Second, because the stand is symmetrical, we’ll design the left half before creating the right with the Mirror command.

First, the angle of the stand is critical. I’m taking this approach for two reasons. In this case, I’d like to start by creating the side of the laptop stand. Nearly all sheet metal parts will start with a single face. With our component active, we’re ready to start sketching. Note that Sheet Metal Components are differentiated in the Fusion 360 Browser via the folded sheet metal icon, while regular components are indicated with a gray cube. Later on, we’ll take a look at creating a custom Sheet Metal rule. Sheet metal rules describe sheet metal characteristics and how the parts are manufactured.įor example, I’ll start with the Aluminum option. This is what separates a Sheet Metal Component from a standard Component. Lastly, we need to define our sheet metal rule. “Activate” should remain checked, as we’d like to immediately start working on this part. Just note that you can clear this at any time, followed by selecting the desired parent component. We’d like this to be the “Root” or top-level component. This ensures our component is created directly within our current file.ĭefine a component or “part” name, such as “Aluminum Laptop Stand.”īy default, the parent option is applied to whichever component is active in the Browser. In other words, all of our designs exist within this file, so the default internal option will work.

This laptop stand is a single-part design, so we’ll be using the Top-down modeling approach. This will allow us to define the sheet metal thickness, K-factor, and additional information about the material.

If you activate the New Component feature from anywhere else, simply select Sheet Metal from the Type dropdown.ĭesignating our component as a Sheet Metal type is required to assign a sheet metal rule. Activate “New Component” from within the Sheet Metal tab, which automatically sets the component “Type” as a Sheet Metal Component.

Head to the Sheet Metal tab in the toolbar, where you’ll find all of the sheet metal tools. In Fusion 360, you’ll start all sheet metal designs by creating a New Component. We’ll discuss beginner-friendly workflows, the new Geometric pattern feature, and additional tips for success with sheet metal. Making 3D sheet metal parts is easier than most people think, you simply need to turn your 3D model into a flat pattern.ĭesigning for sheet metal is quite easy in Fusion 360. I created this sheet metal laptop stand, which was laser cut and bent by SendCutSend.

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