One of the things I Love about the Autodesk team is that they are constantly updating us on the new tips and tricks for the Fusion 360 software. Don’t you love an article full of productivity and power-user tips and tricks? Whether you are a veteran or a beginner, there is always something you can learn. I will not waste your time. Let’s just walk through some of these new Fusion 360 tips and tricks!
Tip #1 – Shift key for tangent line.
- In the Sketch environment, you can hold down the Shift Key while in the line command to automatically snap to a circle/arc as a Tangent Line.
Tip #2 – Line command has Tangent Arc built in.
- In the Sketch environment, when drawing a line, if you click and hold your left mouse button, it will create a tangent arc from the end of the line.
Tip #3 – Click on an existing dimension to reference it.
- In the Sketch environment, when you want a second dimension to match another dimension, just click on the existing dimension instead of typing in a distance.
- A dimension “tag” will show up and will now reference the dimension you have selected.
Tip #4 – Right-Click to see Constraint options.
- In the Sketch environment, when you have pre-selected sketch objects, right-click to see which constraints you can use.
- This keeps you from having to go up to the menu.
Tip #5 – Typing formulas & fractions in dialog boxes.
- In the Sketch environment, you can type formulas into dialog boxes, such as dimensions, pattern distances, etc.
- You can also type fractions into the dialog boxes instead of having to convert them.
Tip #6 – Right-Click after pre-selection shows commands that make sense.
- After pre-selecting something, such as an edge, right-click to see commands that make sense to what you pre-selected.
- For example, if you pre-selected an edge, it would show Fillet and Chamfer.
Tip #7 –Show dimensions on 3D model.
- You can show the sketch dimensions on your 3D model by right-clicking on the sketch(s) in the Browser and select Show Dimension.
Tip #8 – Re-Anchor command.
- You can “re-anchor” your dimension while doing commands such as Offset or Move.
- This allows you to measure from a different face/point than the original.
- When in the Offset or Move command, in the dimension dialog pull-down, select Re-Anchor and then select the new face or point you want to measure from.
Tip #9 – Probe-Through selection.
- Hold down your left-mouse button for about a second to “probe” through your model to select items that are blocked by objects in the front.
- For example, you can probe through a face to select an edge that is behind that face.
- You can also select the Parents tab and select parts that are hidden by other parts.
Tip #10 – Rename Features.
- Right-click on a feature in the Timeline to rename it.
- Renaming your features allows you to better understand what that feature is used for.
- For example, you could rename a hole feature to “main 0.75 hole”
Tip #11 –Repeat Last Command.
- Right-click and drag straight up to repeat the last command you just completed.
- For example, if you just did a Fillet, right-click and drag straight up to repeat the Fillet command.
Tip #12 – Window Selections.
- When selecting objects, if you drag left-to-right, it will do a Window selection, selecting only what is fully enclosed in the window.
- If you drag right-to-left, it will do a Crossing selection, selecting everything inside the window AND selecting anything the window crossed over.
Tip #13 – Select all edges by selecting face.
- When doing a fillet or a chamfer, you can quickly select all the edges of a boundary by selecting the face instead of the edges individually.
Tip #14 – Select a feature in timeline to select all edges.
- When doing a fillet or a chamfer, you can quickly select all the edges of a feature, such as a Web or a Pattern by selecting the feature from the timeline.
Tip #15 – Shell command to speed up design.
- The Shell command can allow you to create a part quickly with less commands.
- You can select more than one face to “look through”.
Tip #16 – Quickly create a Component.
- You can quickly create a new component at whatever level you want by right-clicking on the browser and selecting New Component.
Tip #17 – Custom Named Views.
- You can create a custom view for a drawing by creating a “New Named View”.
- Right-click on Named Views to get the New Named View option.
- Then, when creating a drawing, you can select the new named view as one of your projection views.
Tip #18 – CTRL Key to Control selection.
- When using the Align or Joint command, you can “control” your selection by holding down the CTRL key.
- This minimizes all of the joint snap options from getting in your way.
Tip #19 – S-Key.
- Bring up the Search Box in any workspace by pressing the S key on your keyboard.
- This brings up a customizable toolbox where you can add your favorite commands by selecting the up arrow next to the command.
- You can also search for and run commands from the toolbox.
Tip #20 – Isolate & Un-isolate Components.
- You can quickly hide and all of your components except the one you selected by using Isolate.
- This will turn off all of the other components at once.
- You can turn back on all of your components by selecting Un-isolate.
Tip #21 – Show All Components.
- If you have turned off the visibility on a number of your components, you can quickly show all of them again by selecting Show All Components.
- Right-click at the top level assembly and select Show All Components.
Tip #22 – Automatically Selecting Profiles through Parts.
- By selecting the Extrude command first, this will automatically select the profile that might be hidden by 3D geometry.
Tip #23 – Right-click in sketch dimension to get Osnap options.
- When creating a dimension in your sketch, you can right-click to catch to Circle/Arc Center or to Circle/Arc Tangent.
Tip #24 – Right-click in sketch dimension to get Dimension Orientation options.
- When creating a dimension in your sketch, you can right-click after picking the objects to dimension and select which orientation you want for the dimension.
Tip #25 – Select by Name, Size, Invert, etc.
- You can select bodies and components very easily using some Selection Options.
- Select By Size allows you to specify a min/max size and any objects that fall inside that size will be selected.
- Select By Name allows you to type in a name and the objects matching that name will be selected.
- Select By Boundary allows you to specify a boundary and all objects inside that boundary will be selected.
- Invert Selection selects the opposite of what you currently have selected.
Tip #26 – Create Keyboard Shortcuts
- You can create keyboard shortcuts for the commands you use often.
- Find a command that you like, then click the 3 vertical dots at the end of the command, then select Change Keyboard Shortcut.
- If the key combination you choose is already taken, it will give you a warning.
- You can use key combinations such as shift, alt, ctrl.
Got a tip for new users? Share in the comments and it could be part of an upcoming post.
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