Fusion 360 thermal simulation, step by step

Fusion 360 workshop

Fusion 360 thermal simulation, step by step

Set the cup's inner surfaces to 80 C and the surrounding air to 25 C, then inspect the steady-state temperature distribution. Use the chosen material's thermal conductivity and a convection coefficient appropriate to the airflow.

New Study: Thermal

1. 1New Study: STUDY group, SIMULATION workspace.
2. 2Thermal: Select the tile labelled Thermal. Check the access requirements and charge shown for your account.
3. 3Create Study: Study 2 - Thermal appears under the same Simulation Model. Open Study Materials and confirm ABS Plastic.

On screen: Study 2 in the browser with its own Load Case1, Mesh and Results.

Applied Temperature: 80 C inside the cup

1. 1Thermal Loads: LOADS group. Select the cup floor and inner wall, then open Thermal Loads.
2. 2Cup floor and inner wall: Ctrl-click both. Bodies reads 2 Faces.
3. 3Type: Applied Temperature.
4. 4Temperature: 80 C for this example. This holds the selected faces at a fixed temperature throughout the study.
5. 5OK

On screen: The two inside faces shaded blue with a thermometer icon.

Convection on every other face: 10 W/m²K to 25 C

1. 1Thermal Loads: Select the outside faces first: rim, outer wall, base, and every face of the clamp.
2. 2Outside faces: Window-select the whole part, then Ctrl-click the two inside faces off. Bodies reads the count.
3. 3Type: Convection.
4. 4Coefficient: Enter 10 W/(m² K) for this exercise. The actual coefficient depends on airflow, surface orientation and geometry.
5. 5Ambient: 25 C.
6. 6OK

On screen: The outside faces shaded blue. Load Case1 under Study 2 holds two thermal loads.

Generate the mesh and solve

1. 1Mesh: Right-click Mesh under Study 2 > Generate Mesh.
2. 2Solve: SOLVE group.
3. 3Solve 1 Study: Cloud Credits reads 3 for Study 2. Study 1 shows Solved and is unticked.

On screen: When the solve finishes, open Results and select Temperature.

Result: temperature, 26 to 80 C

1. 1Temperature: Results list. Heat Flux and Thermal Gradient are the other two.
2. 2Inside the cup: 80 C, red. Held there by the load.
3. 3Clamp top: About 45 C, green.
4. 4Slot faces: Around 30 C in this example. The model does not include heat transfer into a separate desk body.

On screen: Yellow cup wall, green joint, blue clamp. Minimum 26.3 C on the far face of the clamp.