Faster insertion of external component (e.g. McMaster Carr)

[tmostad]

I have been inserting a large number of McMaster Carr components and it is a tedious process that could be more efficient (at least for me). The parts appear in space near my assembly and sometimes I need to move them before I create a joint to put them where I want them (this creates an unnecessary move being recorded in the timeline). What would help me is having an option to have the joints dialog open upon their import. I would speculate that since the majority of the time the intention is to place them with a joint that this should be the default option.

[jhackney1972]

I cannot help you with a redesign of the Fusion 360 application but I think I can help you with placing components.  When you place a component from McMaster-Carr, you get a move triad to put it any place you desire as it comes in.  This placement move adds nothing to the timeline.  If you use the Align Command, you can place it, using keypoints, directly in place without also adding anything to the timeline.  Then you can use the As-Built Joint Command to set it permanently in place.  During this command, you will want to use the Capture Position option to keep the component in place as you finish the joint command.  The Align Command is very powerful in assemblies.

[tmostad]

Thank you for the suggestion but I am not sure I agree about the lack of a move. After I import and align the imported part then do an As-Built Joint, it says that a part has moved and I need to capture the position of the aligned part before doing the joint. This adds a move to the timeline. The approach you describe (assuming I am doing it as you intend) doesn't seem to save anything.

[jhackney1972 · Accepted solution]

Please take a look at the attached Screencast and you will see that using the Align Command does not add anything, other than the McMaster-Carr component and the joint to the timeline.  Also, you do know if you do get a Capture Location in the timeline, once the component is attached to the assembly using a joint, the Capture Location, in the timeline, can be deleted without any problems or issues.

[etfrench]

I usually just toggle visibility off of any component/body blocking the Origin when importing models either from McMaster-Carr or other files.  Once the model is imported and and jointed using normal joints (not as-built), then visibility is restored to the blocking component/body.

[daniel_lyall]

Use Joints then you have something that is editable forever, using move or aline means you have to do a new move or aline.

Edited joint move - done 

Move - capture position - done

Aline - capture position - done

Time = money

BooM Batman beats superman

[TrippyLighting]

@jhackney1972 using the move/align functionality even upon import of the part and even if it does not add features to the timeline still makes this a non-parametric workflow. If the location/orientation of the geometry you aligned to changes, then that does does not result in an updated joint and not the imported component is not in the proper location.

I find @tmostads  concerns quite valid. While I like the concepts behind the Joint system in Fusion 360 it has a lot of potential for improvement and assembly speed is definitely one of them.

[helfenj]

@tmostad, 

Thanks for sharing your experience. This is a known area of improvement and is on our radar. I find myself (several times yesterday even) removing captures that are unneeded and litter the timeline. Just standard house cleaning to keep my timelines clean.

Please note the suggestions in this thread are all valid, but I understand your request.

Until we can make this improvement, removing the capture after adding the joint is the fastest path for your specific needs. 

Thanks,

John

[tmostad]

Actually I didn't know that removing a Capture Position wouldn't break other things. I suppose it's something I should have tried as a matter of course but generally deleting stuff in the timeline ripples to other things later on, even when it doesn't show up as an error it isn't something you want. However, I will take great pleasure in deleting all of the unneeded captures. Thanks!

[tmostad]

Obviously Fusion 360 is an excellent piece of software but there are a few things that make it "clicky", i.e. you can do it but it takes a lot of clicks to get it done. I certainly appreciate that this is a concern of the design team.

[helfenj]

@jhackney1972 shows is a valid workflow.

What he says about deleting the capture is the important part!

You can't just run through a timeline and delete all captures, that could cause rippling failure downstream in the timeline.

It is the specific capture done right before a joint is created. Sometimes you will drag a part into space in order to get an angle on a face for selection when creating a joint. By dragging a part from its insertion point you activate the capture position command.

At this point, if you initiate the joint command Fusion asks if you would like to capture position. If you say no, the part is returned to its original position, which makes the face selection more difficult (remember why we moved the part in the first place). However, if you say yes Fusion captures the position in the timeline and you can create the joint, which parametrically positions the component.

The capture made prior to the joint was essentially a "temporary need". I needed the part out in space to ease selection, but once the joint is created I have no need for that part to have been capture in space at that moment in time. This is the capture you can delete.

Hope this helps.

John

[jhackney1972]

@TrippyLighting, Thanks for calling my attention to this fact, which I was not aware of.  I am still trying to get my mind around how placing a component in position, using the Align tool, and then adding an As-Built Joint does not do the same thing as simply adding the same joint using the Joint command.  To me, a joint (rigid) once placed had the same properties and would update as base geometry changed.  My question now is, is the As-Built Joint the cause of this or the Align command I used before using the As-Built Joint command?  I will have to do some experiments to find out.

Thanks again, I learned something today.

[etfrench]

It's still a lot fewer mouse clicks to just hide a body blocking the origin than moving, aligning, rigid jointing, deleting timeline moves, etc..

[jhackney1972]

I agree with you.  The reason I am pursuing the process of aligning a component then use an As-Build Joint is I am just trying to understand the functionality of the Fusion 360 application.  @TrippyLighting just brought up an interesting point I was not aware of and now I want to figure out why.

[TrippyLighting]

@jhackney1972 the rigid group joint and the as-built rigid joint reference component origins. It basically locks these origins of the components involved in the joint together. This does not require any geometry and can be done with empty components.