& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Organize the visibility of the reciprocating saw 3D model elements for direct modeling. We will also use Press Pull and parametric modeling to edit the model geometry.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
4 min.
Tutorial resources
These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:
Transcript
00:03
In Fusion, it is important to understand when direct modeling techniques may be more useful than parametric techniques,
00:10
particularly when making changes to your 3D models late in the design process.
00:16
In this example, changes are made to the casing of a reciprocating saw using both parametric and direct modeling,
00:23
to explore the differences.
00:25
Begin by opening the design.
00:29
On the Application bar, click Show Data Panel, and then double-click the Reciprocating Saw All-in-One design.
00:37
Click Hide Data Panel.
00:40
To isolate the casing, in the Browser, click the visibility icon to hide all three components.
00:47
Then, expand Bodies to hide all bodies except Body19, which is the rear side casing.
00:54
On the ViewCube, click Front.
00:57
Note the Timeline at the bottom of the canvas, which has tracked all changes during parametric model development.
01:04
Suppose that at this late stage of the design process, you may want to change the size of the slots in the outer casing.
01:12
To edit the size parametrically, first, you need to locate the sketch that was created earlier in the design process to model this element.
01:21
You can locate the sketch and begin editing from either the Timeline or the Browser.
01:26
Here, in the Browser, expand Sketches, then right-click the Slots sketch and select Edit Sketch.
01:36
Now, add a sketch dimension to set the width of the sketch for the slots.
01:41
The original size is almost 13 millimeters.
01:46
Set the new dimension to 12mm, then click Finish Sketch.
01:52
After a few moments, the design updates.
01:56
However, Fusion now shows several error warnings, and there are noticeable issues with the 3D model.
02:04
With the parametric modeling process, which captures the design history,
02:08
making a change or an edit can often break other downstream elements.
02:13
This means that you need to identify and fix each one of the errors to fix the entire model.
02:19
This can be a long, complicated process, which is why parametric editing may not be the best option late in the design process.
02:28
This is where direct modeling can be useful.
02:32
First, undo the edit.
02:35
From the Application bar, click Undo, and in the list, select Undo Edit Sketch.
02:41
This undoes the edits made to the sketch and returns the model to its original state.
02:47
On the ViewCube, click Home.
02:50
Orbit the view and zoom in so that you can see the top set of slots.
02:55
Select the left face in the top slot.
02:59
Now, use direct modeling techniques to change the dimension of the slots.
03:05
Select the left face of the top slot.
03:08
Then, right-click and select Press Pull.
03:12
Use the arrow to drag the face to the right to change the width of the slot.
03:17
Notice that the fillets also move with the face.
03:21
When you are happy with the position, click OK.
03:26
When the model updates, notice that there are no errors.
03:30
You can also see on the Timeline that there is a new feature added for an offset face.
03:36
Now that you have changed the width of the first slot, you can use it to set the same width for the other slots.
03:42
Select the face on the next slot, then right-click and select Press Pull.
03:49
Select the left faces of both slots, drag the arrow to begin creating the offset,
03:55
and then click the first offset face to use this position as the offset distance.
04:01
Click OK to confirm the new offset.
04:05
As you have seen, in Fusion,
04:08
there are times when using direct modeling techniques to make changes can be quicker and easier than editing the design
04:14
parametrically, especially late in the design process.
Video transcript
00:03
In Fusion, it is important to understand when direct modeling techniques may be more useful than parametric techniques,
00:10
particularly when making changes to your 3D models late in the design process.
00:16
In this example, changes are made to the casing of a reciprocating saw using both parametric and direct modeling,
00:23
to explore the differences.
00:25
Begin by opening the design.
00:29
On the Application bar, click Show Data Panel, and then double-click the Reciprocating Saw All-in-One design.
00:37
Click Hide Data Panel.
00:40
To isolate the casing, in the Browser, click the visibility icon to hide all three components.
00:47
Then, expand Bodies to hide all bodies except Body19, which is the rear side casing.
00:54
On the ViewCube, click Front.
00:57
Note the Timeline at the bottom of the canvas, which has tracked all changes during parametric model development.
01:04
Suppose that at this late stage of the design process, you may want to change the size of the slots in the outer casing.
01:12
To edit the size parametrically, first, you need to locate the sketch that was created earlier in the design process to model this element.
01:21
You can locate the sketch and begin editing from either the Timeline or the Browser.
01:26
Here, in the Browser, expand Sketches, then right-click the Slots sketch and select Edit Sketch.
01:36
Now, add a sketch dimension to set the width of the sketch for the slots.
01:41
The original size is almost 13 millimeters.
01:46
Set the new dimension to 12mm, then click Finish Sketch.
01:52
After a few moments, the design updates.
01:56
However, Fusion now shows several error warnings, and there are noticeable issues with the 3D model.
02:04
With the parametric modeling process, which captures the design history,
02:08
making a change or an edit can often break other downstream elements.
02:13
This means that you need to identify and fix each one of the errors to fix the entire model.
02:19
This can be a long, complicated process, which is why parametric editing may not be the best option late in the design process.
02:28
This is where direct modeling can be useful.
02:32
First, undo the edit.
02:35
From the Application bar, click Undo, and in the list, select Undo Edit Sketch.
02:41
This undoes the edits made to the sketch and returns the model to its original state.
02:47
On the ViewCube, click Home.
02:50
Orbit the view and zoom in so that you can see the top set of slots.
02:55
Select the left face in the top slot.
02:59
Now, use direct modeling techniques to change the dimension of the slots.
03:05
Select the left face of the top slot.
03:08
Then, right-click and select Press Pull.
03:12
Use the arrow to drag the face to the right to change the width of the slot.
03:17
Notice that the fillets also move with the face.
03:21
When you are happy with the position, click OK.
03:26
When the model updates, notice that there are no errors.
03:30
You can also see on the Timeline that there is a new feature added for an offset face.
03:36
Now that you have changed the width of the first slot, you can use it to set the same width for the other slots.
03:42
Select the face on the next slot, then right-click and select Press Pull.
03:49
Select the left faces of both slots, drag the arrow to begin creating the offset,
03:55
and then click the first offset face to use this position as the offset distance.
04:01
Click OK to confirm the new offset.
04:05
As you have seen, in Fusion,
04:08
there are times when using direct modeling techniques to make changes can be quicker and easier than editing the design
04:14
parametrically, especially late in the design process.
How to buy
Privacy | Do not sell or share my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use | Legal | © 2025 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved
Sign in for the best experience
Save your progress
Get access to courses
Receive personalized recommendations
May we collect and use your data?
Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement.May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?
Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.