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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
Create, move, and edit a T-spline face and a T-spline cylinder using the Fusion Sculpt workspace.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Tutorial resources
These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:
Transcript
00:03
In the Form contextual environment in Fusion, you can create organic T-Spline designs with tools that are like sculpting clay.
00:11
This environment enables a more fluid, artistic approach in the early conceptual stages of a design,
00:17
in comparison to the more traditional parametric design tools on the Solid and Surface tabs.
00:23
In this reciprocating saw example, you use freeform modeling and sculpting to create both a face and a cylinder form.
00:30
To begin, on the ViewCube, click Front, and on the Navigation bar, click View > Fit to fit the model to the view.
00:40
In the Browser, expand Bodies, then click the visibility icon to hide the Trigger.
00:47
Here, you can also expand the Internal Mechanics component
00:51
to view the sub-assemblies and components that make up the internal mechanics for the saw.
00:56
For now, hide the Internal Mechanics.
00:59
To create a form body, from the Solid toolbar, click Create > Create Form to enter the Form contextual environment.
01:08
On the Form tab, in the Create group, click Face, and then select the XY work plane.
01:16
Now, place several points to create the face as a rough parallelogram.
01:22
It does not have to be exact at this point.
01:24
Click OK to create the new body.
01:27
Currently, this face sits directly on the plane.
01:30
Since it forms the outer casing of the saw, you need to move it out away from the internal mechanisms.
01:37
Right-click the face to open the Marking menu, then select Move/Copy.
01:42
On the ViewCube, click the right manipulator to rotate the view.
01:46
Then, in the Browser, click the visibility icon to show the Internal Mechanics again.
01:54
To move the face, click the arrow manipulator and drag the face to the left past the internal mechanics, about 37 mm.
02:02
Click OK to close the Move/Copy dialog and complete the move.
02:07
On the ViewCube, click the left manipulator to return to the Front view.
02:11
You can see the face on the CAD model, as well as in the Browser, under Bodies.
02:17
Hide the Internal Mechanics component again.
02:20
Now, you can start sculpting the new face.
02:24
On the ViewCube, click the top edge to switch to top-down angled view.
02:29
Then, use the navigation tools to zoom and pan closer to the new face.
02:35
From the Form toolbar, in the Modify group, click Edit Form.
02:40
This opens the Edit Form dialog with several tools to manipulate the form.
02:46
Click the left edge of the face.
02:48
Press and hold Alt while dragging the Y arrow manipulator forward to extrude, or add, a face.
02:55
Then, add another face by dragging in the -X direction.
02:59
Now, create another face on the right side.
03:03
Again, press and hold Alt, and this time, drag to create a new face in the -Y direction, pushing inwards to create a curved shape.
03:12
On the ViewCube, click the Front view.
03:16
Now, edit the position and angle of the edges.
03:20
With the right edge selected, do not press Alt —just use the arrow manipulator to drag it to the right, matching the reference image.
03:28
You can change the angle of the edge using the manipulator tools as well.
03:33
Do the same with the far edge on the left-hand side, using the reference image for guidance.
03:39
Finally, double-click the bottom edge of the face, then use the manipulator tools to drag the edge downwards.
03:46
Click OK to finish editing, and use the Navigation bar to fit the view.
03:51
Create a second T-spline body, starting with a cylinder.
03:55
On the Form toolbar, Create group, click Cylinder.
04:00
Use the ViewCube to get a top-down angled view, and this time, select the XZ plane to work on.
04:07
Using the attached canvas image for reference, click and drag a cylinder with a diameter of about 45 mm.
04:15
On the ViewCube, click Front, then zoom closer to the new cylinder.
04:20
Use the manipulators to set the height of the cylinder to about 50 mm.
04:27
In the Cylinder dialog, set the number of Height Faces to 2.
04:31
As a general guideline, it is good practice to start with the minimum number of faces when creating a new form.
04:38
In the dialog, you can also enter the Diameter, the number of Diameter Faces,
04:43
the Height, the number of Height Faces, the Direction, and whether you want any Symmetry.
04:50
Once you have specified your requirements, click OK to create the cylinder.
04:54
The casing will be built by creating half the part, then mirrored to create the other half.
05:00
For this reason, you need to remove half the cylinder.
05:04
Use the ViewCube to rotate to a right-side view.
05:08
Drag to create a selection window over the right half of the cylinder, then press Delete.
05:14
Next, move the cylinder into the proper position, over to the left.
05:19
Right-click the cylinder, and from the Marking menu, select Move/Copy.
05:25
Use the manipulator to move the cylinder to the left.
05:29
Return to the Front view and pan the view, so that you can work on the cylinder.
05:34
Rotate the cylinder to the correct angle, then move it into position, using the reference image as a guide.
05:41
When you are finished, click OK to close the Move/Copy dialog and confirm the new position.
05:48
Click Finish Form to accept the changes.
05:51
Remember, you can always return to the Form environment by right-clicking the Form feature on the Timeline and selecting Edit.
05:59
You now know how to create and edit simple form shapes in Fusion.
Video transcript
00:03
In the Form contextual environment in Fusion, you can create organic T-Spline designs with tools that are like sculpting clay.
00:11
This environment enables a more fluid, artistic approach in the early conceptual stages of a design,
00:17
in comparison to the more traditional parametric design tools on the Solid and Surface tabs.
00:23
In this reciprocating saw example, you use freeform modeling and sculpting to create both a face and a cylinder form.
00:30
To begin, on the ViewCube, click Front, and on the Navigation bar, click View > Fit to fit the model to the view.
00:40
In the Browser, expand Bodies, then click the visibility icon to hide the Trigger.
00:47
Here, you can also expand the Internal Mechanics component
00:51
to view the sub-assemblies and components that make up the internal mechanics for the saw.
00:56
For now, hide the Internal Mechanics.
00:59
To create a form body, from the Solid toolbar, click Create > Create Form to enter the Form contextual environment.
01:08
On the Form tab, in the Create group, click Face, and then select the XY work plane.
01:16
Now, place several points to create the face as a rough parallelogram.
01:22
It does not have to be exact at this point.
01:24
Click OK to create the new body.
01:27
Currently, this face sits directly on the plane.
01:30
Since it forms the outer casing of the saw, you need to move it out away from the internal mechanisms.
01:37
Right-click the face to open the Marking menu, then select Move/Copy.
01:42
On the ViewCube, click the right manipulator to rotate the view.
01:46
Then, in the Browser, click the visibility icon to show the Internal Mechanics again.
01:54
To move the face, click the arrow manipulator and drag the face to the left past the internal mechanics, about 37 mm.
02:02
Click OK to close the Move/Copy dialog and complete the move.
02:07
On the ViewCube, click the left manipulator to return to the Front view.
02:11
You can see the face on the CAD model, as well as in the Browser, under Bodies.
02:17
Hide the Internal Mechanics component again.
02:20
Now, you can start sculpting the new face.
02:24
On the ViewCube, click the top edge to switch to top-down angled view.
02:29
Then, use the navigation tools to zoom and pan closer to the new face.
02:35
From the Form toolbar, in the Modify group, click Edit Form.
02:40
This opens the Edit Form dialog with several tools to manipulate the form.
02:46
Click the left edge of the face.
02:48
Press and hold Alt while dragging the Y arrow manipulator forward to extrude, or add, a face.
02:55
Then, add another face by dragging in the -X direction.
02:59
Now, create another face on the right side.
03:03
Again, press and hold Alt, and this time, drag to create a new face in the -Y direction, pushing inwards to create a curved shape.
03:12
On the ViewCube, click the Front view.
03:16
Now, edit the position and angle of the edges.
03:20
With the right edge selected, do not press Alt —just use the arrow manipulator to drag it to the right, matching the reference image.
03:28
You can change the angle of the edge using the manipulator tools as well.
03:33
Do the same with the far edge on the left-hand side, using the reference image for guidance.
03:39
Finally, double-click the bottom edge of the face, then use the manipulator tools to drag the edge downwards.
03:46
Click OK to finish editing, and use the Navigation bar to fit the view.
03:51
Create a second T-spline body, starting with a cylinder.
03:55
On the Form toolbar, Create group, click Cylinder.
04:00
Use the ViewCube to get a top-down angled view, and this time, select the XZ plane to work on.
04:07
Using the attached canvas image for reference, click and drag a cylinder with a diameter of about 45 mm.
04:15
On the ViewCube, click Front, then zoom closer to the new cylinder.
04:20
Use the manipulators to set the height of the cylinder to about 50 mm.
04:27
In the Cylinder dialog, set the number of Height Faces to 2.
04:31
As a general guideline, it is good practice to start with the minimum number of faces when creating a new form.
04:38
In the dialog, you can also enter the Diameter, the number of Diameter Faces,
04:43
the Height, the number of Height Faces, the Direction, and whether you want any Symmetry.
04:50
Once you have specified your requirements, click OK to create the cylinder.
04:54
The casing will be built by creating half the part, then mirrored to create the other half.
05:00
For this reason, you need to remove half the cylinder.
05:04
Use the ViewCube to rotate to a right-side view.
05:08
Drag to create a selection window over the right half of the cylinder, then press Delete.
05:14
Next, move the cylinder into the proper position, over to the left.
05:19
Right-click the cylinder, and from the Marking menu, select Move/Copy.
05:25
Use the manipulator to move the cylinder to the left.
05:29
Return to the Front view and pan the view, so that you can work on the cylinder.
05:34
Rotate the cylinder to the correct angle, then move it into position, using the reference image as a guide.
05:41
When you are finished, click OK to close the Move/Copy dialog and confirm the new position.
05:48
Click Finish Form to accept the changes.
05:51
Remember, you can always return to the Form environment by right-clicking the Form feature on the Timeline and selecting Edit.
05:59
You now know how to create and edit simple form shapes in Fusion.
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