I'm currently working on a master model video
which I'm expecting to release in the next few weeks. Before the actual video, I think it would be
a good idea to go through a simple master model exercise in order to get ourselves acquainted with
the mechanics of the workflow. If you would like to know more about the philosophy and benefits
of the master model or top-down design approach, I will provide a link to a previous video. In this
video, we will focus on understanding and managing both the browser and the timeline. This is the main
challenge in employing the master model workflow. In that respect, I will be speeding
through most of the sketch creation and feature creation processes. We will
be creating a simple box with two halves. The basic premise of the
master model approach is this: You start with the basic overall shape of the
assembly, split the main body into two and convert these two bodies into components. We can
then add in details at the component level. In most cases, when we start a model in Fusion,
it is always a good practice to start off with a new component. In the case of a master model
workflow, we will actually create a master model at the top level. The master model in this case
will be the overall shape of the assembled box. So unhide the top level primary
planes and start sketching. The first rule of the master
model approach is this: Any feature that is shared across the components
of the assembly should be done at the top level. The overall shape and the main fillets are
definitely shared features and so is the shell thickness, since we expect the two halves of
the box to share the same overall thickness. With the shared features done,
it is time to split the box. The split line in this case would also
be considered a shared feature since the two halves of the box would mate perfectly
along that split line. Create a split line and use the split body command to
split the box into two halves. Let's rename the bodies. Control select both of them and go
to create components from bodies. At this point, the top level
has become a sub-assembly. Also notice that the bodies folder no longer
exists at the top level. We have two components here. If we expand, we can see that the bodies
have been transferred over to each component. Looking at the timeline, we see
a component creation step. At this point, in order to better identify
the components, let's toggle on component color cycling by going to inspect.
The default colors are not always the best. You can right click on each
component to cycle through the colors. You can do this for the top level too. The color strip in the browser for each component
corresponds to the color of the component in the model space. The top level is currently
active. In the timeline, you can see the steps that were taken leading up to the component
creation. Since these are all actions taken at the top level, they have been grouped together
with the same colour strip as the top level. Now it's time to add details that are unique
to each housing. Let's label these housings. To change housing A, we need to activate it.
Once you activate, the inactive component turns translucent. Looking at the timeline, the
top level features have been hidden, with the exception of the component creation step, which is
labeled with the same color strip as the top level. We shall add a text sketch and extrude. After that is done, you can see that the
sketch and the extrude have been added as steps in the timeline. These have been
labeled with the same colors as the component. Let's activate the top level and
observe what happens to the timeline. We can see actions taken at the top level. We can
also see actions taken at the component level. So activating the top level gives you a universal
view of all features. So let's repeat the labeling process for housing B. The correct way would
be to activate housing B and create a sketch and extrude. Suppose that you forget to do that
and start a sketch while the top level is active. So let's try that and see what happens. Select
the face of housing B and start sketching. When you confirm the sketch, notice that the
sketch has been labeled the same color as the top level. The sketch now exists
in a sketch folder of the top level. Let's go ahead and perform an extruded cut anyway.
I'm going to drag the arrow down to perform a cut. Before I do that, pay close attention to
the top level and housing B in the browser. You can see that the actual command
has intelligently activated housing B to perform this cut. This is a temporary activation. Once we confirm the feature, we are back
to having the top level active again. You can see that this time, the extrude has
been labeled the same color as the component. So we have the sketch and the corresponding
extrude residing at a different hierarchy in the browser. This is not ideal. So you want
to be careful to make sure that you activate the relevant component every time you need to
add a feature unique to that component. So I'm going to repeat this in a proper fashion and fast
forward to the next step. All right, so now we have the sketch and the extrude both in housing B. Next,
let's create a lip on housing A. Activate housing A. Let's hide housing B. Create a sketch on a plane above the open face.
Project the external edges and create an offset. This will form the profile of the lip. Begin the extrude command. We need this
lip to follow the existing open face. Go to start and choose object. We
will select this face as the starting face. Unhide housing B and activate the top level. Just to recap, these are the text extrude features
for housing A. These are the text extrude features for housing B. And these are the lip features for
housing A. The top level timeline strictly follows the order of the features in which they have
been created. It does not attempt to arrange them in terms of components. You can always isolate
features for each component by activating them. For the last step, we need to create a
groove on housing B to accommodate the lip. We will use the lip on housing A to
cut into housing B. Activate housing B. Go to modify, combine. Select housing B as the target and housing A as the tool body. For operation, set
to cut. We want to keep housing A after this. So check on the keep tools option. Let's confirm. A combine step has been added to
housing B. Let's activate the top level. You can see that housing A does not contain a
combine step even though it was involved in that step. Only the target body, which is housing
B in this case, would have a step recorded. The main benefit of this workflow will be
apparent when it comes to making changes. We need to identify two types
of changes: master model level or component level. If you need to make a change
to the overall size of the box for instance, that would be a change on the master model. So
straight away, you should only focus on the segment of the timeline that deals with the master
model, locate the sketch and make that change. The change will propagate itself down to the
components. We can even shift the split line and everything down to the lip and groove
feature would regenerate accordingly. If you need to add details unique to
each component, activate the relevant component and you will see only the
features relevant to that component. This allows you to work on a component
without having a cluttered timeline. So the master model workflow
facilitates changes at the universal level and also plays a
part in better model management. So I hope that you have found this useful. Do keep
a look out for the next master model video.
