How do I add dimensions to 3d views of models?

[Anonymous]

How do I add dimensions to 3d views of drawings?  I think this is different from the dimension function used to dimension 2d drawings. 

Thanks in advance.

Vincent

[Phil.E]

@Anonymous Thanks for asking.

Fusion 360 doesn't have a "3D annotation" command. You can show some dimensions in your model by making sketches visible, and then making the dimensions visible in the sketch.

To make a sketch visible: click the light bulb it has in the browser, so it's on.

To make sketch dimensions visible: right click the sketch in the browser, pick Show Dimension.

Please let me know if this helps at all, or if you have more questions.

Thanks,

[sanket223.patil]

you have to active the sketch and right click on sketch and click on show dimensions . It will show the dimension of sketch elements which you have dimensioned .  

[melvinbrian3d]

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@Anonymous wrote:

How do I add dimensions to 3d views of drawings?  I think this is different from the dimension function used to dimension 2d drawings. 

Thanks in advance.

Vincent

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you cant add dimensions to the 3D views, but you can show the dimensions from the 2D Sketch, also if you want to show dimensions on the DRAWING you have to open a New Drawing from design and use the Dimension Tools.

[Anonymous]

Ok.  Thanks, Sanket223.  That explanation will work.

[Anonymous]

Hi Melvin Brian,

I don't understand part of your answer.  You wrote: "...if you want to show dimensions on the DRAWING you have to open a New Drawing from design and use the Dimension Tools."  If I want to show dimensions on the DRAWING?  Are you implying that I could show the dimensions on something other than the DRAWING?  IF so, where would that be?  You said I must open a new drawing from design.  I try to do all my work offline, saving the drawing on my computer hard drive whenever I make changes of significance.  I think that that may be a different process than opening a new drawing from design.  I just tried to open a new drawing from design and the program had me first save the drawing to an online location and then a new drawing opened.  But I don't see how that helps and I don't see any "dimension tools."

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't understand part of your answer.  …. I just tried to open a new drawing from design ….

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OK, first lets verify your Design Intent.

1. A Design or Model is 3D geometry that  you can spin about and represents the real world.

Is your Design Intent to 3D Annotate this 3D model?

2. A Drawing is 2D intended for printing documentation on a sheet of paper.  The 2D drawing might represent 2D and/or 3D geometry, but it is a drawing - a flat sheet of paper. (whether virtual or physical)

Is your Design Intent to annotate a 2D view of a 3D model on a flat sheet of paper?

For either #1 or for case #2 - you can do this in Autodesk Inventor Professional.

Students can download Inventor Professional for free from http://www.autodesk.com/edcommunity

[Anonymous]

Hi CADWisperer,

My design intent is to put dimensions on a 3d view of a 3d model (which I can rotate around, etc.)  But I might also have 2D views of the same 3D model that I want to include dimensions for.  (Basically, I want to be able to produce finished drawings that can be handed to a machinist to build prototypes.  The drawings of course need to have dimensions.) 

I think part of the confusion here is that when you wrote "drawing" I think you meant "sketch," the 2D drawings we use to extrude from to get 3D models.  That was not initially clear to me.

I think the answer provided by Phil E. (above) will suffice for me.  He said, in essence, that we can make dimensions from 2D drawings visible when we print the drawings of the 3D model and those dimensions will act as dimensions for the 3D model.

Regards,

Vincent

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@Anonymous wrote: 

I think part of the confusion here is that when you wrote "drawing" I think you meant "sketch," the 2D drawings we use to extrude from to get 3D models. 

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When I wrote drawing, I meant DRAWING (see image), not sketch.

If I meant sketch, I would have written Sketch.

A Drawing is a DrawingI think if you go back and read my #2, I was pretty clear on the meaning of Drawing. Something we print on a sheet of paper using a printer or plotter to document the design for manufacture.

No Sketches Here

@Phil.Enever wrote a word about Drawings in his response.  That was from others.

[melvinbrian3d]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Melvin Brian,

I don't understand part of your answer.  You wrote: "...if you want to show dimensions on the DRAWING you have to open a New Drawing from design and use the Dimension Tools."  If I want to show dimensions on the DRAWING?  Are you implying that I could show the dimensions on something other than the DRAWING?  IF so, where would that be?  You said I must open a new drawing from design.  I try to do all my work offline, saving the drawing on my computer hard drive whenever I make changes of significance.  I think that that may be a different process than opening a new drawing from design.  I just tried to open a new drawing from design and the program had me first save the drawing to an online location and then a new drawing opened.  But I don't see how that helps and I don't see any "dimension tools."

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in the first post you talk about Drawings... so in Fusion Drawing is Drawing where you can 3D View your design and Add dimensions and then Print that into a paper... thats why i told you if you want this then you have to open a new Drawing from the Design meaning from the part that you have modeled.

but @TheCADWhisperer explain you very well the differences between and Sketch and a Drawing...

i know you Want to Add Measures or Dimensions to the 3D Model and Rotate the Model while you see the Dimension, But Thats Not Possible, the only thing you can do is Edit The Sketch and add those dimensions and then right click on this sketch and Show Dimiensions... thats will be the only dimension that you will see on the 3D Model.

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

This issue is not clear to me.  But I just tried to create a new drawing from design and I got an error message saying I need to uninstall and reinstall Fusion 360.  I will get back to you when I am able to.

Regards,

Vincent

[Phil.E · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Here is a screencast showing both workflows.

• First I turn on sketch visibility and dimension visibility. This is the closest thing Fusion 360 does that is similar to 3D annotation. It is not intended to be fully featured 3D annotation, it's just what you can do today using Fusion.
• Next I make a new drawing from design, project some orthographic views, and then add a couple dimensions. This is 2D annotation, or "drafting" you can do with Fusion 360. 

Please let me know if you have more questions.

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

Hi Phil,

Thank you for the video.  That makes things clear.  I have been having some very frustrating computer issues but I  was able to duplicate the  two modes of dimensioning that you illustrated.

Best regards,

Vincent