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Gah, struggling with loft feature.

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Message 1 of 47
artisticdirection
2270 Views, 46 Replies

Gah, struggling with loft feature.

Hi all. I'm currently rendering a guitar neck and having the darndest time lofting the heel to the shaft (or neck body). See screen capture. I continue to get an error that my rail is not smooth, or my rails do not intersect. Some of my sketches are made from DXF files. Is this my problem? So frustrating.

46 REPLIES 46
Message 2 of 47

"rail is not smooth" means that you need a tangent constraint between curves in your rail.  Rails are required to be tangent continuous.

 

"rail does not intersect all profiles" means that there is a gap between your rail curve(s) and one or more profiles.  Each rail must intersect each profile exactly.  Usually, you would use Project->Intersect to guarantee that there is a point in the rail curve sketch that precisely intersects the profiles.

 


Jeff Strater
Engineering Director
Message 3 of 47


@artisticdirection wrote:

... Some of my sketches are made from DXF files. Is this my problem? S...


yep.  rule of thumb.  always draw native fusion curves for any surfacing work.  any type of imported curve has a HIIIIIGH probability of having some kind of issue that will prevent tools from working.

 

examining the edge where the loft tool says the rail needs to be tangent continuous you will find that the edge is indeed not tangent continuous.  

laughingcreek_0-1696814858580.png

 

 

 

Message 4 of 47

Thank you. I prefer to create my 2D drawings in Illustrator, then import dxf to Fusion. Frustrating that Fusion continues to have this issue. 

Message 5 of 47


@artisticdirection wrote:

Thank you. I prefer to create my 2D drawings in Illustrator, then import dxf to Fusion. Frustrating that Fusion continues to have this issue. 


The issue is not with Fusion.

The issue is the Illustrator geometry is rubbish. (Although not so bad in this case - could probably be fixed in Fusion with a little effort.  But it is so simple - it would be far easier to create correctly from scratch in Fusion.)

 

Why are there two lines when one would suffice? (same with arcs/curves)

Where are your dimensions?

TheCADWhisperer_0-1696852280888.png

Work with symmetry about the Origin.

 

TheCADWhisperer_1-1696852477484.png

Where are your Tangent Constraints?  (Not enough to be tangent - must also have Tangent Constraints to keep it that way.

 

Tip: The most powerful tip in all of parametric modeling (in any parametric MCAD software) - click and drag sketch geometry.  It should be entirely predictable...

TheCADWhisperer_0-1696853090950.png

...not result in a mess.

 

Are these points supposed to be symmetrical?

TheCADWhisperer_2-1696852684817.png

@artisticdirection 

Would you like to learn how to do this correctly?

 

Q1. Have you ever cut a piece of wood on table saw?  If yes, what is the first thing you do?

 

Q2. What measuring instrument will you use to measure these dimensions?

TheCADWhisperer_1-1696853566197.png

 

Welcome to the real world!

 

Message 6 of 47

Thank you for the detailed response. All my geometry has been painstakingly worked out in Illustrator. I've been using Illustrator for over 30 years, so I'm pretty thorough when using it. This is why I'm reluctant to redraw the entire neck in Fusion because the neck fits precisely into a neck pocket in the guitar body (which is also drawn in Illustrator). I'm not sure why Fusion has to take a very simple vector drawing and turn it into strange line segments, because that's not how I drew it. I've imported dxf vector into 3D Rhino with no problems. The only reason I'm using Fusion is because it allows me to program G-code all within one program

Message 7 of 47

If you want stuff to work in Fusion 360, then create native sketches from scratch in Fusion 360.

Precision for the purpose of creating physical artifacts it the main purpose of CAD systems.

 


EESignature

Message 8 of 47


@artisticdirection wrote:

... I've imported dxf vector into 3D Rhino with no problems. ..


fusion can does and has mangled imported curves.

but

frequently the originating curves don't leave their programs as clean as people think.  you say you brought it in to rhino with no problems.  did you check the curves?  how did you check the curves? the issues we're talking about generally can't be seen without using analysis tools.

Message 9 of 47

"I'm not sure why Fusion has to take a very simple vector drawing and turn it into strange line segments, because that's not how I drew it"

 

I'm not sure that this is Fusion making the change.  It is, in fact, likely that it is Illustrator which is exporting things as DXF and turning it into "strange line segments".

 

"because the neck fits precisely into a neck pocket in the guitar body"

 

This precision is exactly why you should be using native Fusion geometry.  I am not an AI expert, but I suspect that AI does not support geometry constraints and associative dimensions.  I assume that AI does not have a tangent constraint between curves, for instance.  You will want that tangency for any downstream modeling (such as fillets, or even CNC programming).

 

You can certainly use DXF or SVG geometry with Fusion, but I think what people here are telling you is:  Others have experienced lots of pain when importing geometry into any CAD system (this is not a Fusion-only issue).  You can deal with that pain, certainly, if you prefer using AI for geometry creation. 

 

I, too, would be interested in what Rhino does with this same geometry.


Jeff Strater
Engineering Director
Message 10 of 47

@artisticdirection 

Do you want to learn to do this correctly?

(This is a binary yes/no question.)

Along the way I will prove to you that the geometry you painstakingly created in Illustrator was rubbish.

Message 11 of 47

@artisticdirection   All my geometry has been painstakingly worked out in Illustrator.

 

Why go to all that trouble to import non compatible (in Fusion) stuff. 

Not one dimension will change in either software.

Sorry JD, wrong button.

Message 12 of 47


@artisticdirection wrote:

... fits precisely...


I have created a video on getting started creating absolutely precise geometry.

I wait for your affirmative signal that you want to learn how to do this correctly with parametric geometry.

Heel.png

 

We can then walk through step-by-step each portion of the geometry once I get your go-ahead approval.

TheCADWhisperer_0-1697025239537.png

All geometry will be fully defined, easy to edit and logically predictable.

Message 13 of 47

Is this learning tutorial service something you do for hire?

Message 14 of 47

@artisticdirection 
I am retired - anything I do is free. 

https://youtu.be/kMK32y1xlDM

 

Message 15 of 47

I'd welcome your input on creating precise sketches

Message 16 of 47

@artisticdirection 

Not sure if you saw that I added a link to a video in previous response (use forum web browser - not email to track).

 

Once you have completed the Heel then we can proceed to the Neck and the transition Loft between the two.

Message 17 of 47

Thank you sir. I'll check it out over the weekend. I work during the day and my Fusion projects I get to when I have the time 🙂

Message 18 of 47

Excellent video, thank you for this. I've finished the heel portion of the neck. I'm building a telecaster neck. I'll include a dxf file for you to see the shape and dimensions. I'm not worried about the fret slots yet as the fretboard will be a separate drawing.

Message 19 of 47


@artisticdirection wrote:

I'll include a dxf file for you to see the shape and dimensions.


@artisticdirection 

Can you File>Export your *.f3d file of the Heel (as completed in video) to your local drive and then Attach it here to a Reply?

Message 20 of 47

Sure thing, here you go

Message 21 of 47

@artisticdirection 

Note that you have blue sketch geometry (actual color depends on color scheme).

Click and drag geometry.

What to  you observe?

TheCADWhisperer_0-1697625464112.png

 

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