LaserUser.com Forum (formerly RDWorksLab)

A place to discuss Fusion 360, resources and addons mainly Lasers but why not some 3D discussion if needed.

I am a convert to Fusion 360 and the Free license will suit most users until they break the $100k threshold requiring you to get a paid license.

While it is primarily a 3D modelling package I use for CNC or 3D printing it works really well for 2D as a simple dxf generator or if your Laser will talk to it's CAM environment it will generate the appropriate code directly. The Sheet metal environment will be worth a look but I haven't felt the need to go there yet but it would work great for cardboard 3D constructions.

Some Good Resources

Lars Christensen https://www.youtube.com/user/cadcamstuff/videos seriously good content from a CAD/CAM prospective
Brad Tallis https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLEVUL ... lFg/videos

A great addon Mapboards or the Pro version https://apps.autodesk.com/en/Publisher/ ... JYRL6K62XJ so far extremely happy with the standard version worth the $10. Auto arranges parts across multiple sheets if required.

EDIT ANOTHER Laser focused FREE DXF output option but is does have some limits. https://apps.autodesk.com/FUSION/en/Det ... n&os=Win64 Only allows one 'face' at a time to be outputted and not multiple faces as per this post viewtopic.php?f=111&t=3901&p=25609#p25609

Below is some quick covers I have designed up. The panel shown is the cut sheet generated by Mapboards and exported as a DXF. Workflow in my case is into Inkscape to arrange some colours, stroke and fill as required then K40 Whisperer to talk to my Laser.

Great topic, Tim. I have perused both of those youtube channels and learned a lot. I am not a fan of the whole livestream 'movement' but that is the cranky old man in me surfacing. I taught myself F360 to design for my 3D printer and as I am proficient at sign software I normally use that to output to RDworks [gotta work with Lightburn more] and also dxfs for F360. I had not realized there were plugins for the program, thank you. I have a tenant who operates a small machine shop and he is now interested in learning it, also a medium size injection molding mogul [also retired but working hard in his company]. Such fun...

Here is an example of cross-discipline cross-program possibilities. I spent 6 years in the Army National Guard and have always loved cars, planes, weapons and history. One of my many obsessions is Civil War era cannons [ and wagon wheels... and on and on]. There are a lot of civil war era drawing from training manuals, etc. and a lot of 3D models in .stl for 3D printing but not detailed three dimensional models- so we pick the best .stl model and bring it into F360 and reverse engineer it with help from vector programs to laser the wood parts and to generate good files to print the complicated parts from wood PLA filament [the hub, which can be stained] and PETG filament [for the cannon barrel, which can be spun and sanded to a very nice finish] and things like the iron tire bands and reinforcing bands for the hub. This is good exercise for an old cobwebby brain.

Nice Cad work and model. If you are doing a barrel and casting it then there is some good information about lost PLA on youtube in particular https://www.youtube.com/user/myfordboy is worth a look.

Lots to recommend hybrid designs with part Laser, CNC and 3D printing. This simple Laser job with the box walls is 3D printed contains a still functioning and in spec 76 year old Weston Cell mounted on it's original plinth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_cell I have several of these in my toy collection. The 3D printed section contains knurl nuts for the screws to go into.

It could have been made completely out of Laser cut Acrylic but instead of just a window would have made it alien to the era of what was inside.

I guess the point here is don't get lost in just finding Laser solutions for all things use what is appropriate and mix it up as needed.

Yep- I monitor Myford boy too- not ready for casting hot metal yet but I do a bit of cold casting. Each machine has it's advantages and disadvantages- our job is figuring out when to use what.

One of today's Fusion jobs is the second part of the Airflow fix for my little Laser. Had a first proper go at accurately marking out a manual cutting and drilling job using the laser to mark it. A little complicated as it was longer than me bed is deep so I had to split it and align it in two parts. Within 0.5mm which is about as good as I work with metal I guess and for a first go fairly happy with it.

The Shroud parts are a modular 3D print and bracket which will make the air intake slightly larger than the fan area at the rear and will give me nice even airflow over the bed from front to rear and minimize any risk to eyes with reflected beams unless you are 2' tall.

Could have made a different version with Laser cut Acrylic but 3DP is a better option IMO. If I had my bigger Router running I would have dropped the front panel on it but that is another project for another week or so. The Wiring was done by a 'builder' with the Electrical skills of .....

Nice- is that a cold air gun on your spindle or a mister? I just got one from Banggood [cold gun] but have not needed it yet.

Just air at this stage. It may be some months before I get if fired up in anger as I also want to enclose it to manage the dust and some of the noise. No plans to set it up for metal as I have plenty of fairly tame local options for Metal CNC cutting and milling by others if needed.

Generally modelling board for mold making, general plastic or timber work is the plan.

Secondary Control Panel for the Laser done and the modeled switch added to my growing component collection. Text in Fusion is a PITA as it is made from unconnected splines so it can't be filled properly when brought into Inkscape or other packages. So in future panels I make will have add a position marker and do the text externally until hopefully they improve the internal text it is either that or drag the text into Fusion as an SVG but that is also a PITA trying to get it exported and kept as part of a DXF. More research or ideas to make it better.

Got the last bits off the Ender for the inlet duct today and trial fitted. I made them with zero clearance so a little cleanup work was needed on the mating bits but better that than rattling. Metal work to get them both fitted tomorrow.

Continuing a search (failed ) to find a way to export DXF's with text (or panels for engraving) on them. It is possible to make your object a PDF drawing from within Fusion and export them that way. Still not a great solution but it is about the best option I have found. This is found from the Model menu at the bottom under 'Drawing'

Also had a good look at other addons for Fusion with a Laser bias. The Slicer I sort of had a look at a while ago and didn't bother with it as I was doing mainly 3D printing and no stacked Laser work. BUT! Well worth installing as it will take a 3D block shape and slice it into panels of X height and dimensions of your choosing. It also allows for alignment dowels and a few other functions. Worthwhile and it's FREE

Export panel formats EPS, PDF or DXF Sample of this is in the ZIP file below as a DXF.

https://apps.autodesk.com/FUSION/en/Det ... n&os=Win64