3D Modeling and Assemblies
From profiles to solids, and from bodies to assemblies
In the Design workspace, create features build geometry from sketches and existing faces: Extrude, Revolve, Sweep, Loft, Hole, Rib, Web, and Thread. Modify features change existing geometry: Fillet, Chamfer, Shell, Draft, Combine, Split Body, Scale, and Mirror. Construction tools (Offset Plane, Axis, Point, Patch, Sculpt) support both. Bodies can be joined, cut, or intersected, and a component can hold many bodies.
Assemblies and joints
Fusion handles assemblies within the same document: insert or create components, then position them with joints. A rigid joint locks relative position; revolute, slider, cylindrical, pin-slot, planar, and ball joints allow specific motion. As-built joints capture the current relationship. Joint origins and their alignment matter, and components should generally be grounded or joined so the assembly is not free-floating. Motion studies and interference checks validate the result.
Concepts to know
Understand parametric history: features reference earlier geometry, so changing a sketch updates downstream features. Know that patterns (rectangular, circular, path) can replicate features, bodies, or components. Understand that a component's origin and joint origins are the reliable references for assembly work, not arbitrary faces.
Traps
Questions often suggest that a fillet can be applied before the edge exists, or that a joint fixes geometry without reference to a joint origin. Another trap is confusing body operations with component-level assembly constraints.
Rule of thumb
Model parts around the origin so that left and right versions mirror cleanly; place components with joints referenced to origins rather than to faces that may later change.