Discover the process of importing geometry from your data panel and other options built into Fusion 360 in this comprehensive guide. Learn about the McMaster Car library, how to use it for importing small parts such as nuts and bolts, and how to maneuver and join components within your model.
Key Insights
- The Fusion 360 software allows users to import geometry from the data panel into their model; this involves activating the necessary component and adjusting its positioning. The imported part is then visible as linked geometry.
- The McMaster Car library can be used for importing specific components such as nuts, bolts, and other small parts into your model. This library contains a vast array of geometries that can be imported directly into Fusion 360.
- Joining components in your model may require flipping the joint in cases where the component appears to be positioned inside another part. Activating the top component and collapsing fastener assemblies aids the joining process.
In this video we will talk about importing geometry from our data panel but also some of the other options Fusion 360 has built in. If you would please scroll down, find step 9 lampshade fasteners and open.
When your model is open, please leave your data panel open because we will be bringing in this geometry. I will activate my fastener assemblies component and click and drag to bring this fastener assembly into my model. Again I will move it into place in space and you can see that it's imported as linked geometry.
I will hit okay and we know that we can attach this with a joint to the edge of our lampshade arm here. So I will go joint, select the edge here and holding CTRL select the center of this circle. You'll notice that my fastener appears to be inside of my lampshade arm.
This can sometimes happen when placing joints. If this has happened to you, go ahead and hit the flip icon here to flip your joint around. I'll hit okay and we can now see the lampshade fastener in place.
I'll close my data panel because I would like to show one other way of bringing in geometry to your model. For something like nuts, bolts and other small parts, we can use the McMaster car library. If I go to the insert tab and go to insert McMaster car component, the McMaster car shop will open.
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McMaster car has created a lot of different geometry that can be directly imported into Fusion 360. I know a couple of things about my model. I can see here that I want to bring in a bolt that is a round head with a hex screw 20 millimeters long and five millimeters in diameter.
So I will go insert McMaster car component and I will go to screws and bolts, round headed and hex driven and here I can go to metric and five 20 millimeter and then we can see our options. I will scroll down and look for this icon. This means that there are three-dimensional solid parts in the McMaster car library available for download.
You will also see prices and quantities and other things like that in this window. If I go to this component here and select product detail, I can scroll down and find this window here. I will change this to a 3D step file and hit save.
This will automatically import a component into my model directly from the McMaster car library. You will see that it has come in with its part number which can help us if we forget which part we brought in and you'll see if I open one of my other components everything in our fasteners assembly has been downloaded from McMaster car. Again these are free to use and free to download.
I will not go through the process of downloading the washer or setting the assembly joints but I wanted to show you that option. So for now I will hit cancel and undo to delete that component. Now let's go over here CTRL C, CTRL V, move our component into place and I can join my component.
I will go joint, select the inside face here and again holding CTRL, I will select the center of this circle. Notice one more time that I need to flip my component and I will go okay. I will activate my top component and collapse my fastener assemblies.
Go ahead and save your file and I will see you in the next video.
