What exactly is a rigid joint suppose to accomplish??

[tzampini]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to Fusion 360, and I am confused as to what a rigid joint is supposed to accomplish. From it's name, I would think that a rigid joint is supposed to join two components together, like gluing to pieces together. But after I join two components together, I can still use the Move command to separate them. What am I missing?

FYI, the join operation appears to work fine. The two components move toward each other, and then both components shake for a second or two. I also see the tiny rigid joint symbol (looks like a dovetail joint). So I can't understand why

I can still separate the components with the move command. Please help.

Tony

[jeff_strater]

most likely, you are using Body Move, not Component Move:

a Body Move moves the body within the component's coordinate system, and introduces a timeline feature that comes after the Rigid Joint.

But, that is just a guess without more information - share a screencast, the design, screen captures, etc.

[jeff_strater]

Or, are you asking about Rigid Group, or As-Built Rigid Joint?  I'm a bit confused by this statement:  "the join operation appears to work fine. The two components move toward each other, and then both components shake for a second or two. "  That sounds to me just like a Rigid Joint, and it seems to be working.  So, a little unsure of your question.

[tzampini]

Jeff,

First, thanks for your quick reply. It is encouraging to beginners like me that this forum so responsive.

I did not use "As built joint" or "rigid group". I simply clicked on Assemble -> Joint. Then I hovered the mouse over a corner of one component(this component happens to be a simple cube), and I see the little half moon disk. So I click. Then I move to the other component (also a cube) and click on one of its corners. At this point I see the first cube move toward the other cube, and the little joint icon appears at the points I clicked on. Shouldn't the two cubes be inseparable at this point? Not so for me. I can separate the two cubes with the move command.

Tony

[jeff_strater]

OK, this is good information.  Here's a screencast showing how Rigid Joint is supposed to work.  Then, I show that the components are joined by dragging one around, and the other comes with it.  Then, I show using Move set to "Component Move" and show that they still move together.  However, "Body Move" (which, unfortunately is the default) moves the Body within the component.  The components are still joined together, but now the bodies have been repositioned.

[tzampini]

Jeff,

You nailed it! When I performed the Move command, "Bodies" was selected by default. If I change that setting to Components, then I cannot separate the two components, which is the result I was looking for. But now I realize that there is a lot I need to learn about the relationships between bodies and components, because the the way it works doesn't seem intuitive to me at all. Do you know of any good tutorials that address this topic? Thanks for your help.

Tony

[tzampini]

Jeff,

I just watched your screencast and it shows my issue perfectly. Now I just have to learn how to make screencasts should I have issues to post in the future 🙂

Thank you again so much.

Tony