Fusion 360 Rule#1

JW- I am not following you? You cannot create a Component BEFORE you make the first part (by "part" I assume you mean Body in Fusion language) You could do it before you make the second body. But why is this important? You can create multiple bodies in one file and then go back and create Components from them independently.
Robert
 
What is the real difference between and Body and a Component. I get that the software treats them differently but why? Why are Bodies not automatically treated as Components so I could select a Body and place it in an Assembly?
Bodies are used for construction purposes. You often will have a component that has only one body, so maybe that's where it doesn't make sense to you? Creating it as a component, or converting it to one right after you draw it places the bodie(s), sketches, and everything else related to it in one place. You then can group these components together into assemblies (before or after the fact) that help to organize the project.
Here's an extreme example. This is a single component made from 15 bodies. It didn't have to be made this way, but it illustrates the point. Lots o bodies, one component that represents the thing you actually want to work with. each piece of wood is a body.
pallet.PNG

Furthermore, after I convert to a Component does that limit my ability to revise or edit it? Can I convert a Component back to an Body? I guess I am trying to understand why this is fundamentally necessary and not just "because the program says so."
You wouldn't ever convert it back to a body (no need) but you can edit it as much as you want.

At what point should I convert a Body to a Component when drawing? As soon as I have a 3D object? Again, if this is the case why doesn't the program treat all 3D objects as Components?
This is where rule #1 comes in. Create the component, then start drawing it. Further, if you are starting an assembly you can create the assembly first, (which is just a component with other components inside of it) and then create the component inside of it. Here I created a component called "Pulley Subassembly" and then did nothing more with it except to create each of the four components inside of it.
pulley assembly.PNG

I usually create components in different files and then put them together in an assembly in another file. That is simple enough. Maybe that is what I am missing? Are you saying I should do all the work in one drawing (file) with multiple components?
Creating the components first as separate entities, and then assembling them is the "old"method called "bottom up" design. Fusion 360 promotes the idea of "top down" design where parts are created and assembled as you move along. Everything is indeed done in one drawing with multiple components as you see above. You can also save these components out to separate files if you want to reuse them in another design.
 
JW- I am not following you? You cannot create a Component BEFORE you make the first part (by "part" I assume you mean Body in Fusion language) You could do it before you make the second body. But why is this important? You can create multiple bodies in one file and then go back and create Components from them independently.
Robert
Sorry, not true. You absolutely can create the component first as shown above, and in fact is how you should do it.
 
Hey thanks for the explanation. I am starting to see the light. It appears it is more of a file architecture style issue (top down design.) I can also see where creating a specific component would be essential for Joints. Otherwise you don't know what moves with what.

Sorry, not true. You absolutely can create the component first as shown above, and in fact is how you should do it.

Hmmm. I tried that. I did not have a "create component" menu choice until I created a body first. Where am I missing that?

Also, why does this matter? I could draw 4 different bodies in the same file and then go back and make all 4 individual components.
I guess I don't understand this statement "If you wait for the second part, then the first one is on a different level and is not like the others. "

Robert

EDIT:
I just figured it all out! I will leave the comments above in case any one else can learn from this.
First of all, I missed the "create new component" command. Previously I was only "creating components from bodies" so that command was absent if there was no body drawn. That was demonstrated in a tutorial.
Secondly, once you create components, one of them must be active. If you draw a new body in the file it will be part of the active component by default. (even if it is not physically contiguous.) None of this is well explained in the tutorials I saw.
It is still true that you could create several bodies first and then convert them independently to components. I do not see why that would be a problem.
Lars first video really does cover this fairly well as VTCNC noted.
Thank you guys for your help in clarifying this. I now have a much better understanding of how the software rules work.

Robert
 
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What is the real difference between and Body and a Component. . . . I usually create components in different files and then put them together in an assembly in another file. That is simple enough. Maybe that is what I am missing? Are you saying I should do all the work in one drawing (file) with multiple components?

You could [create a component] before you make the second body. But why is this important? You can create multiple bodies in one file and then go back and create Components from them independently.

A component is merely a container that can contain bodies. Components control and organize certain aspects for the bodies they contain. For example, bodies in a component move together within an assembly, according to the joint constraints applied to the component relative to other components. If you don't have multiple parts that can move relative to each other using joints, there is less point to using multiple components. Additionally, a component's sketches exist in a folder on the same level as the folder containing the bodies, so organizing a design into multiple components can help organize sketches even if there is no need for parts to move using joints. Finally, components can be renamed, which can further help organize multiple "parts" in your design. (I put "parts" in quotes because distinct physical parts could be organized into distinct bodies or distinct components; hopefully you will start to see the benefit of using components to organize the physical parts in a design.)

When you create a new design in F360, it is capable of acting as an assembly or as a single component. As you will see in the "browser" (which is the tree of your design in the top left, a "new design" starts with an unnamed component as the top level. So every design already has a component--it is the container that holds geometry. If you simply start making bodies (e.g., sketch and then extrude from the sketch), that creates a body in your master component for the design.

The point of rule #1 is to create a subcomponent before you do anything else. That way, when you begin to create sketches and geometry, you do so within the context of that subcomponent. It keeps your sketches organized. But the real importance of doing this is when you end up with more than one component in your ultimate design.

As Robert recognizes, it is possible to create physical parts as separate designs and then pull them together into a design that is the assembly of the separate designs. Since the original design was in fact a component, this makes sense and the original design is merely one subcomponent in the new design (the assembly). To do this, you right click on the original design in the Data Panel and select Insert into Current Design. The original design is linked, so changes to the original also affect the new design. I would say that, although possible, this is less efficient than working within a single design and using subcomponents. It can be an effective way to recover from a design where you started creating geometry without first creating a subcomponent.
 
It is still true that you could create several bodies first and then convert them independently to components. I do not see why that would be a problem.
Robert
It's only a problem when you create several bodies from different sketches and then convert them to components. It's not that you can't do it, but at some point, you'll find that the related sketches can't be moved into their respective components. Now they're sitting inside a sketch folder that has nothing to do with the component, which could create hassles later when you try to find them. You aren't prevented from doing it, it just sort of spoils some of the benefit.
 
It's only a problem when you create several bodies from different sketches and then convert them to components. It's not that you can't do it, but at some point, you'll find that the related sketches can't be moved into their respective components. Now they're sitting inside a sketch folder that has nothing to do with the component, which could create hassles later when you try to find them. You aren't prevented from doing it, it just sort of spoils some of the benefit.

Yes, you lose sketch history. I really struggled with this until I watched some of the basic videos that help you understand bodies vs. components.
 
I am still having some issues with sketches, bodies and components. In my latest design, I drew several bodies and then converted them to components (not following rule #1.) Now that they are converted and are part of an assembly, I have lost any ability to see the timeline or the underlying sketches. Is this normal? Would this be different if I created the component first and then added the sketches?
Robert
 
I'm not a Fusion expert by any means but what I do is to create a blank component then create a sketch in that component. Then all the sketches, bodies, etc... are part of that component. You can even nest components inside components. The main thing I have to remember is to make the component active (by clicking the radio button at the end of the name) if I want to add any new sketches to that component.
 
I am still having some issues with sketches, bodies and components. In my latest design, I drew several bodies and then converted them to components (not following rule #1.) Now that they are converted and are part of an assembly, I have lost any ability to see the timeline or the underlying sketches. Is this normal? Would this be different if I created the component first and then added the sketches?
Robert
The sketches are still there, they are just in whatever component or assembly was active when you first created them. They can be moved to be with the component as long as you haven't created any other components yet. I don't know the rule, but there seems to be a point where you're stuck if you don't clean up everything right away.
 
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