Navigate the complexities of creating a relationship between a folding bracket and a deck on Fusion. This comprehensive guide provides a step-by-step approach on how to define the joints between the two items, measure the distance between two edges, and manipulate the model to achieve the desired results.
Key Insights
- The process of defining the joints between a folding bracket and a deck begins with determining the distance between their edges. With Fusion's inspect menu and measure tool, it's determined that they're six millimeters apart.
- To establish a rigid joint connection, the article advises hiding the deck and looking up at the bottom of the bracket. Hovering over the bottom reveals a snap point, which jumps to the point when hovered over the middle.
- Finally, the model is manipulated into the correct position by pulling it back six millimeters. The position adjustment allows for the creation of a rigid joint connection that cannot be separated, keeping the folding bracket and the deck in their original positions.
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Now let's create the relationship between the folding bracket and the deck. And you might ask yourself, why do we need to define the joints between the folding bracket and the deck? They should stay together. And you're right.
And because of that, we're going to use a rigid joint connection. So let's make sure nothing is selected and let's orbit around nice and close to the front of the bracket. And we'll notice a problem here.
Essentially, the deck is further forward than the bracket. There's a space between. So there's not a great way to define the relationship between the two items.
It's a flat surface to a flat surface, but Fusion needs points and edges to define that relationship. Not a problem. We first need to inspect the elements and determine how far apart these two edges are from each other.
So let's go up to the inspect menu and pull that down and select the measure tool. We can click this first edge on the front of the scooter, right there on the deck, and then click the front edge, bottom edge of the bracket. And we'll get a result here.
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We will see in the results area, a distance of six millimeters. And that's what we need to know. They're six millimeters apart.
Also, if we zoom in, we'll notice there's a dimension there that visually cues us into six millimeters. Now, if yours isn't quite six millimeters, remember what that dimension is and go ahead and click close. Now we can create that relationship.
We'll go to the assemble area and click joint. Now this time, our origin mode, we can keep it as simple. That's perfect.
We're going to go ahead and hide the deck and orbit until we're looking up at the bottom of this bracket. Now, while we're looking up at the bottom of the bracket, we can see by hovering over the bottom, we get a snap point. Now don't click anywhere yet.
Just move your mouse around. And you'll notice that as you get close to these white points, that snap point jumps to the point. If you hovered over the middle, it's an arbitrary area.
It's hard for Fusion to define what that is. It's not a corner or a midpoint. We want to define it with one of these corners or midpoints.
And the point we want is right here in the front. Now we don't want to go too far because that will give us a bad result. We want to stay where the flat surface is highlighted, start moving our cursor to the front and then watch it jump right to that front midpoint.
And then we'll click one time. So that's defined now. And we can orbit our model up until we're looking back down again at the bracket.
And now we will unhide our deck. And component two can now be selected. Again, we'll use the simple origin mode and we want to select our snap point.
Now just hover your cursor over the top surface of the deck. And we'll have the same issue again. There's really nothing for Fusion to grab onto.
But as you get close to the front of the deck, right in the middle, watch it jump. It jumps right to that front point. And that's what we want.
Again, don't go too far. You'll start to get some weird points. Want to stick to the top of the deck.
It highlights kind of a white color. And then move towards the front and it will snap. Then click.
When you click, be prepared to see some action. Fusion's going to take whatever motion we've used last and show it. If yours was set to revolute, you'll see what I just saw.
So go ahead and switch over to motion and change that to rigid. And they'll shake. But they're still in the wrong location.
We want to go back to the position area. And in the alignment, we want to pull it back six millimeters. The cool thing is that Fusion does give us a visual way to do that.
We get these three arrow directions or three axis points. And we can pull it back until we have six millimeters of separation. Which in our case happens to be minus six on the Y. So minus six on the Y for alignment.
Motion set to rigid. And go ahead and hit the play button. They're just going to shake and show you that they cannot be separated.
And yet they're in the same position they were originally. Now go ahead and click okay. Expand the relationships folder.
Expand joints. And now we have this rigid four. We'll call this rigid folding bracket.
And click that save button.
