Lesson video

Hi there, everybody, my name is Mr. Booth, and welcome to your design and technology lesson for today.

It's fantastic you could join me.

Today's lesson: 3D model using extrude and the Timeline in Fusion.

We're gonna take our sketches that we do in Fusion and we're gonna extrude them, and we're gonna try and produce some more complex extrudes.

This lesson is part of the system's approach to design sustainable futures unit.

Today's outcome, I want you to be able to create 3D bodies using Fusion.

It's as simple as that.

We have four keywords for you to look out for today, the first one being extrude, removing or adding depth from a sketch profile.

We then have component, a container for bodies, sketches, and other design elements with its own Timeline.

We have body, a single continuous shape in Fusion.

And join, combining new features with existing bodies, which ultimately will make new components.

Two learning cycles for today.

The first one is all about extruding fundamentals, and then we'll have a go at actually extruding in Fusion.

So let's get going.

So before we start extruding, before we use the extrude function in Fusion, we need to be familiar with the Browser.

Now, the Browser is a list of all the objects and all the data in an assembly including components, bodies, sketches, origins, joints, and even construction geometry.

It also allows users to control the visibility and activation of certain components, especially if you want to modify them.

Let's have a closer look.

So first of all, we have the assembly name and that's the one at the top there.

And in this case, you can see it's the greenhouse assembly.

We then have active components.

Now, in this case, it's the whole assembly that is active, and what that means is we'll be able to see all of the other components in here, including the base, the punnet, and also the micro:bit.

We can tell it's the active component because that little dot inside that circle is clicked.

We can also look at the visibility of components as well and all the other data in there.

Now, if the visibility is off, you will see it's got the eye symbol with the line through it and it is hidden.

If the visibility is on, as you can see in the three components here, then the eye will be lit up, and we can also see them in our canvas.

We then have our components, and in this case, in our assembly of our greenhouse, we have three components.

We have the base, the punnet, and the micro:bit.

Now, the little chain that you can see next to the micro:bit there, that means that component was imported into this assembly.

We didn't actually create it in the assembly.

The base and the punnet were created with inside this assembly.

Now, if we have a closer look at the Browser, we can see we have a component name.

In this case, it is the base.

We have geometry, which is to do with that component.

We then have the bodies, which we used to create that component, and the sketches we used to create those bodies.

So you can see how they are all related within that base component.

Quick check for understanding.

What are these features in the Browser called? Are they A, sketches, B, components C, geometry, or D, materials? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

They are, of course, B components, the base, the punnet, and the micro:bit.

Well done.

Now, using the Browser.

When we're creating new models in an assembly, it's good practice to right click on the assembly name at the top and create a new component, and then give it a sensible name of whatever you are going to create.

A new component will be added to the browser.

Sketches and bodies can then be created from each component.

Now, it's important to use components if we are gonna eventually use things like assemblies, where we want components to interact with each other.

So without using components, if we just used bodies, for example, which you can still use and model with in Fusion, you wouldn't be able to do that.

You would have to turn them into components later down the line.

So I think it's great to actually start by using components straight away.

Now, this is how the base, punnets, and micro:bit components were created in this model.

So what I did is I created the assembly called greenhouse, and then each time I wanted to create a new assembly, I right clicked on that and created those.

In Fusion, the extrude command lets users add or remove depth from a sketch profile.

So you can see in this example here, we have two circles which are our sketch profile, and then what I do is I select one of them and then I can extrude that up.

Now, it is a flexible tool that can create new bodies or modify existing ones by adding or removing material.

Remember, we can take material away.

Now, sketches are 2D geometric representation used to create 3D solid models.

Once a sketch is completed, modified, and constrained, it can, of course, be extruded.

Now, we create a sketch, that includes modifying it, and also, of course, constraining it.

And then we can extrude that sketch by adding or removing depth from the sketch.

They are the two basic steps we need to do to be able to extrude.

Now, to extrude a sketch, the sketch must be a closed profile with a light blue fill, as you can see in this sketch here, if it hasn't got that light blue fill, you simply won't be able to extrude it.

Quick check for understanding.

What must a sketch be before extruding? Is it A, a closed profile, B, an open profile, C, a new sketch or D, a saved sketch? Pause the video now.

have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, a closed profile, A.

Well done.

Let's all look at creating an extrude.

So first of all, we're gonna practice.

We're not gonna use the greenhouse model, we're just gonna have a little practice.

So we're gonna start a new design, and we're gonna save it as extrude.

It's a really good habit to get into is to save your work as soon as you create it, and you'll see the little asterisk next to extrude there is telling me I haven't saved it yet, so I need to save that.

Once we've done that, we're gonna go to the top of our Browser and we're gonna right click on the assembly name, which is, of course, extrude 'cause you've just created that, and we're gonna create a new component.

So right click, click new component, and then we're gonna name it something sensible, like cylinders, 'cause we're gonna sketch and extrude a series of cylinders.

Once we've done that, we can click Okay.

What we're then gonna do is create a simple sketch of two concentric circles with diameters of 100 millimeters and 50 millimeters.

Remember to place the first point on the origin, 'cause that's a great place to start a sketch.

And also just check you've got your dimensions of your diameters correct.

Now, if you place a circle and you forgot to set a diameter, remember, you can press D on the keyboard, click on the outside line of your circle, and it will bring that back up so you can enter it again.

Once you've done that, click Finish Sketch.

Once we finish sketch, we go back into our main workspace.

And what I want you to then do is next to the view cube is click on the Home button, which will take you back into your 3D view.

Once we've done that, we then need to click Create Extrude in the create toolbar, and then select the profile that we want to extrude.

And in this case, I'm just selecting the outer profile.

Once we've done that, we can drag the blue arrow up by 30 millimeters, or enter it into the dialogue box and then click Okay, and we'll set then create a new body and we've created our extrude.

So let's have a little look at the Browser and see what has changed.

Well, first of all we've got our new component there called cylinders, and you'll also see we've got a new body, and also a new sketch as well, which we've just created.

So you can see they've appeared in our browser.

Now, I'm just gonna make the sketch visible by clicking on the little eye next to it 'cause I'm gonna use it in a moment.

What we've also got is if we look down at the timeline, you'll see we've also got a new sketch and an extrude for the active component.

We know the cylinder is active 'cause again, if you look next to the cylinder component, we've got that circle and the dot is in the middle of it so we know it's active.

So that is the timeline for this component.

And we can see we've got the circle sketch, and then the extrude that we made when I made that cylinder.

Quick check for understanding.

Which button do you click to extrude? So you've got lots of buttons on there.

Decide which one it is.

Come back to me when you've got your answer.

Pause the video now.

It is, of course, B, that is the extrude button.

So to edit and extrude, well, we can right click on the extrude in the Timeline and select Edit Feature.

And what that will do is that will bring the Edit Feature dialogue box up, and we can do all sorts of different things with that to edit it.

Now, in this example, all I've done is I've selected another profile, the inner circle, and then click Okay, and instantly, it will update my model.

That's a really powerful part of Fusion, the fact that you can edit things that quickly and live.

What we can also do if we have a closer look at the Edit Feature dialogue box is we can do lots of different other things in there as well.

So in this case, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna Edit Feature, but what I'm gonna do is create a thin extrude.

I'm then gonna make it symmetrical so it goes to both sides around the plane that I've draw my sketch on, and I'm gonna add a little taper angle to that as well.

When I click Okay, you can see I've made a very different component just by editing the dialogue box for Edit Feature.

Isn't that interesting? What I'd like to do for this check for understanding now is identify the Timeline.

So we've got A, B, C, or D.

Which one of those is the Timeline? Pause the video now, come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, D.

You can see it down at the bottom there.

Well done.

So we're now onto your first task.

The first thing I'd like you to do is label all the features in the Browser.

I then want you to start a new design and save it as extrude.

Right click the assembly name in the browser and click New Component, name it cylinders, click Okay.

Create a simple constrained sketch using two concentric circles, and then extrude it.

And then I want you to use the Edit Feature and Timeline and experiment using all the different options in the dialogue box to create a complex extrude from the sketch you created.

Then, of course, save your design.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've completed it.

How did you get on? Well, let's have a look at some sample answers.

Well first of all, I wanted you to label all the features in the Browser.

So you might have got the assembly name, the active component, in this case, the whole assembly.

You've got the visibility, you've got the components in there as well.

And then I wanted you to create a sketch, and also extrude it and experiment with the Edit Feature dialogue box.

And your extrude might look something like I have got here.

We're now to our next learning cycle, extruding in Fusion.

So let's take a look.

Now, the greenhouse model is not complete.

I haven't given you a complete model.

The micro:bit is floating on the base and there's no place to put the battery holder that comes with the micro:bit.

Now new bodies can be created and joined to the base component that we already have created to hold the micro:bit and the battery holder.

A body is a single, continuous shape that can form part of a component.

Now, the holes on the micro:bit can be used to secure it to the base when used with some fixings.

A new body can be joined to the base to secure the fixings.

The fixings used will be M3x6 millimeter socket head screws 'cause I know they work quite well with the micro:bit.

Now, it's important to accurately measure the micro:bit when sketching in Fusion.

So you might wanna have a micro:bit in front of you with a set of digital calipers, or you might want to download a data sheet so you can see all the dimensions on there.

So first of all, what we're gonna do is create a new body.

So we're gonna activate the base component and then hide the other components.

So to do this, we're gonna click on base and we're gonna click that little circle next to it to make sure we've got a dot in the middle.

So now, the Timeline will turn into the one for the base so we can now edit this.

What we're also gonna do is we're gonna turn off the visibility for the punnet and the micro:bit, and the reason for that is because it can get confusing if you're sketching and there's lots of other components in your canvas.

Then what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna create a simple sketch.

So this is my simple sketch, but I suggest you do your own with your own measurements.

Now to use an M3x6 millimeter socket head screw, these are the dimensions that I am going to use.

Quick check for understanding.

Before modifying or editing a component, it needs to be what in the Browser? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, activated.

We want to activate it in the Browser.

Before you do that, you can't work on that component.

Well done.

So we're now on to finishing our sketch.

So we've finished our sketch, we've drawn our circles, we're now gonna click on extrude in the create toolbar and then we're gonna create a 12-millimeter extrusion, and we're gonna join it to the base of the component.

Now, we'll naturally do that.

It will default to joining there, and you can see that in the operation, it's already got that, but we just need to make sure of that.

I'm gonna enter 12 millimeters into the dialogue box and then, of course, click Okay.

Now, what I can do is I can check that the micro:bit will fit.

So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna make sure we've got the micro:bit component activated, I'm gonna use the move tool, which is the little icon on the right there, and what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna see if the holes align, and I can see that they align, so what I've actually done is a little bit of a quality control check to make sure that my holes line up before I've even done any manufacturing or 3D printing.

Now, this is really useful.

I wanted to make sure that my holes were the right size for my fixings, so rather than 3D printing the entire base, which would've taken a significant amount of time, just over an hour, what I've actually done is I've actually created this test print.

Now, this took 20 minutes to print, and every single hole on this test print is a different size.

And what I actually found is the three-millimeter hole for the three-millimeter screw was actually the best size for it to bite and hold my micro:bit.

And what I also discovered was it was quite difficult to locate the screw into the hole, so I also thought about putting a chamfer on the inside of the hole to make sure I could locate it better, and I did all that very quickly and with a 20 minute print, which meant the quality of my final product would be at the standard that I wanted it.

Quick check for understanding.

Which operation would be used when adding features to the base component? Is it A, join, B, cut, C, intersect, or D, new body? Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, join.

Okay, we join the new bodies to the component or the other bodies to create a component.

So we're now on to task B.

The first thing I want you to do is with the greenhouse model open, activate the base component and hide the other two components.

I want you to create a method of supporting or attaching the micro:bit to the base.

I then want you to create a method of housing the battery pack on the base.

Remember, you can edit and modify the original base sketch using the Timeline.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've completed your modeling.

So how did you get on? Well, yours might look something like this.

So there is my micro:bit holder with my 12 millimeter extrudes that have been joined to the base.

I've also got my chamfers on there and I know that they fit 'cause I 3D printed that sample, and what I've also done is done a really simple battery pack holder.

I measured the battery pack that came with my micro:bit, I made it a little bit bigger, and then what I did is I made sure that that was attached to the base component, so it's all part of that base component still.

I'm sure yours is even better than mine, so well done with that task.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Let's have a quick summary.

The Browser lists all objects and data in the assembly.

In the Fusion design workspace, the extrude command lets you add or remove depth from a sketch.

New bodies can be created or modified using extrude.

Material can be added or removed using extrude.

extrudes and sketches can be edited using the Timeline.

You've been absolutely fantastic today, well done, and I look forward to seeing you next time.

Goodbye.