Sometimes I used Fusion360 to design a part that will be 3d printed. The whole conception of the part is tweaked to give best results (via compromise) when it's output via my FFF machine. And the dimensions are adjusted in CAD to give the desired results in the real world.
Sometimes, however, I use 3D printing to create a rapid prototype of a design that I have in Fusion360. A design that will be later output via CAM or turned into drawings that are dimensionally exact. The problem is that, when I output the part on a 3D printer chances are there are bits that are not going to fit together, for example Inner Diameters that are too large or Outer Diameters that are too small. If I want to make the rapid prototype work out then I need to go through the CAD model tweaking dimensions - and then remember to put them back after the print. And then what if I want to make changes to the CAD and output another print? It gets complicated.
So here's the suggestion.
How about another environment in Fusion360 in which one can prepare a Model for 3d printing? In particular an environment where one can add modifiers to dimensions?
How might this work? Simply add a column in the "Parameters" table called "STL export multiplier". All dimensions one would like to modify when exporting to .STL should be set up as parameters in F360. Then one can go to the parameter table and assign an appropriate value (probably 95% - 105%) which will be applied to the .stl export ONLY whilst leaving the CAD model untouched.
Thanks.
ps to do a really good job of this one would have a relational system allowing multiple column entries allowing for different multipliers for different 3d printers / technologies (eg resin versus FFF) that have different characteristics.
