VEX EDR Robotic Assembly in Fusion 360

[Anonymous]

Thanks for making you fine design program available for students!  However it does not appear to be suitable for VEX EDR robotic students.

There appears to be a reasonable way to assembly VEX EDR robots in Autodesk Inventor but the available parts from VEX are out of date.  Up-to-date VEX EDR parts are available from VEX for Fusion 360 but it appears that they have to be individually uploaded (a very time consuming process), and there does not appear to be a way to snap the parts together as easy as can be done in Autodesk Inventor.  Am I missing something?  If not this project for students will have to be abandoned.

Thank You!

Bob

[paul.clauss · Accepted solution]

Hi @empty3teen

Thanks for posting! We appreciate the kind words about Fusion 360 and are glad you've been enjoying it so far. 

For the VEX robotics project, you can upload multiple parts at once into the Fusion 360 Data Panel. I've shown how to select multiple parts to be uploaded in the screencast below. After uploading the parts, you will need to use the "insert into current design" to insert components into an assembly design. The components can then be positioned using joints, which you can learn more about at this link.

This thread in the VEX forums may be helpful while you get started. I hope this is helpful - please let me know if you have any questions.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help!  I should have realized I could upload the parts as groups.

This link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwuS6u8zN-E) has what I believe students need to link VEX EDR parts in Fusion 360 in an intuitive way (except for breaking the links to the parts).   Apparently the available VEX EDR parts do not have these connection points as part of their model, and adding them to the parts would be very time consuming.  Is there an easier way to join these parts at their normal connect locations?

Thank You!

Bob

[TrippyLighting]

1. The person in the tutorial works in direct modeling mode because he works with imported geometry. However, your students should probably work in Timeline Mode. Any new/empty design starts by default in timeline/parametric mode. Based on the rest of the tutorial I think the person making that tutorial would not even have known that.
2. None of that circle sketching and point patterning nonsense is necessary to create joints between these parts.
3. Also, deleting the circles makes these patterned points fully unconstrained which is a deadly sin in any CAD program I know.
4. The link should have been broken right after the 1st part was inserted. If you insert that same part a second time from the data panel and then break the links of both components your BOM instance counter will be off.

Brilliant tutorial really!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the post.  Most of what you posted is way over my head.  I am more of an embedded programmer that anything else.  But your post did get me thinking, and I came up with what I call a SudoConnector that can fill the square-connect-holes of the structure components and provides a connection point for joining to other parts. The SudoConnector has to be joined to and grouped with the structure components as needed and then the structure can be joined with the other VEX EDR components.  This process is probably still beyond the “student” level though.

Bob

[TrippyLighting]

If you post a part here (step file is fine) I can show you how this need to be joined.

I have to do some embedded programming myself and software people usually have no problems workin on abstract problems. I bet your student figure this out in no time!

[Anonymous]

I have no idea what a “step” file is.  But the Fusion 360 parts (“Fusion_360_VEX_EDR_KOP.zip”) can be download here: https://www.autodesk.com/education/competitions-and-events/vex/recommended-software#Kit-of-parts.  The ultimate objective is the build the CLAWBOT here: http://www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu/products/cortex_video_trainer/lesson/media_files/clawbot_base.pd... The immediate problem is an example of how to “bolt” together two of the structure elements in a way that a high-school student can understand/tolerate.

Thank you!

Bob

[Anonymous]

I should add that I do not think that this is a problem with Fusion 360.  I think it is a problem with the way the VEX EDR parts for Fusion 360 are modeled.

Bob

[TrippyLighting]

What I am saying is that I don't really see a problem here t all. I had downloaded these models already but could not find the particular one that's used in that video tutorial to demonstrate that there was not problem.

[Anonymous]

Not looking for a lengthy discussion here.  Just looking for an example of how to “bolt” together ANY two of the structure elements in a way that a high-school student can understand/tolerate.  Without an example (even after an extensive web search), my only option is to try and come up with one myself.

Bob

[TrippyLighting]

Here are some learning resources that I found in less than 5 minutes of "extensive web search":

Support and Learning section:

http://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=GUID-A83EFB3E-E7C4-4B78-A842-59069004BDC0

Forum thread discussing joints in detail by @schneik:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/let-s-talk-about-joints/td-p/5493427

Autodesk University Class recordings:

CP124399: Assemblies: Putting It Together in Fusion 360

LO-DM08: Fusion 360 - Assemblies Master Class

Here's a quick screencast of one approach:

[Anonymous]

Bob

The VEX EDR structural parts have “square” cutout (my assumption) holes for attachment points, without any Fusion 360 “joint origins” inside (that I can find).  This can be easily verified by opening a VEX EDR structural part and examining the holes for “joint origins”.  As far as I can see the examples you provided do not cover this situation.  I see and understand how joints are created when the appropriate attachment “joint origins” exist.  Is there a reasonable way(s) to add properly positioned “joint origins” when they do not already exist on a component like these?  Keep in mind that there are a lot of holes on each of the many structural parts, and that each hole would need “joint origins” of both faces of the hole.   The best solution that I have found to date is a part that has both “joint origins” in the correct place and that can be easily “joined” and “grouped” in the needed holes.

Again “I think it is a problem with the way the VEX EDR parts for Fusion 360 are modeled.

Bob

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

I was able to find these structural components for download and see what you mean.

When trying to join two such pieces Fusion 360 does not provide convenient snap points in the center of this holes that the implicit joint origins (the round disks with the half disc cutout) can snap to.

Usually in such cases the best thing to do is to use a explicit joint origins and place one in the location on that component. If both components that are to be joined have such an explicit joint origin then they can be snapped together.

However, putting an explicit joint origin on every rectangular hole in such profile would not be practical, because they cannot be patterned. They should only be placed where need for a joint.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

The following are the conclusions of a non-CAD-person about the usefulness of the Fusion-360-VEX-EDR-parts for high-school-students that are involved in designing and building VEX-EDR-robots. 

1. There is no reasonable way for high-school-students to build the VEX-EDR-CLAWBOT or any complex assemblies.
2. It may be useful to view and examine VEX-EDR-parts that are not physically available.
3. It may be possible to re-model the VEX-EDR-parts so that an “included” part has only the “joint-origins” that are used in the normal combined-assemblies of such parts.

I am interested in any Fusion 360 examples that demonstrated otherwise (or any simple CAD explanations); but complex CAD discussions are beyond my (and high-school-students) abilities.

Thank You!

Bob

[Anonymous]

I am a student In Robotics and Engineering and I can't find the links to download the clawbot, can you assist myself in finding this?

HUSD student.