Fusion 360 Tutorial | CAM Order of Operations - DIY Mechanical Keyboard

In this video we cover the importance of CAM order of operations in Autodesk Fusion 360. Using my mechanical keyboard as an example, we discuss 2 sided machining, work offsets, alignment, and general best practices.
Fusion 360 Tutorial | CAM Basics:
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Thank you!
#Fusion360 #CNC #Mechanicalkeyboard

[@CraigHollabaugh]

I've watched probably 100 F360 videos but learned more practical machining tips in this one video. 'stock to leave' changing to perfect fit, excellent. Now I'm like 'duh, why didn't I think of that'. Fixture plate, 6 pins, trough, square corner, etc. Thanks from Colorado.

[@rpatrick2]

Austin another great video. I'm a big advocate for pins as well to get things to stay in alignment. I'd also mention for the newbies reading this to slow down your machine when precision matters, even if that means going down a cutter size. Most home machines have steppers and the harder the cut, or the faster you go the more likely you are going to lose steps. Also rehome your machine after each operation. That really helped tighten up my 2 sided parts when it mattered. Again thanks for all your work, I can do 2 sided parts because of your videos about a year ago on doing necks.

[@drdave7078]

This is such a useful and well explained Fusion 360 CAM tutorial. I appreciate the advice about using a separate jig to provide a zero reference point when doing two-sided work. And the importance of thinking through the order of milling operations when working through the part design steps. It's also refreshing to see how you made a mistake and recovered from it as mistakes seem an almost statistically inevitability when so many things have to go perfectly - and don't. Thanks for providing this video.

[@RattlecanGuitarRestorations]

I appreciate how you explain your design decisions so they can easily be applied to the process and not just strictly to the software. We're going through Inventor and Mastercam in school and I can already see how my thinking is changing about how I approach design problems. Many many thanks.

[@ngtenor5802]

Wonderful. Thank you Austin.

[@meeloo0]

You definitely have a great way of explaining things! Thank you so much for this series!

[@ElrondTeo-ln2xk]

You are a genius! Thank you! Im learning so much from your channel before I actually go ahead and buy my CNC (and hide it from my wife) :D

[@timothyprigg6444]

Austin- just found your posts. They’re really great. Explanations are always clear and they will be a wonderful resource as I explore cnc and cam. I like that they are not over edited and you complete the process (leaving in the mistakes) from start to finish. There’s no doubt that i will run into problems and it’s good to have an idea how to troubleshoot. Thank you.

[@foundrysmith1]

Great video! Thank you for this detailed explanation of your workflow. Looking forward to watching video No 3 in this series

[@fevermeds]

Your videos are exceptional - great quality, presentation and production value. Thank you!

[@robertbankhead8661]

Awesome and appreciate the learning you experienced. Like the idea of the jig, it will always help.

[@alaskandonut]

Carbide3D sells a BitZero block that allows you to place a device on the corner of a square piece for easy re-zeroing when flipping or repositioning a part.

[@edmundzadurian8908]

Thanks a lot Austin for the videos and simple presentations throughout CAM CAD as step by step definitions,, 🙏👍

[@terryk3118]

Thanks for the great video. I feel like I can program the part I've created now. When I get stumped, I'll go back to this video to fix it.

[@MTknives]

Nice video, thanks for sharing

[@adamzapotok2681]

Thank you!

[@Carpenters_Canvas]

Appreciate your info! I am brand new to cnc and i dove ALL the way in and bought a x-50 woodworker, onefinity, still waiting for it to get here I don't understand the other programs so im learning what i understand better which is fusion, so ill need all the help i can get haha.

[@ericsauer8929]

This video is great. I just watched your intro to Fusion CAM video which was very good as well. I currently do double sided machining jobs using V-Carve but would like to move all my CAM work to Fusion. Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Thanks again.

[@rpatrick2]

I started with Fusion but share shop space with some people who use V-carve extensively. There some processes that Vcarve assumes that let you get something finished much faster. Especially lettering, and brute force carving something from a mesh into a panel. I have some projects coming up where I will do the body of the part in fusion and then do the lettering in V carve.

[@laneslabaugh4727]

Austin - from one engineer to another - thank you for the time you invested to document and explain your process. I learned a lot of things here. Your other videos are also fantastic. This was so reminiscent of most projects I've done in woodworking and with my CNC - plan carefully, think about the project for weeks before touching a tool, try and meticulously execute according to my plans - then realize I did something stupid, or didn't notice something - and then have to re-engineer half of everything to salvage my progress. The advice you mention at the end is spot on - fail fast and iterate.

[@joat_mon]

Very cool project. I see a CNC router somewhere in my future... after I finish my mill CNC conversion.

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

Another great video! It's times like these you realize you don't know everything. The keyboard is a perfect example of explaining difficulties you may experience, different bits and stock flipping. As always, looking forward to the next one! P.s. Everytime I get the notification for a new video, it's a bit like Xmas 😀

[@austinshaner]

haha, not sure I'm at that level yet, but I'll take it since I cobble this together in my garage :D This keyboard project turned out awesome and taught me a ton about my CNC and CAM in general. So even though it didn't go as planned, I'm super glad I did it.

[@austinshaner]

Quick question, do you prefer the previous format? or new the camera/audio format? Trying to gauge if it's worth doing that in the future.

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

@@austinshaner no special preference. Both formats cut it for me. As long as the content is substancial (which is), engaging and in such detail, it's perfectly fine by me. I'd go with what's easier to deliver perhaps? 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

One suggestion: go ahead and share your channel with the "fusion 360 luthiers" and "guitar building with CNC" fb groups if you like, but be prepared to answering a ton of questions xD

[@youcefbenslimane1389]

thankss

[@MrJackPR]

Awesome project! I am going for a guitar machining on my CNC and I faced some of these alignment issues and other things on my test run on plywood. I really liked the fixture idea and how your final product looks like. Great job!

[@austinshaner]

Thanks mate! There are definitely ways to do it without a fixture, but that just seemed like the most reliable option for me. I just started working on the CAM for Guitars video - though that one is going to be a big undertaking cause I plan to go show the entire process start to finish which will make it a really long video. I'm going to try to put in chapters/timestamps so people can skip to the portion they have the most trouble with.

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

@@austinshaner seriously that's the most anticipated video of 2021 for me xD

[@austinshaner]

@@alexanderkartsonakis May take me a bit longer than expected, baby came early!

[@alexanderkartsonakis]

@@austinshaner congratulations! If it's your first, welcome to the club mate!!! ...and if it's a boy, start doing cardio and drinking red bull! And also prepare yourself for house renovations in a couple of years...if there's anything left intact around xD

[@PaulMcEvoyGuitars]

What brand of keyboard is that? It came out super cool!

[@austinshaner]

It's a custom made one :) I ordered the pcb (KBD75 if youre interested), soldered my own switches, and got custom colored / font keycaps!

[@kjohn5224]

When doing two sided machining, when you flip the part over, can't you just rehome the x, y and z using a touch probe (say using the corner of the stock). That way to don't have to put it back in the exact same spot, right? Or am I missing something?

[@austinshaner]

If you have perfectly square stock that is perfectly aligned to your machine, that will work. But let's assume for a second that your stock isn't perfectly aligned or square. When you flip the part over, the part of your stock that's now in that corner you zeroed off initially may be slightly off. And If you zero to that location you will introduce that error into your next cut. The only way to avoid an error like this is either to zero to the same known point that never moves like my fixture, or zero off of a feature that you just machined in the previous operation (which you may not have access to).

[@austinshaner]

If you are using dowel pins, your stock doesn't really matter, what matters is your zero point in relation to those dowel pins. It has to be consistent to either the zero from side 1 or a feature that was machined in alignment with the dowel pins.

[@kjohn5224]

@@austinshaner Thanks that makes a lot of sense. I also just learned something (I haven't been doing this for very long), the stock has to be perfectly aligned along the x and y axis? I thought that the probe would take care of that. For instance you can't put in your stock diagonally and expect the machine to get that alignment right when it rehomes off the touch probe?

[@austinshaner]

I guess that depends on what your control software does with the probe information. Most corner finding touch probes simply find a point to assign as XYZ zero. If that's the case, then you can accurately find the corner of the stock, but that location may not be correct in relation to the geometry you just cut on the other side. So if we exaggerate this for example, you could cut side one, then flip the part over but have it at a 45 degree angle, and then touch probe. It won't change your program to be at a 45 degree angle to match. Now there are cases where the software will touch the probe or part at multiple points, and try to "map" where the stock is on the machine... both the corner and angle of the part. But again, if your stock isn't square or the cut from side 1 isn't centered on the stock you will still introduce an error. This is why I find the fixture to be such a simple solution. You divorce your workoffsets from your stock entirely. So it doesnt matter how you set the stock up. The XYZ zero never moves, and the dowel pins ensure the cut from side 1 (not the stock) is aligned with the XYZ zero. But this isn't always practical for all parts, so if you cut all the way through the part on side one, you could zero off of that feature on side 2 to get a new zero point that is in alignment with your dowel pins.

[@kjohn5224]

@@austinshaner Thanks for the great response, that really clears it up! Your videos are probably the best resource on youtube right now for a CAD+CAM combination on Fusion 360!

[@just_bright]

Hey man. I apologize up front, but I just need some advice. I have been trying to use Fusion for the past year, and I literally seem to be unable to learn. This isn't trolling, I just kept finding myself at your videos after giving up. I've used other tutorials, skillshare, etc, but can't even make a simple Lego block. I just feel stupid, but I keep coming back almost to beat myself up again every few weeks because I know I have to get this. I was a smart kid in school. Honor roll student, and a talented artist, but this has literally got me questioning if my brain is somehow broken or something. Nothing ever happens the way it does in any given tutorial. Anyways, I'm going to call Autodesk and ask them for help probably, but I just feel like a turd.

[@gertrudbergmann8106]

2

[@dhnobles]

I personally find having a person's face in the video to be extremely distracting at best and in many cases downright annoying. You do a great job with the instructions and I'm learning a lot, but lose the face cam.