Creating Shop Drawings in Fusion 360 | Tutorial

[@backlash00]

I think this is the most professionally done and informative video I have ever seen. Had no ides the Drawing functions of Fusion 360 were so powerful. Thank you.

[@gg48gg]

Thanks! Amazingly well explained! I really needed this and didn't even know that I needed it. I didn't even know that Fusion had this functionality!

[@RodLogan1]

This is a truly remarkable video. I know it's been a while since you published it, but I can't overstate how helpful it is going to be for me. I'm a woodworker and I use Fusion 360 to design most of the projects that I build. In the past, I've tried to create Drawings to use for dimensions when building. I quickly just resorted to referencing the original model when I couldn't seem to design the Drawings in an efficient and effective way. I randomly ran across your video and certainly didn't intend to watch the entire 35 minutes. Your presentation was clear and complete and it taught me everything I need to know to use this function going forward. I can't wait to use it on my next build! Thank you very much for the effort!

[@suzysheer66]

Thank you ! F360 has me struggling at times, and the drawings were one part that was not making sense for me, till now. I come here for enlightenment.

[@r.j.sworkshop7883]

10 years as a Mechanical Designer for a profession, I hated having to do drawings (fortunately the model shop worked from the model 95% of the time). 25 years of playing machinist on the weekends, and I love drawings! It is all about your perspective I guess. Great video, I learned a bunch.

[@chrisj4570g]

THANK YOU! I’ve struggled with making those drawings for some time. I end up drawing something in Fusion, then scribbling dimensions on paper. This will be a game changer.

[@orangetruckman]

I’m not a computer wiz, so I appreciate you going through this. Keep putting out the great videos sir 👍🏻

[@russellfinch5493]

Small tip. Been using Inventor for 20 years, Fusion is similar. Start with a C size sheet and then do a fit to print to the A size or letter sized paper. C size scales very well down to and A. This way your titleblock will not take up 50% of your available space on the sheet. D scales very nicely to 17X11 (Tabloid) if your printer does tabloid. Most don't so, start with a C and then do a fit to the Letter size paper. It will look much better when printed.

[@JeronimoStilton14]

Interesting tip, although all of my prints are in B size.

[@SurfacePatterns]

Just gave this a shot and wish I'd have thought of it sooner. Thanks for the tip @russellfinch5493

[@Graham_Wideman]

Great video James! Not just a tour of F360's drawing features, but also a valuable rundown on useful drawing practice. Nicely done!

[@andrewmack4830]

comprehensive video, excellent pace, clear and easy to understand. Very helpful. Thank you.

[@petermenningen338]

This is excellent. My original training 1960's was with paper and pencil in Highschool. Design was a natural in fusion. This filled in the missing part of converting the model to a drawing efficiently. A big Mahalo from my retirement home in Maui.

[@rennkafer13]

Ah yes, I was one of the people who had asked you to show how you did the flat drawings and this tutorial was excellent. Now I just need to fire up F360 and go through this enough times that I remember it. Thank you James!

[@ja-no6fx]

This is fantastic. Imagine for a moment looking at a drawing at work that was done by a person who thought about how to actually build the damn thing!

[@tonycerniglia4777]

Once again, informative, concise, and so well done! Been a SolidWorks user for close to 20 years. Now with getting into CAM I'm going into Fusion...SolidWorks CAM is cumbersome for me. You provide great content always and have helped this guy (and many others) greatly! Oh, one rebuttal to a comment regarding a larger format (C size and print to fit) I would avoid this technique.... in variabily getting every dimension for a part on the print is rare and if one is "at the machine" it is impossible to lay a scale on the paper to confirm what you would expect the missing dimension to be. YES THE RULE FOREVER HAS BEEN "DO NOT SCALE A PRINT", however that reverts back "pre-CAD" and rules change. Personally I would never print to fit or scale a detail that cannot be computed back easily (2:1, 4:1, 10:1.... never 3x, 5x, etc., etc.) Thank you James for your chanel.

[@learningturningmetal]

Thank you for a very detailed explanation. I've really struggled producing simple drawings in Fusion 360, but now it should be a lot easier. Cheers Andrew

[@talkingcprogramming6236]

Thanks. I've always been the machinist, so I just modelled but never output a dwg for a third party. Really useful to me, and I thank you for your time in creating this useful video resource.

[@jescheffler]

Thanks James! You have catered to my laziness so I didn't have to sit down and figure this out for myself.

[@mikecoughlin4128]

This takes we way back. Its so interesting how you're building (virtually) then drawing. When I was making shop drawings with pencil and mylar I was drawing designs so they could be built. Not machine parts but piping systems and HVAC systems. Line weights make all the difference!

[@JackMoskowitz]

Best video on drawings I've seen. I've been making drawings for a while. Still learned a bunch of new, usefull things.

[@TrekDreamer11]

Thanks for your work and time making and publishing your YT vids, For me they have the right level of information, verbal description and screen detail to understand and learn, not just this vid but most all your channel vids. Dead set one of the best DIY machinist channels on YT

[@g.tucker8682]

That's good teaching! I've been looking around YT for a comprehensive set of F360 tutorials (not just a jumble of "hacks" and "tips") and this video far outshines them all. If anyone can recommend a good place to start, the help would be appreciated. If there were a James Clough F360 course available, I'd pay several hundred bucks for it and I bet many others would as well. Hint, hint.

[@daveyJ213]

Excellent presentation; well detailed, but not overwhelming for beginners. I now feel confident enough to start documenting my own designs. Good job! Much appreciated; thanks for posting.

[@pheroztengra2821]

As an amateur woodworker, I had been using sketchup but the printing capabilities were really bad. Now that I am switching over to F360 it is a real pleasure to work with. Note that the F360 learning curve is a bit steeper than sketchup. The author has a wonderful sense of how to explain things in very clear detail. Best video on printing in Fusion 360.

[@stevecroft8262]

Amazing video. Really detailed stuff, put across in an easy to understand way. Always thought it was tricky to produce drawings for my designs, but you've made it seem easy. I shall be doing this a lot more from now on - thanks!

[@sassybrass5645]

Thanks!

[@Clough42]

I'm glad you found it useful!

[@mjm5407]

Thanks, James! You've shown me that I've only scratched the surface of creating dimensioned drawings in Fusion 360.

[@johnb6599]

Thank you James. An excellent video with enough information I will have to watch it a dozen times. I have tried to figure this out on my own with a lot of frustration. Thank you again.

[@markscheiner3952]

Excellent tutorial James. Thanks for sharing. I’d be interested in a detailed one on modifying the title block, where you save it etc if that appeals. Cheers

[@aimeiz1]

Excellent lecture. Thank You! This subject was missing in local video course I studied, so now I have complete knowledge. Keep doing.

[@michaellitzkow8123]

I too make drawings for everything I build in my shop and use Fusion 360 to do it. I agree, it saves a lot of wasted materials as well as time and frustration. I picked up some great tips from your video. I think the biggest one is use of section views in drawings. I hadn't realized those were available until you showed it. Thank you for your very clear explanations of everything.

[@mvred100]

Great video. I am surely going to follow your work moving forward. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and being pithy in your video.

[@turnerkilgore6818]

Really stuff here! Thank you for such a detailed video. Also the video video chapters in the timeline are so helpful. Not sure what to call them. They are so helpful in going back and reviewing specific ideas. Thanks!

[@Clough42]

KZbin just calls them "video chapters." I've started adding them to most of my new videos.

[@jlchapman4]

Thanks James! This kind of stuff is why I'm a subscriber. I always learn something from your videos.

[@Litzwire]

James, many thanks. This was a very timely tutorial on the very day I started to dig in to Fusion drawings to any depth. It cleared up my misconceptions and made everything clear. Wonderful. Love your channel I learn something every time.

[@Clough42]

Just wait...I likely also propagated some new misconceptions, too. :)

[@Litzwire]

@@Clough42 I haven't noticed any yet, give it time :-)

[@jimsvideos7201]

James, thank you; this tool was a puzzle for me but this has really made it accessible.

[@MANaboutTOOLS]

Excellent tutorial! Much appreciated!

[@ianbertenshaw4350]

I have seen many videos about fusion 360 but yours was the easiest to understand ! I think yours was the first one I have seen that recognises that not everyone is using the paid version of fusion - the Autodesk videos don’t tend to mention that you can get fusion for free if you are a student or home hobbyist- I wonder why 🤑

[@McGillified]

Best video I've seen yet explaining this, thanks!

[@JohannSwart_JWS]

Thanks for that. I've always wondered how to do this properly. Have been a flat-earther AutoCAD user since 1988 (on DOS). This is just sooo much easier.

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

Hi James. A fabulous video in demystifying how to make a workshop drawing with Fusion 360. Having never used F360 this video makes it less scary. Thank you. Take care. Paul,,

[@barryomahony4983]

I wish I had watched this earlier! I'm a fairly new user to Fusion 360 (the free hobbyist version), using it since I just got a hobbyist CNC router. Not totally new to CAD since I do have a little past experience with Onshape. Your videos have been the most helpful thing I've found to come up to speed on Fusion. As a sort of practice, I modelled up a roof/awning I'm planning on putting over the side door of my garage. I made of few drawing for it, again mostly for practice. They would have been a lot easier to do if I had seen this one first.

[@cogentdynamics]

James, thank you so much for making this video! I just purchased a license for F360 and am trying to learn the program. I have never done any CAD or CAM and am on a very steep learning curve (particularly for an older fella like me). Your explanations and examples are something I am able to relate to. Very helpful and very appreciated!

[@SebbyG86]

Amazing info. Thank you for the time you take to go into such wonderful detail. Im having to teach myself prety much every aspect of design and manufacture for where i work and so many of your videos have taugh me things that are super useful. Thank you.

[@RodeoBailey]

Thanks! Was doing a drawing of a cabinet model and was having trouble figuring out how to make the drawing for the individual parts and get them dimensioned.

[@keithjones8070]

Excellent tutorial James, thank you, Keith

[@karlfimm]

Interesting, and a LOT of useful. I've used the drawing tools, but as with so much else, you're way ahead of me in skill. Learned a lot.

[@howtorepairpendulumclocks-live]

As below, great teaching. Thank you.

[@jkcrum]

Brilliantly done. As a long time user of Autocad 2010 (in 2D), and lately a Sketchup user (for 3D), I'm feeling the pull more than ever to make to switch to Fusion 360.

[@steventimme5268]

Never could find out how to format the dimensions/font, etc. Thanks for the tips. Now I can sleep at night 👍!

[@diegodhc]

You explain so well , I’ve learn a lot , thanks James

[@mlgerson1]

James great video, you are a master at presenting content in an easy to understand format. Thank you for your work.

[@theseldomseenkid6251]

Nicely done. Extremely helpful. Thanks so much.

[@RRINTHESHOP]

Well done James. Enjoyed.

[@mrrrrr1rob590]

New user to F360. So much good info and practices here. I'm struggling on a lot more basic stuff, so I have a ways to go before I will be applying these concepts. Thank you. I would welcome some beginner Fusion videos from your thought process. So far I've designed 2 things.

[@johnwolfe8110]

Excellent job of explaining the drawing process. Although I work exclusively in wood, the process is the same and will help me to dimension out some of the more complicated joinery I used to assemble the various projects I make. Your video also cleared up for me what I can and can't do in the free version. I think I can make multiple pages, and then make them read-only so they don't use up my 10-project limit before I get done with a project. I somehow missed the "print" function as a way to convert my drawings to PDF, so that helped also. Thanks very much for your hard work in making this video.

[@PhilWhitten]

Awesome video as always James....you covered a few things I was trying to do manually in F360....a lot of " ohhh" & " cool" moments...keep up the great work...,Brisbane, Australia

[@carlhitchon1009]

Nice overview. I didn't even know how a "base" drawing is used. Thanks.

[@clearlake2112]

As always good stuff. Thx James!

[@stigjoergensen6072]

Thank you so much for the details - Really enjoy your channel..

[@SimjetAU]

This video was extremely helpful..thanks a lot once again for your fantastic videos...made so everyone can follow and understand your explanation

[@jb11547]

Thanks James. I spent some time around the holidays learning F360, made a few parts, became comfortable with the basics. This is one of the many areas that I still need to learn, and your practical intro will be useful. BTW on Harold's discussion show I heard you mention your views are low on this one. FYI that was the first I heard of this video; I didn't get a notification of this one, but I normally do.

[@sjenkins1057]

I appreciate the directness and clarity of the video title. This video isn't for me, and the title let me know that without spending time. I will definitely be back for other videos.

[@WorksbySolo]

Thanks for the tutorial James. Even though I model in Rhino, I specifically subscribe to Fusion 360 for the shop drawings. Your video is of perfect timing. Great explanation.

[@DudleyToolwright]

Nicely done, James. I hope you'll make it to the Bash again this year.

[@Jake-zc3fk]

Pure gold! Thanks James!!

[@ianrobinson509]

Fully up to your usual standard, again. I have just moved to the free version of Fusion 360 from FreeCAD and am amazed at its capabilities. I used to spend hours manually drafting (and re-drafting) drawings of projects before producing 3D versions for machining and latterly 3D printing. Now I find Fusion 360 can do the lot, including importing manufacturer's component details. I don't know whether you have teaching qualifications but if you have and I'd been in your class life would have been a lot easier!

[@paulmace7910]

Thank you James. Excellent content.

[@EZ_shop]

Good video James, best collection of drawing tips out there. Perhaps Autodesk should sponsor you. Ciao, Marco.

[@frigzy3748]

That's a fantastic explanation - thank you very much!

[@tweedrhino]

So glad you did this.

[@shaunonverwacht9626]

Very concise! Thank you.

[@timyoung3696]

I'm kind of late to the game but that was fantastic. I've never used Fusion 360 or for that matter any 3D drawing program. But currently downloading it on my laptop. Thank you for the lesson.

[@David_Best]

Great video. Now I know why I paid extra for the drawing facility in the full version.

[@SergioOlivieri89]

This video is TOTALLY EPIC!!

[@TheDaveOutlaw]

You are a talented teacher and obviously an experienced machinist . Your skill in showing the features of 360 fusion in a logical method could be expanded if you would create a tutorial On how you make the 3d solid models . Any thoughts on doing this ..

[@outsidescrewball]

enjoyed...great lesson

[@UncleKennysPlace]

I've been into computer graphic arts for over three decades (my dad said, "Go digital, young man!"), back when you could by a nice car for what the software cost, and still I often find it easier to use CorelDraw for 2D over most of the CAD packages. Or an envelope. But I'm slowly getting to the point where Fusion 360 will be useful to me.

[@MaximilianonMars]

This is good to know, I didn't use this feature before but when I need it now I know how. Thank you!

[@onlooker251]

Wow - I had no idea that this facility existed in 360! I been trying to teach myself fusion during covid lock down and have been struggling with it. I’m still persevering with it as I can see that by getting into this would be so useful. I’m ok with AutoCAD 2021 but find Fusion360 isn’t intuitive. More like this pleas James... 👍

[@gregwmanning]

It was a big effort making this video thanks

[@automan1223]

This was super useful ! The last time I tried to use the drawing functions it was a wip and things crashed a lot. Trying to blueprint now seems almost intuitive ! Great video !!

[@bobblack3870]

I've tried a couple of introductory lessons on F360, but by not using it afterwards the learning is rusty. However I found this to be very interesting and informative.

[@LabRatJason]

This is incredibly useful! Thanks!

[@mckannix5055]

Very new to F360, so apologies if this is a "duh" question- At about 16:30, when you changed the position of the cross hole, its dimension updated but the depth number for the set screw hole did not. What does one have to do to get that dimension to update? Thank you for this astonishingly articulate and relatable tutorial.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

Pretty dam good video. Keep in mind that drill sizes don't belong in a thread callout. ASME says so.

[@Clough42]

Perhaps. But that's the one piece of information I'll need when I am in the shop, so I add it to my drawings.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

@@Clough42 I understand. I never use the recommended drill size for 75% thread, old habit from the tooling department. Only the aerospace, nuclear industry, hi tech and GM care about this anyway.

[@madaxe79]

Thanks mate, I have had so much trouble making decent drawings in Fusion 360. I used Autocad and inventor for years, then when I started my own business I switched to Fusion 360, but i've had so much trouble with the drawings tab, It's super clunky and nowhere near up to the standard for real life engineering, but it's ok for small business.

[@jimfurman3145]

Interesting! Very good video!

[@Musicalbullet]

Super helpful! Thanks

[@misterfixit1952]

Thanks, always good information. BTW, I really like the tool post grinder. At some point I need to grind some details into an RT30 spindle that I bought so I can add an ATC to the spindle. I'll keep an eye on your progress.

[@mlefe09]

Very good info!!

[@lawrencepoppert5187]

Thank you for the very informative video. Is there an easy way to add tolerances to dimensions? I want to make drawings of screws and send them out for quotations.

[@mechanoid5739]

You've probably already found it by now but... If you double click the dimention on the drawing, a dropdown menu appears on the right. There is a check box for Tolerances and a box to add the tolerance figure.

[@MrRctintin]

I found that video very helpful, thank you 👍

[@rbsox0]

Great video resolution...content is fantastic... and best of all, I can understand every word....but I could go on for ever about the great things this video and channel has. It's just a shame on such a wonderful learning platform like KZbin that all videos can't even come close to the quality of this video. I spent a bunch of time messing around with F360 drawings try to get what I wanted but only managed to confuse myself more and ended up with more questions than answers. This video answered them all and then some. If you are frustrated with F360 drawings, quit spinning your wheels and watch this video start to finish... it is expertly done in all departments.... and don't forget to hit the subscribe button... you will not regret it.

[@funone8716]

Very cool. Have you done any other 'getting started' vids on Fusion 360? I'm sure a very basic one on modeling (from you) would be astounding.

[@alanwood3597]

Hi James. Very useful video. Still struggling to put different items from the same assembly on the same sketch page (to save 'paper').

[@rbyt2010]

Nice and Concise - thanks! Ever looked into modifying the title block itself? It's a lot of real estate on an A sheet for information not commonly used in the home shop. Haven't tried since they started updating the Drawing tools. Also, text boxes sized for large fonts that make sense for a D sized sheet, but not so much for A

[@mikeb1520]

You can only do that with the paid subscription, if you use the free version you are stuck with the default one you see in the video.

[@rbyt2010]

@@mikeb1520 ok. I’ll give it another shot. Thx!

[@lwilton]

@@rbyt2010 Someone else above suggested making a C size drawing and scaling it down to A size when you print it. I've done that trick with other tools and it has worked well, but I'm not an F360 user.

[@raymondfriesen7978]

Great video!! You shed light on several things that mystified me....Thanks... One question: How (or can you) make the title block smaller. On mine, the way it comes with the drawing, the title block is nearly one fourth of the page.... Lot of drawing real estate....

[@edwardconway5955]

Good stuff! I'm just getting started with Fusion 360 and am fighting a little bit with tutorials that reference older versions of the software. Still looking for that series of tutorials that use the latest version of F 360. Any suggestions?

[@JonathanRockway]

I also run into this. I think once you play around and get the hang of Fusion 360, you'll be able to follow the old tutorials. It's annoying, but I guess Fusion 360 thinks they're growing, so even if they hang all the existing users out to dry, there are an infinite number of future users to appeal to. Sigh! As a software engineer, some of the decisions Autodesk made here really annoy me. I get that you always want to push towards an easier to use design, but you do risk invalidating all the knowledge that came before. Muscle memory, tutorials, etc. The feature I'd want them to implement is some place to type the name of the command, and have the software show you which menu they moved it into. That way you don't have to hunt, you can ask once, it will teach you, and then you'll know! (They do have a search, in fact, but it just runs the command -- it doesn't teach you how to run the command, so if you want to know the shortcut key or which menu it's in, you'll have to revert to hunting. Annoying! Someday I will switch to some other CAD tool...)

[@c0ulter]

Great video!

[@1607rosie]

Love your videos, even though they can be technical your very thorough and helps me understand. I use illustrator but would like to try fusion 360 to see if I like it better.

[@cannaroe1213]

I use Illustrator but am thinking about switching to Blender. It's free and open source so it's got a lot going for it, even though it's not specifically for machinists. Maybe a plugin could be made

[@1607rosie]

canna roe thanks I'll give it a look.