Odd dimensioning behaviour question

[colin.mcdonald]

Hello:

. . . I'm having some problems here in Mac Fusion.

  (Have a look at the uploaded screenshots.)

I'm trying to define a sketch on the end plane of a cylinder -- nothing else is happening in this file.

+ there are some constraints set up, but only to keep symmetry.

+ I attempt to add a dimension to start to define the shape of the cut I would like, but I invariably get a "sketch geometry overconstrained" error.

+ the strange thing is that the previewed dimension is correct.

Am I doing something wrong here (with my old bad habits from CAD), or is something else up?

(One other strange behaviour: sometimes the act of trying to dimension similarly adds [essentially] a coincident relationship. Hard to catch it though.)

Thanks in advance,

C

[innovatenate]

What happens if you delete the equal constraints that are current applied to the line figures prior to creating the dimension? See below for clarification.

Thanks,

[colin.mcdonald]

Hi Nathan:

. . . all equal-constrainsts removed, but no change -- see the attached screenshots . . .

+ the first shows the picks, before the final "positioning" of the dimension

+ the second, the result. (Note: the is no chance to enter or change the value of the dimension -- it goes straight to the error message.)

Cheers, C

[colin.mcdonald]

. . . and more issues.

  I tried going back up-history on a successful part (I'm going to through old French drafting books to get better at the day-to-day in Fusion). A common routine (for me at least) is to re-jig the dimensioning on an upstream sketch to take better advantage of parameters later in the effort.

See the screencast for the results: https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/2f3954bf-d72c-4f92-9954-7c0bbe161735

In summary: once I delete the dimension, I cannot re-add it . . .

C

[innovatenate]

Thank you for the update and the screencast! The screencast was really helpful!

The "Sketch geometry is over constrained" error should appear when there are conflicting constraints or sketch dimensions; however, in these scenarios, I don't see where the conflict is. The behavior does not appear to be correct to my best knowledge. I tried to reproduce that issue from scratch, but was not successful. 

Would it be possible to share the designs (from both issues) with me?

You can save a local copy of the design using the export archive command from the main application from within the workspace.

If possible, could you upload the archive files to this thread?

Thank you in advance for your help with this!

Best Regards,

[colin.mcdonald]

Nathan:

. . . sure thing -- please see the attached F3D files. (They are in the correct history position I hope.)

  I have left some of the work-around circles on the valveCage -- the only way that I could see to get past the problem.

Cheers, C

[colin.mcdonald]

. . . and another issue:

  I was able to capture the dimension becomes a coincident relationship -- please see the linked screencast.

  Notice that it does not seem to produce a dimension of zero -- instead it locks it to the top edge. The sketched lines become unselectable, even after I can delete an old relationship . . .

Screencast link: https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/8bb646ca-a7db-41d3-acbe-1615c904fac6

(I have also attached the file.)

Cheers, C

[innovatenate]

To select tricky-to-pick geometry, try holding down the left click a little longer (click and hold). Somewhere just shy of a second, a menu will appear that allows selection of geometry beneath the cursor that may be "hidden" or obstructed by other geometry. 

I'm having a difficult time reproducing any of these issues on my Windows and my Mac machine. 

For the ValveCage file, I've not been able to reproduce the error, "sketch geometry is over constrained." See the below video for details.

https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/d84b3179-f12f-4918-8ca0-fe31311c2a9f

The SlottedSpider issue appears to be the same.

https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/4b2ab512-086a-4872-b16b-73ebc8d9c1fb

Does it look like I'm missing a step anywhere?

I also note that I am unable to create a dimension with a value of 0, but I think this may be intentional. The work-around would be to create a coincident constraint. I'll have to find out more about that particular issue. This may make a good feature enhancement in the Fusion 360 IdeaStation. See link below:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Fusion-360-IdeaStation-Request-a/idb-p/125

The point of the IdeaStation is to prioritize customer feedback. As Ideas receive kudos or votes, they become a higher priority for implementation. The IdeaStation is a great way to leverage community support to get features implemented.

A few questions:

Are you using a magic mouse by any chance or a track pad?

Also which version of the Mac OS are you running? 

You may consider disabling "Use Gesture-based View Navigation" in the general preferences for Fusion 360. Does it help?

Since, I'm not able to reproduce these issues, it may be a good idea to perform a clean uninstall and then re-install Fusion 360.

Clean Uninstall directions:

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-...

Once re-install, let me know if the odd sketch behavoir continues.

Kind Regards,

[colin.mcdonald]

Hi Nathan:

Thanks for the reply (and videos).

OSX 10.9.3

The good/bad news for sketch-geometry-overconstrained -- I was indeed using a magic mouse and had an apple trackpad turned on (but was not using). I went to a wireless logitech mouse -- no change. I turned off the trackpad -- and problem solved. Great! . . . Hmm, not great. Strange.

The bad news -- the snapping dimension problem still exists sporadically. I'm certain that this would not be a feature, rather a bug, since I am not actually entering "zero", nor have I left the sketched elements even close to this configuration.

  I'll try to get see if there is anything obvious doing this over the next few days here . . .

Thanks again, C

[colin.mcdonald]

Hello again:

. . . the above problem is back. (I.e., not solved by turning off the apple trackpad.)

  Everything cleaned up, new part with no apple (or otherwise) bluetooth devices either connected or even turned on.

  Have a look at the screencast -- same aggravating behaviours as before:

+ required-to-define dimension = overconstraining

+ dimensioning to a closer projected edge = coincident constraint

Link: https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/52feb431-3351-4474-a7d4-65a762f69228

The thing that makes me continue with this is that I'm very keen to help keep Fusion360 usefully in OSX.

C

[innovatenate]

I tried again, and I'm unable to reproduce this behavior. I could test on the same F3D archive file if you would like to upload it. 

Perhaps it may help to provide a series of steps on how you are able to reproduce this issue?

For example:

1. Create a sketch on construction plane that intersect a body

2. Use  Sketch > Project > Project Cut Edges to project sketch

3. Use Sketch > Rectangle > 3 Point Rectangle

4. Use tab key to enter in value for height of rectangle (auto-dimension)

5. Delete Dimension

6. Try to recreate dimension using Sketch > Dimension command (select projected point and then line in sketched rectangle)

I noted in the screencast that the model rotated without using any mouse commands. Are you using a 3D Space Mouse to rotate? I hate to eliminate all your peripherals, but as a test, would it be possible to test without the space mouse plugged in? 

Perhaps the issue is related to a conflict between the space mouse drivers and Fusion 360. 

Thanks,

[colin.mcdonald]

Hi Nathan:

. . . I've made a "spoken+keyboard" screencast:

+ All bluetooth objects turned off, and oSX bluetooth driver turned off.

+ Using USB plugged keyboard and logitech USB plugged wireless mouse (anywhere MX)

+ killed and unistalled the 3dconnexion driver.

+ restarted the computer.

+ run Fusion360

+ open file

+ rolled back to point of interest

See: https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/0d918a86-f457-487b-a28c-5cc668298053

Steps in the screencast:

+ new plane rotated about an edge.

+ new sketch on this plane.

+ project surface to get a rectangle.

+ new three-point rectangle using two projected points + one selected point in space.

+ tried various dimension pairings -- none work.

+ show"snapping to zero and then hiding" dimension.

Exported file is attached.

Hope that helps, C