How to create a 3D sketch

00:02

How to create a 3D sketch.

00:05

After completing this video,

00:06

you'll be able to

00:08

enable 3D sketching,

00:09

create a sketch in 3D,

00:11

include 3D geometry and project geometry,

00:14

as well as create an intersection curve.

00:18

To get started,

00:18

we want to open the supplied data set 3D sketching.

00:21

F3D.

00:23

This design contains a single sketch as well as

00:25

a couple features to create a complex shape.

00:28

We're gonna be using this shape while we learn to create a 3D sketch.

00:32

To get started,

00:33

let's first begin by selecting create sketch,

00:36

and let's hold the left mouse button down to

00:38

make sure that we're selecting the XZ plane.

00:41

When we select the XC plane,

00:43

we're now creating what's called a 2D sketch.

00:46

By default,

00:47

all sketches in fusion have the ability to create 3D elements.

00:51

First,

00:51

let's take a look at the Create menu,

00:53

and under Project Include,

00:55

note that we can project geometry into our current sketch plane.

00:58

We can intersect,

00:59

which will create a curve relative to the sketch plane.

01:03

We can also include 3D geometry,

01:05

project a surface,

01:06

and create an intersection curve.

01:09

First,

01:09

let's take a look at the intersect option.

01:12

To see how this works,

01:13

let's go ahead and use the body's option

01:15

and select the entire body and say,

01:17

OK.

01:18

As we rotate this around,

01:20

you can see fusion has created a curve that goes all the way around our solid body,

01:24

as it's cut by our section or sketch plane.

01:28

We also have the option to turn on slice,

01:30

which is a graphical option inside of a sketch.

01:33

We can see here that the intersection curve

01:35

matches our temporary slice or section plane.

01:39

Let's turn slice back off.

01:41

Next,

01:42

let's take a look at the Create Project Include menu and use include 3D geometry.

01:47

When we include 3D geometry,

01:49

this is going to allow us to create 3D sketch entities inside of a 2D sketch.

01:54

By selecting those geometries,

01:56

you can see that they're in our sketch,

01:57

however,

01:58

they're not on our sketch plane.

01:60

Even though we're still in a 2D sketch,

02:02

we do have the ability to include 3D geometry without actually creating a 3D sketch.

02:08

Next,

02:09

let's toggle on the 3D sketch option inside of our sketch palette.

02:13

When we do this,

02:14

let's pull our model off to the left,

02:15

and let's start with the line tool.

02:18

We're gonna make our first selection at the bottom center of

02:20

our part and begin to drag out to the right.

02:23

We can see that this coordinate system icon travels with us.

02:27

Currently we're sketching in the XY plane.

02:30

If we hover over any of the other plane icons,

02:33

you can see that a hand icon appears,

02:35

allowing us to change which plane we're sketching in.

02:38

Now we're traveling in a different axis.

02:41

Currently,

02:41

it's listed as Z axis,

02:43

but this is our default XY plane.

02:46

We can move back and forth using standard constraints such as perpendicular,

02:50

and then we can pick another plane whenever we need to change directions.

02:54

Let's go ahead and hit escape to get off of our line tool.

02:57

As we rotate this model around,

02:59

we can see that our sketch lines are built in 3D.

03:02

Using 3D sketches for standard lines that go along the X,

03:06

Y,

03:07

or Z axis is a great use case,

03:09

especially when we're talking about making things like paths for sweeps.

03:13

We can come back with modification tools like fill it

03:16

and round corners for all of these different intersections.

03:20

There are some more complex ways in which we can use 3D sketches,

03:24

such as creating a spine.

03:26

Oftentimes when we create splines in 3D,

03:29

we want to start by creating them in 2D

03:31

and then we'll use the modify move copy command

03:34

to select points that we want to move in 3D.

03:37

The move copy command also can work by activating handles.

03:41

If we select geometry and select the handle,

03:44

then use move copy,

03:45

which is M on the keyboard.

03:47

It allows us to select the handle and change the curvature.

03:51

This process is very complex and it's oftentimes much easier for

03:55

us to create 2D curves and project them into 3D.

03:58

Let's go ahead and finish this sketch,

04:00

expand our sketch folder and hide sketch too.

04:04

Let's go ahead and hide the body as well.

04:06

Let's start by creating a couple of 2D sketches.

04:09

On the front plane,

04:10

we want to create a new sketch,

04:11

turning off our 3D sketch option.

04:14

We'll start with a simple spine and just give it some curvature.

04:20

Next,

04:20

we're gonna create another sketch this time on the top plane.

04:25

Once again,

04:25

we'll create a spline,

04:27

and this time we're going to create another simple spline with just a couple clicks.

04:32

For us to make an intersection curve where these two meet in 3D,

04:36

we need to create yet another third sketch.

04:39

We can pick any sketch plane that we want.

04:42

And then we'll go into our create,

04:44

project,

04:44

include,

04:45

and create an intersection curve.

04:48

For this,

04:48

we need our curve inputs.

04:50

Now these can be curves on the faces of bodies,

04:53

or we can do a curve curve intersection.

04:56

When we say OK,

04:57

what we've done is we've generated the intersection of both of those curves in 3D.

05:02

If we think about this in terms of geometry,

05:04

this is the extension of a curve normal to its sketch plane.

05:08

And if we were to repeat the extrude the other curve normal to each sketch plane.

05:14

And then an intersection curve where those two surfaces meet.

05:18

So oftentimes when trying to create complex curves in 3D,

05:22

using this 2D projection method is a much easier scenario.

05:26

However,

05:26

note that we had to create 3 individual sketches to be able to make this happen,

05:31

while using the spine in 3D could happen all in a single sketch.

05:36

Playing around with these options is an important part

05:38

of learning to work with 3D sketches and fusion.

05:41

So you will need to take a little bit of time to better understand them.

05:45

Let's go ahead and show Body one once more,

05:48

and let's start yet another sketch.

05:50

This time,

05:50

I'm gonna select this tapered plane.

05:53

And then I want to take a look at myre,

05:55

project include options,

05:57

and note that we have project.

05:59

Unlike a traditional 3D sketch where we're including 3D geometry,

06:03

using the project option is going to push any selected geometry

06:07

onto our current sketch plane.

06:09

So,

06:10

while this does allow us to select 3D geometry that's not on our sketch plane,

06:14

it's gonna be projecting it to our 2D sketch plane to create a 2D sketch geometry.

06:20

So all of these tools in conjunction with each

06:22

other can be used to create very complex designs,

06:26

but it does take a bit of practice to better understand how to use 3D sketches.

06:31

Once you're done playing around with this file,

06:32

if you want to continue to use it,

06:34

go ahead and save before moving on to the next section.

Video transcript

00:02

How to create a 3D sketch.

00:05

After completing this video,

00:06

you'll be able to

00:08

enable 3D sketching,

00:09

create a sketch in 3D,

00:11

include 3D geometry and project geometry,

00:14

as well as create an intersection curve.

00:18

To get started,

00:18

we want to open the supplied data set 3D sketching.

00:21

F3D.

00:23

This design contains a single sketch as well as

00:25

a couple features to create a complex shape.

00:28

We're gonna be using this shape while we learn to create a 3D sketch.

00:32

To get started,

00:33

let's first begin by selecting create sketch,

00:36

and let's hold the left mouse button down to

00:38

make sure that we're selecting the XZ plane.

00:41

When we select the XC plane,

00:43

we're now creating what's called a 2D sketch.

00:46

By default,

00:47

all sketches in fusion have the ability to create 3D elements.

00:51

First,

00:51

let's take a look at the Create menu,

00:53

and under Project Include,

00:55

note that we can project geometry into our current sketch plane.

00:58

We can intersect,

00:59

which will create a curve relative to the sketch plane.

01:03

We can also include 3D geometry,

01:05

project a surface,

01:06

and create an intersection curve.

01:09

First,

01:09

let's take a look at the intersect option.

01:12

To see how this works,

01:13

let's go ahead and use the body's option

01:15

and select the entire body and say,

01:17

OK.

01:18

As we rotate this around,

01:20

you can see fusion has created a curve that goes all the way around our solid body,

01:24

as it's cut by our section or sketch plane.

01:28

We also have the option to turn on slice,

01:30

which is a graphical option inside of a sketch.

01:33

We can see here that the intersection curve

01:35

matches our temporary slice or section plane.

01:39

Let's turn slice back off.

01:41

Next,

01:42

let's take a look at the Create Project Include menu and use include 3D geometry.

01:47

When we include 3D geometry,

01:49

this is going to allow us to create 3D sketch entities inside of a 2D sketch.

01:54

By selecting those geometries,

01:56

you can see that they're in our sketch,

01:57

however,

01:58

they're not on our sketch plane.

01:60

Even though we're still in a 2D sketch,

02:02

we do have the ability to include 3D geometry without actually creating a 3D sketch.

02:08

Next,

02:09

let's toggle on the 3D sketch option inside of our sketch palette.

02:13

When we do this,

02:14

let's pull our model off to the left,

02:15

and let's start with the line tool.

02:18

We're gonna make our first selection at the bottom center of

02:20

our part and begin to drag out to the right.

02:23

We can see that this coordinate system icon travels with us.

02:27

Currently we're sketching in the XY plane.

02:30

If we hover over any of the other plane icons,

02:33

you can see that a hand icon appears,

02:35

allowing us to change which plane we're sketching in.

02:38

Now we're traveling in a different axis.

02:41

Currently,

02:41

it's listed as Z axis,

02:43

but this is our default XY plane.

02:46

We can move back and forth using standard constraints such as perpendicular,

02:50

and then we can pick another plane whenever we need to change directions.

02:54

Let's go ahead and hit escape to get off of our line tool.

02:57

As we rotate this model around,

02:59

we can see that our sketch lines are built in 3D.

03:02

Using 3D sketches for standard lines that go along the X,

03:06

Y,

03:07

or Z axis is a great use case,

03:09

especially when we're talking about making things like paths for sweeps.

03:13

We can come back with modification tools like fill it

03:16

and round corners for all of these different intersections.

03:20

There are some more complex ways in which we can use 3D sketches,

03:24

such as creating a spine.

03:26

Oftentimes when we create splines in 3D,

03:29

we want to start by creating them in 2D

03:31

and then we'll use the modify move copy command

03:34

to select points that we want to move in 3D.

03:37

The move copy command also can work by activating handles.

03:41

If we select geometry and select the handle,

03:44

then use move copy,

03:45

which is M on the keyboard.

03:47

It allows us to select the handle and change the curvature.

03:51

This process is very complex and it's oftentimes much easier for

03:55

us to create 2D curves and project them into 3D.

03:58

Let's go ahead and finish this sketch,

04:00

expand our sketch folder and hide sketch too.

04:04

Let's go ahead and hide the body as well.

04:06

Let's start by creating a couple of 2D sketches.

04:09

On the front plane,

04:10

we want to create a new sketch,

04:11

turning off our 3D sketch option.

04:14

We'll start with a simple spine and just give it some curvature.

04:20

Next,

04:20

we're gonna create another sketch this time on the top plane.

04:25

Once again,

04:25

we'll create a spline,

04:27

and this time we're going to create another simple spline with just a couple clicks.

04:32

For us to make an intersection curve where these two meet in 3D,

04:36

we need to create yet another third sketch.

04:39

We can pick any sketch plane that we want.

04:42

And then we'll go into our create,

04:44

project,

04:44

include,

04:45

and create an intersection curve.

04:48

For this,

04:48

we need our curve inputs.

04:50

Now these can be curves on the faces of bodies,

04:53

or we can do a curve curve intersection.

04:56

When we say OK,

04:57

what we've done is we've generated the intersection of both of those curves in 3D.

05:02

If we think about this in terms of geometry,

05:04

this is the extension of a curve normal to its sketch plane.

05:08

And if we were to repeat the extrude the other curve normal to each sketch plane.

05:14

And then an intersection curve where those two surfaces meet.

05:18

So oftentimes when trying to create complex curves in 3D,

05:22

using this 2D projection method is a much easier scenario.

05:26

However,

05:26

note that we had to create 3 individual sketches to be able to make this happen,

05:31

while using the spine in 3D could happen all in a single sketch.

05:36

Playing around with these options is an important part

05:38

of learning to work with 3D sketches and fusion.

05:41

So you will need to take a little bit of time to better understand them.

05:45

Let's go ahead and show Body one once more,

05:48

and let's start yet another sketch.

05:50

This time,

05:50

I'm gonna select this tapered plane.

05:53

And then I want to take a look at myre,

05:55

project include options,

05:57

and note that we have project.

05:59

Unlike a traditional 3D sketch where we're including 3D geometry,

06:03

using the project option is going to push any selected geometry

06:07

onto our current sketch plane.

06:09

So,

06:10

while this does allow us to select 3D geometry that's not on our sketch plane,

06:14

it's gonna be projecting it to our 2D sketch plane to create a 2D sketch geometry.

06:20

So all of these tools in conjunction with each

06:22

other can be used to create very complex designs,

06:26

but it does take a bit of practice to better understand how to use 3D sketches.

06:31

Once you're done playing around with this file,

06:32

if you want to continue to use it,

06:34

go ahead and save before moving on to the next section.

After completing this video, you'll be able to:

  • Enable 3D sketching.
  • Create a sketch in 3D.
  • Include 3D geometry.
  • Project geometry.
  • Create an intersection curve.

Video quiz

How can a 3D sketches be created in Fusion 360?

(Select one)
Select an answer

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