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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
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:
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.
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.