witawat/snap-generator

Snap Generator for Fusion 360

This is an addin for Autodesk Fusion 360 which generates snap-geometries from user input.

Installation

Click HERE to download the latest release. Unzip and paste the unizipped folder into the Fusion 360 add-ins folder. On Windows, it's located at

%appdata%\Autodesk\Autodesk Fusion 360\API\AddIns

On Mac, it's at

~/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/Autodesk Fusion 360/API/AddIns

While in the DESIGN workspace, go to the TOOLS tab and click ADD-INS. In the window that pops up, click the Add-Ins tab, find the name in the list, and click run. Warning: If you already have an old version running this needs to be stopped because it can cause issues.

It should now appear in the SOLID tab, under CREATE.

Usage

There are two snap features currently available (with a few more planned).

Youtube Instruction

1. A single cantilever
2. A pin with two cantilevers on each side.

The command window

By clicking on one of the snap features, a command window will pop up and a default profile is loaded which fills in most of the available parameters. In the Feature tab you can adjust the parameters, but be aware that there are limits to which values are allowed, to prevent errors. If a limit is crossed, then nothing gets generated. The thing that is generated will be hereby referred to as the shape. It is possible to select Bodies to cut, which will cause the selected bodies to have material removed to make a 'slot' for the shape to 'snap into'. It is possible to adjust the difference between the shape and the slot by setting gap parameters. The size difference between the pin and slot can be adjusted in 3 dimensions, but this is implemented differently in the different snap features. In the case of the single cantilever, the adjustments are all done to the slot, but in the case of the pin, the adjustments change the pin itself.

In the Profiles tab, profiles can be created, overwritten and made into the default profile. The Gaps tab works the same way.

Joint origin

The shape can be positioned and oriented in space by a joint origin, which is a built-in feature. It is found in the ASSEMBLE dropdown.

After selecting a starting location, the joint origin can be freely rotated and moved around. The joint origin has a red, blue and green vector. The shape will bend in the opposite direction to the green vector. Or, equivalently, the 'nose' of the shape will point in the direction of the green vector.

The cantilever

This is one of the most fundamental and commonly used geometries for snap fits.

• The gap parameters will influence only the mating slot,
• If you don't select a Body to join, a new component gets created.

Parameters:

The pin

There are two main benefits to using a pin. The first is that it almost eliminates issues of fitting because of wrong gaps. It's easy to experiment with different gap parameters even after the parts have been printed (or manufactured in a different way). Only the pins need to be remade. The second is that for 3D printing, the pins can always be printed in the ideal orientation, because there is no attached part that may need to be printed differently.

There is a special parameter called SIZE. Setting this will change every other parameter as a function of size alone, except strain. The functions are different because not every property should scale in the same way. To start out, I recommend to focus on adjusting only the size and strain.

SIZE doesn't follow to any actual standards, but works like this: size = 10mm, will set extrusion distance and width to 10mm. Then it will make a compromise between getting radius close to 1.5mm, maintaining a 0.6mm buffer for gap thickness, and maximising thickness.

Parameters: