Total Newbie - Best way to use Fusion 360 for Woodworking?

[richardgolds]

I'm a moderately skilled woodworker, and want to built a cabinet, my first, for my daughter, replacing an Ikea unit that's falling apart.  I will try to duplicate the original design, as it is sound and what she wants.

I would like to design & model this, with joinery and all that will go with it to fully understand how to best approach it with as little waste as possible.

Can anyone recommendation on how to best use F360 for this purpose or point me towards targeted tutorials etc. for woodworking with F360?

TIA,

Richard

[davebYYPCU · Accepted solution]

Model the parts in place, size for size.

Each part should be a Component, containing it’s sketches, bodies, features, (Rule #1)

Components need to be grounded grouped or jointed to prevent accident free moves.

Component can be Arranged on material sheets for best fit.

Fusion has full featured Manufacturing Tool for output to your requirements.

search YouTube, you will be swamped quality of content - about internet standard.

Key words to search / research, are highlighted.

Might help….

[jhackney1972]

@davebYYPCU has given you some great advise.  So you will not be disappointed, one feature he mentioned is not available if you have a Fusion 360 Personal License.  In this statement, "Component can be Arranged on material sheets for best fit", he mentions the use of the Arrange command.  As you can see it is not available in the Fusion 360 Personal License as it is grayed out.

[davebYYPCU]

"Component can be Arranged on material sheets for best fit".  

Plain reading of this works for any License.

(Manual Planar Joints, if Personal License when being specific, but the question is sort of generic.)

Might help....

[tookemtoni · Accepted solution]

Here is a good tutorial https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5lFda6ycP0R7zURInZnlMLulx2gQGZGX&si=POD_kD5HVVmJgvnX

[tookemtoni]

The Add-in a Mapboards is a powerful tool to nest your parts on your sheet materials. Especially if you’re going to cut the materials out with a tablesaw or circular saw since it’ll nest, the parts, considering rip or cross cuts. Mapboards also recognizes parts thickness and will assigns them the matching sheet materials. 

I highly recommend it and I couldn’t use Fusion without it. 🙂

[richardgolds]

Thanks very much!  I appreciate the info and as you suggested am now finding many learning resources online.

Cheers - Richard

[richardgolds]

Mapboards sounded great, I got it, but it won't in stall.  I'm on Win 11 and downloaded the correct .msi file and followed the install directions.

I'm running the 360 personal trial version.  Is that the reason?

I guess I'll try to contact AD support.

Thanks though - Richard

[tookemtoni]

try this support page for mapboards https://www.icarussoftlandings.com/app/docs/wininstall/

[richardgolds]

Thanks, but that's exactly what I did.  I'll contact them directly.

[tookemtoni · Accepted solution]

Hi @richardgolds,

I hope you're having a good time with fusion on your woodworking projects. There is one thing about the Rule #1 is that this exception is very handy us woodworkers....

Exceptions to R.U.L.E #1

There are a number of other workflows that are  perfectly valid but the first step would not be creating a component. For the most part these are top-down design workflows:

1. When you create a skeleton sketch that carries features of several parts of the design and is used to extrude or otherwise create several bodies that then are turned into components. That conversion into a component, however, should happen as soon as possible because features added to a body contained in a component are all added to that components design history.

[tookemtoni · Accepted solution]

I can also highly recommend the Add-in JoinerCAD. It is specifically made for woodworkers. And they have a free plan which you could learn a lot about how to design woodworking projects and fusion.  

[richardgolds]

Thanks vey much!  It looks pretty good and I've downloaded it and will give it a try.

BEST!

Richard

[richardgolds]

Thanks but didn't work.  I'm corresponding with the author, who's out of the country right now, but they're very nice and will get back to me once back.