Create a sketch doesn't focus on object

[ajajanicki]

When I right click on an object and choose Create sketch the camera focuses on the beginning of coordinate system instead of the object itself (as it always used to). How do I fix it?

[ltomuta]

Move the object in origin?

[g-andresen]

Hi,

use FIT

günther

[ajajanicki]

Not sure I understand - you advise to move to object to origin of coordinate system...?

[ajajanicki]

Hi,

Fit doesn't work, it only makes the object visible on the screen but it zooms out to do it instead of focusing on the object.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

This is because your reference object was created at a great distance from the origin.

The sketch should always be defined, i.e. have a reference to the origin of the current sketch.
Therefore, the origin of the current sketch is always in the middle of the display.

Please share the file.

File > export > save as f3d on local drive  > attach it to the next post

günther

[ajajanicki]

Hi,

I can't export the file, I assume it's because it is personal use only version.

In this video I recorded everything from the start - it's a brand new sketch.

[ltomuta]

By the look of things components/bodies are usually near design's origin and when a sketch is created it appears to stay centred on the reference plane (face) just because it doesn't need to move to also bring the origin in view.

In this design the referenced object is far away from origin so the repositioning is more striking.

So the obvious question is, does that body/component need to be there to begin with? 

[g-andresen]

Hi,

If you follow my recommendation in # 6 it will work.

Günther

[ajajanicki]

I only created and move the body in this sketch to demonstrate the problem. I have projects that are huge and obviously all objects can't be near the origin. I have worked with fusion 360 for about 4 years now, I has never been an issue - wherever the object was the Create sketch function focused on the selected face of object (similar to Look at function). About two days ago the camera started focusing on origin of the project instead, on all of my projects.

[ajajanicki]

The recommendation may work for new projects, but what about the projects I have been working on until now?

I have several projects with huge number of objects. The camera was working fine until two days ago. For example, I have a project that has about 2 thousand bodies -  I would not have created it if the camera was focusing on the origin of coordinate system every time I created a sketch...

Until about two days ago the camera was focusing on the face of the object I wanted to create a sketch on, wherever the object was. Then suddenly it started focusing on the origin instead.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

I have been using the scroll wheel for a long time. I do have a CAD mouse with zoom in / zoom out function, but I rarely use it because the positioning of the buttons is difficult for my hand.

günther

[ajajanicki]

Sorry but I fail to see how the input device is relevant to the issue. I am using a standard wheel mouse, the camera was focusing corrrecty on the sketch until about 2 days ago...

I spoke with a friend of mine that also uses fusino 360. He confirmed that the camera started bevahing the same way as mine this week. In this case - could it be a fusion 360 update related issue? We both are located in Poland (it could be relevant if the update was regional only).

[g-andresen]

Hi,

I've been working with Fusion for many years and don't recall the behavior ever being different. That was the reason why I bought the CAD mouse 4 years ago.
But, as I said, I now only work with the scroll wheel.
Maybe it is possible to find out which shortcuts trigger zoom in/out.

günther

[ajajanicki]

Hi,

I have a friend saying the camera movement has changed this week the same as on my computer. And you say it has always been like that. So.... was I using a bugged version of fusion 360 for a few years in which the camera moved to the position where the sketch was created?

Please check the video below. Why would anyone like the camera to move to the origin, when I clearly wanted to draw a sketch on the top of the 85th cylinder? What could possibly be benefit of such behaviour? Yes, I can move the camera manually to the right position. Yes, a CAD mouse would make it easier. But why would the camera go away to the origin when the origin is not the place I want to draw the sketch...

[g-andresen]

Hi,

What should not be is that the selected area is not highlighted and thus cannot be selected.

Maybe @jeff_strater  or @Phil.E   or ... can say something about that?

günther

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

I am 99% certain that this behavior has not changed in years.  I know this because people have been complaining about it for years.  Here is the sequence of justifications for this behavior:

• Every sketch should contain a fixed point at the sketch origin.  This was added early on in Fusion development, because, without this fixed point, there is no easy way to fully constrain a sketch.
• The sketch origin should (as much as possible) be a projection of the owning component's origin.  Again, at the very beginning of Fusion, this was not the case.  Each sketch had an origin that was only defined in terms of its own geometry.  So, if you sketch on a face, one point on that face would be designated as the origin.  Further, the X axis was also defined in terms of the local geometry.  While this avoids the situation that you are encountering, it causes much worse effects.  The sketch coordinate system becomes very unstable under any upstream edit.  The origin can move, the coordinate system can rotate, and geometry can move in unpleasant ways.  So, we abandoned that for a scheme that, instead, centers on the owning components coordinate system.  Much more stable under edit.  But, it can mean (as it does in this case), that the geometry of the component can be a ways away from the component origin.
• The "look at" and "fit" functionality for a sketch should include its origin point.  This is the real religious battle in all this.  I can actually see both sides.  That origin point is a part of the sketch.  So, if you ask Fusion to fit the sketch to the view ("look at" also includes a "fit"), then the origin should be included.  However, in some cases, that point can be a long way from the other geometry in the sketch.  Anyway, for better or worse, about 5 years ago, it was determined that the origin is a part of the sketch, so should be included in "fit".

The answer to all this, IMO, is to just turn off "sketch auto look at" in the preferences.  I, personally, hate that option, and turn it off.  (in fact, I had to lobby hard to get that option added to Fusion, because I hated it so much).  90% of the time, the sketch is parallel to one of the top/front/side views, so I usually just click on one of those if I happen to want to look directly down on the sketch.

I assume that this explanation will not be sufficient in your eyes, @ajajanicki, but that is how we got to where we are.  Hope it at least clarifies the situation.

[ajajanicki]

I ended up following your advise to turn off the sketch auto look at, which does make it less annoying working on my projects.

I obviously have no way of proving that the behavior was different until 2 days ago...

EDIT:

After turning off the "auto look at sketch" option, a good idea before creating a sketch seems to be to "look at" the desired object first, and then when the camera focuses on the object, create a sketch on it. This together seems to work quite well - I would say almost the same way it was working before, except now the process takes one more action ("look at" first).

[danhilyer]

I have been using Fusion for many years and like the OP stated, up until a few weeks ago, when I created a sketch, the camera would focus on the selected sketch plane.  It would even rotate the plane to my frustration.  As OP stated, I cannot prove that this was the case, but something has definitely changed.  This very frustrating when you have large designs that have objects, bodies, sketches, etc., that are far from the origin.  I have a project I am currently working on that has this problem.  Every sketch, except two are connected through the design in some manner back to the origin.  I always start designs at the origin and work out.  Again, something has definitely changed.  

The suggestion to turn off "Auto look at Sketch" does not solve this issue.  Now, it does keep it from going back to the origin, bu the camera still loses focus on the sketch plane.

[ssweeny]

Same issue. Was working like I wanted up until a day or two ago. Where the "create sketch" would focus on the plane I wanted to sketch and not jump back to origin. If this action was bug, than I would like a way to get that bug to be an option.