Creating a Precise Hole to Securely Connect a Clamp and Stem in Fusion

Positioning and Adjusting a Hole for Clamp-Stem Connection in Fusion 360

Create a hole in your clamp and stem designs using Autodesk Fusion 360. This step-by-step guide can help you maneuver the software to create a hole in the clamp and stem, connecting them in a way that requires minimal effort.

Key Insights

  • The article explains how to create a hole on the clamp using Autodesk Fusion 360. The clamp should be activated, and you should select 'at point, single hole' from the 'create area'.
  • The article suggests using 'reference' to adjust the height of the hole. By selecting the bottom face of the clamp as the reference, Fusion allows to set an exact dimension. The article used 15 millimeters above the bottom face.
  • Finally, the hole is created all through the clamp and stem B. The extent is changed from 'distance' to 'all' and size is set to five millimeters. The objects to cut are verified, thus allowing a connector to be put through from the clamp to the back.

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Now let's think about how the clamp might connect to the stem. And one simple connection might be a screw that goes all the way through the clamp and the stem. And for that to work out, we need to create a hole.

So let's first go ahead and zoom right in close to our clamp. Now that we're zoomed in, let's activate the clamp. It'll be the active component and everything else grays out.

We can also minimize any of the folders under clamp. Now let's click away from the clamp so nothing is selected. And we want to go to our create area and we're looking for the hole.

Click on hole. Now last time we selected from sketch multiple holes for our placement. This time we want at point, single hole.

And we'll click a face. Now Fusion is pretty good at guessing what we want. And if we click on this face, it will center our hole.

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Let's go ahead and click on that front face, bottom level of the T. We'll click one time. Isn't that cool? Fusion centers a hole right there in the front. Now we need to add some refinement to this.

Let's go to the next section. The next section is a reference. We can select a reference and adjust how high up this hole is.

We'll click select and we'll click the bottom face of our clamp right there. That bottom ring or bottom face. And we'll see probably a rough dimension here because we simply clicked on the face.

Fusion didn't know exactly where we want it so it just put it right where we clicked. Let's go ahead and now give it an exact dimension. We'll type in 15 for 15 millimeters above that bottom face.

All right, now that hole is located and we want to change our extents from distance to all. It's just a hole all the way through everything here. With that, we want to set the size and we'll change it to a five millimeter hole and we'll verify the objects to cut.

It's cutting both stem B and our clamp, which is what we want. We want this hole to go all the way through. Imagine so that we can put a connector through there all the way down from the clamp to the back.

That looks pretty good so let's go ahead and click okay. Give it a moment and now we have a whole feature in our design timeline for the clamp. If that looks pretty good, go ahead and activate the top level of our browser and click that save button.

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Reid Johnson

Licensed Architect | Contractor | CAD/BIM Specialist

Reid isn't just someone who knows CAD and BIM; he's a licensed architect and contractor who deeply integrates these technologies into every facet of his career. His hands-on experience as a practitioner building real-world projects provides him with an invaluable understanding of how BIM and CAD streamline workflows and enhance design. This practical foundation led him to Autodesk, where he shared his expertise, helping others effectively leverage these powerful tools. Throughout his professional journey, Reid also dedicates himself to education, consistently teaching university courses and shaping the next generation of design professionals by equipping them with essential CAD skills. His unique blend of practical experience, industry knowledge gained at Autodesk, and passion for teaching positions Reid as a true specialist in BIM and CAD technology, capable of bridging the gap between theory and real-world application.

Credentials:

  • Autodesk Fusion Certified User
  • Autodesk Revit Certified Professional
  • Autodesk Certified Instructor
  • Licensed Architect
  • Licensed General Contractor

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