13.5: Designing a Wheel – Free Form Modeling using Autodesk Fusion

 
There are 8 design videos to walk the student through the design and modeling of a Wheel for the Clawbot. This Wheel will be integrated into the Clawbot assembly.  Click on the title of each section to review the content in the video.  Pause, rewind, fast forward and stop features are available as the student reviews the content.  The workflow in these videos includes:
Creating a new design
Assembling the Wheel Tread and Rim
Assembling the Frame
Assembling the Frame and Wheel
Rendering and Animating the Frame
Managing the Project and 3D Printing
 
 
Overview
 
Click here to download this video.
In this video, all the key phases to design and model the Wheel in Autodesk Fusion will be reviewed.  The key phases in the required workflow are reviewed.
 
Video 1: Create a New Design
 
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In this video, students start a new Project and create a Cylinder in the Sculpt Environment.  Using the Edit Form command and symmetry, the students will create the wheel design, using the ‘ALT 1’ and ‘ALT 3’ keyboard commands to switch between smooth displays.
 
Note: Metric equivalents 3.875” – 98.5mm, 0.85” – 21.6mm, 0.05” – 1.3mm, 0.1” – 2.5mm.
 
Note:  The files required for this activity must be downloaded, and data sets in Imperial and Metric units are available.  The data sets provided will work for Inventor version 2013 onward, and all versions of Fusion. Download and unzip these files and save them into a new project folder.
 
 
You will also need to download and unzip the 3D print files for the Clawbot Wheel project.  Save these files to the same project folder as the data sets.
 
 
Video 2: Assemble the Wheel Tread and Rim
 
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In this video, students will take their design from the Sculpt Environment to the Model environment.  They will cut the center of the Tread to match the Wheel Diameter using the Press Pull Command.  The Wheel hub is then inserted into the design and assembled with the tread. 
 
Note: All the dimensions stated are in imperial; the metric equivalents are 3.228" = 82mm, 4" = 101.6mm, 0.2” = 5.1mm. 
 
Video 3: Assemble the Frame
  
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In this video, students will upload the Clawbot frame and set up the connections and constraints in the parts.
 
Video 4: Assemble the Frame and Wheel
 
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In this video, students will change the Wheel and Tread Materials and assemble the wheel to the main robot frame.
 
Video 5: Render and Animate the Frame
 
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In this video, students will render and animate the assembly.

 
Video 6: Manage the Project and 3D Print
 
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In this video, students will share a Fusion Project, invite peers to the project, and export as a .STL file for 3D printing.
 
Here is an example of the 3D printed wheel on a VEX robot:
 
 
Summary
 
Click here to download this video.
 
In this video, students will review the key phases required to create and model a custom designed wheel.  To design and model the Wheel, the workflow consists of the following:
Creating a new design
Assembling the Wheel Tread and Rim
Assembling the Frame
Assembling the Frame and Wheel
Rendering and Animating the Frame
Managing the Project and 3D Printing
 
Want to try more projects based on VEX robots and other exciting challenges? Click the link to access the Autodesk Design Academy.