It’s one of those underrated tools that you’re probably not using but continue reading and you’ll see why you need to start taking advantage of the Web tool in Fusion 360. The Web tool provides a quick and super efficient way to add cross braces to your designs for increased strength but you can also get creative with it anytime you need to design some thin walls. I recently took advantage of this tool when designing a GoPro bracket that I attached to my 3D print bed for taking time lapse video of my prints.
Step 1
Examples of the Web Tool - The Practical and The Aesthetically Pleasing
The image above illustrate the different ways you can use the web tool. The image on the left shows the cross braces on my 3D printed bracket. These serve a practical purpose in that they add strength to the part. With Santa’s sleigh I used the Web tool to design the little swirlies which not only make it look more pretty but also makes it possible to 3D print the part on its side.
Step 2 - The Problem
The bracket in the above image doesn’t have any cross braces and therefore it wobbles around and is a bit unsteady when attached to my print bed. Let’s tweak the design by using the Web tool to add the cross braces.
Step 3 - Create Sketch
In order to use the web tool to create the braces, we first need to create a sketch. Since I want to add braces on the inside of my bracket, we’ll start by creating a sketch on the inside bottom surface.
After creating the sketch, we can then use the Line tool to draw lines where we want the cross braces to go. Click Stop Sketch once you complete drawing your lines.
Step 4 - The Web Tool
Next we’ll grab the Web tool which can be found in the Create menu. Click on the line that you would like to turn into a thin wall.
If your lines are all connected, you’ll see one continuous extruded wall. If not, you can simply hold the CTRL key to select multiple lines.
If nothing happens after selecting your lines, you’ll want to click on the Flip Direction button to allow the lines to extrude in the opposite direction.
The thickness of the walls can be changed by simply entering the value in the dialog box.
The Depth Option can also be changed to specify a depth instead of selecting the Too Next option, which will extrude the walls to next available surface.
Once you are happy with your settings, click OK.
Step 5 - Watch Video of Entire Process
That’s it! See how easy it was to create thin walls with the Web tool. This also works with other sketch entities. Give it a try with arcs and splines. And if you’re ready to master Fusion 360 to create your own designs, visit desktopmakes.com to get started.
Here’s a video of the entire process:
My big aha! moment with Fusion 360 happened when I finally understood how to use Constraints. Get my free Fusion 360 Constraint Cheat Sheet and see what I mean.
