constraining extrusions

[jonasb-n]

I am in learn mode, and working through some simple examples, so this is a capability question rather then a "how do I solve my specific problem". Is there a way to constrain an extrusion to a sketch where the extrusion would change with the sketch? A simple example would be creating a generic bookshelf where you wanted to be able to reconfigure it by modifying some underlying sketches. You sketch the side profile on the xz plane and extrude it in the y direction. Among other things this gives you the depth of bookshelf. You then sketch the profile of the front of the shelf on the xy plane and extrude it by snapping to the extruded side face (or using the extent capability to tie them together). If you edit the xz sketch of the sides and change the depth, it has no effect on the extruded shelf. I have seen the tutorial on making a drawer and it gets around this by "chaning" projections and extruding only where it is unlikely to change. This can get complicated.

I did find a simple workaround by defining user parameters and using them to control the sketch and the extrusion, but given how parametric everything is in Fusion 360, I would think you could link extrusions to other things, so they change together. Am I missing something?

[jeff_strater]

Hi @jonasb-n,

The approach that you found really is probably the most direct one.  You can skip the step of creating a user parameter, and link your Extrude directly to a sketch dimension, but the underlying mechanism is the same.  Here is a quick video of another way to do that that skips the user parameter:

Myself, I would create the user parameter, and have it drive both the sketch and the extrude, but that's mostly because it is a bit easier to find a user parameter than a model parameter

Jeff