Sketch Constraints Made Easy in Autodesk Fusion [UPDATED!]

[@soniccinos]

This is a must need video for everyone learning Fusion!!!

[@itonjoans354]

I didn't understand constraints until now, it was the thing that made me give up on Fusion 360, now i need to practice these things so i can get back into it. Thanks for this video, very help full.

[@agie170hss2]

First-class explanation. Crystal clear, quick pace, and excellent examples of each constraint. 👍

[@changjunzhang]

Thank you for the video, very helpful. In a more complex sketch, I sometimes have difficulty to edit existing constraints, because there are just too many of them, many times applied to the same location that it is very difficult to tell which icon is for which constrains on which sketch element. Any tips on that?

[@kennicooper6659]

Perfectly done. Thank you.

[@martybadboy]

2:00 regarding horizontal vertical. Which entity is the leader and which is the follower? On the left right circle set, Right was clicked first then left snapped to it. On the vertical circle set, upper circle was snapped first yet it snapped to the bottom one.

[@adskFusion]

Hi Marty, Excellent question! Fusion will try to move the sketch object that has the least impact based on other constraints. So, for the vertical circle set, the upper circle was the one to move because the bottom circle already had a constraint applied and was more restricted in its movement.

[@perniculous]

This is always an exercise of trying this or that. It’s like “I want to align this (click the one I want to move) with that (click the one to align with).” Seems like that makes the most sense. Then other times it’s backwards. Most often with lines it’s the other way. The first item you click is actually the one that the second item will take on the properties of. Last suggestion: having a sketch that’s pretty weird is sometimes very hard to fully constrain. I’d like a tool that will suggest constraints. Say I have blue lines or circles or arcs. I could click and highlight any or all, then click a button that would pop up a list with numbers and the elements would have those numbers. Something like that. At least it would give me something to go on.

[@jojolebleu9364]

Yes, uniform. I wantz the uniform!

[@Schuylermontana]

Creating 3d relief in fusion 360

[@jmooreweb]

How can I constrain an angle of two intersecting lines?

[@adskFusion]

Hi! if you are looking to constrain them at a specific angle, the Dimension tool will be the one you need. Whilst not in the constraints menu, a dimension is essentially just a different type of constraint based on a fixed value (in this case degree) you define. You will typically use a combination of constraints and dimensions in your sketches The perpendicular constraint will fix two lines at 90 degrees to each other if that is what you are looking for :)

[@Robinlarsson83]

I'm still hoping that we could get a bit more information in sketches in regards to which constraints an object you click on already has and such. Perhaps not as advanced as what Solidworks does, but some way to more easily delete a specific constraint that belongs to a specific object would be nice. Some times it is very hard to identify which goes where in complex sketches.

[@wolf9545]

If I am understanding you correctly, you want to be able to tell which constraint (when multiple) to delete on an object. One thing I do is click on the point / area you want to remove the constraint. Then move your mouse over each constraint on that area and you should see part of the sketch change color a bit. That means that constraint is tied to that specific constraint.

[@Robinlarsson83]

@@wolf9545 exactly :) and, yeah, I know and do it that way, it's just not very clear and handy. In Solidworks you click a line or whatever and you get a dialog on the left with a list of the applied constraints and other info. Fusions way is faster, but SWs is clearer Don't get me wrong, I much prefer Fusion on the whole, but there are a number of things that SW just does better (as it should considering the price difference).

[@juhaali]

Hi! I also hope some more informative way to handle complex sketch constraints. Have been many times quite frustrated to find right costraint to modified or deleted. Sometimes only way is to delete all constraints and start from the beginning.

[@kward101]

@@Robinlarsson83 I agree. I use a few high end 3K and 4K IPS monitors and have worked thru the Fusion graphics, nVidia and monitor settings, but I find it hard to read the inference, especially when there it's a complex point. And I often find it quicker to just start deleting until I get it and then rework the mess.

[@Steve2Q]

The best lesson on constraints I have found! Thank you!

[@bwilliams1815]

Always appreciated. When using the any constraint, does it matter which entity you choose first?

[@adskFusion]

Thanks for your question! It does not particularly matter. The sketch object which moves is not determined by the order of selection (unlike joints, for example) so the order does not matter too much 🙂

[@markg1531]

@@adskFusionso how is it determined? That’s important to know for efficiency.

[@rameeti]

@@adskFusion Understanding constraints and taking advantage of the feature requires that the user understand what is going to happen after they have used a constraint. Otherwise they have caused something to happen but apparently did not really have control over what they did. In the video, when the constrained the circles first horizontally, then vertically, the order did not cause which moved as you indicated. But how the heck does the user cause it to work like they need?

[@pmbouvier]

Very helpful. However, I wanted to learn more about constraining an entire sketch, not just sketch objects, especially those with spline curves. Please follow up this excellent tutorial with one that ends up with a fully-constrained sketch, which remains elusive to me in some cases. Thank you!

[@bobbenjamin123]

Fantastic - quick - efficient - video! Great job.

[@shanewalters7821]

This was a perfect no-frills explanation of constraints. The biggest problem I have is remembering when and where I can/should use them. I saved this video as an easy reference to watch periodically, which should help me be more proficient with Fusion 360.

[@MTBCrafter]

The way constraints work in 2D sketches is very good to understand. However in a 3D sketch it is extremely hard. I didn't manage to fully constrain my 3D sketches with a slightly more complex shape than only horizontal and vertical lines. As soon as there is a circle, it won't turn black. I would love to see a tutorial about constraining 3D sketches and adding dimension. Best regards.

[@adskFusion]

You are entirely right that constraining 3D sketches is more tricky. What is typically difficult with circles in 3D sketch is that they are able to rotate around their central point, but you cannot apply a parallel or perpendicular constraint on a circle to stop this. However, what you can do is create construction lines within the circle. If you create a line where the ends are both fixed to the centre and the outer edge of the circle...you can apply the perpendicular or parallel constraints to that line and it will fix the circle in rotation. If ever unsure of how you need to constrain a line, click and drag on it to see where it is able to move. You can always undo to put the sketch back to where it should be ☺

[@MTBCrafter]

@@adskFusion thank you very much for answering! I've actually done this with the circles, but it doesn't always work. In addition to that, I can't really move parts of a 3D sketch. It is always very time consuming and not as intuitive as 2D sketches. I often use 3D paths to design air tubes. Most of the time the different arcs are fixed together in a weird way, so the don't move as you would expect. For example if I want to apply a tangent constraint to a line which is placed somewhere in 3D space, it won't work automatically, even if it theoretically should be possible. I have to manually turn all pieces to the approximate correct position for the constraint to work. It is quite hard to describe, but I hope you get what I try to say. If you have additional tips to improve my 3D sketching skills, I'd be pleased to hear them!

[@greggtracton2588]

Although this is a good basic explanation, I still find myself tripping up. 1) What do the red & black colors mean in the constraint icons in the ribbon bar? Originally, I thought the red one was the object that would move or resize, but I’ve found counter-examples to this. 2) How do I know which object will move/resize? If the wrong one moves, what are my choices? 3) How can I choose a constraint to delete when they are drawn practically on top of each other? Do I really need to zoom all the way in, just to select one? Is there a better way? 4) How do constraints interact with dimensions? Is a dimension just another constraint that has a different name for historical purposes? 5) When Fusion says my object is over-constrained, how do I figure out why? Is there a way for it to display which constraints are setting the same distance or angle twice?

[@rameeti]

With regard to the Horizontal/Vertical constraint, I do understand how one item may already be constrained so that the result is that there is sometimes an unforseen movement of one item relative to the other item. But... rather than suggest that the user just try it, then Undo it if they do not like the result, there should be an indicator as to what will happen before it does. Generally it should follow the Constrain this to that rule. And when will happen, there should be Green tint on the hover of the 2nd item. If it will not be able to follow the 'This to That' rule, the 2nd object should turn Yellow when hovered over. Finally, if neither of 2 object can move due to their already being constrained, the 2nd item should turn Red when hovered over. This tells the user what is about to happen and the Undo if you don't like what you get is resolved.

[@The_Trained_Observer]

Two questions: When did curves become lines? And, why can't a sketch be fully constrained from the first line to the last line? Yes, I will acknowledge that these are two contentious questions and what you call any item in a sketch shouldn't matter. But it was not too long ago that it seemed everybody insisted on naming straight lines as curves. At least everybody at Autodesk. And now here we have an instructor who is calling them lines. Are all the other instructors choosing the word line over curve in recent tutorials? And now I would like someone to take the information we just saw in this video and combine it with the question of how to create fully constrained sketches. The complexity of constraining a sketch seems to me to be caused when Autodesk Fusion automatically constrains some elements of the sketch at the time that they are drawn. This may be required or beneficial, but blending the automated constraints with the intention of the designer is the real art of sketching. In fact, if we take a look at this tutorial, the sketch at the beginning of the video has no constraints, and I am unsure it is actually possible for Autodesk Fusion to draw this sketch without The software applies some constraints automatically to some of those elements. In another tutorial I believe I've already asked the question: "how did you draw that sketch with no constraints?" I never saw an answer. In other words, we might learn more about constraints by understanding both the possibility and the need to draw lines and curves unconstrained at the time they are drawn. I see it done all the time, but why? And that is the gap in understanding fully constrained sketches when Autodesk Fusion may have applied constraints that we really didn't want and MUST be removed to achieve our design objectives. Another issue in fully constrained sketches is that this tutorial took advantage of a sketch that did not start at the origin. That in itself is contrary to the sketching principles that WILL lay the foundation for a full constraints sketch. And if there is merit to sketching out in space without it being anchored to the origin, then I have yet to see a tutorial that makes it clear why we would want to sketch a loose unattached line or curve and then move it someplace else. I see it done all the time but it doesn't seem to have a purpose even though it's possible. The best example is a line or curve starting at a point in space and ending at another point in space. Or for that matter, a circle drawn around a center that is not attached to anything else. If you can explain why that's a productive sketching technique, I'd love to hear it. I believe we will all benefit when sketch constraints are taught in the context of sketching constrained lines (curves) one at a time on a sketch that never becomes unconstrained rather than as an afterthought when we need to take lines (curves) that are floating in space and make them work together to achieve a fully constrained sketch. In the physical world there are not very many times when we hang an item out in space and don't fasten it to something else one connection at a time as we build the entire structure. I'm sure I'm going to get flak from people who say "that's just the way it is". But I hope someone out there will agree with me that it's a fair question to ask why a single line or even a complex sketch has been drawn floating around in space with no constraints.

[@MattHorick]

I've never understood what order to click things for constraints. It doesn't seem to be consistent which object the constraint uses as the reference and which it adjusts. So far I haven't found a video explaining this, and that is why Fusion and all parametric software is beyond frustrating. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[@mikestewart4752]

Uh oh, I hope you haven’t offended the CCP. That first example of the unconstrained sketch ended up looking like Xi. 🤞🤞

[@bjornml.08]

Really great explanation and reference when needed!

[@Mirage5892]

Does Autodesk have any intention of adding a normal vector constraint? Such as for adding bosses to the exterior of curvature. (To get a near perpendicular angle to an arc)

[@1320freek]

I appreciate you taking the time to make this video! I did not know that about being able to highlight and delete a constraint. Good stuff. Thank you!

[@AbdoZaInsert]

مشكور والله شرح رائع و واضح

[@ericsandberg3167]

A very well done, concise and articulate video on some key features of F360.

[@ganobano]

thx

[@66stuartwilson]

Why did the blue lines not turn black after you constrained them ?

[@adskFusion]

Hi Stuart, Sketch lines only go black when they are fully constrained. I am not sure which time you are referring to but it is likely that the constraints that were added in the video did not result in the sketch object being completely and fully constrained ☺️ We have a video on how, why and when to fully constrain sketch soon so keep an eye out for that!

[@SwissplWatches]

brilliant!!!!!

[@rextransformation7418]

As much as clear your explanation is (thank you), somehow it isn't really intuitive, at least for me: for instance, when you want to make a line parallel to another, it's the second line that will become parallel to the first. To me, it should be what you select for first that's to be changed, not the latter. 5:08 or with the Midpoint constraint, no matter how I place the circle and line, it's always the circle that moves to the line, while in your case it's the opposite. But anyway, it's a free awesome software, and I'm truly grateful for it. Sorry if it may seem like it's not.

[@hamedazhang1985]

USA & Germany Build anything, then England teach this products 😂😂😂

[@fimishaqua4849]

❤ thank u for such a wonderful, insightful, useful and short handy video.... this is just awesome. Thank you again.

[@GmanBB]

Very good explanation, thank you! You are born teacher.

[@chrisgenovese8188]

this was incredibly helpful! thank you for the clarity and ease to follow.

[@emeyedeejay]

Great video! Who else sees the Panda face? 😁

[@tommylajoie]

Amazing stuff. Thank you

[@michaelbarbone9310]

Sigh. Great tutorial. But some things are driving me crazy. I drew a 2 point rectangle, like you do at 7:50. You have the solid light blue lines around the rectangle with the 2 types of constraints. I have a brown dotted line. Then when I select the object, it is a dotted blue line.

[@adskFusion]

HI Michael, It sounds like you have toggled construction lines. These are used as reference lines but do not provide an enclosed area. You can toggle this on/off from the top of the sketch palette (normally on the right of the screen when sketching). alternatively you can adjust lines once drawn by right clicking on them and pressing, "Construction" Hope this helps!

[@magicman9486]

Thanks for a creat video.

[@stvcolwill]

OUTSTANDING video. very, very helpful. I hope you keep videos like this coming! thanks!!!!

[@adskFusion]

Thank you, we are so glad you found it helpful ☺️ Keep an eye out on the channel, more videos to come!

[@rowycoracing]

That was helpful. Thank you.

[@Jake-zc3fk]

Thank you! Very clear and concise.

[@fishbowl38]

Great Tutorial Ollie!

[@willibaldkothgassner4383]

Thank you!

[@itmikepensacola1658]

Nice!

[@happyldw]

굿..좋아요 ^^.

[@AdipocireFestCZ]

Super!

[@JohnCHansen01]

What steps did you use to create the fully defines sketch on the right? (I am unable to reproduce it as a fully defined sketch.)

[@adskFusion]

Hi John, It is a little hard to tell what is going wrong without seeing your sketch, but our recommendation would be to see what breaks! If you click and drag on the blue lines in your sketch, what moves? Seeing what moves is often the easiest way to tell what still needs constraining, and you can always undo the move to get back to where you were :) It may also depend on how you draw each shape. For example, I used the "Centre Rectangle" option to draw the square and slightly different constraints might be needed if you had used the 2 point rectangle option!

[@JohnCHansen01]

@@adskFusion I started with a center point rectangle and set the dimensions to 12 inches on two sides to make a square. Is there any additional constraint needed to make this initial geometry become a fully constrained sketch? I am unable to have a fully constrained sketch for the initial square geometry.

[@d0i7]

Hi. Maybe I'm missing something, but at 9:20 , shouldn't the "Midpoint constraint" be available (and not grayed out), when you check the possible contraints after selecting a line and a circle ? At this point in the video it's greyed out but the "Midpoint" part of this video shows that this contraint is possible for both :)

[@adskFusion]

Hi! There is a good reason for this. ☺ In this case, we selected the circle's line itself, which is a separate sketch object from the sketch point, which is also created as part of the circle. A circular line does not have a centre, so the midpoint constraint cannot be applied, but if we had selected the central point of the circle, the midpoint constraint would be available. Hope that makes sense!

[@Te4mUp]

Buggier than wine programs ran on a hackintosh that didn't have the correct plist files. Now I have files missing in my project folders.

[@ReptexPro]

Such a good explanation, Thank you!