Creating Groups or Blocks in Sketch

[stephen.lankfer]

Hi,

Is it possible to create groups or blocks while sketching?

I am trying to switch from 2D to 3D but finding that I cannot design in Fusion 360 like I can in my current 2D package.  Before I get to wanting to create a 3D component I need to do a lot of 2D drawing to figure out what will solve the problem and, therefore, what I actually want to make.  Fusion 360 seems really good once you know what you need to make but pretty poor from a sketching perspective.  Am I missing something?

For example, my current client requires a machine to scrape the surface finish from certain raised parts of 8 different aluminium extrusions.  The first part of the machine is the entry guide system.  This needs to accommodate all 8 extrusion profiles, which my client e-mailed to me as a 2D dwg file.  I have managed to get them into a sketch and wanted to play around over laying the profiles to find a common way of guiding them.  However, when you over lay them all the lines, curves etc become one so you cannot then separate them to try something else.  I cannot find a way of grouping them or creating blocks of each extrusion profile like I would in my current 2D package?

On a similar vein, the machine needs to sit on a frame that will fit into their current production line.  To figure out what is best I need to play around with a 2D layout of the production process showing the machines before and after to see how I can best squeeze in the new machine.  Once I have got this right I will start to model the new machines frame etc.  Again, it seems to me that the Fusion 360 sketch environment is not set up for this, i.e. dropping in a 2D dwg of a factory layout?

Am I expecting too much?  Do I have to continue with my current 2D package and then model the components etc in 3D once I know what I want to make?  Seems a bit long winded?

Any help or guidance is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Steve

[laughingcreek]

Coming from a non parametric 2d cad, you are probably goin to find the sketch environment in fusion frustrating at first, but you get use to it to a degree.

I'm 100% sure I understand what you are asking for, but it sounds to me like you need to start by putting your imported geometries into different sketches, which will let you turn them on and off individually.

Need some more explanation to help any more than that.

[laughingcreek]

Meant to say I'm NOT 100% sure.

[etfrench]

I'd start by modeling the extrusions, then use the align tool to put them in position for the scraping tool (Assuming the scraping tool has a fixed path).  Once you have the positions, use the project command on the ends of the extrusions to create a sketch for the various holders.

[etfrench]

Once you have the machine designed, then you can import the factory floor layout.  Use Joint, Align, and/or Move tools to place the machine at different positions on the floor.  If you need to move other machines in the layout, just extrude their basic shapes and move the 3d models around using the same process.