From the course: Cert Prep: Autodesk Fusion 360 User

Working with direct modeling - Fusion 360 Tutorial

From the course: Cert Prep: Autodesk Fusion 360 User

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Working with direct modeling

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- [Narrator] Usable as a basic modeling technique, direct modeling is also commonly used to modify imported data. The models are every bit as useful as parametrically created models, they are just built differently. We'll start out using the toy block model that was previously imported using the new design from file technique from a step file. Looking more closely at the model, I can see it's solid with a single hole running through it, and filets of an unknown size. To get to know the model better, I can select edges to find out what their length is, curves to find out what their radius is, or I can use the measure tool to find out distances between points. Any of these interrogation methods are valuable for helping to understand what the model is, and how you might want to change them. Even though this model was imported and has no history, as I can see because there's no timeline, I can still make modifications to it using direct editing techniques. For example, if I select a filet or hold shift and select multiple faces, I can press delete to sharpen a corner. I could then add a parametric filet later on. If I right-click to get to the marking menu, I can select the move/copy tool, make sure that the object is set to faces, select the hole and relocate it while maintaining the integrity of the solid. For this particular model, I'll undo those changes, restoring the model as it was. I can use the move/copy tool in other ways. For example, I can select this end face, and though chances are this extrusion was created from a sketch at the base of the profile, I can change the angle of it, even setting the pivot point to be at the top of the model. Once I've rotated that out, and updated the model, I can turn on history to keep track of any other changes I might make. To do this, I'll go to the top of the component, right-click, and select capture design history from the context menu. Now, all of the changes in the imported model up to this point are represented as a base feature. Going forward, any changes will be saved to the timeline, such as going to the modify pulldown, selecting shell, then selecting the face I want to remove, and dragging the thickness for the shell value or entering two for the thickness. So now that the shell has been added to the model, I'll complete it by adding a model thread. When placing threads in most applications, you can select a hole and get a nice virtual or visual representation of the thread. This is very useful for creating 2D drawings, but for 3D printing it will create a cylinder rather than a real thread. In Fusion 360, I can select the modeled thread option, and it will give me a physical model of the thread. We can change the thread specification, making sure that we've got the size that we want. And when we click OK, we'll have a real modeled thread. We can check this with another inspect tool, section analysis, where I can select a face and drag the plane through my part to see what the 3D geometry looks like. This section analysis can be changed for angle, and we can show or hide it simply using the light bulb icon. Direct modeling can give you options to edit models other approaches can't offer. They can also augment parametric models by moving faces without regard to the feature history.

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