Handling Part Setup for Turning

In this chapter, we will run the Fusion 360 Manufacture environment for the first time and learn how to approach our part setup.

Mastering the Setup panels is not very simple because there are many different tabs, commands, and parameters to understand and tweak. However, the goal of this chapter is to explore in detail (whenever possible) all of the options that the setup process requires us to specify.

Sometimes, we can simply try to copy someone else’s parameters and pray that they fit our needs too. Doing so may lead to a fast start, but it will also leave gaps in our theory. The best mindset to have is to always critically watch every option and wonder why it is set the way it is and what would have happened if it were different.

In the following chapters, we are going to have lots of practical examples to analyze and follow, but for now, let’s try to arrive at those chapters with a solid background understanding; it will...

Technical requirements

The only requirement for this chapter is to have a Fusion 360 license (at any level) so that we can launch the CAM module and start using it.

Exploring the main interface of a CAM project

Before jumping into action, let’s review the main interface for the CAM module. It is quite similar to the computer-aided design (CAD) module interface:

Figure 2.1: Main Fusion 360 interface

Please note that we are inside the MANUFACTURE module, which is a fancy way to refer to CAM. All the commands and panels we will use in this chapter are from the MANUFACTURE environment, so please be sure to set the working environment correctly.

Note

CAM is a term to refer to software we use to program our computer numerical control (CNC) machine. We can find all the CAM commands inside the MANUFACTURE environment of Fusion 360.

On the other hand, CAD is a term to refer to a type of software to design our parts. As you should already know, you can find all the CAD tools inside the DESIGN environment of Fusion 360.

Let’s review the most important elements on the screenshot:

1. Project name...

Finding example projects in Fusion 360

One reason why Fusion 360 is a really good entry point for beginners is that there are many examples already built into the program that we can use to start learning from.

Let’s find out where those examples are located:

1. Open the side panel by clicking on the icon that looks like a grid of squares.
2. With the side panel now open, you can scroll through the projects.
3. Then, select the folder called CAM Samples:

Figure 2.2: Location of the CAM Samples folder

Inside this folder, there are tons of built-in projects related to CAM and machining in general. In fact, the number is so high that it may be a bit overwhelming at first, but over time, you will explore the folders and find examples of interest.

Please also note that the CAM Samples folder is not only useful to study machining operations—inside the folder, there is another folder called Workholding; here, you can find many useful...

Importing our chuck

As we already discussed, in order to avoid collisions between our tool and our chuck, it is a good idea to have something that emulates the size of our chuck or our components inside our 3D world. We are about to discover how to simulate chuck placement; however, just before moving forward, I’d like to highlight what I consider a bad type of advertising.

If you have ever watched any advertisement for CAM software, you have probably noticed that alongside the machined part, not only there is a chuck or a tool holder in place, but there are also lots of complex details of the machine. The truth is that all that stuff is there just for marketing purposes!

In order to find possible collisions between the stock and our machine or between the tool and our machine, a set of properly placed boxes is as effective as a super fancy 3D model with all those extra details. However, Fusion 360 provides a pretty big group of work-holding tools, so we may decide to...

Understanding how to set up the first part to be machined

First of all, what is a setup? The answer is very simple—it is a set of commands and parameters that we specify for the starting conditions of our project. It is the first mandatory step in order to move forward with any machining. All those conditions and parameters will tell Fusion 360 how to use and optimize the machining process.

Note

We may have a single setup or multiple setups one after the other. We need a new setup every time we plan to change the coordinate system or machining processes. We will cover multi-setup operations in Chapter 9 and Chapter 10.

So, where is the SETUP button? If you can’t find it, let’s check its location:

1. Ensure that you’re in the MANUFACTURE environment.
2. Then, open the TURNING panel.
3. Select the SETUP button (which looks like an open folder):

Figure 2.7: The SETUP button

When you launch the command, there...

Summary

Congratulations—that’s the end of the second chapter! I hope that you are getting more confident with the first steps inside the Fusion 360 CAM module.

Let’s quickly recap what we learned during this chapter. We started by discovering where we can find useful example projects that we can use in our setups, before exploring the MANUFACTURE module interface.

After that, we learned how to import a chuck (or any other generic workholding stuff inside our project) and reviewed all the options available inside the Setup panels. Finally, we got a hint about postprocessing and G-code.

Please always remember that a good setup is the best way to approach better machining without risking unwanted collisions or a bad WCS placement.

This chapter has taken us one step closer to spinning our chuck. In the next chapter, we will discover where to find the tools to machine our part.