Discover the process of incorporating lampshade fastener assemblies - from a data panel and the McMaster CAR library - into a model in Fusion 360. Learn how to accurately adjust and place these components for an optimal fit, as well as how to group your components for efficient workflow management.
Key Insights
- The process begins by activating the fastener assemblies and incorporating them into the model. Utilizing the joint function, the fastener can be linked to the model through selecting appropriate edges.
- Components can be located and reinserted in the model by inputting exact product numbers such as 95211A150 and 91239A233. By doing so, the exact washer and product needed for the model are found.
- Effective model management includes grouping all the features into a larger group in the file. This is executed through the right-click function, selecting 'Delete', followed by 'Delete Group and Expand Contents', before finally choosing 'Create Group'.
In this video, we will bring in our lampshade fastener assemblies from our data panel and also from the McMaster CAR library. I will scroll down and open up step 9. And when your file is open, scroll back up to the top of your data panel.
I will activate my fastener assemblies. And I will bring in one of my lampshade fastener components. Again, I will place it up here and hit ENTER.
We will see that I brought in a linked file. So I can now join it into my model. I will go Joint, select this edge of my washer, and holding Control, select the inside of this circle.
My joint looks all right, so I'll hit OK. And we can see my component go into the model. I can check to see if my fastener is too long or too short by zooming in.
And it looks to be about the right length. Now, if I unroll this, I can see exactly what parts I've brought in. If I go Insert, McMaster CAR Component, and I will hide my data panel, I can type in these exact numbers and find those products again.
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The first one is 95211A150. When I hit ENTER, we will see exactly the washer that we want. Here it is.
And I can hit Product Detail. I can now scroll down, find my step file, and save it. Remember, saving from Fusion 360 will insert it into your file.
I will move it up into space and hit ENTER. Remember, because my default material is currently set to wood, we will bring in a wooden washer. But we will edit that in the next video.
Again, I will go to Insert, McMaster CAR Component. And this time, I will type in 91239A233 and hit ENTER. Again, it will find exactly the product we are looking for.
And we can hit Product Detail, scroll down, make sure it says 3D Step, and hit Save. Again, I will move this up into space and hit ENTER. You will notice that I have my capture position and revert options available.
So I will capture position before I place my joints. The first joint I would like to place is my bolt directly to my washer. So I will go Joint.
Select this outer edge here. And then select the outer edge here, which is selecting the center of both of those circles. We can see a rigid joint being applied between my two objects.
That looks good to me, so I will hit OK. Now, I can scroll around. I can orbit around and place my joint between my washer and the edge of my model.
I will go New Joint. Select this edge. And holding Control, select the center of this circle.
We can see that this joint might be flipped, so we will hit the Flip button and OK. Our fastener has been created, but notice that these are separate components in my fastener assemblies folder. I will right-click New Component, name this Lampshade Fastener, and select these two components and drag them in.
We now have one fastener assembly imported from our data panel and one from the McMaster Car Library. I will activate my top component and save my file. Before we do anything else, let's make sure to group our components in our timeline.
However, I would like to point out some key features. Notice the McMaster Car, when we brought in our component, has brought in a new component creation and base feature. These are already groups in my timeline, so I cannot group them by right-clicking Create Group.
That option is not here. If I want to place all of these features into a group, I may need to right-click, Delete, and then Delete Group and Expand Contents. I will do that twice, Delete, Delete Group, and Expand Contents.
And because this was only a Create My Component and Base Feature, it will not create so many extra features on my timeline. I like to explode these small groups and put them into a larger group in my file. I will right-click, Create Group, and one more time, save my file.
In the next video, we will look at physical materials and visual materials for our model. I will see you in the next video.