Tour the Fusion user interface

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Welcome to your first lesson on transitioning from mash

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to

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CAM to Fusion 360. The user interface

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in this video,

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we'll take a look at the user interface of fusion 360 highlighting

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some important differences and how fusion 360 adds value to these areas.

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When you first open Fusion 360 you will see some things that look familiar like a

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command tool bar at the top of the screen and a browser on the left side.

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Let's start with the one major difference between

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fusion and master cam or any legacy tool.

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The data panel,

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the data panel is essentially your file management system

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like windows explorer or finder on your mac,

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except all data is stored on the cloud and is accessible directly with infusion.

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Here. You can create new projects,

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access existing projects,

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upload and access cloud asset libraries.

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See those involved in a project

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and open an extensive library of training and

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sample models including sample work holding components from a

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wide range of vendors that you can save into your projects for easy access and use.

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I'll open our gearbox cover project to show

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you how the data panel offers several benefits

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keeping your data at the center enables

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a fully integrated workflow within fusion 360 allowing

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a much more streamlined process when programming your

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components compared to a legacy tool like Mastercam

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Fusion 360 contains different workspaces for design,

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manufacture simulation and so on.

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Switching from one workspace to another displays only the

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relevant features or commands respective to the workspace.

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You are in

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meaning you are not overwhelmed with unrelated commands and

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you only have the tools you need to work with

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switching workspaces doesn't require any data translation.

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So there's no loss as you move from design to manufacture.

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Of course,

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you can always customize the workspace toolbars if you

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need as you'll see later on in this video,

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it's also worth mentioning that fusion makes it

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easier to work with multiple files at once.

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New designs open in a new tab.

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So all open designs are quickly and easily available right at the top of the window.

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Now heading over to the right hand side when you click on your name,

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this drop down includes your autodesk account

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preferences,

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any fusion teams you belong to

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and also your profile,

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which gives you instant access to your Fusion 360

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portal where you can organize your projects and files,

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edit designs online directly in your web browser,

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export to any number of file formats

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and also build a discussions or wiki page for your

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teams which can prove invaluable when discussing and sharing information

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within the same drop down menu.

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You'll also be able to modify your preferences including language,

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workspace, specific units of measure

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in graphic settings.

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Two preferences I want to draw your

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attention to are both under general manufacture.

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The first is a check box enable cloud libraries.

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If checked, this will allow you to access the asset libraries.

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I spoke about at the beginning of this video.

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Another useful option,

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external editor allows you to choose the default external G code editor.

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If for example, when post processing,

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you want the G code to be opened in notepad plus plus,

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just navigate to where the application file is on your disk and select it.

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If you don't have a preference, the default with infusion 360 is brackets

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going back to fusion. We can see under the help menu.

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Also at the top right of our U I one

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feature that's worth mentioning in particular the learning panel.

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This is an intuitive tool that knows which workspace you're

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in and provides tips based on certain clickable actions.

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The learning panel is particularly useful if you're in new

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diffusion as it guides you through the necessary steps to complete

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a given task within a given workspace and acts as a

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checklist to ensure you have covered the most fundamental features.

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One last thing to notice on the top right of the

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U I is the extensions icon represented by a wrench.

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This is where you can subscribe to the manufacturing extension which

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gives you access to advanced tools for additive and subtractive manufacturing

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including inspection.

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More information about each feature is available at the learn more link

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for more information on the extension and how to purchase it.

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Click the link in the upper right hand corner of this video.

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Now we're going to take a look at the canvas,

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the bulk of our U I where all the magic happens and how it differs from master camp.

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The main differences I want to point out are the browser tree,

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the view cube and the comments dialogue box.

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The browser tree separates your program into named

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views which capture the model orientation models,

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which reference the design structure and subs which contain tool paths.

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This helps both organize your program and provide

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quicker access to the models and tool paths within

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Autodesk's View cube gives you an easier way to manage

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design views as it is integrated into the canvas.

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So it is always available yet remains unobtrusive.

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You can also set your view between orthographic and perspective.

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This paired with your named views under the browser tree

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creates a powerful combination when controlling your program views.

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Next, the comments,

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dialogue box allows you to discuss objects or features or

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make general comments which are then uploaded to the cloud.

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So they can be accessed both by those with access to fusion

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and those via a shared web link on a web browser.

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This makes it easy to discuss features

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with key stakeholders quickly and effectively.

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As you can see when I access our program on the web portal.

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Now we're going to take a quick look at how we can

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create a tool path and how the interface differs from master cams.

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As you can see the tool path menu is divided into

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five tabs that give you access to all of the parameters.

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You would need to control the quality of your strategy.

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Notice that all I have to do to generate this two D pocket tool path

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is to select my tool and my pocket as fusion will take care of the rest.

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Leaving me more time to experiment with the different settings or strategies.

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Let's now look at how we can customize our toolbars.

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This is extremely useful for users who tend to

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use the same function multiple times during their workflows

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to add an icon to the toolbar, just hover over it,

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click on the three dots on the right and you'll be able to pin the icon to the toolbar.

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If you make a mistake,

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all you have to do to remove it is drag and drop anywhere outside of the main toolbar.

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Similarly,

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it is possible to add your favorite icons to the list

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of shortcuts that's available by pressing S or new keyboard.

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So if for example, I wanted to add engraved to my list of shortcuts,

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all I need to do is click on the three dots and select pin to shortcuts

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and if I now press s you can see that the desired tool path has been added to my list. It

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is worth mentioning that the shortcuts are workspace specific and will change.

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If for example, you're in the design workspace. As you can see

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using the S key also allows me to search

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for commands in that workspace and select them from

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the drop down where I can also pin them to the shortcuts menu with the up arrow.

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It is in fact possible to create a keyboard shortcut for

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any tool that you want to access quickly and painlessly.

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Let's say that for instance,

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I wanted to create a shortcut for the engraved tool path. We just saw

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just repeat the same clicks as before and choose change keyboard shortcut.

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Here you'll be able to create your own shortcut as a combination

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of modifiers such as control alt or command and alphanumeric characters.

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One last thing I'm going to show you is the right mouse button menu.

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If I right, click anywhere on the screen,

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I'll have access to a series of commands that include among others,

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undo redo and a repeat of the last functionality I have used.

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So if I want to access a command, I have just used,

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all I need to do is hold my right mouse

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button and drag it upwards where the repeat action is.

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If I right click again,

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I can now quickly access some functionality that's

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specific to the tool I just accessed,

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this will make repetitive tasks much easier to perform.