Category: Fusion 360

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Creating a worm drive in Fusion 360

The hard way and the easy way

A colleague asked if I could model a worm drive in Fusion 360 such that the result could be used to 3D print the worm and the associated wheel.

My first attempt was to create the assembly from first principles. This was painful and took a number of versions before I got a process that I could repeat and appeared to work. I was not happy that the result correctly reflected the dynamic shape needed on the wheel teeth.

Somewhat appropriately I then went down an internet worm hole and discovered there is a scripting plug in for Fusion 360 that allows the creation of these components. Not only that but the author Shwivel has also created a number of similar script routines for other gear related constructions.

The routines are chargeable (USD20 each) but given the time I spent try to do it the hard way, this seemed like a good price for what looked like a better result.

The script once downloaded appears as an icon in the Fusion top menu bar under the Shwivel tab.

Once opened it needs various parameters entering and allows entry of centre holes in each component. Once you’ve entered the parameter the script goes off and crutches the result. This can take a few minutes so patience is needed. The Dimensions section gives you all the values you have entered and the resulting parameters created.

I had a weird initial experience whereby the script entry window kept giving me red error messages no matter what measurements I entered. This was resolved by doing a RESET in the software FILE menu.

Here is my resulting design for a 60 tooth wheel.

While the routine allows the bore hole dimensions to be entered, I have found it easier to keep these to a small reference diameter hole and then revert to normal extrusion routines once the two main component shapes have been created.

Unlike a normal model, once you have created a model you cannot ‘right click’ in the timeline to edit it. Instead you have to click once again on the Shwivel top menu item and this gives you the entry screen for editing.

All in all I have been impressed by the results achieved but as yet I have not run any 3D printed models.

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Fusion 360 Parameter Lookup Sheet

A handy reference for Fusion 360 parameter functions

Fusion 360 has an incredibly useful facility whereby you can make a model dimensions fully flexible through not entering fixed dimensions but instead make them a calculation. The calculation will be dependent on other attributes of the model in conjunction with mathematical functions.

Clough42 quite often uses this facility in his designs and there are some good tutorials in the Autodesk resources.

I had two problems in a recent model. The first one was where I had a dimension that I wanted to convert into a plain value rather than being associated with mm. This would allow it to be used in an equation. The second problem was needing to round a calculation result down to the nearest whole number.

The answer to the first problem was simple and obvious – divide the value in units by one unit. So something 200mm long becomes just plain old 200 when divided by 1mm. I was a bit red faced on that one.

On the second problem I searched everywhere in the Autodesk forums and found people mentioning ‘floor’ ‘ceil’ and ’round’ but it took a lot of searching to find a tabulated reference for the workings of the Parameter functions.

Having found the lookup details on the Autodesk site I have transcribed this into Woody speak which you can download as a pdf below and I have also added it to my Workshop Spreadsheet and there is a link to the latest version also below.

Fusion-360-Parameter-Lookup-SheetDownload
My-Engineering-Spreadsheets-0523-1Download

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Adding Colour Coding to Fusion 360 Assemblies

How did I not know about this Fusion 360 facility ?

I was watching a YouTube video on Fusion 360 joints by Garin Gardiner. I couldn’t help but notice that he had colours on his assembly listing and time line. My interest was really perked…..

A quick search revealed that this is a standard but maybe not so obvious Fusion 360 feature. Go to the Inspect drop down menu and then Display Component Colours. Magic (albeit it can be a bit garish ..) but it really helps you to see what part or function is with what. If you start to feel a bit nauseous you just have to use Shift+N to toggle it ON and OFF.

Here is my recent Mark Presling clamp in Technicolor. (OK the colours could be better chosen ..).

It’s funny how sad engineers get all excited about such simple things……

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Adding a logo to a Fusion 360 model

How to take a PNG file and import it as a SVG

While you might think I write my activities on my blog for general interest, you might be surprised to know that the main reader of my blog is me ….. my posts act as an aid to remembering how I made something or the processes I use.

I recently had a item to make and this needed a logo inserted onto the Fusion 360 model. I had the logo as a PNG file and I needed this to be converted into a SVG for ease of import to Fusion. You can do this conversion online for free at the following link : –

https://convertio.co/png-svg/

Once you have the SVG file you import this into Fusion using the Insert menu in the Design workspace. The inserted SVG can be manipulated to fit the location on the model and can then be extruded either as a cut or a build on the surface selected.

There is a simple video covering this activity on YouTube on the following link : –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rAi1lvgxS4&ab_channel=RubenGuscott

Sorry that was nothing exciting but it will help me remember next time I need to do this.

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Two important Fusion 360 Preferences tips

One obvious and one more specific

If you already know these Fusion 360 Preferences tips then well done. If not check out below.

The first one is to set the default orientation to be Z up so your CAM output is already well on the way to being correctly configured.

The second one is not so obvious – scaling the entire sketch based on the first dimension you specify. Suppose you have an object that you want to draw to scale based on a photograph image. If you import this using Insert/Canvas you get a faint image of the photograph over which you can superimpose your sketch. Once you have created the sketch you can then draw a construction line that runs from any two extreme longest points of the sketch. Measure the distance on the real object and then specify this dimension on your sketch. Everything on the sketch will now be scaled accordingly. So useful ….

Probably the best example I have seen of this was by Clough42 in this video about his construction of a depanelizing tool for PCB biscuits. He has done a further video recently using the same technique with dual axis images. This is impressive to watch.

Minor update on the Qidi i-fast to say all is going well and I am getting some very good print results. I am still debating which slicer to run with and do seem to be getting more repeatable prints using Simplify 3D.

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