There should be an Auto 2D Drawing dimensioning function in Fusion 360.

[CLmoss]

There should be a Auto 2D Drawing dimensioning function in Fusion 360.  I mean, if we designed it already in Fusion, then the dimensions are all there in the files, even in the STEP files.   We have to design the project twice to get a set of dimensioned Drawings. A true automated system would do this for you.

If it exists then I have not found it.  Point me to it.

[CLmoss]

My new sheet metal shop just said for me not to turn the STEP files into flat metal.  They would rather do it in Solidworks (the program they use) as their customers always get the k factor wrong.  Well, that is a load off of my shoulders.  I asked them 3 times.  They insisted that they would do the flat metal conversion there.  Not to do it myself.  So that takes the responsibility for making things (screw holes, components, etc) line up in their court.  So I am back to F360 3D modelings. Can I produce a screen cast that only plays to the metal shop using F360?  I guess to demo the design I could create a exploded video.  I was looking at a video on that some time back.

Thanks for your help! 

Jim

[daniel_lyall]

Yes what you do is when the video is finished before you upload it you have the option to set it to public, unlisted or private you set it to private then when it's finished uploading you go to your screencast page and you add a email address to the allowed list for that vid, Then send them the link to the screencast and only you and the person whose email address you added can access it.

Also you can do the samething with the file you can let them see it online and only view it nothing else and you can password protect it, then when the job is finished you change the password.

I use screencast all the time for private work, then after so much time you just go back in and delete it.

That's good if the shop wants to shoulder the responsibility, and it a big weight of you hope they do a good job. 

[CLmoss]

Thanks.  I will give it a try.  

Jim

[CLmoss]

OK.  So I learned how to Animate using this Youtube video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FITrQ3MWHI

After I got past the weird English that the woman uses, I found this to be very helpful.  

That said, she is importing the Publish output into Photoshop. 

Well, here in my current version of Fusion 360, the output is in the form of an AVI file. 

CS2 Photoshop does not open AVI files.  Not only that, in Photoshop, she is opening a .mp4 file. 

She produced an .mp4 file IN FUSION.  

This was published in 2015.  Is there a place in Fusion where I can set an option to allow me to produce an .mp4 file?

Anyone?  

[Maowen_Zhang]

@CLmoss, Currently using Fusion 360 on Mac would publish animation as MP4 file format, using Fusion 360 on windows would publish as AVI format. It's one limitation for now. 

[CLmoss]

Yes.  I found that out on a blog.  Oh well.  I use Windows Encoder to change it to a .wmv file.  The animation capability needs more work, but it is handy when showing a sheet metal house what you are having them make. Otherwise, it is just a lot of STEP files.  

Thanks for your quick response. 

[CLmoss]

Daniel:

What do you know about text that will be used to make screens for printing lettering on say, my back panel that you flattened?  I need to start thinking about that now.  The front panel will need lettering as will my back panel.  I imagine these will be either screened on or laser scribed.  I could see using both.  

Jim

[daniel_lyall]

Not a lot for that in fusion.

The text in fusion is basic at the moment I manly use another program for text unless it's something realy simple, I don't know anyone that has done this sort of thing in fusion, I know inventor can one of the resellers showed it.

@Maowen_Zhang Are you able to help on this or pass it on. one of the jeffs will know

[CLmoss]

Well, it doesn't hurt to ask.  

I have a couple of other programs that might work.  

Photoshop

Page Maker

Illustrator

I just need to find some standard dial scales to work from.  

[CLmoss]

After trying out SHEET METAL for awhile, I went on to ANIMATION.  Now I am trying to go back to SHEET METAL and I cannot find it in the menu anymore.  Did they change where it is?  Maybe they took my preview away from me.  

No wait!  Now it is back again.  Am I required to have record history ON to get the SHEET METAL menu option?  I had no SHEET METAL.  Then I highlighted the backside of my component.  Then I selected SKETCH.  Then SHEET METAL was back on.  

I must have missed that part of the instructions... 

YEAH! That is it.  You have to have CAPTURE HISTORY on to get SHEET METAL on your menu drop down.  Holy Corn!  

Say, SHEET METAL has come along since the last time I used it.  I can modify things like k factors now.  Good Work Troups!  

[CLmoss]

I don't imagine there is a command that will let you IMPORT a STEP file as a SHEET METAL object....    Has anyone found that yet?  That would be great.  Last I knew there was this process where you had to create this kind of thing.  

[daniel_lyall]

That's something they are going to add at some stage.

There is a name for it I cant rember what it was, but it's if you make something in this program you can bring it into fusion and leave it as the part made in another program and work on in fusion and if you need to make changes to it you can do it in fusion or from where it came from and re insert it into fusion.

Inventor has it and it looks like a super handy thing to have for people like you where you send a job to a shop and they convert it to what they use, then they can send it back to you to check and adjust as needed and send back.

[CLmoss]

So, using 3-D STEP or STP files I have gone out for bids on my project and found some interesting issues.   Some of the sheet metal shops respond with a quote. No problems mentioned. Sometimes I get the response that the shop cannot open the using STEP or STP files and convert them to Sheet Metal files.  They all use Solidworks, but I am not sure which versions.  

Here is my question:  Why are some having a problem and others not?

They all can import the files, but a few report that they cannot flatten the files.  I know nothing about Solidworks.  

Could it be  different versions of the STEP or STP files?

Could it be variations in the CAD aluminum such that the walls are not exactly the same thickness as the floor?

I milled this out of solid blocks of aluminum around February when we had no SHEET METAL preview.  

Why some and not others?  

[daniel_lyall]

You will have to ask someone who has solid works so you can sit down with them and work out what does and does not fail, or ask support to do it or a resellers teck person, there will be a reasion for it @jeff_strater would you know.

[CLmoss]

Daniel,

maybe you can advise me here.  I created a SHEET METAL copy of my Back Panel last night.  I need to make some changes.  For some reason the program thinks it is steel and 0.100" thick.  I designed the original to be 0.090" thick and aluminum.  This all came up as I was trying to change the k factor in Sheet Metal Rules.  Can I change this at this point or should I start over? I am not sure where I change the material to aluminum.  I thought I had done this in Preferences.  Seems not.  

I see that the help information is old at this point.

[daniel_lyall]

@CLmoss Not sure, can you use override rules @promm can you advise here please.

[CLmoss]

Can I change the material used?  I ended up with Steel, but thought I was starting out with aluminum. 

Somehow I am in mm steel.  I want inches aluminum.  

If I start over converting an existing component, the back panel you saw before, can I change it to aluminum?

[CLmoss]

Great!  Now in SHEET METAL the flange command stopped working for me.  I am following your video Daniel and I cannot 

step 1) select Flange (works) then

step 2) select edges.  (doesn't work)

I cannot select the edges tonight.  Last night it worked fine.  

This worked last night.  

And it still wants to use steel.  I never selected steel ever. 

I use Aluminum for everything.  I set Aluminum and inches as my defaults in my Preferences.  I guess not.  How do I get back to Aluminum and inches?

Anyone?

[daniel_lyall]

That sounds like a bug the flange command not working.

The default rule in sheet metal is steel mm, you can change the default to Aluminum inch by right clicking on it in the rule drop down and select set as default.

You should be able to override the rules and change them to what you wont, if this is not working it's a bug.

In the attached screencast I change the rules from Steel (mm) to Aluminum (in) in a set as mm and inch model's and change the material sizes as well. If what I show in the screencast does not work for you at all you need to report that as a bug in the Preview Functionality.

[CLmoss]

Great video... once again.  Thanks!  I need to test this today. 

Flange:  What I see that is different from the last video is what you did on this topic is that, at 24 secs, you select Flange, then select the entire object and click OK.  I don't remember you doing this in your last video on this topic.  In that video you clicked on Flange then went directly to the edges.  That was not working for me last night.  What is the reason for this first step?  

Also, your video clearly shows how to set defaults for metal and inches.   Thanks for that!   Great Job.