From the course: Cert Prep: Autodesk Fusion 360 User

Positioning bodies and components - Fusion 360 Tutorial

From the course: Cert Prep: Autodesk Fusion 360 User

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Positioning bodies and components

- [Instructor] To ensure proper fit and function, you must be able to precisely position bodies and components to one another. Continuing with my assembly, I need to take steps to make sure that the proper components move when selected. The first thing that I'll do is make sure that the arm of the hook side is grounded by right-clicking on it and selecting Ground from the Context menu. This will make sure that when joints are applied between that component and others, the other component moves. It's a best practice to select the component that's going to move first when applying a joint. Right now, at the end of my toolbar, there are two icons that normally aren't there. These icons let me know that there are components in the assembly that have been roughed into position, but they are just a temporary position. I can revert their position, which is the green are that was linked in and the bolt, or I can capture them so that this step isn't requested while I'm trying to place other joints, so I'll select capture position. An alternative to applying joints is to align components. This is useful when you have bodies but don't have components. Under the Modify pull-down, I'll select Align and then I'll choose the middle of my pin. With that selected, I can choose the rounded edge of my arm and it will drop it into position. This is not a permanent relocation, in fact, if I choose to not capture the position, I can even just have it go right back to where it was, but in this case, I'll tell it to capture position and click OK. The next thing that I'd like to relocate is the hook that goes into the lower arm. I'll start the Joint Tool, select an edge, in this case the rounded edge, that will align with the bolt hole, and we'll put it in position, initially showing a Revolute Joint. The joint can be changed, once the edges on the components are selected I can make it a Rigid Joint and reposition it, or I can change this to a Slider and change the axis that it will work on. This is the closest representation to the function of the model, so I'll click OK and put it into place. Now if I click on the component and drag, I can see that I'm able to move it in and out. Next, I want to relocate the new arm that was imported. I'll start the Joint Tool again and as I select near a face, I see multiple options. Triangles represent the midpoints of edges, points represent endpoints, crosses represent center points, and near the center of the face is a square. For what I need to do, I need to center this component in the gap of the hook arm. When I hover over the cylindrical face, I can see the end. As I move to attempt to grab the middle, it disappears. Holding the Ctrl key once that face is highlighted will isolate the selection options to only the options on that face. I'll move to the midpoint and select it, and then I'll return back up to the hook. Traditionally, I would need to measure the thickness of that arm, measure the gap in the hook, and then subtract the difference to create an offset. With Fusion 360, I can right-click and say Between Two Faces, selecting the outside faces of the hook arm, and then selecting a circular reference. And that will bring that into position. I'll change the joint type to Revolute, and make sure the axis is appropriate, then click OK to create the joint. With the joint created, I can test the motion by clicking and dragging on the arm. Now I'll more quickly apply the last two joints, I can see that a component's been moved. I might've touched that pin, so I'll just capture the position and move on. I'll grab the underside of the bolt head using the same options. Here I can see that it's a Revolute Joint, but I don't want it all the way in, so I can simply drag an offset to the value that I like. I'll apply the same type of joint to the small bolt, putting it in location based on the center here, and then, again, offsetting it so it sits to the outside of the hook, selecting the face to make sure it's flush. With the components in place, I can start to make sure that everything is locked down. For example, the pin is still presently just located using an align. What I'd like to do is take its current position and capture it using the As-Built Joint. I can select the pin and select the hook arm, and tell it to apply a Revolute Joint as the components presently are. Now it's held in place with a proper joint rather than just being aligned. I can do other options as well. For example, the Slider Joint that was defined on the bottom, I can establish a maximum and minimum distance that it's able to move. So, I can grab it and move it, but it restricts how far it can move. And presently, this arm can go right through the bolt, but under Assemble, I can Enable Contact sets and then create a new contact set between the two so that its motion is limited to when it comes in contact. Connecting the components with joints is a simple way to keep the design connected as it develops and to make sure that your assembly is going to work when it's built.

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