In today’s Fusion 360 quick tip, we’re going to talk about how to use multiply and divide inside of functions to quickly add dimensions and distances inside of your Fusion 360 models.
Do you like these Fusion 360 Tutorials? Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up to date on the newest videos! Subscribe Here – The Fusion Essentials YouTube Channel
LIST OF FUSION 360 MATHMATICAL PARAMETERS – https://help.autodesk.com/view/fusion360/ENU/?guid=GUID-76272551-3275-46C4-AE4D-10D58B408C20
While this seems like an easy tip, it’s actually a huge timesaver when you start working with things like wood dimensions or other things that require fractions in their distances. One of the things that Fusion 360 does when dealing with numbers inside your models is that it allows you to use fractions. This means that not only can you add in a decimal value, like .25, you can also enter the fraction equivalent (1/2). This is especially helpful when working with any kind of imperial measurement system.
Let’s say, for example, that you wanted to model out a 2 x 12. Since the actual dimensions of a 2 x 12 are 1 ½ by 11 ¼ inches, you’d have to type in a value of 11.25, OR you could also type in an 11, then a space, then a ¼. Fusion 360 would correctly interpret this as 11.15. This gets a lot more important as you work with more precise units, like 16’ths. Let’s say that we have a sphere that we want to a cut a little notch into. The notch needs to be centered on the sphere, and it needs to be 3/16” wide total.
Usually how I’d start something like this is adding a sketch, then finding the center point of the circle arc, then draw ½ of that notch one way, then the other half the other way. However, I don’t know off the top of my head what 3/16 is from a decimal standpoint. I could go find a calculator, but Fusion 360 has a much easier way to do this – simply do the math in your dimension box! For this notch, I need this to be ½ of 3/16 of an inch, so I can just type in 3/16, then add a /2 on the end of it. This will enter my dimension at this length. Plus, from an auditing perspective (figuring out how you got where you are), if I double click on this dimension, it actually shows me the math equation it used to generate my line.
You can also go back and edit this later, which gets even more powerful if you mirror your half of your box, as that will then adjust with whatever adjustments you’ve made. Note that there are a number of different functions you can use inside your That’s where I’m going to end this video.