Updating board outline?

[Anonymous]

I'm currently exploring new possible workflows as a result of the new E-CAD capabilities of F360.

Within that process there is one key step I can't seem to figure out.

I would love to have the following workflow:

1.) create geometry in Fusion 360

2.) create a sketch which has a direct relation with that geometry (i.e. Project To Surface)

3.) create 3D PCB using the sketch from step 2

4.) link that 3D PCB to a PCB design from the electronics environment within F360

5.) manually update geometry, which auto updates the projection to the sketch from step 2, which I expect to eventually update the PCB outline.

However, the outline/dimensions layer doesn't auto update, and I can't seem to figure out how to push or pull the new data.

any tips would be appreciated.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @Anonymous,

I hope you're doing well. If I'm understanding you correctly all you have to do is in the 3D pcb file click Push to 2D PCB. In a 2D PCB you can just click view 3D PCB.

That let's you move backwards and forwards between the two.

If I've misunderstood anything let me know.

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Hi Jorge,

thanks for the reply.

I think you didn't fully understand my question.

I have a project build up like this:

Creating this project, I went through the following steps:

1.) create geometry of a casing in Fusion 360

2.) create a sketch which has a direct relation to that geometry (i.e. Project)

3.) create 3D PCB using the sketch from step 2

4.) link that 3D PCB to a PCB design from the electronics environment within F360

which gives me:

5.) Go back and manually update the original geometry, which auto updates the projection to the sketch from step 2;

(notice how the holes are enlarged and the projection in the sketch has auto updated)

As the sketch which is used to create a 3D PCB has updated I would expect this to also update the PCB outline.

However, even after saving all the files, the 3D PCB still looks like this:

(notice how the hole sizes have remained the same, though the sketch used to create the 3D PCB has changed)

There are two work-arounds that I could come up with. But neither seem elegant nor practical:

1.) I could manually edit the sketch in the 3D PCB file, but I expect there would be a way to push the new measurements from the casing to the 3D PCB.

2.) I could create a new 3D PCB from the sketch after every update and link the new 3D PCB to the existing 2D PCB. (Though when trying this I get a message telling me another 3D PCB is already linked to it.)

What is the designed workflow?

How can I go back and forth between updating my casing and pushing that to a PCB outline?

[jorge_garcia · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I hope you're doing well. See this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ny4kWdhTbg

Basically when you create a 3D PCB you'll notice that it always goes into it's own file. The key to working in this new way is shown in the video. The workflow revolves around using Insert > Derive.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Hi @jorge_garcia ,

thank you for your reply.

I might be able to work with the Insert > Derive.

However the video talks about the PCB as the driving geometry.

I would like the casing to be the driving geometry.

Is there a way to accomplish that as of now?

If not, here's a feature suggestion: instead of making a copy of the chosen geometry in the "create 3D PCB" function. Use derive. This way a user can later update the 3D PCB to match a change in the casing.

[edwin.robledo · Accepted solution]

Hi  f.valkenhoef,

I greatly appreciate that you are participating in the forum. At the moment this is not possible to have the 3DPCB change based on the changes of the enclosure. I'm fairly certain this is being considered for a future update. 

Best Regards,

Ed

[majedmohammad]

Hi @Anonymous,

I came here searching for a solution for the same task, but since @edwin.robledo verified that Fusion 360 doesn't have this feature yet, I've figured out a way to do it.

After you modify the main geometry in the assembly file, follow these steps:

1. Go to the sketch of that geometry, and drag select all the sketch.

2. Go to the 3DPCB file, expand "Sketches" and modify "Outline" in "Sketches", which is the only sketch.

3. Drag select all the sketch and delete it, and paste the new sketch you copied. Let everything in the positive x and y axes, so the board stays on the same place. You might need to apply some coincidences to make the sketch locked.

4. After you click "Finish Sketch" you might need to modify the next step in the trendline since it will lose the projection of the sketch. If it's yellow, just double click on the feature then click the sketch and it will be solved.

Below are photos to make the steps above clear:

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Hope this solves your requirement.

Tip: Don't make any dimensions parametric or relative to another dimension in the assembly file geometry sketch, they will not be copied to the 3DPCB file.

[kkuWG597]

Hi @Anonymous,

I came here looking for a solution to the same problem, but since majedationE43S5 found a workaround for this problem 2 years ago...
It seems this feature has been implemented by now: After changing something on the sketch in your design. Save your work and open your 3D PCB, you will notice that you get a yellow warning in the component title. The warning says: "The design contains one or more out-of-date references. Use Get All Latest or expand browser nodes to update objects one at a time". So you can see that the very first object in the timeline is also yellow and has a warning: "Get latest version", click on it and you can see that the changes are being updated on your PCB.

Maybe most people have seen this immediately... it took me a while, so hopefully this will help some blindfish like me 😉

[kkuWG597]