Pattern folders?

[Anonymous]

I'm new to Fusion, so there is probably an easy fix to this that I can't figure out. I've been working on wheel and every time I create a pattern with the spokes, my browser gets filled with new bodies. In tutorials I've seen the new bodies created are placed into a neat little folder in the browser. I can't figure it and I hate having my browser so cluttered. Suggestions? 

[innovatenate · Accepted solution]

I'm not completely sure I understand what you are hoping for, but you may be able to use the combine command to generate one body from many bodies. See the below Screencast for details.

http://autode.sk/1OmNTmy

Another option may be to use Components to provide more structure to the browser.  Here's another screencast to illustrate this suggestion.

http://autode.sk/1lC9alH

I hope these help! Let us know if you have further questions.

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

Hi, I noticed as well that a folder is no longer created for a patterning body operation.  I think it may have been causing trouble, and also I've read that the ability to create our own folders in the browser tree may be coming in early 2016.  Like Nathan said for now you can create a subcomponent that the bodies will go into.  

Have fun using and learning Fusion 360!

Jesse 

[MattPerez314 · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately no there is not a way to do that currently.  I will assume that you are making a true spoked wheel like a bicycle or motorcycle wheel with individual spokes.  As soon as they are combined it will clean up the browser.

The only work around i have for you now is to do this.

Create a single spoke

Convert it to a component

Activate the component

Pattern the spoke while the component is active

Activate the top level

This will place all the spoke bodies into the bodies folder in the Component.

Hope that helps

[daniel_lyall]

it would be easyer to do the spoke in a component to start with, as it will have the sketch with it, if you make the compontents from bodys you dont have the sketch with it. best practise

[MattPerez314]

Actually Daniel it doesn't matter if its a body converted to a component or if its a component to start with.  The sketch is located in the "sketch" folder in the browser.  When i body is extruded, swept, lofted, revolved into a component a feature for "component" is placed in the timeline followed by the operation.  The sketch is before this point so when the component is activated it is not brought along with it.  Also there are only a bodies and origin folder in the component, not a sketch.  I suggested the "convert to component" option since he likely already has it modeled as bodies and it would be simple to convert, especially if anything was added after the original feature.  

[MattPerez314]

Daniel, i wanted to add a bit more info to this as i think i may see where we differ.  I assumed the body/component would be the seed feature.  Example, the rim profile would be a body/component, then the spoke would be its own body/component.  If instead it was done as one component( rim, spokes etc) i see your point saying the sketch would be contained in the component.  The original sketch that was used to create the first feature, as far as i know, will always reside in the sketches folder in the browser and not be tucked into the component.  But it was my understanding the original poster was trying to tuck the patterned bodies into a folder so making the spoke its own component, then patterning inside it was the only way i thought would work.  If they make the seed feature of the part a component and pattern the spoke body inside there its about the same as just having them all as bodies because everything is still tucked into one folder.

[daniel_lyall]

nup it's is best to do components and keep the drawing in the component.

if you don't and do project down the line and you know you already have that part modeled, if you copy that component out and save as new if there is only a body in the component folder you can do begger all with it. it is the same if its lock to it parent if you have to break the link you lose the adjustablity of the body

if it's drawing is in there you can redo the sketch plane on to the new part what will move the body with it and it will also include the sketch parameters in the parameters.

for a wheel you should do it as hub, spoke, rim in there own component with the plane, sketch in the correct folder to go with each part.

yes a lot of the vids ADSK does does not have this way of doing it, but it is not the correct way to do it.

see this vid  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH94FnUcXpg

[Anonymous]

Wanted to mention there's a great way to help in always having the correct component activated.  First in Preferences > General > Design turn on Active Component Visibility (ACV). This really helps insure the correct component is activated that you'll be working with. Then install the script available on the following thread (thanks again Daniel for the idea!) that allows temporarily disabling ACV, to fully see everything, without needing to activate the root level, which is easy to forget about.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/api-and-scripts/viewing-disable-mode-for-active-component-visibility/t...

Jesse

[MattPerez314]

Creating empty components is certainly a great way to do that from a new file!  I would also suggest that methodology for 95% of Assemblies.  All my responses have been working with already created files though, not new files, which have their own rules/methodology.  There are certainly a lot of ways to do it and i won't say that creating empty components is the end all way though.  There are some cases when you might want an initial base sketch that contains information about multiple components in the assembly.  And in this case having the sketch in the Browser allows you to utilize it for multiple components.  When you activate a component that doesn't "own" the sketch you won't be able to use it for other features.  If the sketch is in the browser and not the component it can be used.  You are still able to access faces of other components but this is just one possible workflow.

If you right click on a component and "save copy as", the new file is a body so you are back to square one, unless i misunderstood your method there or there is a way to save the component as a new file that is still a component.  In the new file you would still need to convert it to a component and you are back to the same problem.  In that new file you can actually drag the body into the empty component but the sketch is still outside of the component in the Browser, just like converting to a component or extruding to a new component.  It just puts a cut/paste bodies feature in the timeline rather than a convert to components feature.

If you redefine a sketch plane for a body that was created before a component(blank or otherwise) was created, during that operation the other components in the browser will disappear so you can't select their geometry.  

To the OP, if you are going to recreate the file from scratch certainly use the "creating empty components" method because it is pretty clean.  If you have a lot of time into your file already i would still suggest you convert one spoke(or set of spokes) to a component, activate it and then pattern the spokes inside there.  all your spoke instances will then be contained in the bodies folder in that component.

[daniel_lyall]

OK???? you can use sketches from any component in another sketch, in the tree you just have that components sketch turned on and the component for the new component turned on you just do a plane and project the sketch onto that plane what is inside the new component what will give you a new sketch what is a projection from another sketch once you have project what lines or what ever are needed you just hit OK, turn the sketch used for the projection from off.

you can import other sketches straight into a component copy and past if you have a component turned on it's the only place it can go that's why you have it turned on so you know where to stick it.

if you save copy as, and there is only a body in the component of course it will just have a body in it, if a component has a sketch, plane and body in it and you save copy as it save everything inside that component. just tested work as it should.

what you are better of doing is copy and past that will save everything inside the component and keep the component intact save copy as does not do this yet.

in that new file you can actually drag the body into the empty component but the sketch is still outside of the component in the Browser.

yes then you redefine that sketch into the new component by selecting the face of the body it came from as the plane.

If you redefine a sketch plane for a body that was created before a component(blank or otherwise) was created, during that operation the other components in the browser will disappear so you can't select their geometry.

correct. then you move the sketch or body in the time line, or you can move the time line to before that body was done making a new component then move the time line back to the end and move it.

all off this I can show you very easily I do it everyday, have a look at this vid for how to copy and past in to a new Design and how to fix it. you can do the same inside a Design

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLN4AV16MQ8

if you wont I can just do a vid on save copy as.

also some of thing you don't know how to do are in the fusion 360 youtube channel.

I learn all this from the top 5 fusion user's and the ADSK fusion employees  

[MattPerez314]

Very odd, i had instances where i couldn't use sketches from other components.  Just tested it and it works fine.  Not sure what happened before.  However i still stand by the fact that you might want a "top level" sketch in the browser as a possible workflow and not nested and copied inside of components.  I was just mentioning one possible workflow(and i did say it was very rare but possible).  I personally would rather have a single sketch to go back to than 5 sketches with projected or included geometry. This does produce its own drawbacks like copying components.

I would like to know more about the copy/paste functionality taking a sketch from one component to another.  Are you talking about going into the sketch and copying it, then creating a new sketch in the other component then pasting?  I have done that(and just reattached constraints to the origin), but if there is another way im all ears.  I don't have any way to right click on a sketch in the sketches folders and copy.

I am also very aware or reorganizing the timeline so that components are in the right location to reorient things.  There are situations where you can't make that happen if/when you reference other faces, edges etc.  But honestly i don't even know what part of your response i was replying to since we are pretty far off topic now.  

With your video or copying the component, that does work great if your design is completely contained in the component from a sketch perspective.  If its missing a plane reference that can be reassigned like your video, but i don't think there is a way to make it work if you sketched on a face.  Can you get it to work on your end?  An example would be activating a component(component2), starting a new sketch on the face of a body in another component(Component1), then trying to copy that entire component(component2) into a new file.  I typically avoid using faces from other bodies/components that will remain individuals, but not everyone does.

[daniel_lyall]

that video, all part's that where from where I got the part from, they where all projected from the very first sketch done in the first component that was made, the sketche's where placed on a offset plane from each part. it was done that way so if i changed the outside sketch in the very first sketch all other parts would change.

all I did was start a component name it activate do the first sketch, do the press pull, start a new component activate it do a offset plane from the first body project from the first sketch on to the plane turn the first components light bulb off, do some more sketching on that plane do the press pull, start a new component activate it do a offset plane from the second body turn the second components light bulb off turn the first components sketch back on project on to the plane turn the first sketch back off do some more sketching do the press pull so on.

top down boom done. that hole model only took 20 mins to do. each and every single part was in it's own component when I did the cam it was activate the first component have the other's off do the tool path hit save, protect the toolpaths,

activate the next component same process over and over again very clean and straight forward processes to do. with a very small time line for each part and a very small tree.

you can do it how ever you wont but I learnt to do it this way from experts.

the sketch on a face works to if you do the sketch on the first component's body what is not active and the second component is where is the sketch going to go it is going into the second component it can't go anywhere else that's way you activate components. clear as mud

copying sketches can't remember will go play 

[daniel_lyall]

just had that play components are your friend, you can copy and past a component into a component copy and past new into the tree, cut and past into the tree and component.

also a lot of the addons that have been done only work properly from a component be it the sketch and all in the component or just the body in the component.

the copy and past a sketch nup not from a component, but you can copy and past, cut and past the component into a component the component that you copied becomes a sub component and you can do what you wont with the sub component.

you can drag a sketch out of a component and dump it into the tree at the top level, also you can then drag that sketch into a new component and it will grab it's body out of the component that the sketch came from.

so everything work's very well if everything is in a component for the copy and cut.

this only applies if you do a model this way.

when I do flat pack furniture I don't quite do it the same I only have a sketch in the back, shelf's and kicker the sides are only body's in components the rest other than the back are body and sketches in components, the back component is the driver for all other's with the back body and if needed a offset plane for the door if it's for a cabinet.

so back to the topic pattern folder's is the wrong name. it's template folder's where you have a components with the template body and sketch or just a sketch, as there is a addon for changeing paramater's so you can make changes to the template and save the changed template to what ever useing user defined paramaters. so again components are needed.

I dont think there is any more examples where component only are needed, it's up to you how you do it, I am not getting into a argument about it had one this week that's enough had to get admin to take over, I dont think I needed to do that with you you are putting you case forward in a good way and not being a D   about it so have fun. I know I am now with fusion was not 2 big updates ago. god I rave on