© 2007 Autodesk 1

Using Joints in Inventor FusionHow to model realistic mechanisms easily

October 27, 2012

© 2007 Autodesk 2

What is Inventor Fusion?

• Inventor Fusion is a new CAD product from Autodesk• It is designed to be simpler to use and easier to learn than

other CAD tools• Key features:

• Mac O/S support• Direct geometry modeling:

• Shape creation using familiar tools, but without the complexity of parametric, history-based design

• Simple editing using interactive tools directly on the model• Mechanism design using Joints

• Allows you to create assemblies using familiar concepts of joints, instead of traditional mate/flush/align constraints

• This will be the main focus of our class today

© 2007 Autodesk 3

Fusion Modeling

• Quick introduction to basic modeling techniques and concepts• Component hierarchy

• Multiple components, all in a single file• Each component can have multiple bodies• A body can be solid or surface

• Body modeling• Geometry creation:

• Primitive shapes• Sketch/Feature creation

• Geometry modification• Features• Press/Pull and Tweak Faces

• Construction geometry

© 2007 Autodesk 4

Modeling Demo

© 2007 Autodesk 8

Fusion Joints for mechanism

• Joints apply only to components• Joints allow you to define how two components will move with

respect to each other• Supported types:

• Most common are “Slider” and “Revolute”• Most mechanisms can be designed using just these two

• “Rigid” joint is a special case: used to glue or weld two components together

© 2007 Autodesk 9

Simple example – robotic claw

• Let’s look at simple example that illustrates the basics, using only a single joint type: “Revolute”

© 2007 Autodesk 10

The Add Joint command

• Command inputs:

• Select geometry on the two components (first one will move to the second)

• Select the joint type• OK!

© 2007 Autodesk 11

Joints Demo

© 2007 Autodesk 12

Two intermediate topics

• Joint Limits• Sometimes you want to restrict the movement of your joints

• Motion Relationships• Sometimes you want to make two joints move together

© 2007 Autodesk 13

Another Demo

© 2007 Autodesk 14

Advanced Joints

• Contact sets• Motion studies

© 2007 Autodesk 15