Multiple instances of bolts, washers etc.

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

how does Fusion 360 handle bolts, washers, etc?

There are a lot of videos showing thread creation and nice visuals but who cares about threads when you have approx. 200 bolts?
I'm concerned with performance issues due to thread geometries on imported parts from McMaster Carr.
And it is nice to have all those bolts to show up in the drawing parts list. 

What is the best workflow for such problems?
I'm very new to Fusion 360.

Thank you very much for your time.

Dean

[laughingcreek]

If every hole and bolt has it's threads modeled, your correct that it will greatly impact performance.

with the thread tool, there is an option to model the threads or not.  I would set this to not model the threads.  It can always be changed after you've finished if you really need the threads modeled.

for high numbers of bolts, I either edit the imported bolt, or create one from scratch, removing the threads.  That way you have a component that will show up in your BOM, but doesn't have a geometry that slows things down.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for the answer. 

I'm really concerned with this "high number of little components" problem because they will definitely show up in my designs. I was hoping if you could screenshot an example of yours were a high number of bolts are visible/used in 3D and 2D drawing. I don't know how to organize the little components in the project's folders.

I downloaded a bolt from McMaster-Carr and edited it. It is a slow workflow because I experienced the Inventor Content Center workflow, but that was expected. 

So a good folder structure in the project is very useful. I will check the internet for more infos on this as well.

Best regards,
Dean

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

I'd add a couple of things to what @laughingcreek said. Simplifying the geometry is a very good idea. Modeled thread really don't have any place in machine design.

As to organizing the fasteners:

1. Keep them in the proper assemblies and subassemblies. Unfortunately data management in the Fusion 360 Browser is rudimentary at best. No way to define or assign user defined tags. No way to search or sort for anything. There is also no way to organize part groups in folders.
2. Usually fasteners are a set and forget thing. Once assembled you never need to select them again. Thus I'd recommend creating selection sets for fasteners and either hide them or set them to un-selectable using the election set. That will definitely improve viewport performance.