2 upwards 0.75”. Click OK.

Edit this new move block to start at 12 seconds.

 MACHINIST HAMMER 295

Move the play head to 18.5 seconds, and in 4 individual

steps, move the Delrin Head and the Brass Head 1.5” away
from the Head Body, and move the Threaded Rods: 3 & 4
0.75” away from the Head Body.

Set these 4 Move blocks to start at 15.5 seconds.

Finally, move the play head to 22 seconds, move the camera

to the Top Front Left corner of the View Cube, and zoom in
appropriately to view the entire disassembled hammer starting
at 17 seconds.

Publish this Storyboard at the highest resolution and save it to

your computer.

EXPLODED DIAGRAM

With the play head still at 22 seconds, navigate to Drawing >> and select
From Animation workspace.

Make a new ASME Size B Drawing.

Click on the page’s right side to place the

exploded diagram and keep the Style as
Visible Edges. This Style is also commonly
known as the Wireframe View in other CAD
software.

Change the Scale to 2:3 and click OK.

 296 CHAPTER 10 EXPLODED DIAGRAMS

Navigate to the Tables menu and select the Parts List tool. Click on the left side of the page to open a
table automatically filled with information about the components inside the assembly.

This will reference their name, Quantity, material, and a blank box under the description for additional
information, like a Vendor ID. Click and drag the balloons to shorten their lines and organize the space.
Navigate to the Tables menu and select the Balloon tool.

Click the other 3 Threaded Rods and place their balloons in an

appropriate location.

Note that they don’t get their own individually numbered balloon,
as the first Threaded Rod has a Quantity of 4, so all 4 components
will receive a #2 balloon.

As you can see, this is a powerful tool that can assist you in your
next big manufacturing project!

CHALLENGE
Animate the Pizza Cutter project from
Chapter 5 and make exploded diagram
with the correct Physical Materials.

@Vasile
User #498
 297

CHAPTER 10 QUESTIONS
1. Where is the Scratch Zone? 7. What is the highest exporting resolution?
a. Timeline a. 1080p
b. Browser b. 720p
c. Animation Toolbar c. 4K
d. Export dialog box d. 480p
2. View Blocks will show … ? 8. True of False. After exporting, annotations
will not be visible in the final video.
a. Zoom
9. What is a balloon?
b. Camera movement
a. This is not a real term in CAD
c. Panning
b. Annotations that point to steps in
d. All of the above the storyboard
3. How would you change the length of a c. Circles that point to components
Block?
d. Another word for the Detail View
a. Edit the duration in a Drawing
b. Drag edges of the Block 10. Tables in drawings are often used to chart
c. Set Start and End time information about each component. Which
of the following would you least expect to
d. All of the above find in a table?
4. True or False? View Blocks, Rotate Blocks a. Cost
and Move Blocks can exist all the same
time. b. Material

5. What is a Trail Line? c. Surface Quality

a. A linear move Block d. If part was likely to break in

shipping
b. A path of movement
c. An arc movement Block
d. A setting not in the Animation
workspace
6. To reverse the order of the exploded
animation you would first need to … ?
a. Make a new Story Board
b. Right-click Story Board
c. Select the reverse tool in the View
menu
d. It is automatically created for you
in the export dialog box
CHAPTER 11
CAM

HOW
HOW TO
TO MANUFACTURE
EXPLODE YOUR PART
PROJECT
ON A CNC
WITH
AND REBUILD
COMPUTER-AIDED
THEM MANUFACTURING

WOODEN LONGBOARD
ELECTRIC GUITAR
 299

CAM
In this chapter, you will learn how to use the Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) workspace
inside Autodesk Fusion. You will model and then design a manufacturing process (called a
toolpath) for making a longboard skateboard and an electric guitar.

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) is automated machining that feeds information from a 2D
or 3D model into a machine such as a mill, router, or lathe that cuts it out. These machines are
increasingly used in all types of manufacturing and will likely only increase in popularity over the
following decades.

CNC is a general term that can be applied to several different types of machines that yo wouldn’t
normally call a CNC such as 3D Printers, Plasma Cutters, and Laser Etchers. The difference is
that 3D Printers are additive machines, and CNC Routers or Mills are subtractive as they remove
material.

It is important to note that this book

focuses on teaching CAD modeling to
beginners rather than teaching advanced
manufacturing techniques. Therefore, we
will show you how to navigate the Autodesk
Fusion CAM workspace but will not go in-
depth about the machining process. If you
want to learn more about CNC machining,
there are many excellent books, courses,
and YouTube videos.

Lastly, while these projects can be

manufactured in real life, we recommend consulting with an experienced machinist before
attempting to do so. If you decide to make them, proceed at your own risk and know that these
designs may not be sufficient or safe, depending on your machine or setup.
C H A P T E R 1 1

Few toys inspire as much nostalgia as the

skateboard.

The simplicity-to-fun ratio is tough to beat.

In this project, you will learn how to

program a CNC machine to make a
DIFFICULTY:
longboard skateboard repeatedly, making
it possible to reproduce many more than
you could by making them by hand.

TIME ESTIMATE:
2 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Exploring the basics of the
CAM/manufacturing workspace
A stock box and how it relates to the

D I S C O R D L I N K : real-world material

D
D Make a custom tool

Simulate a toolpath
 LONGBOARD 301

INTRODUCTION
Computer-controlled machining (CNC) has revolutionized the manufacturing world and is expected to
grow in popularity over the next decades. Although skateboards can be made by hand, an automated
machine allows for near-perfect replication of drilled holes, board shapes, and manufacturing processes.
In addition, the process can be scaled and replicated without using dangerous woodworking machinery
such as table saws, ultimately reducing the risk of injury.

The longboard skateboard makes for an excellent introduction to the manufacturing workspace since it is
a relatively simple object that does not require machining on both sides and requires a limited number of
tools. In addition, this project can be made and used in real life if you have access to a CNC.

CAD
Set your Units to Inches and start a Sketch on the Top Plane.

Some CNC machines accept metric Units, and others imperial. You will design this
skateboard in Inches but can export it in Inches or Millimeters later.

Make a 4” x 33” Construction Rectangle with its bottom left corner Coincident with
the Origin. This is a symmetric design, so the left vertical line will be used as a Mirror
Line.

Draw a 3-point arc from the Origin. Add a

Coincident constraint between the arc’s center
and the left vertical Construction Line (this may be
automatically applied). Add the dimensions shown.

Make another 3-point arc that starts at the Construction

Rectangle’s top left corner, is constrained in the same way
as the bottom arc, and add the dimensions shown.

Draw a line from the bottom 3-point arc’s end that is 12”
up and 3.625” to the right of the Origin.
302 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Draw 4 Vertically and Equally constrained circles.

Dimension them to be 0.8125” to the right of the

centerline and 3/16” in diameter. Set the circles
2.5” apart and 2.5” from the top and the bottom.

Join the 2 arcs with a Fit Point Spline

and click the green check mark by only
clicking on the 2 endpoints with no extra
points in between.

Add Tangent constraints to both ends

and adjust the spline’s vertices to make
a longboard shape that doesn’t extend
outside the Construction Rectangle. Fix the
Spline.

Mirror the sketch across the rectangle’s left vertical line and Finish the Sketch.

Extrude the Profile 0.71” if you

are planning on making this
longboard out of plywood or
0.54” for hardwood like oak or
birch.

0.54” is a suitable thickness for

longboards as it is thin enough to
flex for a comfortable ride but not
too thin so it will break.
 LONGBOARD 303

Add a Bamboo appearance to the part and add a 1” fillet to the 2 edges at the back of the board as
shown. Add 0.125” chamfers to all 8 top holes, make a new Sketch on the top face, type O for Offset,
click the top edge, and set the Offset to -0.50”.

Using the Text tool, write words of your choice, set the Height to 1.5”, and change the Font to American
Typewriter or an equivalent Font.

Extrude this text down -0.125” and click OK. If this feature doesn’t work and gives you an error, choose a
different Font.

CAM
Navigate from the Design workspace to the Manufacture workspace, where the CAM portion of this
chapter will take place.

The new workspace and terminologies may seem intimidating at

first, but this chapter will cover simple processes to inspire you to
dig deeper into this topic.

You will learn how to:

• Set up stock material and define a home position
• Create new tools
• Drill and Countersink the holes
• Cut the outer profile with tabs
• Simulate the Operations
• Posting process the result to prepare for CNC cutting
 304 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Verify your Units are set to Inches.

Navigate to Setup >> and select New Setup.

This will make a yellow box around the model

known as a Bounding Box. This represents the
block of wood you will cut your skateboard
from. You can adjust its size depending on the
material you use for your projects.

Click the Stock tab and change the Mode to Fixed

Size Box. This is where you can adjust the size of
the Bounding Box to match the piece of wood you
will cut.

Change the X, Y, and Z dimensions to 9”, 36”,

and 0.71”.

For more information about these values, see the

Discussion at the end of this chapter.

Navigate back to the Setup tab.

Notice white dots on all corners and midpoints of the

Bounding Box. Select the front left bottom corner.

Verify the X is pointing down the width, the Y is pointing

down the length, and the Z is pointing upwards.

If, for some reason, yours are not, you may need to play
around with the Orientation dropdown menu and click the
colored axes arrows to reorient them.

These white dots are Stock Points (AKA Datum Points) and act as a home location for referencing the
geometry. It can be thought of as the Origin of the CNC where all locations are measured from. Click
OK.

Navigate to your profile in the top right corner of the

screen >> Preferences >> Manufacture >> Enable
Cloud Libraries. Click Apply and OK.

Now any tools you make will be accessible on any

computer.
 LONGBOARD 305

This project requires 3 tools: a drill bit, a countersink bit, and an end mill. The
countersink bit can be imported from Fusion’s tool Library, but you will custom-
make the drill bit and end mill.

Navigate to Manage >> and select tool Library. Right-click Cloud, click New
Library and name it CADclass CNC Tools. This Library will be filled with cutting
tools for your projects. Because Autodesk Fusion is a Cloud-based software, you
can sign in on any computer in the world and see all your files. Many CNCs in
workshops have dedicated computers or shop laptops available for use that are provided so they can get
covered in sawdust instead of your nice personal computer.

Click the ( + ) symbol at the top of the screen to make the first
tool.

Navigate to Hole Making and select Drill.

Describe this tool as a 3/16” Custom Drill Bit.

Click the Cutter tab, where you can enter the dimensions of your
drill bit. This drill has 2 flutes and is made of high-speed steel
(HSS), standard hard steel.

Enter the cutter information from the picture.

Navigate to the Cutting Data tab where you will input values
known as feeds and speeds.

Set the spindle speed to 5000 rpm, a relatively slow speed

appropriate for the small diameter drill bit.

Set the plunge speed to 40 in/min and click accept.

These values are typical for an industrial-size CNC but will

differ for a hobby-level CNC with less power.

An in-depth discussion of feeds and speeds is outside the

scope of this chapter but can be found easily online.
 306 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Click the + sign at the top of the screen to add a new tool
and choose the flat-end mill.

Name this tool 1/4” End Mill and enter the following
details in the Cutter and Cutting Data tabs.

Click Accept and close the window.

You can use a premade tool to add the countersink to the hole. Select Tutorial Tool (Inch) on the left side
column, scroll down the list, right-click 19- ½” 45deg (Engrave/Chamfer mill), Copy Tool, navigate to
your CADclass CNC Tools Folder, Ctrl/Cmd + V (Paste), to add the tool to your tool list.

Navigate to Drilling >> and select Drill.

Select the tool, which will bring up the tool Library, and select the 3/16”
drill bit you created.
 LONGBOARD 307

Select the Geometry tab in the Dialog Box, check

“Select Same Diameter”, click Select next to
Hole faces, and click any hole’s face and it will
automatically select all holes.

The yellow lines are the travel paths, the red

downward arrow denotes where the drill will first
enter, and the green up arrow denotes where the
last hole will be drilled.

Select the Heights tab. Click the check box next to Drill Tip
Through Bottom, which lets the drill bit’s tip pass through the
longboard. Click OK.

To drill the countersinks, select the Drill tool

again, click Select next to Tool, click on the
CADclass CNC Tools Folder, click Milling
under the Tool category on the right side, and
select the Engraving tool.

Click on the Geometry tab, select all 8 of the

countersink surfaces, and click OK.

To chamfer the top outer surface, navigate to 2D >>

2D Chamfer, click the top edge of the Longboard, click
on the Tool Tab, change the Ramp Spindle Speed to
15,000 rpm, the Cutting Feedrate to 40 in/min, the
Ramp Feedrate to 20 in/min.

Click on the Passes Tab and

set the Chamfer Width to
0.125”.

Click OK.
 308 CHAPTER 11 CAM

In the Browser, expand the Model, the Longboard

component, Sketches, and Show Sketch2.

To engrave the Offset frame, navigate to 2D >>

Engrave, click on the Offset curves, click on the
Height Tab, change the Bottom Height Offset to
-1/16”, and click OK.

This will move the Engraving cutter along this

path to make an aesthetic frame.

Hide Sketch2, navigate to 2D >> Engrave, select the top

edge of all parts of your text, and click OK.

Because the depth of the cut is dependent on the width of

the lettering, the extrude cut depth you set of -0.125” is
just an arbitrary number. The height of the Text of 1.5” is
important, because if the text is too large, the cutter may
not be able to fully cut it out, as the Text’s width may be
larger than the diameter of the cutter.

To cut the profile of the Longboard, navigate to

2D >> 2D Contour, set the Tool as the ¼” End
mill, click the Geometry Tab, select the bottom
edge, check Tabs, and set the Tab Distance to
8”.
 LONGBOARD 309

Click on the Passes tab to verify the Sideways

Compensation is set to Left, check Multiple
Passes, verify the Maximum Roughing
Stepdown is set to 0.25”, and check Use Even
Stepdowns.

Note that the Finishing Stepdown is set to

0.008”, which continues to cut 0.008” below
the bottom surface of the wood to ensure that
the profile is cut all the way through.

Most CNC Router projects are cut on a surface known as a Spoil Board, a
sacrificial sheet of material that is okay to cut into, but only lightly, hence
0.008”.

Click on the Linking Tab, set the Ramping Angle to 10 degrees, and
set the Maximum Ramp Stepdown to 0”.

Right-click Setup in the Browser and

click Simulate. Click the play button at
the bottom of the screen.

For safety and quality purposes, it

is always a good idea to watch and
analyze each simulation before sending
it to a CNC machine.

This is one way to find and correct

many mistakes.

The Dialog Box houses lots of good information about how you can view the simulation.

At the top, you can set whether to see the tool or the holder, or whether the tool is transparent or has a
point on the end. Like all new menus, it helps to take extra time to review the functionality before moving
on.
 310 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Click on the Statistics Tab to see the estimated CNC cutting time. The real
life time will be about 10-20% longer because most CNC simulations
ignore the time of the tool retracting. You can also right-click each of the
operations in the Browser to see its individual Machining Time.

As you get more experience in CNC’ing, you’ll be able to build a skill to

estimate how much time is needed for each operation to identify a problem
if the machining time is too long. It is a common experience in beginner
CNC’ing to accidentally set the depth of a Contour cut to 0.025” instead of
0.25” leading to a cutting time 10 times longer than needed.

Select the Drilling operation in the Browser. You will export the
operations using the Post Process tool in the Actions menu.

Each CNC machine has a dedicated file called a Post which is

how Autodesk Fusion saves commands that the CNC can read.
This section can be left empty if you do not have access to a
CNC.

Note that each CNC has its own post processor and it can
be dangerous to start a file on a CNC that was designed for
another.

If you have CNC access, now is an excellent time to locate the

post-processor on the manufacturer’s website or in the Fusion
library under Manage >> Post Library.

Name the file 3/16 Drill, select a folder, set the Units to mm, and save the file. If you do not have a post
processor selected, you cannot save this file, and you can exit the window. Repeat this process for the
other 2 Operations. These files will be saved as .NC or a numerical control file.

Now it’s time to take your skateboard to a CNC and make it!

DISCUSSION
CNC or hand tools?
It is easy to assume that a CNC will magically make an entire project with minimal work on your part, but
it is often more efficient to perform some of the manufacturing steps by hand, and the rest can be done
on the CNC. Match the complexity of the job to the complexity of the tool.

In other words, CNCs are great for repetitive tasks or tasks that require high precision, but simple
Operations like routing a radius on the outer edges are sometimes better done by hand.
 LONGBOARD 311

How Large does the Bounding Box need to be?

A rule of thumb for wood is to add twice the diameter of

the cutter to all sides and a 1/4” frame. For example, 8
+ 4*0.25” = 9”. You need areas in the wood to drive
screws into the CNC’s spoil board, so placing those
screw holes at the ends of the wood saves material.
Finally, you are assuming that the board has been
planed down to the final thickness before the CNC
Operations. If this is not the case, you must adjust the
height accordingly.

Drill Bit RPM

Usually, this value is higher with smaller diameter bits since higher speeds eject more wood chips and
dissipate heat. But in this case, the drill bit is held in place by a heavy tool called a Jacob’s chuck which
adds considerable weight relative to the bit. For that reason, most CNCs Discourage speeds over 5000
rpm when using these drill chucks.

Tabs

Tabs prevent the project from being picked up by the cutter. The more tabs, the more
work to clean up. The fewer tabs, the more likely they will break off and your part
moves.

Datum Point

When cutting through stock, selecting the lowest datum point is

generally advisable. When engraving on the top or cutting to a
specific depth, it is generally advisable to select the top.

CHALLENGE
Make a custom wooden sign with
engraved letters and a decorative border.
Download an SVG online and use the
Engrave tool with a 90-degree V bit to cut
out the letters and a 1/4” end mill to carve
out the profile.

@Conny
User #485
C H A P T E R 1 1

Rock on!

Electric guitars take a ton of time to make

by hand. But what if we use a machine? It
turns out, machines are an excellent way
to make electric guitars.
DIFFICULTY:
This project explores the computer-
assisted manufacturing (CAM) workspace.

TIME ESTIMATE:
3.5 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Roughing and Finishing passes and
their differences
Calculate feeds and speeds
Make non-45-degree chamfers
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D Doule-sided CNC pro#ects
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 313

INTRODUCTION
Designing and creating a toolpath for an electric guitar is a great intermediate Computer Aided
Manufacturing (CAM) project. It has an adaptable shape, standard cavities that are difficult to make by
hand, and features on both the top and bottom, meaning you must flip the workpiece over and machine
the other side. In this lesson, you will continue to explore the CAM workspace as you model and design
the toolpath for an electric guitar. Rock on!

CAD
Set your Units to Inches. Download the guitar image found at
CADclass.org in the FREE DOWNLOADS tab.

Navigate to Insert >> and select Canvas. Select the guitar picture,
and click the Top Plane. Rotate the image to -8.5 degrees so the
strings are vertical. Click OK.

Expand the Canvas in the Browser, right-click the picture,

and select Calibrate. Select the 2 widest points of the
guitar and set it to 12.75”.

Make a new Sketch on the Top Plane and add points at each curve’s
highest and lowest points.

In general, the fewer points you place on the profile, the better the
Fit Point Spline will work. Highlight them all and apply a Fix/Unfix
constraint so they don’t move.

Make an “L” shape to join the top of the guitar Body to the neck.
 314 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Use the Fit Point Spline tool and click on the

points shown to make an enclosed profile.
Click the green check mark.

Work your way around the Spline and adjust

each green vertex until the Spline matches
the shape of the guitar. This is an iterative
process, so you may need to adjust each
point a few times to get it right. Once done,
Fix the Spline profile in place.

Extrude this profile upwards 1.75”.

Start a Sketch on the top face of the

Guitar and sketch a rectangle from
the top left point. Coincidentally
Constrain the top right corner to the
other top Spline point, dimension
its height to 3.00”, and extrude cut
it down 0.75”.

Make a new Sketch on the newly extruded face of a vertical

constriction line at the midpoint of the horizontal line, 2 Vertically
Constrained 3/16” circles, dimension the circles, and mirror about
the vertical Construction Line.
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 315

Extrude cut the 4 circles through the

entire component and add 0.375”
fillets to the vertical corners.

If an error message pops up

incrementally reduce the fillet size by
0.005” until it works.

Drag a Bamboo Appearance, or any light-colored wood of

your choosing onto the guitar Body.

Make a new Sketch on the guitar’s top and

draw a vertical Construction Centerline from the
midpoint of the neck extrusion.

Draw the right side of the sketch using the Line

tool.

Add an Equal and Collinear constraint to the 2

vertical Sketch lines.

Dimension the sketch and mirror it to the left

side.

Finish the Sketch and extrude cut this

profile -1” into the guitar Body.

Add 0.125” fillets to the internal and

external corners of the Cut profile.
 316 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Navigate to the Rectangular Pattern tool, change the Object Type

to Features, and select the Fillet and Extrusion to pattern in the
direction of the Y-axis with a Quantity of 2 and -4” away.

Sketch a vertical Construction line from the midpoint of the

bottom edge of the previous feature. Sketch an Overall Slot,
set the midpoint to the bottom point of the Construction Line,
and dimension the Slot.

Sketch a 3/32” circle and its location, and

Rectangularly Pattern it Symmetrically to a Quantity of
6 with a 0.50” Spacing.

Extrude Cut the Slot through the entire Body. Extrude Cut the 6 holes
-0.625” into the Body.

Start a new Sketch on the guitar’s top and add two

0.25” equal circles joined center to center with a
Construction Line.

Add a Center to Center Slot with two 5/16” circles

Coincident with the slot’s centerline.

Add a midpoint to the bottom horizontal line of the

Extruded Cut slot.
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 317

Equally constrain the 2 circles and the slot.

Add a Horizontal Constraint to the topmost
circle and the slot’s midpoint.

Make the 2 angled Construction Lines

parallel.

Add a Construction Line to one of the 0.25”

circles.

Dimension the following sketch.

Extrude cut the 5 profiles through the part.

Start a sketch on the guitar’s underside to make a large cavity for the
electronics. Press O for Offset, select the guitar’s outer profile, and add
a -0.75” inward Offset.

Draw a vertical Construction Line and mirror the Offset profile about this
line. Move the line until the mirrored curve encloses the extrusion cuts,
and add a Fix/Unfix constraint.

Add another inward Offset to the guitar profile of -1”; you cannot
apply an Offset to an existing Offset. Add an inward 1/4” Offset to
the mirrored profile.

Add 3 pairs of equal Concentric circles (3/16” and 1/2”) to the left
and right of the new Offset curves. Join the centers of the right 2
circles with a 3.125” vertical Construction Line. Join the left circle
to the midpoint of the vertical Construction Line with a horizontal
Construction Line.
 318 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Extrude the 5/16” circles -0.5” into the guitar Body, and the Offsets and the 0.5” circles -0.125”.

Finally, extrude the inner profile down -1.375”. This will leave you with a large internal cavity, a depressed
rim to rest a Housing plate, 3 holes for mounting screws, and 3 bulged areas that prevent the wood from
splitting when the screws are installed.

Flip the guitar over and start a new Sketch on the top surface.

Draw a 12” Radius 3-point arc

with its endpoint Coincident
with the left side of the profile.
Draw a 6.75” Construction
Line that connects the arc’s
endpoints and is 70 degrees to
any horizontal line.

Extrude this sketch downwards

-0.625”.

Open the Chamfer tool, select the inside edge, change

the Type to Two Distance, and set the vertical dimension
to 0.625”.

The horizontal distance will vary based on your Original spline tracing.
The value should be about 1.1”, but you can increase or decrease in
small increments until the sliver is negligible.
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 319

CAM
Navigate to the Manufacture workspace and change your Units to
Inches.

Make a new setup and place the stock point in the top left front
corner. When the material is flipped over, the new stock point will be
in the same place but with an underside view. Click OK.
Double-click the new setup in the Browser and name it Top
Operations.

Navigate to the Stock tab and set it to Relative Size Box. Add 1.5” to
the Stock Side Offset and 0” to the Stock Top Offset. Click OK.

Select the 2D contour tool and use the 1/4” end mill to Cut the
bottom profile. Add tabs with 4” spacing.

Navigate to the Heights tab, and then to Bottom

Height and change the From the Model Bottom with
an Offset to 0.875”.

Navigate to the passes tab and Enable Multiple Depths with a

Maximum Roughing Stepdown to 0.25”.

Set the Safe Distance to 0.2” in the Linking tab and enable
ramping. Click OK.
 320 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Select the 2D Pocket tool in the 2D menu. Select the 3 faces shown
and use the 1/4” end mill.

Set Multiple Depths to

0.25” in the passes tab and
uncheck Stock to Leave. Other
components will cover up these
surfaces, so there is no need to
spend extra time on a perfect
surface finish.

Navigate to the linking tab and set the Safe Distance to 0.2”. Click
OK.

Once again, you will use the 2D pocket tool to Cut halfway through the slot.

Click the slot’s bottom edge, set the Bottom Height to 0.875”, change
Multiple Depths to 0.25”, uncheck Stock to Leave, and change the Safe
Distance to 0.2”. Click OK.

Cutting out the dual chamfered corner will require a

roughing pass to remove most of the material and a
finishing pass for a cleaner surface finish.

Select the 3D Pocket tool in the 3D menu and select

the 1/4” end mill as the tool.

Navigate to the Geometry tab, change the Machining

Boundary to Selection, and click the chamfer’s top
and bottom edges. Check the Model section, and click
on the chamfered surface.
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 321

Navigate to the Passes tab, change the Stock to Leave to 0”, and
set Maximum Roughing Stepdown to 0.1”. Click OK.

For a finishing pass, select the Parallel tool in the 3D menu.

This tool makes parallel cuts that conform to the curves of the
surface.

Use the same selections as the 3D pocket tool previously, and

leave the stock values the same for the rest of this tool.

Use the Drilling tool to drill out the 2 large holes on the top surface.

Verify the plunge feed rate is 92 in/min.

So far, you’ve only used a 1/4” end mill.

To mill out the 6 holes above the bridge
and the slot with its coincident holes,
you will make a 3/32” end mill.

To make this tool, go up to the Tool

Library and open your cloud folder, and
click the plus sign to add a new tool.

Name this tool 3/32” End Mill and fill in

the cutter values.
 322 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Open the Drilling tool and change the tool to the 3/32” End Mill. Select your
Custom tool Folder and change the selection from Hole Making to Milling on the
right side of the tool Library.

Typically end mills are not used to make plunge cuts, but if the
end mill’s blades go to the center, they can be used this way.

Navigate to the Heights tab and check the box to allow the
drill bit to Drill Tip Through the Bottom. Click OK.

You will use the Slot tool to carve out the slot between the 2 holes.
Select the same 3/32” end mill and select the bottom edge of the slot.

Check Multiple Depths. It should be set to 0.04”, close to half its

diameter (0.046”). Keep this value as is.

That was the last operation

on the guitar’s top surface.
Rotate the part about the
Y-axis so your view is upside
down.

Create a new Setup. Instead of typing the same numbers,

navigate to Mode >> and select the bottom entry.

Set the Stock Point in the Top, Left, Front corner. Click the
X, Y, and Z arrows until they point in the same direction in
the photo. X should point down the width, Y should point
down the length, and Z should point up.
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 323

Open the Drilling tool, and click to change the

tool. Expand the Autodesk Fusion library, select
Hole Making tools (Inch), and activate the cloud
tools.

Select the 5/32” drill bit.

In the Geometry Tab, check Select Same Diameter, click Select next
to Hole faces, and select any of the 4 holes on the neck or the 3
holes for the electronics cavity. Click OK.

Cut out the other half of the slot by running a 2D Pocket, using the
1/4” end mill, and selecting the bottom edge.

Navigate to the Heights tab, change the Bottom Height to From

Stock Bottom, which is the top of the guitar Body, and set the Offset
to 0.875”. Navigate to the Passes tab, enable Multiple Depths of
0.25”, and uncheck Stock to Leave.

This will cut out the rest of the material, leaving a cut-through slot.
You don’t need to perform this Operation in 2 cuts if you have a long
enough end mill. Unfortunately, you are often limited by the length of
the cutter or by the maximum vertical travel the CNC allows.

Use the 2D Pocket tool to cut out the back cavity.

Set the Multiple Depths Maximum Roughing Stepdown to

0.25”, Uncheck Stock to Leave, and set the Safe Distance to
0.2”. Click OK.
 324 CHAPTER 11 CAM

Use the 2D Pocket tool again with the same settings, but select the
back cavities bottom. Click OK.

This is the largest cavity and will take the longest time to cut. Right-
click the Operation in the Browser and select the machining time to
see an estimate of how long it will take.

Cut out the guitar’s profile from the stock with the 2D
Contour tool. The tabs you created earlier will hold it in
place.

Select 2D Contour and select the top outer edge as the

profile.

If you select the bottom edge, you will see the cut-in from
the chamfer. To correct this, set the Bottom Height to From
Stock Bottom with an Offset of 0.875”.

Change the sideways compensation to right, enable a

0.25” roughing step-down, and a 10-degree ramp in the
Linking tab.

Select both the Set Ups in the Browser and click

Simulate with Machine in the Actions menu.

At the end of the video, you should see the cut-out

guitar profile with only tabs holding it in place.

Finally, post the files into group files that share the same tools. This project requires the following posts:

1. 2D Contour (Top half of profile), 2D Pocket (neck and pickups), 2D Pocket (Top half of bridge), 3D
Pocket (Chamfer Roughing), 3D Parallel (Chamfer Finishing), and Drilling (2 holes).
2. 3/32” Drilling and 3/32” Slot.
3. 5/32” Drilling
4. 2D Pocket (Bottom half of Bridge), 2D Pocket (Cavity step), 2DPocket (Back cavity), and 2D
Contour(Bottom half of profile).
 ELECTRIC GUITAR 325

Highlight the first set of Operations and click Post

Process.

Set up a machine (if you can access one), enter an

appropriate name, and export the file in the Unit
appropriate for your machine.

Repeat this process for the other 3 sets of

Operations.

With all the files completed and exported, this project is

done and ready to be cut!

Consult with a professional if you plan to cut it on a CNC

and do so at your own risk. Many values here will need
to be modified for your machine.

DISCUSSION
Feeds and Speeds

If you are serious about machining, you will inevitably come across Discussions about feeds and speeds.
The spindle speed refers to how quickly the cutter head spins. The cutting federate refers to how quickly
the cutter head travels along the workpiece. And the surface speed refers to how quickly the cutter head
travels in one revolution. Rather than go more in-depth here, since this is primarily an Autodesk Fusion
CAD workbook, we suggest you research this topic online or seek mentors in the CNC field. This topic is
explored in great depth by people who use this machinery every day.

Flipping Stock

A common problem in double-sided machining is how to reference the stock when flipping it over. There
are a variety of ways to do this such as dowels, registration pips, and fixed squared corners. If you’d like
to know more, we suggest you research this advanced topic online.

Cutting Data
This is a broad topic and the math here is simplified. For the 1/4” End mill, you only need to know 2
values; how fast the cutter rotates (speed) and how fast it travels (Feed).

Speed = (Surface Feet/Minute) * 3.82 / (tool Diameter)

Surface feet per minute (SFM) is the speed of the blade’s outer point as it moves past the material. This
 326 CHAPTER 11 CAM

constant number will decrease if your material is rigid and will increase if your material is softer. Wood
has a value of 1500. 3.82 is the conversion from the tool’s foot circumference to its diameter in inches.

Speed = 1500 * 3.82 / 0.25” = 22,920 ~ 23,000 RPM

This is how fast the spindle will be spinning. If you used a 1/2” end mill on a machining plastic like Delrin,
which has an SFM of 800, your spindle speed would be = 800 * 3.82 / 0.5” = 6112 RPM. To work out
how fast the tool needs to move linearly, use this formula:

Feed Rate (in/min) = Speed (RPM) * Chipload (in/rev/flute) * # of Flutes * Depth Modifier

Use the same speed as was just calculated.

Chip load is the literal size of the sliver of material cut away and can be found on a chart as a decimal
value relative to the tool’s diameter. Softwood, like our project, is ranked as 0.007”-0.009”. You used
.008” in this project.

Flutes are the number of spiral grooves in the cutter; 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 are the most common in that
order. The more flutes you have, the more material you can take off in the same amount of time, but the
more expensive the tool.
Depth Modifier is how deep your Cut is divided by the tool’s diameter. If you are only cutting a 1/4” deep
with a 1/4” End mill, the Depth Modifier is 1.

Feed Rate = 23,000 RPM * 0.008” * 2 * 1 = 368 in/min

These are the basics of CAM feeds and Speeds. This topic is better explored in-depth using resources
dedicated to CNC machining and routing.
3/32 End mill Calculation:

Speed = 1500 SFM * 3.82 / (3/32”) = 61,120 RPM

Reduce this value to 25,000, usually the standard maximum RPM for CNC routers.

Feed Rate = 25,000 RPM * 0.008” * 2 Flutes * 1/2 Depth Modifier = 200 in/min

The depth modifier is half of the tool’s diameter for safety. In reality, you would run a series of tests to
see how fast you can push your tools for maximum profit, but since this is a one-off, you will run this job
slowly.

CHALLENGE
Most surfboards are made out of a large piece of Styrofoam and then fiberglassed to retain buoyancy
and rigidity. Use the surfboard model made in Chapter 1 to make a CAM file that can be Cut on a router,
flipped, and Cut a second time. Note that the cutter can Cut significantly faster in foam than in wood, so
you will need to research these values.
 327

CHAPTER 11 QUESTIONS
1. What does CAM stand for? 8. What are CNC Tabs?
a. Computer Aided Manufacturing a. Stopping and starting points of the
toolpath
b. Computer Aided Making
b. Cutting Speeds list
c. Computer Altering Modeling
c. The tip of a drill bit
d. Computer Altering Manufacturing
d. Small pieces of material used to
2. True or False? Stock box represents the secure the part to the stock
physical material being cut.
9. Which tool would be the best option to
3. Where is the best place to put the stock clear out a large cavity?
point for an engraving procedure?
a. 3D Pocket
a. Bottom Corner
b. 2D Pocket
b. Bottom Middle
c. 2D Contour
c. Top Middle
d. Parallel
d. Top Corner
10. True or False? Multiple CAM operations
4. True or False? Drilling speeds should using the same tool, can be grouped into
be set very high because of their small a single file.
diameter.
5. The Green arrow on a CAM toolpath
represents what?
a. Confirmation of a passable
toolpath
b. The entry point of the toolpath
c. The exit point of the toolpath
d. Location of the datum point
6. To cut out a simple circular profile, you
would use which tool?
a. Drilling
b. 2D Pocket
c. 2D Contour
d. 3D Contour
7. Where can countersink bits be found?
a. Machine Library
b. Local Library

c. Autodesk Fusion Library

d. Template Library
CHAPTER 12
FULL ARC

BRING EVERYTHING YOU'VE LEARNED

TOGETHER IN A FINAL PROJECT
SPACE PROP HILT
 329

FULL ARC
To conclude this book and reflect on everything you’ve learned, you will design a space sword prop,
combining many different aspects of Autodesk Fusion into one large project. You will use concepts
from each of the following chapters: Assemblies, Joints, Mechanical Design, Engineering Drawings,
Appearances, Rendering, and Exploded Diagrams.

We hope you enjoyed this workbook and wish you success with your new CAD skillset. We’d love to hear
from you if you have any questions, comments, or feedback. You can reach us by email at create@
CADclass.org, through our website at CADclass.org, or via Discord Discord.gg/5hbt6xDPqf

Lastly, reflect on where you started and where you are now. Did you experience a transformation in your
skillset? Are you feeling confident with digital CAD design? What do you plan to do now?

Good luck and happy modeling. It has been a pleasure working with you!

Sincerely, Jake and Josh

C H A P T E R 1 2

By this point in your CAD journey, you are

prepared to venture out on your own.

Before you do, you will want to ae sure you

are prepared for the battles that lie ahead.

This project will be your final test! DIFFICULTY:

TIME ESTIMATE:
5 HOURS

KEY LEARNING:
Combine all of your knowledge
amassed over the program into one
large project
D I S C O R D L I N K :
D
D
 SPACE PROP HILT 331

INTRODUCTION
This large CAD project will combine skills from most previous chapters. Consider it as a final test of your
accrued skillset. It requires knowledge of Assemblies and Joints to make the CAD model. You will take it a
step further to make a film-accurate rendering, an Engineering Drawing, an Exploded Animation, and an
Exploded Diagram to show off all the parts.

CAD

Emitter

Verify your Units are set to

Millimeters (mm), make an
Internal Component called
Emitter, and Sketch this
shape on the Front Plane.

The bottom horizontal line and the right vertical line are Coincident with the Origin. Dimension the Sketch
and verify it is defined in the Browser.

Revolve the profile about the X-axis and set

the Physical Material to aluminum.

Add an M6 thread. M6 threads are the

closest metric thread to a standard ¼-20
imperial thread.
 332 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Start a Sketch on the Front Plane and

check Slice on the Sketch Palette. Add a 4
mm circle 5 mm to the left of the Origin.
Horizontally Constrain the Origin and the
circle’s center.

Extrude Cut the circle through All towards

you.

Add 0.4 mm fillets to all internal edges and 0.4

mm chamfer to all external edges.

Note, the internal edges will naturally have a

small radius from the round nose of the cutting
tool (assuming you made this in real life). In
machining, it is common to design parts with
chamfered outside and filleted inside edges.

Brass Shoulder

Activate the Root Component and

make a new Internal Component
called Brass Shoulder.

Start a new Sketch on the Front

Plane and project the Emitter’s left
face. Sketch a Centerline, dimension
the following profile, and set the
right vertical line Collinear to the
projected line.

Revolve the profile about the X-axis, set the Physical Material to Brass, add an M6 thread to the hole, add
0.4 mm chamfer to the external corners, and 0.4 fillets to the internal corners.
 SPACE PROP HILT 333

Aluminum Shoulder

Activate the Root Component and

make an Internal Component
called Aluminum Shoulder and
create this Sketch on the Front
Plane. Add a Centerline.

Project the Brass Shoulder’s left

face and set the right vertical line
Collinear to the projected line.

Revolve this profile about the X-axis, add an M6

thread to the central hole, add 0.4 mm internal
fillets, and set the Physical Material to Aluminum.

Open the Appearance tool, search and download Powder Coat - Rough
(Black).

Change the Apply To to Faces and drag the Appearance onto all the surfaces
except the left and right faces.

Add a 0.4 mm chamfer to the part’s 4 external edges.

Because the Aluminum was added before the Black Powder Coat, the effect is
a part with worn away edges, exposing the shiny metal underneath similar to
how a weathered part would look in real life.

Ribs

Activate the Root Component, make an

Internal Component called Ribs, and make
the following Sketch on the Front Plane.

Project the Aluminum Shoulder’s leftmost

face and draw 3 lines with the right
endpoint Coincident with the projected line.
 334 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Horizontally Constrain the bottom

2 endpoints and make the 2 sloped
lines equal. Dimension the Sketch to a
Centerline.

Select the 3 lines, and Rectangularly

Pattern 10 of them spaced 8 mm to the
left.

Enclose the profile with a 4 mm line, a

vertical line Coincident with the Origin.

Revolve the profile about the X-axis and

set the Physical Material to aluminum.

Use the hole tool to add

an M6 tapped, 7 mm
countersunk, 20 mm deep
hole to the leftmost face’s
center.

Hide the other components

and make a midplane
between the left and right
faces.

Mirror the hole feature about this midplane, add a 0.4 mm chamfer
to the left outer edge, and Hide the Construction Plane.

Add the Black Powder Coat Appearance to the inside angled faces.
You can click the View cube’s Front face, hold down Ctrl, select all
21 faces (which highlights them in blue), and drag the Appearance
onto 1 of the faces to apply it to all selected faces.
 SPACE PROP HILT 335

Block Body
Activate the Root Component and
make an Internal Component
called Block Body and Sketch on
the Rib’s left face.

Hide the other components.

Sketch and dimension the profile
shown. Vertically Constrain the
rectangle’s center to the Origin.

Extrude the lower profiles 54 mm away from the Ribs and set the Physical Material to Aluminum.

Add 0.4 mm chamfers to the left and right faces and an M6 thread to the central hole.

Make a new Sketch on the top rectangular face, add two

points, and add Horizontal Constraints between the points and
the Origin.

Dimension them 10 mm from either end of the part and Finish

the Sketch.

Open the Hole tool. Change the placement from Single Hole to
Multiple Holes and select the 2 points.

Make 8 mm countersunk, 9 mm deep, M6 tapped holes.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid Group to all

components in the project.
 336 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Back Body
Activate the Root Component,
make an Internal Component
called Back Body, and make
the following Sketch on the
Front Plane.

Project the Block’s leftmost

face and sketch and
dimension the profile shown.

Revolve the profile about the X-axis, set the Physical Material to Aluminum, add 0.4 mm chamfers to the
part’s outer edges, and an M6 thread to the hole.

This part is short enough where 2 mirrored holes, like the Rib components, aren’t necessary, and a long
threaded hole is easy to manufacture.

Activate the Root Component and add an As-Built Joint to the Block Body.

Pommel

Make an Internal Component called Pommel and Sketch on the Front Plane.
This is arguably the hardest component in this project. As you will see, most
complex projects that seem
intimidating to model are
simply made up of simple
individual parts.

Project the Back Body’s leftmost face and draw lines from
the projected points to make an enclosed profile.

Constrain the 2 angled lines to be Equal and add a

Collinear constraint to the 2 horizontal highlighted lines.
 SPACE PROP HILT 337

Dimension the Sketch and

revolve the profile about the
bottom horizontal line.

Set the Physical Material as

Aluminum.

Add a 0.4 mm chamfer to the left outer edge, click the ( + ) symbol, and add a
2 mm chamfer to the right outer edge.

Large chamfers hide imperfections in Joints where parts are screwed together.

Make a new Sketch on the part’s left face and draw an upside-down
trapezoid. Add Equal constraints to the angled lines and a midpoint to the
bottom horizontal line. Add a vertical Constraint between this midpoint and
the Origin.

Project the part’s angled surface,

which will add 2 projected circles.
Add a point to the inner circle and a
vertical Constraint to the midpoint.

Add a Perpendicular constraint between the angled lines and a

Tangent constraint to the top horizontal line and the outer projected
circle. Set the distance between the 2 bottom points to 0.5 mm and
the length of the bottom horizontal line to 6 mm.

Extrude Cut this trapezoid profile through the entire

Pommel and Circularly Pattern it around the X-axis 6
times.

Turn off the other components and add an 8 mm

countersunk, 12 mm deep, M6 tapped hole to the
right face.
 338 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Make a new Sketch on the Top Plane, project the lower fin, and add
a point at the midpoint.

Draw a 2.5 mm circle that is Vertically Constrained and 2.5 mm

above the midpoint.

Symmetrically Extrude this profile

through All to make a hole for a D
ring to pass through. You may need
to hide the Body to select the circle.

Add a 0.4 mm chamfer to the hole’s

surface.

Activate the Root Component, Show all components, and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the Back Body.

D-Ring

Because the D-Ring hole is in a strange location, building

it in place would be rather difficult. Instead, open a new
blank workspace and make a new Sketch on the Right
Plane.

Sketch an 18 mm vertical line from the Origin. Connect the

endpoints with a 3-point arc. Add a Coincident constraint to
the arc’s center and the line.

Make another Sketch on the Top

Plane of a 2 mm circle at the Origin.

Use the Sweep tool, select the circle

as the profile and the “D” shape as
the path.

Add 1 mm fillets to the vertical

section’s sharp outer top and bottom
corners.
 SPACE PROP HILT 339

Save this file, navigate back to the Space Prop Hilt file, open
the Data Panel, right-click the D-Ring file, and click Insert Into
Current Design.

Add a Revolute joint between the middle of

the straight section on the D-Ring and the
middle of the Pommel’s hole.

To select the midpoint on the Pommel’s hole,

move your cursor to the hole, hold down
Ctrl/Cmd, and click on the middle point.

Block
Turn on all the components
and make a new Internal
Component called Block.

Start a Sketch on the Block

Body’s rectangular face and
sketch a 54 x 19 mm rectangle
that is positioned over the
rectangular face of the Block
Body.

Extrude the profiles upwards 12 mm and set the Physical Material to

aluminum.

You should select 3 profiles, including the 2 circular projected holes.

Make a new Sketch on the Block’s front face.

Draw 2 equal 2 mm circles that are Horizontally

Constrained and dimension the circles as shown.
 340 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Add 4 more circles to the right side.

Add Equal and Horizontal Constraints to the top and bottom

pairs of circles. Add a vertical Constraint to the right 2
circles.

Dimension the Sketch as shown in the picture.

Extrude Cut all 6 circles -5

mm.

Add 0.6 mm chamfers to

the Block’s top, bottom, left
and right faces (but not the
front and back faces) and
the bottom right 2 holes.

Start a new Sketch on the Block’s top surface

and draw two 7 mm circles Horizontally
Constrained with the Origin.

Project the Block’s left and right faces and

dimension the circle’s centers 10 mm from
each edge.

Extrude Cut these profiles

through the entire
component and add 0.8 mm
chamfers to the holes’ top
edge.

Activate the Root Component

and add a Rigid As-Built
Joint to the Block Body.
 SPACE PROP HILT 341

Import the small flathead screws, 91430A150, with the McMaster Carr
tool and rigidly join them to the bottom right countersunk holes.

Use the Duplicate With Joints to add a 2nd screw to the lower left hole.

Sub Block

Make an Internal Component called Sub Block.

Create a Sketch on the Block’s front face, project the leftmost circle, and sketch a 12 x 7 mm Center
Rectangle. Extrude this circle into the Block 4 mm.

Extrude the rectangle and circle 6 mm.

Add a 1 mm chamfer to the front face, set ABS as the Physical Material,
and make the appearance black.

Activate the Root Component and add an As-Built Joint to the Block
Body.

Select this component in the Browser, copy and paste a duplicate 12

mm to the right, and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the Block.
 342 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Arrow Button

Make an Internal Component called

Arrow Button.

Make a Sketch on the Block’s front

face and project the left circle in the
top right corner.

Extrude the left circle into the Block 4

mm.

Add the Red LED appearance to the cylinder,

make a new Sketch on the same face, and use
the Polygon tool to draw a triangle. Vertically
Constrain the right line. Dimension the triangle as
shown in the picture.

Extrude the triangle and the circle outwards 2 mm.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the Block
Body.

Select the Body, not the component, in

the Browser, copy and paste it, rotate it
180 degrees about the cylinder’s axis,
and move it 8 mm to the right. Add an
As-Built Joint to this component and the
Block Body.

Add the Green LED appearance to the right arrow.

Brass Chip Tray

Make an Internal Component called Brass Chip Tray and

make a Sketch on the Block’s right face.

Project the Block’s top, front, and back faces.

 SPACE PROP HILT 343

Add Collinear constraints to the left vertical line and left projected
line, the right vertical line and the right projected line, and the
bottom horizontal sketch line and the horizontal projected line.

Add Collinear constraints to

the top 2 horizontal lines. Add
the dimensions shown.

Extrude this profile to the

other side of the Block and set
the Physical Material to Brass.

Make a new Sketch on the top inside face and

add two 8.6 mm circles Horizontally Constrained
with the Origin and 9.6 mm from the edges.

Extrude Cut the profiles through the entire component.

Add 0.4 mm chamfers to the top 2 rails, as shown in blue. Click the
( + ) symbol and add 1.2 mm chamfers to the hole’s top edges.

Activate the Root Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the
Block Body.

Import the 2 countersunk screws, 91801A315, with the McMaster Carr

tool and Rigidly join them to the countersunk holes in the Brass Chip
Tray.

As you can see in the Section Analysis, these screws pass

through the Brass Chip Tray, through the Block, and screw
into the Block Body’s threads.
 344 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Chip Card

Make an Internal Component called Chip Card and start a Sketch

on the Brass Chip Tray’s top.

Project the Brass Chip Tray’s

inner top face and Finish the
Sketch.

Turn off all other components

and extrude these 3 profiles
up 2.8 mm.

Make a new Sketch on the top face and draw a rectangle on the left side. The
total width of the Chip Card is 53.2 mm; to get 13 equally spaced extrusion cuts,
set the rectangle’s width to 53.2 / 13 / 2 mm.

Extrude Cut this profile -0.5 mm and set the Physical Material to Gold.

Rectangularly pattern the extrusion 13 times along the length of the part with a
Spacing of 53.2 / 13 mm.

Add the Black Metallic Paint to the 13 groove’s bottom faces. Activate the Root
Component and add a Rigid As-Built Joint to the Brass Chip Tray.

Blade

Make the final Internal Component and call it Blade.

Show all components and make a new Sketch on the Front Plane.
There are several ways to draw the following Sketch.
 SPACE PROP HILT 345

One way is to draw an Overall slot with its leftmost point

Coincident with the Origin.

Draw a horizontal bisecting line from 1 endpoint to the

other and Trim away the bottom half of the slot.

Dimension the total length of the slot to be 915 mm and the

distance from the mid-line to the top horizontal line to be 16
mm. Add a Coincident constraint between the arc’s middle
and the X-axis line.

Revolve this profile about the X-axis and

add a green LED Appearance to the
component.

Activate the Root Component and add a

Rigid As-Built Joint to the Emitter.

And the CAD portion of this project is

done!

ENGINEERING DRAWING

Right-click on the Emitter component in the Browser and click Create

Drawing.

Start an ASME Size B Drawing.

Keep the Style as Visible and Hidden Edges and change

the Scale to 5:2.

Place this view on the left side of the page.

 346 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Select the Projected View tool and select the Base View. Move
your cursor downwards, click below the Base View, and click
the green check mark.

Click and move the new view and click Shift to move it to the
right of the Base View.

Add another Projected View to the bottom left corner of the page.

Select the Base View and click above and to the right of the Base View to
make an Isomeric view. Set it to Shaded and 3:2 Scale.

Dimension the right view and define the diameter and

depths of the 2 drilled holes.

Add a Note to the threaded hole to denote it as an M6 and

dimension its depth.

Dimension the diameter and depths of the features on the left

view without crossing dimension lines.

Add a Center Mark to the center of the radially drilled hole and
set its 5 mm distance to the right face.

Double-click on the Title Block in the bottom right corner

and edit any information about this part, such as material,
tolerances, sizes of drill bits needed, your name, and date of
design.

Save this file to the folder and navigate back to the Assembly
file.
 SPACE PROP HILT 347

RENDERING
Navigate to the Render workspace.

Open the Appearance tool and double-click on

the Red LED to change its luminance. Currently,
the value is too low and doesn’t shine like as
brightly as an LED should.

Set the value to 20,000 cd/m^2 to get enough glow

to reflect off the other shiny aluminum parts but not too
bright where you can’t see the red color. Click on the In
Canvas Render tool to get a quick preview of the amount
of glow.

Add this level of luminance to the green LED and the

Blade and verify with a quick In Canvas Render to see
how bright they glow.

Open the s tool and open the Environment tab. Download and click and drag the Dry Lake Bed
environment into the background. Make sure you change the Background to Environment.

Return to the Settings tab to adjust the scene’s brightness. Adjust the brightness to 20,000 or less, and
analyze the aluminum parts. You should see details like reflections of the blue sky and the sandy ground.

Check Ground Plane and Flatten Ground to

place the Assembly on the ground. Adjust the
focal length to 59 mm.

Move the camera to an angle of your choosing.

If you want a blurry background in your render,

check Depth of Field, click on a point in the
project in the foreground, and set it to 0.1.
 348 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Adjust these settings until the rendering preview is coming

out how you want.

EXPLODED ANIMATION
It is best to break the Space Prop into 2 subassemblies: the Block and the Hilt.

Navigate to the Animation workspace

and move the playhead to the Scratch
zone. Get an overhead view of the entire
project.

Move the play head to 5 seconds and get

an isometric view of the prop.

Double-click the View Block and set the

start to 1 second.
 SPACE PROP HILT 349

To make the Blade disappear while zooming in, keep the

playhead at 5 seconds and expand the components list in
the Browser. Select the Blade and click the Show Hide tool
in the Transform menu; this will add a yellow bar to the
Timeline.

Move the playhead out of the way and move your cursor
to the left side of the lightbulb icon until you see a left and
right arrow. Click and drag it to the 2-second mark.

Play the video to see the Blade for 2 seconds and then slowly
disappear for 3 seconds.

Make another View Block from 5.50 to 7.50 seconds to zoom

into the Block subassembly.

Move the playhead to 11 seconds to Transform the Brass Chip Card 70

mm to the left; start this Move block at 8 seconds.

With the playhead at 11 seconds, Hide the component and start the
transition at 10 seconds so it disappears while moving.

Move the playhead to 14.5 seconds and Transform both bolts up 50

mm with trail lines enabled to start at 11.5 seconds.

Stagger the Transform blocks by half a second to make the animation

more compelling. Hide these bolts from 12.5 to 14.5 seconds.

Transform the Brass Card Tray away 30 mm from 15 to 18 seconds.

Set it to be hidden from 16 to 18 seconds.

 350 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Zoom in slightly from 18 to 20 seconds to show a closer inspection of the Subblocks, arrows, and small
bolts exploding sequentially.

Move the playhead to 22.5

seconds, select all 6 components
attached to the Block, and
Transform them -20 mm. Select
all 6 Move blocks in the Timeline
and set their starting time to 20.5
seconds.

Stagger Move blocks by 0.25

seconds to make the parts eject
sequentially.

This should set the last Move block

to end at 23.75 seconds.
Move the playhead to this value
and change the camera’s view to
another isometric corner view.
Set this View block to start at 20.5
seconds.

Move the playhead to 25 seconds, select the 6 most recent exploded

components and the Block, and set this to Hide with a fade from 24
to 25 seconds.

Now, you can work on the hilt subassembly.

Move the playhead to 29.5 seconds and select the Top/Front

Edge of the View cube to get a diagonal downward view of
the bottom of the hilt.

Set this View block to 25.5 to 29.5 seconds.

 SPACE PROP HILT 351

Transform the Pommel – 50 mm to the left, away

from the hilt, from 27 to 29.5 seconds.

Over the same time interval, manually explode (not Transform) the D
ring towards you.

You can’t Transform the D Ring since it is at an angle and will not
move in the same X Y Z directions as the other components.

Finally, Transform the Back Body -25 mm over the same

timespan as the Pommel and the D Ring.

Move the playhead to 34 seconds and move the view to the top
right isometric view on the View Cube with the end of the Ribs
in the top left of your screen.

Start this View block at 30 seconds.

Transform the Emitter 80 mm, the Brass Shoulder 60 mm,

the Aluminum Shoulder 40 mm, and the Ribs 20 mm away
from the hilt all simultaneously from 31 to 34 seconds.

As these are all moving simultaneously, you can Transform

them all first, then go down to the Timeline and adjust their
time instead of going back and forth.
 352 CHAPTER 12 FULL ARC

Move the playhead to 37 seconds

and zoom out to show the entire
exploded project. Start this View
block at 34.5 seconds.
Move the playhead to 41 seconds
and get a view of the project from
the other front top isometric view to
start at 37.5 seconds.

Finally, move the playhead back to 37 seconds and

expand the Browser. Select 11 Hidden components
but not the blade and click the Show/Hide tool.
Expand the fade period to the right from 37 to 38.5
seconds.

Publish the video to your desired resolution, and the

Animation is done!

To conclude the project and the

program, you will make an Exploded
Diagram showing all the components
and their unique dimensions and
materials.

Navigate to the Drawing workspace

>> and select From Animation.
Make an ASME Size B drawing.

Place the drawing in the upper right corner,

change the Scale to 2:3, and change the Style to
Visible Edges.

The Arrows and countersunk bolts are hard to see.

Open the Detail tool to draw a small circle around

the 4 components and place a 3:1 Detail view in
the top left corner of the page.
 SPACE PROP HILT 353

Add a Parts List from the Tables menu and

place it in the bottom left corner of the page.

You may need to move the Detail view and

its text to avoid overlapping.

Delete the Balloons pointing to the Arrows

and the flathead bolts on the exploded
model, and add new balloons to the 4
components in the Detail view.

Move the Balloons around the model so they are all evenly spaced and don’t overlap. Add extra Balloons
to the second Phillips bolt and the second Sub Block.

Once this is done, save the file as a reference image, and this project is done!

Congratulations on finishing this textbook; we hope you learned enough to bring your creativity to life.
When you started, you likely had little familiarity with Autodesk Fusion or CAD modeling. Now, after
working through 27 projects, you’re on the path to becoming a master. We wish you success if you decide
to start a company, continue as a student, or move on to new endeavors.

If you’ve enjoyed this workbook, please leave us a positive review. If you have ideas or projects you’d like
us to consider in our next book or feedback about what we can improve, email [email protected]
or leave a comment on Discord. You rock!

Cheers, Jake and Josh

 354 TOOL REFERENCES / INDEX

Symbols Center Mark 346

Center Point Arc Slot 193
Diameter Dimension 260
Dimension 24
G
2D Pocket 324 Google Drive 43
Center Rectangle 61 Dimension Break 260
2D Sketch 18 Graphic Diagnostics 235
Center Slot 59 Direction 36
3D Body 18 Grid and Snaps 18
Center to Center Slot 59 Display Settings 129
3D Mirror 79 Grid Settings 18
Chain-Link Icon 219 Distribution 70
3D Pocket 320 Grounded 98
Chamfer 54 Document Settings 16
3D Printing 37
Change Active Units 16 Draft 69
3-Point Arc 145
Change Dimension Units Drawing workspace 258
H
10 Editable Files 29 Half Length 36
259 Drill 306
HDRI 237
A Change Parameters 89
Circle 24
Duplicate 213
Duplicated with Joints 168
Hide 42
Activate 115 Highlight 167
Circular Pattern 34 DXF 176
Add-Ins 189 History Marker 17
Cloud Credit 237
Add to Favorites 32
Anchor Icon 98
Cloud Libraries 304 E Hole 54
Horizontal/Vertical con-
Coil 79 Edit Canvas 211
Animate Joint 187 straint 24
Coincident constraint 36 Edit Feature 17
Animate Joint Relationship House Icon 32
Collinear 148 Edit Motion Limits 121
187
Color 136 Edit Start/End 280
Animation workspace 279
Combine 212 Ellipse 41 I
Annotation/Create Callout In-Canvas Render 236
Component Color Swatch Emboss 82
284 Include 44
127 Environment Library 213
Anodization 93 Insert 83
Concentric 71 Equal constraint 71
Appearance 26 Insert into Current Design
Constraints 24 Export 38
Apply To 37 219
Construction 33 Exposure 236
Area 63 Insert SVG 83
Construction Line 50 Expression 89
As-Built Joint 121 Interference 221
Copy and Paste 138 Extent Type 64, 93
Aspect Ratio 236 Internal Component 145
Counterbore 162 External Component 219
Assemble 98 Intersect 44
Countersink 120 Extrude 28
Augmented Reality 37 In This Design 26
Create 18 Eye Icons 16
Auto Explode 284 Isolate 119
Create Copy 277
Axes 16
Axis of Revolution 25
Create Group 80 F Isometric View 18
ISO Pipe Thread 160
Create Sketch 23 Face 34

B
Cutter tab 305 Feature 17
Cylinder 77 Fillet 46 J
Balloon 296 Join 35
Cylindrical 154 Finish Sketch 25
Base View 258 Joints 117
Fit Point Spline 26
Body 25
D Fixed Size Box 304
Boundary to Selection 320
Data Panel 15 Fix/Unfix 27 K
Bounding Box 304
Decal 222 Flag Revolve Icon 203 Keep Tools 279
Box 69
Decal Appearance 43 Flatten Ground 235 Knurls 92
Break View 258
Decal Thread 116 Flip 46
Browser 16
Bump Map 213
Delete All Unused 216 Focal Length 236 L
Density 103 Folder 16 Laser Cutter 176
Depth of Field 236
C Designation 151
From Preceding Setup 322
Full Length 81
Line 57
Linear Precision 259
Calibrate 211
Design workspace 17 fx 90 Linetype 90
Canvas 43
Detail View 259 Linking tab 319
Centerline 90
Dialog Box 43 Local render 237
 TOOL REFERENCES / INDEX 355

Loft 43 Origin 15 Rest 121 Symmetric 36

Luminance 233 Orthographic 236 Restore Home 284 Symmetry Constraint 99
Overall Slot 316 Reverse 283
M Revolute 154 T
Manual Explode 284 P Revolve 25 Tables 353
Manufacture workspace Pan 18 RGB 233 Tabs 308
319 Parallel 321 Rigid Group 106 Tangent 58
Maximum 121 Parallel constraint 50 Rigid joint 120 Tangent Arc 57
Maximum Roughing Step- Parts List 353 Ring Icon 32 Taper 35
down 309 Passes Tab 307 Root Component 98 Tapered Coil 233
McMaster Carr 117 Path Direction 215 Rotate block 281 Target Body 221
Measurement 36 Pattern Along Arc 215 Roughness 213 Text 70
Midplane 147 Perpendicular constraints Texture Map Controls 223
Midpoint 59 53 S Thread 78
Minimum 121 Perspective 236 Save 29 Timeline 17
Mirror 72 Physical Material 103 Save as Mesh 55 Title Block 268
Mirror Line 51 Planes 16 Scale 26 To Object 93
Model Bottom 319 Plunge Speed 305 Scene Settings 213 Tool Body 221
Modeled 114 PNG 43 Scratch Zone 280 Tool Library 321
Model Parameters 89 Point 53 Search 91 Trail Lines Enabled 281
Modify 18 Point to Point 75 Section Analysis 83 Transform 281
Motion 154 Polygon 49 Section View 266 Two Distance 318
Motion Link 155 Post Library 310 Select Same Diameter 307
Motion Study 204 Post Process 310 Send to 3D Print Utility 55 U
Move 71 Preferences 19 Set as Default 16 Undefined 24
Move block 280 Preview Limits 121 Shaded 213 Undo 117
Multiple Passes 309 Profile 32 Shortcuts 182 Unground From Parent 148
Project 32 Show 42 Unisolate 193
N Projected View 258 Sideways Compensation Upload 104
Navigation Bar 18 Projection Type 223 309 USDZ 38
New Body 45 Properties 107 Simulate 309 User Parameters 89
New Component 98 Publish 284 Sketch Palette 23 Utilities 189
New Named View 251 Pull Direction 69 Slider Joints 121
New Setup 304 Slot 59 V
Notes 261 Q Spacing 133 View block 280
No Units 89 Quadrant 260 Spindle Speed 305 View Cube 18
NPT 166 Quantity 37 Spline 26 Visible Edges 266
Split Body 26 Visual Style 213
O R Split Face 33

Object Type 115 Rails 198 Spur Gear 189

W
Ramp 309 STEP 104
Object Visibility 129 Whole Length 36
Rectangle 16 Steps 204
Offset 62 Wireframe View 295
Rectangular Pattern 70 STL 46
Offset Faces 78 Workspace 17
Red Padlock 62 Stock Points 304
Offset Plane 33
Origin 118 Reflection 235 Stock to Leave 320
Subassembly 157
Z
Opacity Control 122 Reflectiveness 216 Zoom 18
Relative Size Box 319 Suppression 60
Operation 31
Rename 77 Sweep 61
Orbit 18
Render workspace 235 Symbols 268
356 CHAPTER ANSWERS

Chapter 1 Chapter 4 Chapter 7 Chapter 10

1. A 1. B 1. A 1. A
2. C 2. D 2. False 2. D
3. C 3. B 3. C 3. D
4. B 4. A 4. B 4. True
5. B 5. C 5. B 5. B
6. D 6. C 6. False 6. B
7. A 7. A 7. D 7. A
8. C 8. C 8. B 8. False
9. A 9. C 9. True 9. C
10. C 10. B 10. A 10. D

Chapter 2 Chapter 5 Chapter 8 Chapter 11

1. C 1. D 1. True 1. A
2. False 2. A 2. B 2. True
3. A 3. D 3. C 3. D
4. B 4. False 4. False 4. False
5. D 5. True 5. D 5. B
6. B 6. True 6. C 6. C
7. A 7. A 7. D 7. C
8. D 8. C 8. A 8. D
9. C 9. A 9. A 9. B
10. A 10. B 10. B 10. True

Chapter 3 Chapter 6 Chapter 9

1. C 1. B 1. B
2. A 2. A 2. C
3. False 3. D 3. C
4. B 4. B 4. True
5. False 5. True 5. A
6. True 6. A 6. False
7. A 7. D 7. C
8. True 8. E 8. B
9. D 9. B 9. False
10. D 10. D 10. A
 ADDITIONAL CADCLASS TITLES
Here at CADclass, we provide comprehensive resources for all levels of expertise
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The CADclass Tinkercad Workbook includes engaging projects and exercises that
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 FUSION
SORTCTS
DESIGN WORKSPACE ANIMATION WORKSPACE
Appearance A Auto Explode All Le4el U
As-!uilt Joint Shift8J Manual Explode E
Compute All CTRL 8 B CMD 8 B Pu!lish Video P
Extrude E Transform Components M
Freeform Selection 2 View C
Hole H
Joint J CAM WORKSPACE
Measure I
Duplicate CTRL 8 D CMD 8 D
Model Fillet F
Generate Toolpath CTRL 8 G CMD 8 G
Design Shortcuts S
Scripts and Add-Ins Shift 8 S
Mo4e M
Show Log CTRL 8 L CMD 8 L
Paint Selection 3
Press Pull Q
Show/Hide
RENDER WORKSPACE
V
Component Color Shift8 Appearance A

Window Selection 1
SYSTEM COMMANDS
SKETC WORKSPACE Reco4er7 Sa4e CTRL8Shift8S CMD8Shift8S
Sa4e Version CTRL8S CMD8S
2-point Rectangle R
Center Diameter Circle C
Line L CANAS SE ECTION
Construction X
Cop7 CTRL 8 C CMD 8 C
Offset O
Cut CTRL 8 X CMD 8 X
Pro)ect P
Or!it Shift8Clic*8Hold Middle Mouse
S*etch Dimension D
Pan Hold Middle Mouse
Trim T
Paste CTRL 8 V CMD 8 V
Redo CTRL 8  CMD 8 
DRAWING WORKSPACE Undo CTRL 8 Z CMD 8 Z
Balloon B Zoom Roll Middle Mouse
Center Mar* C
Dimension D
Mo4e M
Pro)ected View P
Text T