Fusion 360 cup holder: modelling, step by step

Fusion 360 workshop

Fusion 360 cup holder: modelling, step by step

Build the clamp, add the cup body, cut the cavity, and round the edges. The dimensions are given beside each step. Set the desk thickness as a parameter so you can adjust the fit later.

Create Sketch on the XZ plane

1. 1Create Sketch: First icon in the CREATE group. The three origin planes appear in the middle of the screen.
2. 2XZ plane: Select the origin plane labelled XZ. Use the plane label rather than its apparent direction in the current view.

On screen: The ViewCube reads FRONT, a grid fills the canvas and the toolbar switches to the SKETCH tab.

Rectangle: 40 wide, 60 tall, from the origin

Shown with the slot rectangle from the next step already drawn.

1. 1Rectangle: CREATE group, or press R.
2. 2Origin: Click the origin point for the first corner.
3. 360.00: Enter 60 mm in the height field. Check the active dimension, then press Tab to switch fields.
4. 440.00: Enter 40 mm in the width field and press Enter. Confirm that the origin corner and both dimensions are constrained.

On screen: A black rectangle above and to the right of the origin, 40 wide and 60 tall. Blue geometry still has movement available; check its dimensions and constraints.

Second rectangle: the desk slot, 28 by 25

1. 1Rectangle: R again.
2. 2Right edge: First corner on the right edge of the block, about a third of the way down. The edge highlights and the corner snaps onto it.
3. 325.00: Drag left and down. Type 25, Tab. The slot height.
4. 428.00: Type 28, Enter. The slot depth.

On screen: A second rectangle inside the first, open on the right. Its vertical position is still blue.

Dimension the slot 17.5 mm from the top

1. 1Sketch Dimension: CREATE group, or press D.
2. 217.50: Click the top line of the slot, then the top line of the block, move right, click to place. Type 17.5, Enter.

On screen: Every line is black. The slot is centred: (60 - 25) / 2 = 17.5.

Trim the two edge segments inside the slot

1. 1Trim: MODIFY group, or press T.
2. 2The edge inside the slot: Hover the block edge between the two slot lines. It turns red. Click.
3. 3The same place again: Two lines sit on top of each other there: the block edge and the slot side. Click once more so both are gone and one C-shaped profile remains.

On screen: The shaded area is now C-shaped. If the shading disappears a needed line was trimmed: Ctrl+Z.

Finish Sketch, then Extrude 30 mm

1. 1Extrude: Click FINISH SKETCH (green tick, top right) first. Then CREATE > Extrude, or press E.
2. 2The C profile: Click inside the C. It highlights blue and an arrow appears.

On screen: A grey C block 30 mm deep. Body1 under Bodies in the browser; Sketch1 and Extrude1 in the timeline, bottom left. This is checkpoint 1.

Sketch on the XY plane: an 80 mm circle

1. 1XY under Origin: Create Sketch, then click XY in the browser (expand Origin). This is the plane the clamp stands on.
2. 2Circle: CREATE group, or press C.
3. 3Centre: Click about 35 mm left of the block and 15 mm above the red axis. Type 80, Enter.

On screen: A blue circle overlapping the closed side of the block. The ViewCube reads TOP.

Dimension the centre: 35 from the wall, 15 along it

1. 1Sketch Dimension: Press D.
2. 235.00: Click the circle centre, then the origin, pull down, click. Type 35, Enter.
3. 315.00: D again. Click the centre, then the red X axis, pull left, click. Type 15, Enter.

On screen: The circle turns black. Its centre sits 35 mm behind the closed wall, so the circle overlaps the wall by 5 mm.

Finish Sketch, Extrude 28 mm, Join

1. 1Extrude: Select a closed profile, then check the distance and operation in Extrude.
2. 2The circle: Click inside it.
3. 3Distance: 28. Upwards, out of the plane.
4. 4Operation: Join. If it reads New Body, change it.
5. 5OK

On screen: A drum joined to the clamp. Bodies in the browser still shows one entry, Body1. This is checkpoint 2.

Checkpoint 2: one body, drum and clamp

1. 1Bodies: Expand it. One entry means the drum joined. Two entries means it did not.
2. 2Drum: 80 mm across, 28 tall, standing on the same base as the clamp.

On screen: Timeline: Sketch1, Extrude1, Sketch2, Extrude2.

Sketch on top of the drum: a 70 mm circle

1. 1Circle: Create Sketch, click the flat top of the drum, then press C.
2. 2Centre snap: Hover the middle of the face until the centre marker appears, click. Type 70, Enter.

On screen: A black circle inside the drum outline. Black at once, because its centre is locked to the face centre.

Extrude -20 mm: Cut

1. 1Extrude: Select a closed profile, then check the distance and operation in Extrude.
2. 2Inside the circle: Click. The disc highlights blue.
3. 3Distance: -20. Minus, so it goes down into the drum.
4. 4Operation: Cut. Fusion picks it because the profile sits inside a body. Check it.
5. 5OK

On screen: The preview goes red inside the drum: material being removed.

Checkpoint 3: the cup, 8 mm floor and 5 mm wall

Shown with the C4 fillets already on the clamp.

1. 1Floor: 28 - 20 = 8 mm thick.
2. 2Wall: (80 - 70) / 2 = 5 mm, and it runs straight into the clamp wall.

On screen: Home view: the house icon above the ViewCube. Timeline has six features.

Edit Sketch1 from the timeline, fillet a corner

Shown with all six fillets already in place.

1. 1Sketch1 in the timeline: Double-click the first icon, bottom left. The model rolls back to the C profile and the sketch opens.
2. 2Fillet: MODIFY group of the SKETCH tab.
3. 3A corner: Click the top line, then the left line. A fillet appears with an R label. Double-click the label, type 3, Enter.

On screen: A 3 mm radius on that corner, labelled R3.00.

Four outside corners at 3 mm, two slot corners at 1 mm

Capture taken before the slot radii were changed from 5 to 1.

1. 1Top left, 3: Top line, then left line.
2. 2Top right, 3: Top line, then right line.
3. 3Bottom left, 3: Bottom line, then left line.
4. 4Bottom right, 3: Bottom line, then right line.
5. 5Slot top, 1: Inside the slot, at its closed end. Small, so a square desk edge still seats.
6. 6Slot bottom, 1: Same. Then FINISH SKETCH.

On screen: Six fillets, six R labels, everything still black.

Checkpoint 4: everything downstream rebuilds

1. 1Rounded corners: The extrude, the drum and the cup all rebuilt on the new profile. Nothing else needed editing.
2. 2Timeline: Still six features. A yellow triangle on one means a fillet consumed a line the slot needed: Ctrl+Z, smaller radius.

On screen: Home view. The slot has rounded inner corners; the cup is untouched.

Change Parameters: a user parameter called desk

1. 1MODIFY > Change Parameters: Bottom of the MODIFY menu. A table opens listing every dimension in the model.
2. 2+ beside User Parameters: Name desk, unit mm, expression 25. OK.
3. 3desk: Appears under User Parameters.
4. 425 mm: Its expression. Measure the desk it is for; 25 here.

On screen: One user parameter above the Model Parameters list.

Point the slot dimensions at the parameter

1. 1d4 expression: Linear Dimension-5 is the slot height, 25 mm. Double-click its expression cell, type desk, Enter.
2. 2d5 expression: Linear Dimension-6 is the 17.5. Type ( 60 mm - desk ) / 2 so the slot stays centred.

On screen: Values still read 25.00 and 17.50. The model has not moved; it now knows where the numbers come from.

Change desk to 30, then 20, then back to 25

1. 1The slot: Only the slot and its two 1 mm fillets move. The cup, the drum and the outside corners stay put.

On screen: The part rebuilds each time in under a second. Ctrl+S: this file is checkpoint 5 and the one both simulations use.