• Fusion

Applying assembly joints

Select joint origins and set a joint type. You also learn the importance of selection order when defining joints.


Tutorial resources

These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:


00:03

When applying joints in your Fusion assembly,

00:06

it is important to understand several foundational concepts,

00:09

which include selecting an appropriate joint origin,

00:12

the selection order when placing a joint between components, and the use of grounding a static component in the design.

00:18

For this example, open the Supercharger Fusion archive file.

00:23

You can see that this is a complex assembly,

00:26

but as with all assemblies, there are only a handful of types of joints that keep it all together.

00:32

First, review the joints.

00:34

In the Browser, click the visibility icon next to the Joints folder, to show the various joints.

00:41

As you can see in the model, it is mainly revolute and rigid joints.

00:45

Expand the Joints folder, and you see the many revolute and rigid joints used.

00:51

For rotating machinery or anything that has wheels or cams, this is not uncommon.

00:56

Many assemblies are bolted together, where rigid joints work well, and many have spinning parts, which use revolute joints.

01:05

Some of the components are not properly located in the design, so the next step is to put components where they belong.

01:12

To begin, from the Assemble group, click the Joint tool.

01:17

You can also use the J keyboard shortcut.

01:20

First, select the component that you want to move, or in this case, the rear cover.

01:26

Orbit around the model to view the flat face of the cover.

01:30

As you move the pointer along this face, you see several options to select from.

01:35

A simple choice is to select a bolt center, so click the center of the upper right bolt hole.

01:41

After selecting it, the component fades, as it is no longer available for selection.

01:47

Orbit and find the associated bolt hole in the housing to fit it to.

01:52

When you select this hole, the component moves into place and animates the type of joint that is currently active.

01:59

For this type of component placement, a rigid joint should be used.

02:04

Change to the Motion tab and set the Type to Rigid.

02:09

Now, when you preview the motion, you see that the two components shake, because they are held in place.

02:15

If one moves, the other moves.

02:19

Back on the Position tab, you could consider offsetting a distance to create space for a gasket, but for now, leave the offset at 0.

02:28

Taking a closer look, you see that the bolts for the drain and the filler are still out in space.

02:34

Even though this is a simple assembly, Fusion does not automatically assume that you want the cover with two bolts attached,

02:41

because you might grab something entirely different, such as an entire engine assembly.

02:46

For speed, performance, and clarity,

02:49

Fusion only moves the component on which you select the first joint origin and connects it to the component with the second joint origin.

02:56

That is why other components fade out, even though they are not necessarily attached directly to the second component.

03:04

Once you are satisfied with the joint placement, click OK, and all the bolts return to their proper positions.

03:11

Next, you need to place the bolt to hold the gear on the upper shaft.

03:16

The gear is behind the housing you just moved, so this probably should have been done first,

03:21

but there is no need to undo the last joint.

03:23

Instead, you can take advantage of visibility options while working with the Joint tool.

03:29

Hiding the component could also have been done ahead of time,

03:32

but to demonstrate the flexibility of Fusion, start the Joint tool again by pressing J.

03:38

Rotate and zoom closer to the bottom of the bolt head where you see modeled threads.

03:43

Finding the exact center by clicking around this edge could be challenging.

03:47

Sometimes components are tight, or elements available for joint origins are close together, making it hard to select the right one.

03:56

To simplify this process, click an open area on the face that you want to align a joint origin to.

04:02

The joint origin options are then visible only on that face, making it much easier to find the center.

04:09

Select the center, and the component fades out.

04:13

Now, you need to select the washer at the end of the shaft, which is under the rear cover.

04:18

From the Browser, hide the Rear cover by clicking its visibility icon.

04:23

Next, select the hole in the washer, and the bolt slides into place.

04:28

Change to the Motion tab, set the Type to Rigid, and then click OK.

04:36

The assembly is complete.

04:39

With the cover remaining off, click a gear and drag to test the mechanism, and notice that the entire model moves, which is not correct.

04:47

The Position tools are also added to the toolbar, providing an opportunity to capture this new position or revert to the original.

04:55

In this case, click Revert Position.

04:59

The problem is that there are no grounded components.

05:02

While grounding is not always necessary, you need to ground a component to test a mechanism inside the assembly.

05:09

A good rule of thumb is to ground a component that is either stuck to the floor or bolted to something else.

05:16

In this case, the housing fits that description.

05:20

Select the housing, which highlights in the Browser.

05:24

Right-click it and select Ground to Parent.

05:28

The icon changes to show that the component is grounded.

05:32

Now, selecting a gear enables you to turn it and see how the mechanism was developed using joints in Fusion.

Video transcript

00:03

When applying joints in your Fusion assembly,

00:06

it is important to understand several foundational concepts,

00:09

which include selecting an appropriate joint origin,

00:12

the selection order when placing a joint between components, and the use of grounding a static component in the design.

00:18

For this example, open the Supercharger Fusion archive file.

00:23

You can see that this is a complex assembly,

00:26

but as with all assemblies, there are only a handful of types of joints that keep it all together.

00:32

First, review the joints.

00:34

In the Browser, click the visibility icon next to the Joints folder, to show the various joints.

00:41

As you can see in the model, it is mainly revolute and rigid joints.

00:45

Expand the Joints folder, and you see the many revolute and rigid joints used.

00:51

For rotating machinery or anything that has wheels or cams, this is not uncommon.

00:56

Many assemblies are bolted together, where rigid joints work well, and many have spinning parts, which use revolute joints.

01:05

Some of the components are not properly located in the design, so the next step is to put components where they belong.

01:12

To begin, from the Assemble group, click the Joint tool.

01:17

You can also use the J keyboard shortcut.

01:20

First, select the component that you want to move, or in this case, the rear cover.

01:26

Orbit around the model to view the flat face of the cover.

01:30

As you move the pointer along this face, you see several options to select from.

01:35

A simple choice is to select a bolt center, so click the center of the upper right bolt hole.

01:41

After selecting it, the component fades, as it is no longer available for selection.

01:47

Orbit and find the associated bolt hole in the housing to fit it to.

01:52

When you select this hole, the component moves into place and animates the type of joint that is currently active.

01:59

For this type of component placement, a rigid joint should be used.

02:04

Change to the Motion tab and set the Type to Rigid.

02:09

Now, when you preview the motion, you see that the two components shake, because they are held in place.

02:15

If one moves, the other moves.

02:19

Back on the Position tab, you could consider offsetting a distance to create space for a gasket, but for now, leave the offset at 0.

02:28

Taking a closer look, you see that the bolts for the drain and the filler are still out in space.

02:34

Even though this is a simple assembly, Fusion does not automatically assume that you want the cover with two bolts attached,

02:41

because you might grab something entirely different, such as an entire engine assembly.

02:46

For speed, performance, and clarity,

02:49

Fusion only moves the component on which you select the first joint origin and connects it to the component with the second joint origin.

02:56

That is why other components fade out, even though they are not necessarily attached directly to the second component.

03:04

Once you are satisfied with the joint placement, click OK, and all the bolts return to their proper positions.

03:11

Next, you need to place the bolt to hold the gear on the upper shaft.

03:16

The gear is behind the housing you just moved, so this probably should have been done first,

03:21

but there is no need to undo the last joint.

03:23

Instead, you can take advantage of visibility options while working with the Joint tool.

03:29

Hiding the component could also have been done ahead of time,

03:32

but to demonstrate the flexibility of Fusion, start the Joint tool again by pressing J.

03:38

Rotate and zoom closer to the bottom of the bolt head where you see modeled threads.

03:43

Finding the exact center by clicking around this edge could be challenging.

03:47

Sometimes components are tight, or elements available for joint origins are close together, making it hard to select the right one.

03:56

To simplify this process, click an open area on the face that you want to align a joint origin to.

04:02

The joint origin options are then visible only on that face, making it much easier to find the center.

04:09

Select the center, and the component fades out.

04:13

Now, you need to select the washer at the end of the shaft, which is under the rear cover.

04:18

From the Browser, hide the Rear cover by clicking its visibility icon.

04:23

Next, select the hole in the washer, and the bolt slides into place.

04:28

Change to the Motion tab, set the Type to Rigid, and then click OK.

04:36

The assembly is complete.

04:39

With the cover remaining off, click a gear and drag to test the mechanism, and notice that the entire model moves, which is not correct.

04:47

The Position tools are also added to the toolbar, providing an opportunity to capture this new position or revert to the original.

04:55

In this case, click Revert Position.

04:59

The problem is that there are no grounded components.

05:02

While grounding is not always necessary, you need to ground a component to test a mechanism inside the assembly.

05:09

A good rule of thumb is to ground a component that is either stuck to the floor or bolted to something else.

05:16

In this case, the housing fits that description.

05:20

Select the housing, which highlights in the Browser.

05:24

Right-click it and select Ground to Parent.

05:28

The icon changes to show that the component is grounded.

05:32

Now, selecting a gear enables you to turn it and see how the mechanism was developed using joints in Fusion.

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