Lofting and Projection/Include

[Bill_Brehm]

I've been going over some of the posts on Lofting, and I'm just as lost now as before.  I don't even understand the explanations, so at this point I can't even describe what I'm actually doing in the correct 'Fusion' language.  I'm getting the 'No Intersect' error, and not a clue how to fix it.

 Are there any tutorials on Lofting?  That would be a start.  Also, I have never been able to figure out how Project/Include works.  A tutorial on how to use it, and all its options would be useful as well.

Don't like being this vague, but I really don't know what to ask.

Thanks

Bill

[davebYYPCU · Accepted solution]

Project - include, or Project - Intersect?

Both are different functions in Fusion.

For Project > Intersect, more likely for Lofting.  I am not at Fusion rest of the day.

If you were to Loft a square to a rectangle, with curved sides, 

The square and Rectangle (Profiles) need to be connected to each other with one or more curves (Rail/s)

When creating the sketch/s with the curves in them, use the Project > Intesect command, to produce the point where the square and rectangle cuts through the curve sketch, you will get purple points.

Your curve MUST connect / snap to this point and not any others nearby, for Loft to work.

Might help...

[Bill_Brehm]

Thanks Dave,

It's often the case when I ask a question that I discover the answer myself not long after.  I didn't know how 'intersect' worked, what to look for.  I watched several Fusion 'lofting' videos on Youtube, even though many are out of date.  Eventually I found someone using 'intersect', and that solved everything.  I never noticed the small purple point before, but that is what I needed to know.

Bill

[jeff_strater]

Actually, I'm glad you asked this, because I've been meaning to do this for a while, and this gave me the nudge I needed.  I know you've already figured it out yourself, but since I had already started it, I thought I'd post it anyway, just in case you or others find some use in it.  I recorded 3 videos.  Two are how to use Loft with rails, one from the point of view of creating the profiles first, and a second for creating the rails first.  The third is all about the different flavors of Project in sketch.

Here you go, enjoy:

Jeff

[davebYYPCU]

Thanks @jeff_strater 

may i I ask that these videos get collected into the Tip and Tricks, listing up the top section, so we can send people there to find them, 

Intersection curves, are bread and butter in boats and aircraft, same as Project to Surface, without the surface existing or being created.

[jeff_strater]

@davebYYPCU,

I think that they got rid of the "Tips and Tricks" area, because it was not really getting used.  However, I will see about turning this into a Knowledge Base article, or some other way to make this available to more folks.

And, you are right about Intersection Curve - it is useful in those cases.  Here is one more video, that covers Intersection Curve and also one I forgot:  Silhouette projection:

Jeff

[Anonymous]

Kudos to you ( jeff.strater) for all the four videos produced on the topic “Lofting and Projection/Include”. The video of this sort are an example as to what and how FUSION 360 should be explained to learners. The simplicity, clarity & pace with which it is explained is remarkable. Thanks for such contribution.

Here, I would request AUTODECK team, to create a new MASTER FUSION 360 YOUTUBE series, where all such videos, which explains all the COMMANDS completely, should be made available.

Thanks for the prompt reply.

VK Job  

[Bill_Brehm]

Thanks Jeff.

That was exactly what I was looking for.  I'm just a hobbyist, and only use Fusion when I need to make a part, so will never really become totally proficient with it.  The result is that I'll often just make a solid body and by using commands like Sweep, Revolve, Split Body, Cut, or Intersect carve out the shape I need.  In a way it's a credit to Fusion that you can work around many problems, but this will simplify my part making quit a bit.  Thanks again.

Bill

[itchytoes]

Thanks for these videos!   They solve a big part of the mystery of the universe for me with sketching in 3D.

[itchytoes]

Hi -

I was trying to do the first rails example, but instead of rectangles in 3d space, I created 3 sketches of circles offset from each other. I then did a rails sketch and did the project->include->geometry, but instead of selecting a corner of a rectangle, I selected the circles for the geometry.  I then tried to sketch the rail line, but I find it hard to get a point on the spline to be intersecting the circles.  How does one do that easily?  

Betty

[davebYYPCU · Accepted solution]

Are your rails, going to be flat - as in 2d sketch, a section view?

Instead of Include 3d geometry, you need Project > Intersect. 

This will give the point where the circle goes through the (2d) rail sketch,

If a 3D rail, then you will need to put points in the circle sketches, snapping them to the circles where you want the rails to go, then you can 

In the 3d rail sketches, Project > Include 3d Geometry for the points, and not the circles.

It's been a while sine I saw those videos and haven't reviewed them for this quick answer.

Might help...

[itchytoes]

Thanks!     Both of the those tips did the trick!

Betty

[davebYYPCU]

No problem, thanks for letting us know.