Create a Custom Machine Configuration in Fusion 360 for Hobbyist CNC | Shapeoko, X-Carve, LongMill

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Got a Hobbyist CNC Mill, such as Shapeoko, X-Carve, or LongMill? In Fusion 360, you can create a custom Machine Configuration to save time, while ensuring your settings are accurate every time.
The LongMill CNC by Sienci is my Hobbyist CNC of choice. Learn more about the CNC machines that I recommend for Hobbyist and Beginners: bit.ly/CNCforHobbyist
LongMill CNC: bit.ly/longmillcncref
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - How to create a Custom Machine Configuration in Fusion 360
00:20 - How to enter Fusion 360 Manufacture (CAM) Workspace
00:45 - Using Fusion 360's Machine Library
01:35 - Create a copy of the existing Machine in Fusion 360 CAM Library
02:37 - Edit a Machine in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
02:49 - Machine Description in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
03:40 - Machine Dimensions in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
04:21 - Machine Capabilities in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
05:10 - Machine Workpiece in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
05:37 - Machine Kinematics in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
06:25 - Machining Time in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
07:07 - Coolant in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
07:19 - Post Processing in Fusion 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
08:07 - Multi-Axis in Fusion 360 360 CAM (Manufacture Workspace)
09:07 - How to Import Machine setup (.machine file) in Fusion 360
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Disclaimer:
This video description may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.
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#Fusion360 #ProductDesignOnline #CNC

[@ProductDesignOnline]

What CNC does Kevin have? Glad you asked! Learn more about the CNC machines that I recommend for Hobbyist and others: bit.ly/CNCforHobbyist

[@iagmr]

Would love to see an updated version of this video. It seems Autodesk has removed the workpiece section. Now the info on the machine shows 0 for machine and part dimensions.

[@philipchristian9935]

Yup I was wondering the same thing!

[@bruceogletree7995]

Kevin! I was so glad to see you provide CNC tutorials, but like others, I am not able to take the information provided in this video to the current version of F360. If you could find time to update this video it would be greatly appreciated!

[@benweiss897]

Thanks Kevin - great info! I have a Legacy Maverick 3'x5' machine and had no idea I could do a custom machine setup. I hope you keep going with more CAM, focused on hobbyist CNC machines. Its a niche that few have provided info for. I love Fusion, but find the CAM Setup and Toolpath dialogs overwhelming - too many options and I have no idea what many of them do.

[@garyainslie8200]

exactly the video i needed, thankyou so much!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks, Gary! Glad to hear that :)

[@jimmymaggs3371]

How do I do this stuff if my fusion 360 looks totally different than this one? Mine doesn't allow me to change dimensions and has a lot less items in the menu. Also, how do I know what processing to choose? My machine has a controller that I plug a memory card into and it reads the g code.

[@giannylebon4133]

thanks. exellent, good job

[@MrPJ1320]

this was helpful! thank you for your content!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks for watching :)

[@IceCreams62]

Very helpful video Kevin, thanks a lot . What about the Orientation in Kinematics/Spindle ?

[@TravisIllig]

The machine definition UI has changed quite a bit since this video was made. Do you have an updated version? For example, there's no "dimensions" tab anymore and the "kinematics" section has the machine details nested inside.

[@reanimatedwoodworks1755]

this is what i'm struggling with. This is incredibly confusing.

[@georgesuarez7296]

Any luck on this fix ?

[@MrGettinlate]

Well, I did discover that they've hidden the inputs for the axes in the kinematics tree; you have to click on the axes one at a time to open up the dialogs for those settings. Though I'm still at a loss about some of the other settings. . . not sure they're even critical though.

[@AlTaiRius]

Would you be able to update your video for the current version of Fusion 360 please. All the options are different and it's very confusing!

[@robsproducts]

Agreed! The new version does not even have a dimensions option on my end, which seems like the most important info.

[@AlTaiRius]

@@robsproducts Not sure what machine you're using but mine uses a GRBL post processor and I've worked out that I don't need ANY entries in the machine library except for Name, and post-process set as grbl. Once I've generated my toolpath and exported my post process file, I then load the file into gSender and my machine settings in gSender are what matter.

[@thehorse8585]

I would like to know how to model the cnc bed as well as all the settings so i see (and can toggle) the bed on and off to make sure I have orientation correct, use the clampdown points efficiently etc etc. is this possible? Design a project on a model of the CNC bed?

[@Robinlarsson83]

Great video! Perfect timing as I am just heading down to my office to do this very setup for my recently finished 3 Axis CNC router of my own design. In the Kinematics section, it seemed like the stationary axle was the X-axis, I assume this can be changed? On my (and many other machines I'd say) cnc it is the Y-axis rails that are stationery and moves a carriage with the X and Z axis and spindel on it.

[@Robinlarsson83]

I ended up just using a Generic Autodesk 3 Axis mill with the correct kinematics, worked perfectly :) Interestingly I also got a bit of preview of the coming function for modeling the entire CNC machine. I used Cloud storage for the Machine setup and it created a file in my folder with a 3D model of a generic machine. When I opened that file Fusion said it was created with a newer version of Fusion (and afaik I'm running the latest public build) which could create problems, but it opened just fine :) Didn't try to change it, but maybe I will. It didn't have any joints or anything like that, not even a Time line in the model, så maybe it only affects the Thumbnail of the machine in the library so far?

[@Robinlarsson83]

And now the full Machine Simulation is available in preview :)

[@shredguitarirving]

Hello it, I think there is something wrong with my settings, I tried to access the dimensions tab but it wasn't available in both Mac and PC versions, could you please help me?

[@cowasakiElectronics]

When I go to set up my machine (a 4030 proverXL) I am selecting the generic CNC router but in the machine definition window I only get General, Capabilities, Kinematics, Post Processing and Additional Settings. The Infor tab on the right hand side has the machine dimensions and part as all zeros.

[@tomwiseman4107]

Does anyone know if this machine file has the post processor as part of the machine file? We are working in a school and need students to program the machines. Does giving the machine file also give them the post-processor or will they also need to have that file separately? Simular questions with the Toolstore file. Can these be linked to the machine file as one? Thanks.

[@KeaAlstrup]

I have some issue with the “dimension” menu. It’s not there. There is nowhere to put in the dimension of my working table. Basically there’s only these menus; General Capabilities Kinematics Post Processing Additional settings And that’s it. Quite annoying there’s nowhere to put in the dimension of my machine. Or I’m not able to finde the submenu somewhere?

[@CarlosMartinez-gk8vd]

Did you find any solution? I have the same problem...

[@KeaAlstrup]

No, i haven’t found any

[@CarlosMartinez-gk8vd]

@@KeaAlstrup I did, apparently is a very recent change to the machine library, it seems you don't need those parameters anymore, also you can still revert to previous version. To revert it you have to enable the previous version. If you copy a machine into your library there will be a message prompting that it was made with an old version and that it will be upgraded to the new, in that message there is a link to a video explaining how to revert this change and use the old profiles. Hope this helps!

[@KeaAlstrup]

@@CarlosMartinez-gk8vd Thanks, that was useful information. I’ll se if it makes any difference. Saw the video, and that was what i was missing. But if it is removed and it makes no differences thats ok. It seems weird to me that I’m not able to tell what size working area i have. But that’s mee! Thank you for the help.

[@mic03311]

Hi Kevin, is your CAM course already live? It seems not listed in the course section. Thanks for the great video!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

You can preview and signup here: bit.ly/learnF360CAM

[@jimrainey1518]

Thanks for the tutorial! I have a Snapmaker 3 in one machine and Iv got the 3D printer and the laser functions to work but cant get the CNC to read GCODE from Fusion 360. Could you please tell me where my mistake is?

[@ProductDesignOnline]

You'll need to make sure you have the correct post processor so when you 'post' the Gcode in Fusion 360 it is readable by the Snapmaker. I'm not familiar with Snampaker, but found a great thread with some tips on posting to F360: forum.snapmaker.com/t/available-now-new-post-processor-tool-library-machine-configurations-for-fusion-360/24955/11

[@jimmyfitch3291]

Has anybody done this for their Next Wave Shark HD520? I would like to run some 3D work through Fusion as VCarve Pro is not 3D friendly. Thanks!

[@ericson701]

I used a time not but now there was a update, nice. But there a thinks changed. The setup en the machine gcode is not more the same. Why? I don't. I most now spent a lot off time to change it. And i have build the machine not in the list. I hope that this settings work.

[@JoeEthington]

I have tried this twice now. Both times it got stuck on "Saving Machine..." with the bar animation going below it. It never saved. The first time I let it sit there for over an hour. I am sitting at about 10 minutes this time. I had to use task manager to kill Fusion 360 to close it.

[@HardeepSingh-mc5tp]

could you please tell me how to make a depth map for cnc or which software i use ...for that. i m new in cnc field

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Not easy to do with Fusion 360 unless you already have a mesh file of what you need. Check out this open source software for image to depth map - scorchworks.com/Dmap2gcode/dmap2gcode.html

[@duo3599]

how to save a machine configuration file from local to document?

[@NunoRVOliveira]

At 5:27 you set the work piece as X=31in, Y=33in and Z=4.4in, meaning X=787.4mm, Y=838.2mm and Z=111.76mm... Then you click ok at 8:12 and the displayed information for the workpiece is X=111.76mm Y=787.4mm, Z=838.2mm... Why??? Still happens on current version. Even if the input is directly in mm... Why?

[@emmarawson9303]

not sure why when I enter the work space info in the x,y,z it flips it in the machine summary, so that z is wrong, how critical is this.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

That should not affect anything. I just checked on my end and see the same thing. Appears to be a UX issue with the software :)

[@WoodnMetalShoppe]

Can you do an updated version of this? Fusion has changed the machine settings options.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

I anticipate some more changes to this process early in this year. I'll likely do a video after that 😎

[@stevencimon8114]

hello i am trying to configure my cmc on the fusion 360 ,I have hobbyist licence but I don't see what you show in your video, Autodesk call it machine v2. for my version I am not able to configure my machine .do you have a tricks for that please.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Steven. Autodesk did change this process quite a bit. I'll have to do another video on it at some point. I unfortunately don't have any resources specific to it at the moment.

[@J87513]

Anybody ever set up a FoxAlien WM3020 Cnc for fusion 360?

[@TheMoody876]

My fusion 360 does not show workpiece size

[@rpgallagher7628]

I wish I could find more info on setting up a 4 axis machine.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

What machine do you have?

[@rpgallagher7628]

A chinese cncest 6040 with 1.5kw spindle and 4th axis. It doesn’t have limit switches so it doesn’t like G28 and also I can’t seem to get the set up right in fusion. I do have the paid version for this reason. Im also using Mach 3

[@ProductDesignOnline]

@@rpgallagher7628 Ah, yes you may have to create a custom post-processor or manually remove the G28 each time. This is a common 'problem' with exporting from Fusion 360 to manny of the hobbyist-level CNC machines.

[@timcoupland9812]

Nice tutorial, thanks. I have just used this video to set up my machine in fusion and noticed that in the machine description the X,Y and Z part dimensions are mixed up on mine, then looked at yours and they are as well ? see kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3fFaHlsfLeioMU is this a bug and will it affect the output of the CAM?

[@tvrensburg]

I noticed this too

[@RichardRecupero]

outdated apparently

[@ProductDesignOnline]

They did a bunch of changes unannounced, last year... I'll have to make a new video showing the latest (now that they're supposedly done with the major changes).