I just don't understand joints

[ThastingsPZBGS]

I've been banging my head against my desk trying to understand joints, coming from a solidworks mates mindset.  I've looked at many tutorials online, and just can't get my head around it.

I'm trying to do what should be a very simple assembly, two vise soft jaws machined to accept 3 parts for machining.  I need to align the two jaws so they are parallel and offset by 1in to make the circular pockets concentric and put a part into each pocket, setting the part so that they are flat on the floor of the pocket.  I've attached a .jpg to show what I'm working with.

I'm very new to Fusion 360, coming from about 10 years of solidworks and 10 years of autocad before that.

[jeff_strater]

Hi @ThastingsPZBGS,

I understand that moving from an assembly constraint-based system to a joints system can be a bit of a learning curve.  But, I think that once you get the hang of it, it will be pretty straightforward for you.  The main advantage is that you can specify position and motion all in one joint, where to do the same with assembly constraints would take more constraints.

In your case, the "Fusion way" would be to design the components in-place, and use an As Built Joint to constrain them together:

However, you can achieve the same thing, even if they are not built in-place, and in some ways, this is easier:

Hope these videos help you get started with joints,

Jeff

[ThastingsPZBGS]

Thank you very much for the demonstration videos.  I did originally build these in place, the jaws anyway, but location got lost in my many attempts at trying to join them together.  The second example you presented worked, but in joining just the bolt holes doesn't it rely on a bunch of assumptions in keeping the other faces are parallel? 

I am truly baffled with how much I am struggling with this aspect of the software

[TrippyLighting]

I can already see in your screenshot that you have one or more sketches at the top level, which should prpobably be part of the gripper jaw component.

You may want to review Fusion 360's R.U.L.E #1.