O.T., but only a little :-)

[jttoner]

I posted on the CAD forum, tried the search thing and nothing. I'm guessing I'm not the only Tormach guy using Fusion 360, so here goes. What's with the vanishing dimensions? I do the click on "Show Dimensions" when it takes a notion to appear. I'll have dimensions for a while, then just like the money in my business account, they magically vanish, never to be seen again. There are only two things I hate about F360. 1st, instead of being user friendly, it's user antagonistic. 2nd, the dimension thing. It's a CAD program and dimensions are really handy. I can only imagine a blue print without dimensions. I know there must be some way to make visible dimensions a default. I'm doing something wrong but have no idea what it is.

[jwatte]

That sounds annoying! I've never seen that, within a sketch.
Outside a sketch (in actual modeling,) then the dimensions are only visible for as long as a sketch is visible.
If you use the sketch to generate a feature, then the sketch is automatically hidden, and any dimensions that came from that sketch, are also hidden. Maybe that's what you're seeing?

[jttoner]

I believe you've got it. I usually hand code and it's important to see the dimensions. Typically I write the code while viewing a blueprint. Seems my expectations are wrong for CAD generated code.

[soofle616]

I'm not sure I know of any CAD program that will continue to show dimensions after you create a feature from a sketch. I know there are Feature dimensions in solidworks but I've not worked with them very much so I don't know how useful they are outside of adding them after the fact which is really just doubling your effort. Having spent a couple decades as an engineer and now a couple years as a machinist, there is definitely a separation between CADesign/CNC and CADrafting/manual machining. What most people now refer to as CAD is really just a solid model which is intended to be used either directly in a CAM package to generate code for a cnc and/or within the same CAD package's drawing function (different workspace in Fusion, different file type in Solidworks) to create the dimensioned drawing which can then be used to code manually, run manually, or inspect finished parts against.

Sounds like you're more of the CADrafting mentality which is still doable in Fusion. Create the model then create a drawing of it and bring in all the model dimensions. I haven't played with Fusion's drawing workspace much but I would assume there is a function to bring in the dimensions from the model without having to recreate them all. I know solidworks will do that.

[shred]

I haven't played with Fusion's drawing workspace much but I would assume there is a function to bring in the dimensions from the model without having to recreate them all. I know solidworks will do that.

I've used it a little and you can (relatively) easily add important dimensions to flat views of 3D parts in the drawing workspace.. If you then update the 3D model, it will redo the dimensions on the linked drawing.

If you just wanted to create sketches and work from those, then it's kind of a pain to keep dimensions around unless you use the Dimension tool and then it wants you to create reference dimensions so you don't over constrain the sketch. That gets annoying enough I'd think about finding another 2D CAD program if that's all I wanted to do.