Member postings for Alan Wood 4

I've just completed a joint cooperation with John Moran to produce a hybrid 3D print / metal version of his four facet sharpener. The hybrid construction concept works very well making the whole thing much easier to produce.

You can download a ZIP file with Fusion files, STEP files and PDF drawings from my blog.

Speak of the devil etc

Had a mailer from 3Dconnexion this morning saying they have increased the integration with Fusion 360. Playing around with the functions now available it does seem that the 3Dconnexion ISO View 1 in the View menu creates a Home action that can be assigned to a Spacemouse button when in Design mode in Fusion. Still playing with the other functions.

Glad to hear Dave.

The only button I have programmed is to start Fusion. What would have been nice but isn't addressed by Autodesk (as far as I am aware) is the facility to have the isometric 'Home' view as a shortcut or macro. It remains only as a mouse click and can't be triggered easily by other means such as the buttons on the Spacemouse.

Alan

How is the Spacemouse going Dave ?

Also I forgot to say that I had to change one of the axis when using it with Fusion. This is easy to do in the config.

There are one or two on EBay at the moment ....

I would hold off buying another mouse until you have used the SpaceMouse. I tend to zoom and pan with it and then once 'big enough' and 'at the right angle' bring the normal mouse into play. A bit like using a camera where you compose the shot and then press the shutter.

Using the 3DConnexion SpaceMouse totally changed my use of Fusion 360. It becomes your left hand operation with normal mouse in the right hand. You can then tumble and turn your model with ease. There is a simple set of training exercises shipped with the software which after a couple of runs through trains your brain to think two handed. One of my best purchasing decisions, lovely productivity asset to have.

I don't use the shortcut 'buttons' on the SpaceMouse. There are a number of customisation configurations for specific software packages.

Battery life is good and based on daily use I would say I have to re-charge via a USB port every 3 weeks.

I bought the wireless pair of SpaceMouse Compact and CADmouse package which shared a common dongle in a USB port. I found that the sharing of the dongle by both devices led to stutter. In the end I reverted to two dongles, one as supplied with the Spacemouse and one for a conventional Logitech mouse. This could be a reflection of my hardware set up.

On the subject of screens I bought a Dell U2913WM 29" monitor (2560 x 1080) from an EBay second user source. This is a relatively old device but has all 'old' standard ports as well as HDMI.

Alan

+1 to that

A version in Fusion 360

Cotton Reel

Hi Dave

Sorry we doubled on the messages.

I hope you enjoy using Fusion and I recommend looking at the YT sites I mentioned to get you up and running. If you ever want to compare notes send me a PM or contact me via my blog.

Alan

Some good points Dave, not everyone needs CAD.

In my experience once the bug bites it evolves in the quest for new knowledge and new skills and as a result easier ways of doing things. Now when faced with a new project the components are all entered on Fusion but then it branches into what is only and can only be CNC and so heads to the CAM module, what might become CNC but needs proving with a 3D print and then what is just a straightforward 3D print. The 3D print is then a couple of clicks away from running. If there is a PCB involved the board can be created and the box modelled to suit.

I have never had a Cloud storage problem nor for that matter a loss of date from a Fusion crash, not that I have experienced very many crashes and if it should happen there is always a Fusion created Cloud backup waiting in the wings.

I have used Fusion in UK, France, US and New Zealand together with many airline lounges on my travels. I have just logged on with my laptop as normal with no issues so to date I have not encountered any of the licence restrictions you mention. I think the licence is probably defined on the user login details and less so the location.

The other thing I didn't mention is having all the functionality in one package means you learn to use a common interface and because you are using it more in using the various modules it remains more familiar through more common usage. If you are running separate apps for CAD and CAM etc you have each app user interface as a separate unique GUI with it own quirks and learning issues and familiarity becomes less well retained as each app is used less often in day to day activity.

It is all a matter of personal circumstances and personal choice. I was hoping my thoughts would give new starters in the hobby food for thought and help along the way.

Having spent a business life where we had this software package for this and that software package for that and then lost many hours of productivity with the frustrations of this not talking to that, it comes as an absolute joy to find and use a fully integrated package that does everything in one application.

If we had had Fusion 360 in those days our working lives would have been so much more focussed on designing and manufacturing our products rather than fighting the frustrations of software interoperability. When a package offers you 3D design, 2D drawing, CAM, direct to 3D printing and integrated PCB design (now with the extensive library of SnapEDA) it is an engineer's heaven and this is what Fusion 360 offers.

I have a number of friends who use the non licenced version and it completely meets their needs for hobbyist activity. For those that needed the much more advanced CAM features a timely purchase of a licence when Autodesk offer their regular 30% discount deals solved the problem.

The doubters about Cloud Storage all will no doubt be using on line banking and be comfortable with it so why worry about using it for project documentation? The option to save locally is there if the Cloud creates sleepless nights. The upside with the Cloud is that you can go to any computer anywhere in the world, load Fusion, log in and all your designs are there in your library. You can even work for a limited period without an internet connection.

Last but no means least for the new starter, is the overwhelming depth and variety of online tuition sites on YouTube. NYC CNC, Paul McWhorter, Product Design Online, Clough42, Mechanical Advantage, Lars Christensen and not least Autodesk's own training videos.

Forum users will all have their own preferred design package for 2D or 3D drawing and will rightly be proud of what they achieve with what the software allows them to do. Most will then qualify their voiced preference by adding the qualifier that they then use this other package for CAM and this other package for their PCB design and maybe gloss over the frustrations of moving their design between these additionally necessary packages.

I wonder if we are no different in this respect to my historic experiences in business. In those days my team was frustrated by a lack of software integration and how it stopped us getting our new designs to market efficiently.

Today we as hobbyists have a slightly different angle on the problem in that for many of us our remaining time to 'box' is finite. We have skills in the workshop to create our dreams albeit with eyesight fading and joints getting more aches each day. The old adage of the man on his death bed wishing he had spent less time at work and more with his family mirrors our thought of wishing we could have spent more time in the workshop making things rather than wasting it with computer and software frustrations. For me Fusion 360 has given me that freedom. It is my researched choice and it has paid off for me and others will have their own preferences and recommendations.

(I hope that last paragraph wasn't too depressing).

It is likely that the package you start with will be the one you tend to stick with such is the investment in time you will make when learning how to use it and more to the point remembering how to use it. For the new user it is therefore all the more important to make the right choice for not just what you want to do now but also where you might want to be in the future and how easy that will integrate with your initial software choice. Maybe you just want 2D drawing but could this lead to 3D modelling, 3D printing, PCB design and integration or full CNC milling, routing and lathe work ? I suggest that like me, you will easily expand into these with Fusion as your base choice.

Just for clarity I have no affiliation with Fusion or Autodesk and Fusion 360 runs on Win10/11 and Mac.

Alan

Sorry to confuse John.

The device in the black box that hangs off the ring light is a switching regulator. It chops the incoming DC from the car electrics and transforms it down to the voltage required by the ring. Being a switching regulator it is more efficient and there is less heat created than there would be using a linear regulator.

Here is a link to my blog showing the design. which shows the Fusion model and the offset nature. The trough is for the wiring connection to the ring. The ring gets hot glued in place and the trough filled to act as a cable clamp.

The three tapped holes are for nylon mounting screws. These holes and threads are modelled in the 3D print.

I usually stick aluminium foil on the lower surface using double sided tape. This increases the reflectivity.

I also replace the supplied black box with a 3D printed larger size version which has a 2.1mm DC socket for the external supply. I also glue a magnet to this box so it can be latched onto adjacent metalwork.

I hope that gives you some help.

Kind regards

Alan

As already confirmed the white is negative and there is a '-' sign next to the connection to the ring. This is the ground plane on the back of the light under the white silk screen. Positive terminal has a '+' and the red wire. You can ignore the switching PSU and feed in direct to the ring at around 9V to get full brightness. Likewise the switcher will probably need at least 10V for full brightness. Depending on diameter the rings pull circa 200mA.

I would recommend removing the 'bezel' to get a more uniform light. The bezel is just superglued in place and easily cracks free.

I would also recommend not mounting the light concentrically but instead if you can have an eccentric offset. When you are working with very small tooling the 'chuck' will cast a close in shadow and if concentric mounted this shadow will be frustratingly even around where you are aiming.

I have a Fusion 360 file that accommodates various ring diameters with various quill diameters to allow the mounting body to be 3D printed. Let me know if you want a STEP file to suit your dimensions.

I bought my licence not long after attending an NYC CNC training course. Autodesk were offering 50% discount which was an offer I couldn't refuse. They still seem to offer discounts of 30% every now and then.

Mark

Have a look at Start 10 by Stardock which allows you to use the Win7 desktop on Win10. Single licence fee of GBP4.99. There is a Start 11 also available. Gets rid of all the MS clutter.

News just in from Autodesk

March update to Fusion 360 will add 3+1 and 3+2 CAM as part of the flat rate licence with 4 and 5 axis only available via Extensions. All for less than a subscription to Sky. What's not to like ?

Chris Borge is showing a first pass on his idea for a 3D printed Die Filer to add to his many other 3D printed workshop devices (including a fractal vice). You might need a small investment in filament.

Chris Borge 3D Filer

Hi Nick

There is a full costing towards the end of my write up. The core parts total circa GBP350 assuming you use a hybrid servo. You could reduce this using a standard component. Clough42 does describe the process very well.

Alan