Discover how to use sketch tools and options in Fusion 360, the basic building blocks for creating 3D geometry. Learn about the parametric nature of sketches and how editing a sketch will automatically update the corresponding 3D geometry.
Key Insights
- In Fusion 360, sketches are the fundamental elements for creating 3D geometry. They are parametric and linked to 3D models so any edits to a sketch automatically update the 3D geometry.
- Sketch tools offer multiple options for creating and editing 2D geometry. Tools such as Line, Rectangle, and Arc come with different methods of use, and inferred constraints appear during the drawing process to guide the sketching.
- Sketches also feature Dimensioning tools and Sketch Options that further aid in constraining and customizing your sketches. These include the choice to show profiles, enable sketch grid, create construction geometry, and project existing 3D geometry onto your sketch.
In this video we will look at sketch tools and sketch options. In Fusion 360, sketches are the most basic building block for creating 3D geometry.
Sketches are parametric and are linked to 3D geometry so that when you edit a sketch, the 3D geometry will automatically update. So let's get started. I will go up into my toolbar and I can see Create Sketch here or under Sketch, Create Sketch.
The first thing you need to do is select a plane for your sketch to be hosted to. I do not currently have any geometry in my model, so I will choose one of my default origin planes. You will see your sketch palette open on the right of your screen.
We will go over the sketch options in this video. If I go under Sketch, I will see the list of options of 2D geometry that I can draw, and further down, ways that I can edit and modify that geometry. I will go to Line, and you will see as I begin to draw, inferred constraints will start to appear, and they are highlighted in the blue-cyan color.
At any point, I can click the green checkmark to end my current command, or right-click and drag to the right in the marking menu to hit OK to stop my command. We can see that there can be multiple options for one type of geometry. Here you see 2-point rectangle, 3-point rectangle, and center rectangle.
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We know that we can promote any of these options to our workspace toolbar if we find ourselves using them often. While I'm in the Line tool, if I click once and release and click again, it will draw a straight line. If I click and drag my mouse, it will begin to draw an arc.
Releasing again will draw that arc. Again, you will see Sketch Constraints automatically infer in a cyan color, and then follow you around the drawing. We will go over the Sketch Constraints in the next video.
If I draw a line, you will see that it is a blue color. This means that it is not fully constrained. I can click on the endpoints of my line, or the middle of my line to drag it around the screen.
Dimensioning my line is one way to further constrain my line. I can go to Sketch, Sketch Dimension, or I will use the keyboard shortcut D. Clicking my line will pull dimension off, and I can pull a horizontal dimension, vertical dimension, or angular dimension, depending on what I would like to be dimensioned. If I have more than one line, I can place an angular dimension again hitting D as my keyboard shortcut, or if I have a circle or an arc on my sketch, again I am hitting D for dimension.
It will pull a radius or diameter dimension. You will notice that the inside of my circle is yellow. This is because I have drawn a contained profile.
Rectangles and other series of connected lines will also show profiles. In my Sketch Palette, Options, I can see Show Profile, and if I turn that off, you will see that yellow shape disappear. I will work with Show Profile on.
Also in Sketch Options, you can turn on and off your sketch grid, snap to grid, and if you have 3D geometry that you do not want to see, you can slice at your sketch, and that creates a temporary section through your 3D geometry. If I draw a line, you will see that there are two white points at the ends of the line. Show Points will hide and unhide those points, and I can hide and unhide Show Constraints.
3D Sketch will allow you to snap to 3D geometry. We will keep that off as our default option. Many times when sketching, when we draw a line, we do not want it to be represented in our future geometry.
This is where construction geometry comes in handy. By selecting my line, I can go to Construction, and you will see that it turns it into an orange line that is dashed. This means that it is construction geometry and will not be considered when creating future geometry.
There may be times when we want to reference existing 3D geometry in our sketch. I will go New Sketch and select this face to create my sketch. If I would like to reference this line in my sketch, I can go to Sketch, Project, Include, Project.
This is also the keyboard shortcut P. By selecting this geometry, I will get a purple line, and this line means that it is projected from that face, but it is included in the 2D sketch. Now if I draw geometry and dimension it or constrain it to that line, this geometry will automatically update if that 3D geometry updates. Projecting geometry in a sketch is an extremely helpful tool when creating sketches that will need to be updated with existing geometry.
I will see you in the next video.
