Derive#

Overview#

Derive links design content from one Fusion design to another so that the destination stays in sync with the source. It is the workflow for "one master model, many downstream designs": a master part feeding a fixture design, a CAM setup design, a mold, a drawing design, or a simplified version for a bigger assembly.

Per Autodesk's help, there are two directions:

• Derive pushes content from the active (source) design into a new or existing design. You find it in the Create menu.
• Insert Derive pulls content from another design into the active design. You find it under Insert (Insert > Insert Derive) and should activate the target component first.

In both cases, updating the source updates the derived content in the destination.

What can be derived (Autodesk's Derived design features page): components, bodies, sketches, construction geometry, sheet metal flat patterns, favorite parameters and feature parameters.

Where to find it#

• Derive: Design workspace > Solid tab > Create > Derive (menu location per Autodesk help).
• Insert Derive: Solid tab > Insert > Insert Derive.
• Both tools add a Derive feature to the destination's Timeline, and derived items appear in the Browser and canvas. Derived parameters appear in the Parameters dialog.
• Edit options: right-click the Derive feature in the Timeline and choose Edit Derive Feature (the source design opens in a new tab with the Edit Derived Design dialog), Break Link or Delete.
• Autodesk's help does not describe an out-of-date indicator or update command in these pages (see the Note under Keep in sync).

Step by step#

Push to a new design (Derive)#

1. Open the source design and ensure it is saved.
2. Choose Create > Derive.
3. In the Derive dialog, choose the destination: Create New Design or Add To Existing Design. For a new design, choose a Derive type: Model Objects (selected objects from any internal component) or One Component As Design (the contents of a single component).
4. Select components, bodies, sketches or construction geometry in the canvas or Browser. Optionally check Place Objects At Origin, and check Favorites (all favorite parameters) and/or From Components (all feature parameters of the selected components) to derive parameters.
5. Click OK (for an existing design, then pick the design). Fusion creates or updates the destination design with linked content.
6. The design opens in a new document tab; continue modeling around the derived content.

Pull into the current design (Insert Derive)#

1. Open the destination design. Activate the component that should contain the derived content (double-click it in the Browser).
2. Choose Insert > Insert Derive, navigate to the source design and click Select.
3. Select design features in the Browser or canvas; they are listed in the dialog. Click OK.
4. A Derive feature is added to the timeline and the content appears in the active component.

Keep in sync#

1. Edit the source design (change a parameter, adjust a body) and save it.
2. Open the destination design. Autodesk's help says changes made in the original design are reflected in the destination design.
3. Features built on the derived geometry recompute. Check for timeline errors.

Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: whether Fusion shows an out-of-date indicator and exactly which command refreshes a derive. You can also right-click the Derive feature and choose Edit Derive Feature, which opens the source design.

Use parameters#

1. In the Derive dialog, check Favorites and/or From Components to include parameters from the source.
2. In the destination, derived parameters appear in the Parameters dialog and you can reference them in your own equations. Autodesk's help does not say whether they are read-only; edit them in the source design.
3. Change the value in the source and update the destination.

Break the link#

If you want a one-time copy, break the link: in the destination design right-click the Derive feature in the timeline or browser and choose Break Link (press Shift to select several Derive features). Autodesk's help says the link is broken and the derived objects are converted to base features in the timeline.

To delete a Derive feature, right-click it in the Timeline and choose Delete; the Derive feature and all derived design features associated with it are permanently deleted from the destination.

Options reference#

Tips and pitfalls#

Tip: Treat the source as read-only from the destination's perspective. Edit the part in its own design, not in the derived one.

Tip: To derive from a configuration, open the Configured Design, choose Create > Derive and select the Configuration to derive; with Insert Derive, pick the configured design and then a configuration in the Select Configuration dialog.

Tip: Derive a layout sketch with key dimensions and parameters, then build the destination parts around it ("skeleton model").

Warning: Renaming or deleting source geometry that the destination references can leave broken features downstream. Coordinate changes, and read timeline errors in the destination after updating.

Warning: Derive is a link between files. If you move or rename a source in the data panel, check that links are still intact; keep project structure stable.

Warning: Derive is different from External References (assembly-level insertion of a design as a component), though they live near each other. Use Insert Derive when you want to work with the geometry as features; insert a design as a component when you want an assembly member. Autodesk lists collaboration in top-down assemblies, shared parameters from one F3D file, reuse, and cutting several sheet metal flat patterns from one sheet as typical uses.

Derive versus alternatives:

Team practices#

• Name source designs clearly and keep them in a shared project.
• Agree who owns the master. Changes flow one direction.
• Put key parameters in the master with comments so downstream users know what is safe to reference.

Worked example: a fixture around a part, with numbers#

Master design Bracket: a plate 60 x 40 x plate_t (6 mm) with four 5 mm holes at 8 mm from each edge.

1. In Bracket, define plate_t = 6 mm, hole_d = 5 mm, edge = 8 mm. Save.
2. Create > Derive to a new design Bracket Fixture, choosing the component and checking From Components (or favoriting the parameters and checking Favorites).
3. In the fixture, make a base block 80 x 60 x 15 mm and cut a pocket for the bracket: pocket_d = plate_t + 1 mm deep (7 mm) so the part sits 1 mm proud for clamping, and 0.2 mm of clearance per side (60.4 x 40.4 mm).
4. Add locating pins of hole_d - 0.1 mm (4.9 mm) at the hole positions, using derived sketch points.
5. In the master, change plate_t to 8 mm. Save.
6. Open the fixture. The pocket depth becomes 9 mm automatically.

If you instead typed 7 mm into the pocket, the fixture would silently stop fitting. The derived parameter is the whole point.

Derive versus Insert as external component#

Sync behavior in detail#

1. Edit and save the source.
2. Open the destination. Features that consume derived faces recompute; look for yellow or red icons in the timeline.
3. If the source's geometry changed topology (for example you added a fillet to the edge your fixture references), references may attach to different faces or fail. Review the destination after every update.
4. If several designs derive from one master, update the leaf designs one at a time, then the assemblies that include them.

Naming, structure and ownership#

Treat the master as a library. Keep it in a shared project, with a clear owner, and give the parameters you intend to share a recognizable prefix (pub_plate_t). Parameters without the prefix are free to change without warning. Document in a comment which downstream designs use each parameter. Renaming a source parameter breaks downstream expressions, so add a new parameter and deprecate the old one instead.

When to break the link#

Break the link when the downstream design should freeze at the current master version (for example a released manufacturing fixture that must not change when the master evolves) or when you want to edit the derived geometry directly. After breaking, the objects are base features in the destination timeline. Save a version first, because you should not assume breaking can be undone after the file is saved and closed.

Failure modes and fixes#

Practice exercise#

Build a master part and two downstream designs, then test sync and link breaking.

1. Create Bracket as described: parameters plate_t (6 mm), hole_d (5 mm), edge (8 mm). Save a version note.
2. Derive the component and its parameters into a new design Bracket Fixture. Build the base block, a pocket of depth plate_t + 1 mm with 0.2 mm clearance per side, and four pins of diameter hole_d - 0.1 mm.
3. Create a third design Bracket Drawing Model using Insert Derive (activate the target component first) that brings only the body, without parameters, and simplify it by deleting the holes.
4. In the master, change plate_t to 8 mm and hole_d to 6 mm. Save. Open the fixture and confirm the pocket depth is 9 mm and the pins are 5.9 mm.
5. Rename edge in the master and observe which downstream features fail. Undo the rename and add a new parameter instead.
6. In the drawing model, Break Link. Verify the derived objects now appear as base features in the timeline, then change plate_t in the master again and confirm the drawing model does not update.
7. Note the file save sequence you used and write a three-line ownership note.

Expected result: a fixture that follows the master, a frozen model after Break Link, and a clear rule for renaming shared parameters.

Related#

• Configurations
• User parameters and equations
• Timeline errors