Trying to draw a box, following the bookshelf build video, need some assistance

[Anonymous]

I'm brand new to fusion 360, have been using sketchup to model projects and import them to Aspire for CNC routing. I'm trying to make a simple box using aspects such as the tabs/slots for the joinery. Basic stuff, I know, but when I draw the bottom, then the exterior wall boundaries and extruder them, they become 1 solid wall, not individual sides, all of my boundary lines (rectangles) disappear, along with the base. I'm so confused, do I need to start a new sketch for each entity, like I would a layer or object/group/component in sketchup? Does it not automatically start a new sketch when a shape is drawn? Can someone maybe do a collaboration and walk me through the steps please?

[TrippyLighting]

You realize that Fusion 360 has builtin CAM ?

Anyway, If you can share a model and make a screencast showing where you encounter problems then help is much easier to provide.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I realize that it has built in CAM, however I didn't see a post processor for my machine, or the .tap format for my controller pc, which runs Mach3. My router is an ez-router. Besides, I'll get to the CAM side of things in time, I have 27 days left of the trial - I am just getting started with fusion, considering purchasing a license, just gotta take it 1 section at a time lol

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

  As your extruding your sketch profiles, after you extrude the first profile the sketch will disappear automatically. To use the sketch again, on the left side of Fusion you'll see the browser. Expand the "Sketches" folder and click on the light bulb for the sketch you want to use, this will show your sketch and allow you to reuse it. Also make sure you do an extrude separately for each "body" or "component" (or board) you want and when you do the extrude make sure you select under "Operation" in the extrude command dialog "New Body" or "New Component" instead of "Join". "New Component" is best practice if the extrude is creating something that is an individual piece in real life (Like in a bookshelf each board would be a component).

  -Rule #1 in Fusion is before you start doing any work make sure you create and activate a new component and start your work under that. You can make a new component by right-clicking the top part in the browser and selecting "New Component" and it will automatically activate it. This isn't absolutley neccessary but it's good practice. When you want to work on a different component you need to activate it using the radio button next to the name on the right. I think this would be a good video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Nx0kd-cJE

I also recommend maybe browsing through the videos on the Fusion 360 Youtube channel and watching some of them: https://www.youtube.com/user/AutodeskFusion360 

  Hope this helps, -  Jacob S.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Jacob. Great way to break it down on the component creation. I
make it a practice to always watch the videos first and at last resort, ask
questions. I hate wasting other people's time asking a question that is
clearly the title and subject of a video lol. I subscribed to the channel
before I downloaded the software and started watching the basics playlist.
As with any new software package (new to me), the little details sometimes
get lost in translation and it just takes a different perspective to find
the solution or to show you what to watch out for. Really loving the
software though.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Jacob. Great way to break it down on the component creation. I
make it a practice to always watch the videos first and at last resort, ask
questions. I hate wasting other people's time asking a question that is
clearly the title and subject of a video lol. I subscribed to the channel
before I downloaded the software and started watching the basics playlist.
As with any new software package (new to me), the little details sometimes
get lost in translation and it just takes a different perspective to find
the solution or to show you what to watch out for. Really loving the
software though.

[Anonymous]

 Nah your not wasting anybodys time. That's what this forum is for, learning and helping other people out. Glad I could help. The Youtube channel's videos are scattered around quite a bit so it takes some getting use to. But they seem to do a pretty good job making quality videos for beginners. Just go to the Videos tab and scroll though the videos and watch any that look like they could help. -  Jacob S.

 There's also this page for learning the Fusion basics: http://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/

[Anonymous]

 And I agree with you, you should at least learn the basics of the modeling side and become comfortable with it before you try learning the CAM side of things.       -  Jacob S.