Need some advice on importing a physcial model into Fusion 360 and modifying it

[john.kattenhorn]

Hi,

I hope this question is not too stupid 🙂

We are pretty new to Fusion 360 but we have already had some great experiences creating and manufacturing some small parts for a project we are working from scratch.

We have a requirement now to be able to produce an accurate re-design of an existing physical part.

Initially we thought about taking some photos of the parts and trying to reproduce them from scratch on Fusion 360 by measuring them and tracing over them but they are pretty complex (model car parts) and then we need to modify them for my own project.

So then we thought about 3D scanning the physical part but as we understand it we would end up with a mesh of the scanned item and it wouldn't be perfectly to tolerance so would we still have to use this model to trace over it ?

What advice does anyone have about re-producing a physical item as an accurate CAD model ?

Thanks

John 

[sachlene.singh · Accepted solution]

@john.kattenhorn,

There are no stupid questions here! 🙂

So, there are a few different ways to approach the problem based on the geometry of the physical object. 

1. The easiest way is to trace it back to its CAD model and irrespective of what CAD it was designed in, we should be able to bring it into Fusion.

2. If it's absolutely impossible to have a CAD model, you will need to figure out how accurate you need your CAD replica to be

     a. For a somewhat approximate representation, take out those calipers and start measuring and start modeling in Fusion

     b. If the geometry is a little complex, but the accuracy you need is not extremely high, try an app like 123D Catch: http://www.123dapp.com/catch

     c. For a highly accurate representation, feel free to use a handheld scanner to scan the physical part.

3. Once you have the scan data in the form of a mesh, you can easily import that into Fusion. Here's a quick tip on how to do that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzg0VJuBA9s

    Also here is a webinar from a few years ago that might still apply to working with scanned data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59iW2WQFzig

    Be warned that the Fusion UI looks very different today than what it did in that webinar.

I hope that helps!

[john.kattenhorn]

Thanks for the tips. I looked at all the options, I love 123D Catch! Nice concept but not detailed enough.

I think I'll go with the calipers options first and make the part functional and then gradually add back to the detail to make it more like the original part once it's working for us.

I'm rapidly becoming a Fusion 360 / Autodesk fanboy ... the sense of community is really strong.

[TheCADWhisperer]

I work with a combination of pictures placed in sketches and calipers all the time.

Can you attach your image files here?

[sachlene.singh]

Glad to hear it!

Let us know what else we can do for you.