albergman Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Hey all. I'm a scratchbuilder with quite a few models already on the site. My last 2 models were steam engines that meant a lot to me in the late 40's in Scotland ... yes, I'm old! Anyway, I want to make a model of the P2 Mikado class "Prince of Wales" that's under construction over there (I'm in Canada now). I had to devote many, many hours hand-shaping all the motion (that's the metal works that's attached to the wheels) for the last two and I can't be bothered to make 2 more sides all over again for the P2. Having seen the success some have had with resin printers I decided maybe I could knock the fiddly bits off on a printer and just hand make the big bits. Sorry for all the technical terms! So ... as the title says I've been dabbling in Fusion for a few weeks now. I've watched a LOT of YouTube videos and "classes" put on for beginners and every day I learn something new. I'm having pretty decent success and have been building up a collection of parts. My biggest concern/confusion is with what I'll call the "File Structure" F360 uses. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask anyone to explain it. Basically I've just been designing parts and saving them and not worrying too much about it. I'm afraid I'll have to figure it out sometime soon as there's a limit of 10 parts I see. I don't have a printer yet and I'll probably wait till summer over here before getting one. What I'd like to ask is ... am I heading down a dead-end road with this attitude? I guess I'm thinking that at some point I'll just print off the individual parts I've made and empty my queue. You've probably figured out that there's a lot I don't know because I really don't know what the questions are. I'll attach just a few of my parts and I'd love to hear any suggestions/criticisms you might have. I'll leave it here for now ... thanks to anyone who reads this. Frank http:// http:// 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritJet Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 The 10 file 'limit' is the one thing that put me off Fusion 360 for a while but there is an easy way around it as the 10 files are just what is saved in your online account. If you open a file and then choose File (floppy disk icon) and then Save, you can save to your pc's hard drive. The online files can be managed through https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-support/delete-files-in-the-cloud/td-p/8536462 Hope this helps & great work so far. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZ6 Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Hi Frank, welcome to the world of 3D printing. some impressive looking parts there. I started out the same and learned Fusion360 and was busy designing parts while waiting for the pre-ordered printer to be released. I’d put the hours in to learn it when Autodesk advised of changes to the free version and added the document limit. For a hobbyist, it’s not too great a problem. You can store as many archived drawings as you need to. When you reach your 10th drawing, you’ll need to right click on a file to archive it to be able to work on an 11th. You can archive another drawing to reactivate the archived drawing but it’s not been a problem so far. Once you’ve got the file ready for printing, you’ll export it as an STL file anyway so you’ll have a copy locally in that file format. Once you’ve printed the file and are happy with it. You’d only need to go back to edit the file if you wanted to modify it going forward. Hope me this helps, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvaro Rodriguez Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 (edited) Exactly what FZ6 sais. When Autodesk implemented the 10 editable files limit a few months ago I already had more than one hundred F360 designs. I´m well above 140+ now and that measure has had zero impact in my workflow because I do not use to work on more than a couple or so of designs at once often. And switching any design from "read-only" to "editable" (and vice-versa) it just a mouse clic and you can do it anytime as long as you are within the 10 files limit. I can see they implemented this for saving some cloud computing with the free licenses but for a casual user like me this makes no difference at all. Zero complaints. Regards! Alvaro Edited March 3, 2021 by Alvaro Rodriguez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Same here, I think I have about 30 drawings/projects now. I just keep the active ones as "editable" and archive the others to "read only". If I want to redo something on the archived file, I just swap one of the active files, by making that read only, so that I can activate the archived one. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 7 hours ago, BritJet said: 2 hours ago, bootneck said: 6 hours ago, FZ6 said: Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Good to know there's a solution to this ... now I can get on with drawing as many parts as I need without being too selective. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Andrews Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 If you haven't already, it may be useful to look at components, assemblies and joints. Assemblies break a project into manageable elements (but all within one file). For a locomotive chassis one could create separate components for a frame, axle box, axle, wheel, connecting rod, etc. Once designed these components can then be readily reproduced and connected together using joints to form an assembly - e.g. two sides of the frames could be rigidly connected and axle boxes could be rigidly positioned in slots in the frames. Next wheels could be attached to the ends of axles which are then positioned in the axle boxes with rotational movement allowed and finally connecting rods could join the wheel sets, also with rotational joints. Once completed the wheels and connecting rods should be able to move correctly. As others have said, the 10 file limit is not really a serious issue for home users - it's only bad if you want a load of files open at once. HTH Tony Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 45 minutes ago, Tony Andrews said: If you haven't already, it may be useful to look at components, assemblies and joints. Assemblies break a project into manageable elements (but all within one file). For a locomotive chassis one could create separate components for a frame, axle box, axle, wheel, connecting rod, etc. Once designed these components can then be readily reproduced and connected together using joints to form an assembly - e.g. two sides of the frames could be rigidly connected and axle boxes could be rigidly positioned in slots in the frames. Next wheels could be attached to the ends of axles which are then positioned in the axle boxes with rotational movement allowed and finally connecting rods could join the wheel sets, also with rotational joints. Once completed the wheels and connecting rods should be able to move correctly. As others have said, the 10 file limit is not really a serious issue for home users - it's only bad if you want a load of files open at once. HTH Tony Andrews Hey ... sounds like another railway enthusiast! Thanks for all that thoughtful input Tony. As a total scratch builder I wasn't all that fussy about things moving as they should. With hand made parts it was just too difficult (for me) to fabricate them such that they'd move. Besides, my engines are just for display and my own pleasure and not built to any model railway scale. However, having said all that, this new process certainly opens the door to the kind of precision needed. I might have gone that route if decent plans were available (my A3 and A4 both had decent plans). This particular engine I want to tackle is sorely lacking that way ... I know that it's 13' tall and has 6' 2" drivers ... hardly enough to start building a precision model eh? Nevertheless, I'm going to great lengths to determine the dimensions I need as I've learned the hard way how difficult it is to put an engine together if measurements are too far off. Cheers Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 If you're looking for drawings of LNER loco's coaches & rolling stock have a look at Issinglass. To my knowledge they've been around since the 60's, probably longer. They do list drawings for the P2 in all guises including the Thomson rebuild to a pacific type and are available in multiple scales. https://www.isinglass-models.co.uk/Isinglass_Catalogue_Oct-2020.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 14 hours ago, Circloy said: If you're looking for drawings of LNER loco's coaches & rolling stock have a look at Issinglass. To my knowledge they've been around since the 60's, probably longer. They do list drawings for the P2 in all guises including the Thomson rebuild to a pacific type and are available in multiple scales. https://www.isinglass-models.co.uk/Isinglass_Catalogue_Oct-2020.pdf Thanks for that Circloy. Sounds like an interesting business niche they've made and might be just the ticket for me. I'd probably have to wait a month or 2 to get them in my hands over here what with shipping these days. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Need some help here as I'm pulling out the last of my hair. Been busy making lots of parts for the loco and for fun I decided to make a little "box" thing which I presume has something to do with lubrication. No problem making the box along with its little, round handle and 5 spokes ... the latter done by a "pattern" command similar to that used for the spoked wheels. The spokes I made were straight and I thought it'd be nice to give them the radius as in the real ones ... there-in lies the problem. I have tried everything I know (which isn't much I agree) to draw a "fit-point-spline" curve to use as a path down which a tiny circle will travel. The problem is that the curve just veers off into space every time. As proof of my problem I've drawn a box, fitted a "midplane" plane into it http:// then selected that plane and drawn onto it a line, a circle, a rectangle then the curve. When I swing everything round you can see that the plane has a mind of its own and I have no idea why it's happening. It's as though it has picked up a different plane somehow. I know it's going to be a simple solution and I'll feel like an idiot but I have to ask. Why did it do that??? Thanks for any advice. Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwarz-Brot Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Splines are usually 3d curves. I have encountered this issue as well. I don't know how to stop fusion using the wrong plane when beginning a spline. Had that issue with other geometries as well in complex models. Whenever editing a spline make sure your view is locked to one of the base planes or to the plane you're working on. This way you move the points only on the plane you're seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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