topic Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 02:59:52 GMT

So I'm still confused on how I can ACCURATELY scale and align multiple canvas on different planes. I can get them visually close, but when I draw the sketches for side and top views, they don't line up exactly, for obvious reasons. Either the scaling is different, or I'm not picking points accurately, or something. So my question is this:

How can I scale/align a side view so all key points are in the same location as the top view components? A better question might be, am I going about this the wrong way? Is it possible to use reference points on a sketch in the top plane, to draw a sketch in the right (side) plane?

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

mavigogun — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 05:18:17 GMT

Attach and Scale both Canvases on the same plane > Copy Canvas to be translated to second Plane > Paste into target Component > the Movement control matrix will appear, allowing rotation.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

TheCADWhisperer — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 05:53:04 GMT

File >Export and then Attach your *.f3d file here.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 10:56:07 GMT

So these are the drawings I'm trying to scale and match up so I can draw the fuselage for this airplane. I'm almost positive I'm just going about this the wrong way.. What I'm trying to accomplish is getting these into a canvas, accurately aligned, at a 60" overall length from nose to tail.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 12:09:35 GMT

What I do,

Insert canvass for the top view. Calibrate it to be 60 inches nose to tail.

Create Top view sketch, draw a line 60 inches long, Horizontal Datum.

Drag the canvass to the end of the Timeline.

Edit Canvass, with the move handles align the front nose to the Origin end of the horizontal line. Some times the canvass has to be rotated to be horizontal, with a bit of patience you can get it spot on.

Drag the Canvass back to the beginning of the Timeline.

Repeat all that for the side view except project the first line into second sketch. Align the front of the nose to the Origin.

Not sure if the front view has been cropped, so if you know the tips of the tails are right, (using the biggest common dimension from any two canvasses, Calibrate the front view Canvass that way, Tail tips or fuse width.

Might help...

Let me know if you get stuck.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

TheCADWhisperer — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 13:48:46 GMT

@dcronkhite wrote:

I'm almost positive I'm just going about this the wrong way..

Then File >Export and then Attach your *.f3d attempt here and I can create a video of the process.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 13:11:20 GMT

File is attached.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

TheCADWhisperer — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 14:52:38 GMT

I did not see any dimensions on your sketches?

A product of this complexity cannot be completed without dimensions.

The first thing I do is create a datum line of known length (fully constrained and dimensioned at the Origin).

Then I scale the image to match the datum line (as close as possible - it is an image - you can't take it too literally).

Repeat for other reference images as needed.

Given that there are no dimensions on your sketches - I suspect that this is your first project.

I recommend that you go through the tutorials before tackling a project of this complexity and then perhaps complete some simpler projects and post them here for critique on technique before returning to this complex project.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 03:35:54 GMT

It's not my first project, but definitely my first in trying to develop parts from multiple drawings. Everything I've done to this point has been pretty simple extrudes and cuts.

The reason there aren't any dimensions yet is I just don't know the dimensions of various parts.. The overall length of the side view sketch was drawn using the canvas as a reference that was calibrated to 60" long.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 07:52:15 GMT

I am left wondering how you are going to tackle this,

Origin is not on the nose or tail,

you have a canvas, a sketch and a Joint Origin, in separate Components.

Will keep an interested eye on the subsequent workflow/s.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 07:55:22 GMT

I don't know either.. LOL. That's part of the problem. I've worked through quite a few of the tutorial videos in the Design Academy, but am still working on those as well. I'm thinking maybe I should finish all of them, and then come back to this..

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 08:17:19 GMT

What's your end game, a flying r/c model?

Learning fusion without going that far?

Limited to just these 3 canvas?

Its a fairly simple model, compared to a Spitfire or B17, of course, willing to help where I can.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 09:25:09 GMT

Both.

I have been flying R/C for over 44 years, and fly UAV's as my job deployed overseas. Ultimately I'm trying to learn Fusion 360 AND create drawings for laser cutting a kit to build this for a small turbine engine.. Things like the nose cone, and engine fairing will be 3D printed plugs and then molded out of fiberglass.. but the majority of the construction will be simple balsa/plywood.. I've hand drawn plans for my own designs for my entire modeling life, and done some 2D drafting as well, but the 3D stuff for some reason just is very confusing.. I know WHAT I want to do, just not how to accomplish it.

For example.. I want to draw the side profile.. put the nose on the origin, then draw the top profile, join it to the origin of the side, and scale the top to exactly match the side. Then loft each section to get the box portions of the fuselage. Once that is done, I thought I would shell the model to get the thickness of the sides, and then add formers/bulkheads, and other internal structure off that..

That's my basic strategy, but I just can't wrap my head around the mechanics of doing all of that yet..

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:33:12 GMT

I thought I knew the name, same experience, but only just venturing to Autopilot stuff

I outlined the procedure in Message 5 above, to get to that far.

Your file had missed the Edit Canvass part.

For Rule 1, I use that loosely, one component for the Fuselage, Wing, and Tail. Draw half the aeroplane and mirror the other half, timed to suit you. I could not use the file the way you had set up the Components in your file, so started again, you will see the timeline greyed out, sneak peak. Check the timeline and browser for the clues...

Very few curves in the Sonic, so each segment sort of works against a one piece Loft, rails have to have tangent connections, nothing tangent in that top view behind the nose block.

So has to be a separate set of Lofts in Patch, to be stitched, and then you end up with a solid Loft for the nose, combined to the remainder, and then mirrored.

As you a can see I build from outside in, slicing the fuse for formers at the end, and Export as DXF for Laser cutting.

Happy to help...

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

dcronkhite — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 12:07:24 GMT

The outside-in methodology makes sense to me for sure. I kind of figured I'd have to do multiple lofts and stitch them to get the correct 'boxy' shape.

This is the UAV I'm flying.. Not your average drone.. hehe..

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

mavigogun — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 17:33:41 GMT

@davebYYPCU wrote:

Origin is not on the nose or tail,

you have a canvas, a sketch and a Joint Origin, in separate Components.

Particular care should be given to managing Origins- as designs become complex, the visibility of Origins outside-of-but-closely-aligned-to the active Component's Origin can be a peril when selected mistakenly during an operation, resulting in either mispositioned geometry or undesired interdependencies. Detection of such a condition is just slightly less hellish than attempting to untie that Gordian Knot.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 20:51:21 GMT

Nice, I think I have flown one of them, before it’s equiptment fit out, sent a PM.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

hoegge — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:06:51 GMT

But it would really help and be very smart, if you could draw a calibration line on the canvas - or the line you draw for calibration - would stay a gemetry you could use aftewards to align to so different canvases could be easily aligned accurately to each other.

Re: Still confused. Scaling and Aligning multiple canvas

davebYYPCU — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 20:40:08 GMT

You can sorta do that now.

draw the known line dimensioned in a sketch. Insert the canvass with the sketch visible, and make your calibration and edits in the Canvass with the sketch as background conformation.

Might help....