FUSION 360 FUNDAMENTALS

Fusion 360 is a CAD (Computer Aided Design) software package that can be used to take a product
from conceptual sketches through to 3D models that can be used for renders, manufacturing
drawings and direct manufacture such as CNC and 3D printing.

These tutorials intend to not only teach you the fundamentals of using the software, but the
different methods of design within CAD software to generate models for a variety of applications.
Due to similarities in CAD software such as Fusion, Inventor and Solidworks, the things you learn
here and anything you may have learnt previously is cross compatible.

Creating an account
Fusion is a cloud-based CAD system. This means your files are all stored on Autodesk servers and can
be access anywhere you have an internet connection. For this reason, you will need to make an
Account: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/students-teachers-
educators?fbclid=IwAR1YuSMhaE6OxdlVzcMywpoPh7TUlrqkUgiwPwsnEvX9X0ZRsHCOn73N1s4

Fusion is free for students, makers and small business, so is a good option for any work you may do
outside of the university!

NOTE: Due to university IT restrictions Fusion has not been allowed to update. This means if you
complete any of theses tutorials at home you may not be able to open them at university. For this
reason, it is recommended that you bring a laptop if you do work at home.

Creating a new project

Once you have opened Fusion and logged in you will need to make a project for these tutorials.
Projects are like online folders where you can keep all your files sorted. First click the data panel
button (9 little squares [1]) then click new project [2].

Name the project and once complete, double click it to enter the project.

HINT: You can click the pin button to clip it to the top of your list [3].

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Within your project you can create new designs or drawings. Theses open like a new tab along the
top of the fusion window.

Workflow
The general process for making an object starts with 2D sketching. These 2D sketches are then
turned into 3D shapes by pulling the profile out or around the make prism like features. These
features can then be added to with the same process or modifiers such as fillets which can be used
to round corners.

Workspace environment
The work environment can be changed depending on what
you are wanting to create. Most of your work will be done
in the Design environment. This is where you make solid,
surface and sheet metal bodies from sketches.

The Animation environment can be used for creating

images and videos of your products in different states such as the exploded
view where multi-component products can be seen like Lego instructions.

The Render environment can be used to make promotional images of your

product with the addition of materials and different lighting cases.
Backgrounds and other models can also be imported to make an entire
scene.

The Drawing environment is used for creating technical drawing that can be given to a workshop for
manufacture of your parts.

The Simulation and Manufacture environments are used for analysis of your models and creating
tool paths for CNC machining. This is less relevant for product design and won’t be taught in this
course.
Navigation and interface
View cube: This can be dragged around and clicked to jump to different angles.

View options: Rotation, pan and zoom

HINT: The look at tool is useful for aligning the view to a side or
sketch

Shortcuts

Rotation: scroll click and Shift

Pan: scroll click

Zoom: scroll wheel

Sketching
Click on the create sketch button in the top left corner of the screen, then select the plane that you
want to sketch on, for now we will use the XZ plane. This will start a sketch and rotate the camera to
look directly at that plane.

A sketch toolbar will now appear, select the Center diameter circle tool from the sketch toolbar. If it
is not already pinned, you can find it under the create tab.

HINT: In the create dropdown, hover over the right-hand end of any tool and 3 vertical dots will
appear, click them and select “pin to toolbar”. This will add the button to the main panel.
Next click the center(origin) point in the middle of the screen. A preview of the circle will appear.
Type in “50” and hit enter. This sets the diameter of the circle to 50mm.

HINT: Starting your sketch at the origin is good practice and will ensure that your model is fixed in
space. When a sketch is fixed in space and fully dimensioned then it is called “fully constrained” If
possible all your sketches should be like this. This is indicated when the sketch turns from blue to
black.

Now on the right-hand end of the toolbar, click finish sketch. This closes the sketch and returns you
to the model tab.

Under the solid tab, select extrude in the create section (If it is not pinned then find it in the create
dropdown tab). Click inside the circle you have drawn, then type “50” and hit enter.
HINT: Have a go playing with the extrude settings to explore what changes you can make.

Now you can practice using the orbit controls (Find shortcuts above) to spin this around. Also try
using the ‘look at’ button in the view options to select the end of the cylinder and align the screen

Have a go at editing the extrude feature and the sketch in the timeline down the bottom of the
screen (Right click and edit feature or sketch).

Save your current design and open a new design using the file dropdown or new tab button.
Bottle opener

Some things to take into consideration before you start any sketch/model

• How do I want my model oriented? This dictates which plane I start my first sketch on

• A good sketch is a fully constrained sketch, this will be clearer at the end of the lesson, but you
should always aim to make all sketch geometry completely constrained (fixed in space). Fusion helps
us by showing constrained geometry in black rather than blue, but you should always double check
by trying to click and drag your geometry around. This is important because if it is not constrained,
you have not considered all dimensions.

This time we will use a reference image to draw our model.

Create a new sketch on the vertical plane like you did in the previous tutorial.

 Make sure you have downloaded the bottle opener drawing off learn.

On the sketch toolbar, select the insert drop down menu and click canvas. Now in the dialog box,
select the downloaded bottle opener file and select the plane on which to place the image. Click Ok.

3.3. Now we need to scale the canvas by right clicking on it in the part tree and clicking calibrate.
Now you can click two points on the image and type in a value to which it will auto size the image to
suit. (Use the dimensions shown on the image as a reference)
You will notice that the canvas is randomly placed on the screen. We want to align it to the origin so
we can make sure the sketch is fully constrained. Once again right click on the canvas in the part
tree and click edit canvas. Use the arrows on the canvas to drag it so a corner or centre of a circular
object is aligned with the origin. In this case the circle center is a good choice!

Use the line, 3-point arc and center point circle tools to trace over the drawing. Remember if not
pinned they will be under the create dropdown.

Start with the circles around the origin. Drag the circles to approximately the right size then
dimension to the nearest round number. The dimension tool can be found in the create dropdown
tap or the shortcut “D”. Click on the sketch feature to dimension it.

Draw the rest of the model with the line and 3-point arc tools. The part does not need to be perfect
yet.
Constraints can be used to create relations between different geometries without having to use
dimensions. If you can. Always use constraints over dimensions. Click on a constraint tool then the
two or more features you want to set the relation between.

HINT: Don’t worry if your lines move during constraining. Either drag them back to the correct
location or put a dimension in.

Use the Horizontal/Vertical constraint to make all you lines near horizontal or vertical snap
to that direction.

Use the Tangent constraint to smooth transitions between curves and lines

Use the symmetrical constraint to make the handle of the bottle opener centered on the
circle features.

Create a line that is horizontal from the center of the circles and click construction on the sketch
palette.

Now select the symmetrical constraint then the two outer lines and the center lines for the handle.
They should snap center and dragging the lines out should keep them even either side.
Use the concentric constraint to make the curved features on the same center point.

Use the Colinear constraint to align parallel lines.

Now you should be ready to introduce dimensions (shortcut “D”). Every part needs a position and
size. The constraints will deal with some of these but you need enough dimensions in the right place.

HINT: Start from the origin in the center of the circles and work across. When the line turns black,
you have enough dimensions and constraints. It is fully constrained!
Once you have a fully constrained sketch, exit the sketch and extrude it up to a 3D model!

Have a play in your timeline editing the sketch and extrude feature. Try making the handle longer or
the keyring hole larger.

Play around with the fillet tools in the modify tab to round some edges and make your part look
better!

Get your fully constrained sketch signed off and feel free to ask for any questions!

Useful material!
Lars Christensen on YouTube has some great tutorials for learning Fusion including best practices
when sketching and creating models.

Beginners guide to Fusion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NzsDcvxLyo

Sketch Constraints and Dimensions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqd_wlz9gpQ