Sheet Metal and Plastic Design#

This section covers designing sheet metal and plastic parts in Fusion. For sheet metal it follows the path from rules (thickness, bend radius, K-factor, reliefs) through flanges, contour flanges, bends and corners to unfold, refold and a flat pattern with DXF export.

For plastic it covers plastic rules, draft and wall thickness, bosses, ribs, webs and rests, and lip, groove and snap-fit joints. A design-for-manufacture page covers both. It is for beginners starting sheet metal and intermediate to advanced users designing molded enclosures.

Pages in this section#

1. Sheet Metal Workflow Overview (beginner): How sheet metal design works in Fusion: the Sheet Metal tab, components, rules, and the path from concept to flat pattern.
2. Sheet Metal Rules (intermediate): Define thickness, bend radius, K-factor, reliefs and corner behaviour so your flat pattern matches what the shop actually bends.
3. Flange: Base and Edge (beginner): Create a base flange from a sketch and grow walls with edge flanges: width types, height datums, bend position, miter.
4. Contour Flange (intermediate): Build multi-bend channels, brackets and covers from one open sketch profile, standalone or attached to an existing edge.
5. Bend, Rip and Corner Treatments (intermediate): Turn sharp joints into bends, split corners with Rip, and control reliefs and corner gaps so the part is bendable.
6. Unfold and Refold (intermediate): Temporarily flatten bends so you can sketch and cut across them, then refold to the formed shape.
7. Flat Pattern and DXF Export (intermediate): Create the flat pattern, check it, and export a clean DXF with bend lines for laser, waterjet and punch fabrication.
8. Plastic Rules, Draft and Wall Thickness (intermediate): Set up plastic rules, draft angles and uniform wall thickness so injection molded parts fill, cool and eject cleanly.
9. Boss, Rib, Web and Rest (advanced): Add screw bosses, stiffening ribs and webs, and flat mounting rests to plastic parts using Fusion's plastic features.
10. Lip, Groove and Snap Fit (advanced): Join enclosure halves with a lip and groove and cantilever snap fits driven by plastic rules and sketch points.
11. Design for Manufacture: Sheet Metal and Molding (advanced): Practical rules for sheet metal and injection molded parts so your model survives contact with a real shop.

Before you start#

Sheet metal tools are part of the standard Design workspace. Autodesk lists Boss, Snap Fit, Lip, Rest and Plastic Rules, plus the draft and fillet options of Rib and Web, as Design Extension tools; without the extension those commands are locked, though standard Shell, Draft, Rib and Web remain in the Solid tab. Personal-use licenses have limits on some export and manufacturing features, so check Autodesk's current license comparison.