How can I align components on a PCB with an enclosure in Fusion 360?

[LSH]

I have a design of an existing enclosure in Fusion 360. Now I also want to design a PCB in Fusion that will fit inside the enclosure. There are slots in the design where the PCB should be placed, so I can base the PCB layout on that. Additionally, there are several components that need to be placed on the PCB, which must be aligned with the enclosure (so that buttons and connectors are accessible). What is the workflow to achieve this?

Copying the board outline from the design works well (Create Associative PCB). However, getting the design back into the original drawing doesn't work. I also haven't been able to include any other mechanical data so that I can use it in the component layout.

[CGBenner]

@LSH 

Welcome to the forum, thanks for the question!  @jorge_garcia can you help this user in the right direction?  Thank you in advance.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @LSH ,

I hope this message finds you well. Check out options 3 and 4 in this video. This covers everything you'll need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCntaivZtw0&list=PLmA_xUT-8UlL80Xm8Gxz98YNum3I9GInr&index=3&t=1s

It's also now possible to transfer sketches from the 3D PCB to the 2D PCB to reference certain locations. I don't have a video on that one, though I should.

Best Regards,

[LSH]

This is mostly what I already knew, although there are a few new details included. However, it doesn't answer my question completely, because I want to position components exactly, not only the board outline.

[jorge_garcia · Accepted solution]

Hi @LSH,

I hope you're doing well. So for that, you could use the relatively new feature where you create a sketch on the 3D PCB and then push that back to the 2D PCB. You can use the sketch to define the key locations for components and then use it as a guide on the 2D PCB.

Here's the documentation for it.
https://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=ECD-CREATE-3D-PCB-SKETCH

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

Best Regards,

[LSH]

Thank you, this was what pointed out to me how I could solve it. For anyone reading this later, here’s an extra hint: In the 3D environment, you can also move components, and you can move components to a sketch point there.