Really Basic Sketch Q

[Anonymous]

I’ve created a single sketch using multiple Splines, Arcs, and Rectangles.  I’ve placed them all together to form a closed structure (turned yellow indicating they are closed). 

• Should all lines other than the exposed outside portions be deleted or left in place? Does it matter?  I have multiple spline lines crossing each other to create a single body outline. (The Spline won’t let a portion be deleted for obvious curve definition reasons)
• Once extruded, should I leave the sketches as part of the created body?

If a portion of the body needs a different depth extrusion. 

• Should I create a body, then draw another sketch on the body and extrude it to the desired depth?

Note: If the sketch is drawn on the same source body, the sketches will essentially be in a single place (on the same plane?)

Now I need to create copies of the body I just created.  Should I copy the body multiple times and leave the original with the sketches in place for future editing?

In the past, I’ve created multiple sketch rectangles that seem to become part of a single source.  When I edit one, all rectangle values are edited.  What am I doing wrong?

When I move bodies or sketches too close together I have trouble selecting my target to move.  Whether it’s a body or sketch, if it’s too close to another I tend to grab more than one.  I can use the side bar to turn on and off the other entities (bodies/sketches) but I then separate the sketch from the body.  What’s up with the connection between sketches and bodies.  Is there a best practice for moving objects around?

Thanks!

Tim

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

There are lots of questions here, I'll do my best to try to address some of them.  It would be better to see a picture of your design, but I think I can understand your questions:

• Should all lines other than the exposed outside portions be deleted or left in place? Does it matter?  I have multiple spline lines crossing each other to create a single body outline. (The Spline won’t let a portion be deleted for obvious curve definition reasons)

[jeff] No, you should just leave the lines as they are.  It doesn't matter if there are "extra" curves in a sketch.  You can just select what you want to Extrude, and ignore the rest

• Once extruded, should I leave the sketches as part of the created body?

[jeff] Sketches are not really "part of a body".  Do you mean a Component?  If you want to work work with multiple components, you should review fusion-360-r-u-l-e-1-and-2.

If a portion of the body needs a different depth extrusion. 

• Should I create a body, then draw another sketch on the body and extrude it to the desired depth?

[jeff]  You can extrude any number of bodies, or joins/cuts from a single sketch if all your geometry is in one sketch.

In the past, I’ve created multiple sketch rectangles that seem to become part of a single source.  When I edit one, all rectangle values are edited.  What am I doing wrong?

[jeff] I'm not sure exactly what you mean here.  Can you provide some more information?  What does "all rectangle values are edited" mean?

When I move bodies or sketches too close together I have trouble selecting my target to move.  Whether it’s a body or sketch, if it’s too close to another I tend to grab more than one.  I can use the side bar to turn on and off the other entities (bodies/sketches) but I then separate the sketch from the body.  What’s up with the connection between sketches and bodies.  Is there a best practice for moving objects around?

One technique that I use a lot for selecting things that are close together is Select Other.  Press and hold the left mouse button and this UI comes up:

Jeff

[Aaron.Magnin · Accepted solution]

Hey Tim, 

There are a couple of different questions on this post, so I'm going to try to answer as concisely as possible. 

-regarding sketch "outside portion", it's really up to you. On one end you may want to delete those extra bits for organizational purposes (the trim tool makes this very easy), but on the other end they shouldn't effect the resulting geometry whether they are deleted or not. Personally, if I'm not in a rush I'll trim them off.

-this plays into the RULE #1 consideration. Have you heard of that? If not, watch this guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6MMw-dfS8s. Anyway, in most cases it best to have all related sketches, construction geometry, and other features contained within a component. This is achieved by creating a new component and activating it before creating sketches, bodies, etc. 

-for the body with different depths question, I'd really need to know the context. If it's the same cross section, I would just do it in one feature and use different depths depending on direction, but if the cross section is different you'd need a sketch anyway. 

-for the multiple bodies question, again I'd refer you to that body v component QUICK TIP I linked earlier. This is because its dependant on how you'll use the resulting geometry. 

-to select things that are close together, use the select other tool or selection filters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCVi1hrjgdM 

And the best way to move things around is to use joints, in my personal preference. That way you ensure that things are aligned. 

I'd recommend you check out these "Foundational Concepts" me and Bryce put together:  http://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/learn-training-tutorials/foundational-concepts

Hope that helps! If you need clarification on any of these, don't hesitate! 

Aaron

[dan.banach · Accepted solution]

Hi Tim,

Here are answers to your questions.

1. With Fusion you don't have to trim geometry, as long as it forms a closed profile, you can use it. Trimming the geometry does make the sketch look cleaner, but this is a personal preference.
2. For the body and sketch questions, if you are working in a file that just has one component, the sketches will be associated to the correct body. If you are working with multiple components in a file, it is recommended to Create a Component first, make it active and create the sketches and bodies under the component. Review the first video in the following link, the video reviews the possible workflows in Fusion: Fusion 360 | Learn Foundational Concepts
3. For the extrusion question, it sound like you are creating features on the body, so creating sketches on the bodies is a good way to model.
4. With Fusion, you can copy a Body in the file as many times as needed to explore your design. If desired, you can delete bodies that are no longer needed.
5. For your question about multiple rectangles, it sounds like the rectangles are in one sketch so when one is changed, all the occurrences change. Try placing the rectangles in different sketches, this will keep them separate.
6. To help with the selection of just bodies, have you used the Select options, as shown in the attached image? This allows you to filter out unwanted geometry.

Hope this helps.

-Dan

[Anonymous]

Thanks Jeff! That definitely clears up several points for me. You've been a ton of help and I really do appreciate it.

Tim

[Anonymous]

🙂 Very nice complete answers. Thanks Dan!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Aaron!