Create parameter based sketches

00:02

create parameter based sketches.

00:06

After completing this video, you'll be able to create a user parameter,

00:09

create a construction plane.

00:11

Use circle and rectangle and link sketch dimensions and parameters

00:17

Infusion 3 60. We're gonna get started with a new untitled document.

00:22

We want to expand our document settings and note that

00:24

we are going to be using the metric unit system.

00:28

When we're talking about creating sketches and designs in fusion 3 60.

00:32

Oftentimes the dimensions are added directly in the

00:35

sketch or during creation of a feature.

00:37

But when pre planning out models,

00:40

creating what are called user parameters can be a helpful addition to

00:44

figure out a way to control your designs in one place.

00:47

So for this example we're going to start by going to modify and change parameters.

00:54

The parameters dialog will contain all the parameters used

00:57

in sketches and features but it also allows us

00:60

to create user parameters ahead of time or after

01:03

the fact and link them to the various values.

01:05

So we're gonna hit the plus icon to get started

01:08

and we're going to create a new user parameter.

01:10

It's important to note that there are

01:12

syntax constraints when naming user parameters.

01:15

For example, I want to create a plane offset and I'm not able to use the space.

01:21

I either have to use underscore

01:23

or I can simply put a capital O for the next letter.

01:28

Then we can enter a value or an expression that's going to be used in this case.

01:32

The units are still mm and the expression is going to be 500.

01:37

This is going to evaluate to 500. And we can say, Okay,

01:41

I'm gonna select OK. And then I want to create a new offset construction plane.

01:46

I'm going to select this plane here which is Y. Z. Or my right plane.

01:51

And once the dimension or distance dialog boxes active,

01:55

I'm going to begin typing in P for plain and you

01:58

can see that my user parameter plane offset is listed here.

02:03

I can hit enter to accept that double click the mouse

02:06

wheel and you can see that if I show my origin,

02:08

double click the mouse wheel again that I now

02:11

have my origin and my 500 millimeter offset.

02:15

What I want to do from here is create some

02:17

additional parameters and link them to values such as sketches.

02:20

So from modify change parameter.

02:23

I want to create some length, width and diameter parameters.

02:27

So we'll start by typing in length,

02:31

This is going to be 200.

02:35

I'm going to repeat the process for width.

02:40

This is going to be 200

02:42

as well and we're gonna create one for whole _ DIA for diameter.

02:48

And this is going to be 50.

02:53

Now I want to create a new sketch and I'm going to select my Y Z plane,

02:57

right click and select create sketch

03:01

from here. I want to create a center point rectangle.

03:04

So we'll select centerpoint,

03:06

place it at the origin and as the dimensions are displayed,

03:09

I'm gonna go ahead and type L.

03:11

For length and I'm going to hit enter to accept length tab to go to the next dialog box,

03:18

W for width, enter and then I can enter to accept that

03:22

I'm going to use the center diameter circle right at the origin.

03:27

And I'm going to hit H for hole and again enter to accept and enter one more time.

03:34

I'm gonna finish the sketch

03:35

and then I want to use extrude.

03:38

We'll select this profile and for the extra distance I'm

03:41

going to select to object and select our plane.

03:45

Note that we could also use the dimension

03:48

directly inside of the extent dialogue for example,

03:52

for distance instead of using 500

03:55

or using our plane as an object.

03:57

We can simply type in p for plane offset and it'll have the same effect.

04:02

So depending on whether or not you're extruding up to a plane or

04:06

another reference or you want to simply enter the value directly in here.

04:10

Both options will provide the same result.

04:14

Now we have our design but what can we do with it?

04:17

Well,

04:17

we can go back to modify change parameters and let's go ahead and minimize

04:22

this a little bit and pull it out of the way so we can see

04:25

If I decide to decrease the plane offset value to say 200.

04:30

The entire design is going to shorten.

04:33

If I decide to make the length a bit longer. At 500, you can see the design updates.

04:38

If we make the hole diameter larger. Again the design updates.

04:42

If we make the user parameter for with a bit taller, everything updates.

04:47

So making sure that we take the time to reference our sketches

04:51

properly to the origin and any other sketch entities and make sure

04:55

that we understand how we can use these user parameters to our

04:58

advantage will help us build robust models that can be updated easily.

05:03

It does take a little bit of pre planning and thought.

05:06

But even if we create a sketch for example on the top face here

05:11

And we use another circle this time I'm going to go ahead and

05:15

place it roughly in the center and I'm gonna add a dimension.

05:19

This can be done with D on the keyboard

05:22

and select the circle and let's say 150

05:25

and I'm gonna go ahead and place this a distance of half of the overall thickness.

05:32

So remember that value was our plane offset. And I'm gonna use divided by two.

05:37

So this will place it exactly in the middle of that plane offset.

05:40

However,

05:41

we also need a horizontal vertical constraint to make sure that it is fully defined.

05:47

So now we can use extrude

05:49

and we can add this boss to the top.

05:52

But what if we decided that we wanted a user parameter to

05:55

define that if we go back to modify and change parameters,

05:59

we can expand our model,

06:01

we can expand our sketches and features and we can find the

06:05

values that were used for example 100 and 50 or 75.

06:10

We can use our favorites to place those at the very top.

06:14

Or we can use new user parameters in this case whole underscore dia to

06:21

Value of 75 and then we can re associate this. So type in H for a hole diameter.

06:29

Or we can select hole diameter too and make that reference here.

06:34

So we can rename this whole too and we can

06:38

reset the expression value to be our hole diameter to.

06:43

That allows us to re link those values or expressions.

06:47

It just takes a little bit of extra time.

06:49

This can also be done back at the sketch level.

06:52

If we were to double click on the original sketch

06:54

we can double click on the diameter value or the

06:57

radius value and we can simply link it here whole

07:01

diet to enter and you can see the value there.

07:05

Once we finish the sketch we can update everything from the

07:08

user parameters And now the design again is parametric in nature,

07:11

making it easier for us to update.

07:14

It is important to note that not all designs will

07:17

make use of creating user parameters ahead of time.

07:20

There are some cases where you simply must create your

07:23

dimensions on the fly but in a lot of cases

07:26

you can do a little planning create parameters ahead of

07:28

time and have an easy way to drive your design.

07:31

Let's go ahead and save this. And in this case I want to create a new sub folder.

07:36

So we've got our intro here and I'm going to

07:39

select new folder and I'm going to simply call it sketching

07:43

when a double click on that.

07:44

And then we're going to create this as user parameter practice.

07:51

So now we've saved our new design in a new folder in our data panel.

07:55

And we have a basic understanding of how we can use user parameters to our advantage.

08:00

Once again,

08:01

it's important to play around with these and figure

08:03

out how they can be used in your designs.

08:06

Once you're done with that,

08:07

make sure that you have saved your design and you can move on to the next step.

Video transcript

00:02

create parameter based sketches.

00:06

After completing this video, you'll be able to create a user parameter,

00:09

create a construction plane.

00:11

Use circle and rectangle and link sketch dimensions and parameters

00:17

Infusion 3 60. We're gonna get started with a new untitled document.

00:22

We want to expand our document settings and note that

00:24

we are going to be using the metric unit system.

00:28

When we're talking about creating sketches and designs in fusion 3 60.

00:32

Oftentimes the dimensions are added directly in the

00:35

sketch or during creation of a feature.

00:37

But when pre planning out models,

00:40

creating what are called user parameters can be a helpful addition to

00:44

figure out a way to control your designs in one place.

00:47

So for this example we're going to start by going to modify and change parameters.

00:54

The parameters dialog will contain all the parameters used

00:57

in sketches and features but it also allows us

00:60

to create user parameters ahead of time or after

01:03

the fact and link them to the various values.

01:05

So we're gonna hit the plus icon to get started

01:08

and we're going to create a new user parameter.

01:10

It's important to note that there are

01:12

syntax constraints when naming user parameters.

01:15

For example, I want to create a plane offset and I'm not able to use the space.

01:21

I either have to use underscore

01:23

or I can simply put a capital O for the next letter.

01:28

Then we can enter a value or an expression that's going to be used in this case.

01:32

The units are still mm and the expression is going to be 500.

01:37

This is going to evaluate to 500. And we can say, Okay,

01:41

I'm gonna select OK. And then I want to create a new offset construction plane.

01:46

I'm going to select this plane here which is Y. Z. Or my right plane.

01:51

And once the dimension or distance dialog boxes active,

01:55

I'm going to begin typing in P for plain and you

01:58

can see that my user parameter plane offset is listed here.

02:03

I can hit enter to accept that double click the mouse

02:06

wheel and you can see that if I show my origin,

02:08

double click the mouse wheel again that I now

02:11

have my origin and my 500 millimeter offset.

02:15

What I want to do from here is create some

02:17

additional parameters and link them to values such as sketches.

02:20

So from modify change parameter.

02:23

I want to create some length, width and diameter parameters.

02:27

So we'll start by typing in length,

02:31

This is going to be 200.

02:35

I'm going to repeat the process for width.

02:40

This is going to be 200

02:42

as well and we're gonna create one for whole _ DIA for diameter.

02:48

And this is going to be 50.

02:53

Now I want to create a new sketch and I'm going to select my Y Z plane,

02:57

right click and select create sketch

03:01

from here. I want to create a center point rectangle.

03:04

So we'll select centerpoint,

03:06

place it at the origin and as the dimensions are displayed,

03:09

I'm gonna go ahead and type L.

03:11

For length and I'm going to hit enter to accept length tab to go to the next dialog box,

03:18

W for width, enter and then I can enter to accept that

03:22

I'm going to use the center diameter circle right at the origin.

03:27

And I'm going to hit H for hole and again enter to accept and enter one more time.

03:34

I'm gonna finish the sketch

03:35

and then I want to use extrude.

03:38

We'll select this profile and for the extra distance I'm

03:41

going to select to object and select our plane.

03:45

Note that we could also use the dimension

03:48

directly inside of the extent dialogue for example,

03:52

for distance instead of using 500

03:55

or using our plane as an object.

03:57

We can simply type in p for plane offset and it'll have the same effect.

04:02

So depending on whether or not you're extruding up to a plane or

04:06

another reference or you want to simply enter the value directly in here.

04:10

Both options will provide the same result.

04:14

Now we have our design but what can we do with it?

04:17

Well,

04:17

we can go back to modify change parameters and let's go ahead and minimize

04:22

this a little bit and pull it out of the way so we can see

04:25

If I decide to decrease the plane offset value to say 200.

04:30

The entire design is going to shorten.

04:33

If I decide to make the length a bit longer. At 500, you can see the design updates.

04:38

If we make the hole diameter larger. Again the design updates.

04:42

If we make the user parameter for with a bit taller, everything updates.

04:47

So making sure that we take the time to reference our sketches

04:51

properly to the origin and any other sketch entities and make sure

04:55

that we understand how we can use these user parameters to our

04:58

advantage will help us build robust models that can be updated easily.

05:03

It does take a little bit of pre planning and thought.

05:06

But even if we create a sketch for example on the top face here

05:11

And we use another circle this time I'm going to go ahead and

05:15

place it roughly in the center and I'm gonna add a dimension.

05:19

This can be done with D on the keyboard

05:22

and select the circle and let's say 150

05:25

and I'm gonna go ahead and place this a distance of half of the overall thickness.

05:32

So remember that value was our plane offset. And I'm gonna use divided by two.

05:37

So this will place it exactly in the middle of that plane offset.

05:40

However,

05:41

we also need a horizontal vertical constraint to make sure that it is fully defined.

05:47

So now we can use extrude

05:49

and we can add this boss to the top.

05:52

But what if we decided that we wanted a user parameter to

05:55

define that if we go back to modify and change parameters,

05:59

we can expand our model,

06:01

we can expand our sketches and features and we can find the

06:05

values that were used for example 100 and 50 or 75.

06:10

We can use our favorites to place those at the very top.

06:14

Or we can use new user parameters in this case whole underscore dia to

06:21

Value of 75 and then we can re associate this. So type in H for a hole diameter.

06:29

Or we can select hole diameter too and make that reference here.

06:34

So we can rename this whole too and we can

06:38

reset the expression value to be our hole diameter to.

06:43

That allows us to re link those values or expressions.

06:47

It just takes a little bit of extra time.

06:49

This can also be done back at the sketch level.

06:52

If we were to double click on the original sketch

06:54

we can double click on the diameter value or the

06:57

radius value and we can simply link it here whole

07:01

diet to enter and you can see the value there.

07:05

Once we finish the sketch we can update everything from the

07:08

user parameters And now the design again is parametric in nature,

07:11

making it easier for us to update.

07:14

It is important to note that not all designs will

07:17

make use of creating user parameters ahead of time.

07:20

There are some cases where you simply must create your

07:23

dimensions on the fly but in a lot of cases

07:26

you can do a little planning create parameters ahead of

07:28

time and have an easy way to drive your design.

07:31

Let's go ahead and save this. And in this case I want to create a new sub folder.

07:36

So we've got our intro here and I'm going to

07:39

select new folder and I'm going to simply call it sketching

07:43

when a double click on that.

07:44

And then we're going to create this as user parameter practice.

07:51

So now we've saved our new design in a new folder in our data panel.

07:55

And we have a basic understanding of how we can use user parameters to our advantage.

08:00

Once again,

08:01

it's important to play around with these and figure

08:03

out how they can be used in your designs.

08:06

Once you're done with that,

08:07

make sure that you have saved your design and you can move on to the next step.

Video quiz

Which of the following is a valid name for a User Parameter?

(Select one)
Select an answer

1/1 questions left unanswered

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