Testing the NEW Geometric Pattern in Fusion 360s Product Design Extension

In this video we take a first look at the Geometric Pattern tool just added in the new Product Design Extension in Fusion 360. We go over how the tools works, what the settings do and where the tool really shines and also where it currently falls short.
I think the tool has great promise and do hope it is continually developed!

[@Fusion360School]

Thank you for this great overview. Learnt a lot. My main gripe with this feature is that it can only accept bodies as custom objects, not features. For example, if I want to create a vent with through holes, I am not able to create a through hole as a seed and use it in a geometric pattern. After playing around with this, the only way I was able to create a vent with through holes was to first create a cylinder body that cuts through the plate, select the cylinder as the custom object and then set operation to cut. This is completely non intuitive.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

I agree. the "seed" for the object would be great as a feature, just like with other pattern types where you can use a feature, face, body or component. It would be cool if they would add a true "Vent" tool like other software has where you can control input parameters like CFM and fan size. There are some big opportunities here with these tools that are going to be in the extension! Thanks for the comment!

[@ryanriehl7188]

Thanks for delving into the tool. Considering you have to pay extra for such a limited tool, I think I'll pass. As an industrial designer, I need a tool with much more power and control of complex curve surfaces, so I'll have to try parametric textures in either Blender or Rhino. Fusion is so close to meeting all my needs but falls short in the G3 surfacing (curves) and parametric texture realm.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Glad it was helpful Ryan. To be fair the parametric texture features in other CAD programs like SWx are only graphical and the end result is a mesh. Something like Dynamo is what Fusion needs again to make these complex patterns. Blenders Geometry Node is a good option in the mesh stage, but if you need a true BREP then you are out of luck. Not sure how Rhino handles this, but if you know that would be great info! I don't know that Fusion will ever get into the G3 realm. For that you really need to dive into a dedicated program like Alias. I have expressed my concerns regarding Fusion surfacing tools and some areas I would love for it to improve. I think if Forms had better control and edge weighting it would be an amazing addition for this type of work.

[@tvathome562]

So production is a paid feature? (whilst Im here is there a plugin to defeature bodies / components, like for exporting to cae simulation?)

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Yes so the Extensions that are available to EDU and Commercial licenses offer the expansion of toolsets. For example the Manage Extension allows for a PDM style check in/check out of designs. the Manufacture Extension opens up certain functionality for multi-axis machining toolpaths. And now the recent addition of "Product Design" extension. This includes the Volumetric Lattice tool, The mesh tri to quad conversion(inside the mesh workspace that lets us turn a mesh body to a form tspline body), and some of the new plastic design tools like Boss and Snap Latch. It apparently also includes the update to Rib and Web which now allow for Draft and fillets. It looks as if those are only showing up for users on the Extension. As far as defeaturing, I know simulation is not included in the Hobby license, but if you have commercial or edu there are loads of simulation options. When you go into the simulation workspace (Or Generative Design workspace) you have contextual environments to modify and defeature a design that doesn't modify the original. In simulation this is called the "Simplify" workspace and in Generative Design this is "Edit Model". Both include the ability to find and remove features like fillets, chamfers, threads etc. They also have options to replace with primitive bodies. One thing to test is to turn off capture design history in a new design then take a look at the Create and Modify tool drop downs. When you are in direct editing a lot of tools will show up like Find Feature, Fluid Volume etc.

[@srijanchatterji3674]

How can I cut through completely in a geometric pattern?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

you should have a distance option as long as you aren't using the sphere type.

[@srijanchatterji3674]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Thanks for the reply

[@sqwert654]

This is a simple function, behind a paywall, in a subscription product. What a joke. Would be simple to do this in Zbrush. Using Houdini would be better, as you could do this proceduraly.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Well Zbrush is $40 a month and a mesh sculpting tool right? You can do this in Blender as well. I certainly wouldn't get the extension for this tool, but maybe some of the others in there will provide more immediate value. Remember this is day 1 of the tool being out. Never rush out and buy the first thing :) Hopefully with more feedback the tool will get better. I will be reviewing the other tools in this extension in the next few days and maybe that will paint the full picture!

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

www.amcbridge.com/resources/labs/desktop-apps/dynamo-for-autodesk-fusion-360 Wonder if this is a good solution?

[@eod9910]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign Wow that looks good. Nodes for fusion!

[@eod9910]

Looks like Autodeath killed it. Doesn't seem to be available anymore.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Where did you find that Walter? The most recent video was 2 years ago but I saw it demoed today(In Rhino), but was told it was still available for Fusion. I will dig a bit more and see what I can find out. Looks like a great solution!

[@michaelpowers8781]

another disappointingly weak feature release from Fusion360 team. Guys if you're not going to drop a feature that is actually useful, maybe just focus on improving features like sheet metal that's still a decade behind SW. I was excited at first, and now I'm disappointed. Who is paying $1500 a year for this?

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Well $800 for Fusion and this extension, but I get you yeah. I can't give you any insider information but if history repeats itself this tool will get some big updates this year. I have personally sent in my feedback on what I would like to see with the tool and hope that in the future the tool will expand into something amazing. I have been using Fusion 360 since before they had Drawings, before mesh, before Generative so I have been through the early stages in development for a lot of tools and have been impressed with the improvements. Just my 2c. I don't get anything to "sell" you Fusion, but I have used many CAD software packages and for me Fusion has the most value for the price.

[@michaelpowers8781]

​@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign looks like my reply didn't go through for some reason. FWIW I've been using the program since it was "Inventor Fusion" and I'm an "8" over in the feedback forums. Yeah I was looking at the plugin pricing again after I made my first comment and realized it was less expensive than the others. Sure, sometimes they come in with big updates a few months after the initial release, but I mean look at sheet metal; totally stagnated. I was hoping for some features more along the lines of Bob's Grasshopper or Autodesk Dynamo, but this is more like, a PlaySkool PlayDough kit.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Hey Michael, for some reason this comment was in held for review and just surfaced... Dynamo looked really cool but it seems to be gone now. Maybe that means it will show up in the software in the future? And yeah I played with it when it was Inventor Fusion. and I became serious with it in 2015 and began to support it in addition to Solidworks, Inventor and Onshape for a bit. One thing I always try to convey is the difference in cost when comparing tools. I know "its cheap" isn't an excuse but there is obviously a big push in the MFG, Sim, PCB space in Fusion 360. Maybe development on some of the other core areas will expand a bit more in the future. Fingers crossed.

[@eod9910]

So basically useless. And they want us to pay $1,200 a year for that. What I wanted was the ability to bring in true height Maps and use them to create patterns.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Well $400/year for the extension. First impression of Geometric Pattern wouldn't have me buying the extension for it. I still need to play with the design assistant and the plastic part tools to see where their value is. The lattice creation at this point is the most promising bit. When you say height maps do you mean like UV maps to alter the surface texture?

[@eod9910]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign yes that's what I'm talking about. What I really wanted was grayscale height maps that could be used to texture model like you can do in SolidWorks. It's a very common modeling techniques in blender. You have a video where you showed how you can export into blender and then reimport back into Fusion 360. That's one of the use cases where you export to blender apply heightmap and then reimport it back into 360 to do your cam work

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

Yeah i was an application expert at a solidworks VAR when that surface texture feature first came out. It creates a mesh just like the workflow in blender. I think the main issue is the different between a true boolean operation on a BREP vs mesh manipulation with the greyscale image. I wonder if there is a way to do it with mesh tools in fusion.... I will do some digging and see what I can find.

[@eod9910]

@@LearnEverythingAboutDesign I thought that auto desk was going to offer something like that when they came out with the mesh workspace. It would be a perfect addition to it. I was honestly hoping that they would expand the mesh work space to offer real modeling mesh tools inside of fusion 360 with the ability to convert them into a solid object. Now that's something that I would pay real money for.

[@LearnEverythingAboutDesign]

@@eod9910 The mesh workspace now has some editable tools like booleans where you can add or subtract, but true mesh modeling would be cool!