Autodesk Fusion 360 Tutorial: Mastering Living Hinges for Laser Cutting

In this detailed Autodesk Fusion 360 tutorial, we dive deep into the process of modeling a simple yet effective living hinge, tailored for laser cutting projects. If you're keen on exploring the realms of user parameters and sheet metal commands within Fusion 360, this video is your go-to guide.
What You'll Learn:
1. Understanding Living Hinges: Get to grips with the concept of living hinges and their applications.
2. User Parameters & Sheet Metal Command: Learn how to effectively use these tools within Fusion 360 for precise modeling.
3. Bend Radius & Material Testing: Discover how to test living hinge swatches to find the minimum bend radius for your material.
4. Creating a Sheet Metal Rule: Step-by-step guidance on setting up a rule that includes your material's bend radius.
5. Sketching & Modeling Techniques: Follow along as we create a new component, sketch, and fully constrain it to meet our design needs.
6. Implementing a Plywood Rule: Learn how to adjust sheet metal rules for materials like plywood.
7. Designing & Unfolding the Living Hinge: Watch as we unfold the hinge pattern, sketch the design, and apply constraints for precision.
8. Using User Parameters in Modeling: Understand how to integrate parameters like ply thickness, gap, and bar height in your model.
9. Finalizing the Design for Laser Cutting: Learn how to prepare your model for laser cutting, ensuring all elements are perfectly aligned and ready for manufacturing.
Why Watch This Tutorial?
- For Beginners & Pros: Whether you're new to Fusion 360 or looking to sharpen your skills, this tutorial caters to all levels.
- Practical Application: The skills you'll acquire are not just theoretical. Apply them in real-world laser cutting projects.
- Step-by-Step Guidance: No step is skipped. You get a thorough walk-through of each process, making it easy to follow along.
Additional Resources:
- Living Hinge Test Swatches Video: Refer to our previous video for in-depth insights into different patterns and bending capacities.
- Downloadable Resources:*Access sample files and resources to practice along with the tutorial.
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#AutodeskFusion360 #LivingHinge #LaserCutting #CADTutorial #3DModeling
This Fusion 360 tutorial shows you how to make parametric living hinges for cutting on a laser cutter. It uses the sheet metal function to define a material thickness and a minimum bend radius. Then you can unfold the sheet metal and cut your pattern for your living hinge into the material. You can also use the surface extrusion function to make extrusions from the cuts and then thicken them to the laser cutter kerf and cut those away from your model so you can see what you're living hinge will look like and make renders before you actually make the piece.
I first saw this technique on an Autodesk 360 live stream and thought it was a pretty cool idea and wanted to try it out. I added in a rounding function in the user parameters so you can automatically calculate an even number of cuts for the living hinge.
Bend plywood with a laser cutter
If you want to see the living hinge test swatch video, it is available here: • Living Hinges Minimum ...