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01 Explore

Your Workshop

Open the CAD app for the first time - learn to orbit, zoom, and find every tool you'll need.

Beginner ~8 min

1. Know Your CAD Layout

1
Browser Tree (left panel)

Lists every sketch, body, and component.

2
Toolbar Ribbon (top)

Create, Modify, and Assemble buttons that change per workspace.

3
Timeline (bottom bar)

Every operation in order — drag the marker to reorder or roll back time.

The Timeline is one of the most powerful things in parametric CAD. Here's what you can do with it:

  • Right-click any feature to edit, suppress, or delete it — even if it's buried 20 steps back.
  • Drag features left or right to reorder operations (works as long as there are no dependencies that break).
  • Roll back the marker to insert a new sketch or feature mid-history without losing your later work.
  • A yellow warning on a feature means it has an error that needs attention.

2. Essential Shortcuts

The Four You'll Use Every Session

Memorize these before anything else — they'll cut your modeling time in half from day one.

Four Shortcuts That Cover Early Work
  • Orbit (Middle Mouse Drag) — rotate camera around the model.
  • Extrude (E) — push a sketch into a 3D shape.
  • Line (L) — draw lines in a sketch.
  • Dimension (D) — set exact sizes on sketch geometry.

3. Practice Exercise: Model a Lego Brick

Let's put everything together by modeling a Lego brick from scratch. Open Fusion 360, start a new design, and follow each step below.

1
Create the Base Sketch

Press S and search for Sketch, or click the Sketch icon in the toolbar. Select the Top plane. Draw a rectangle, then type 20, press Tab, type 20, and press Enter to size it. You can also press D to dimension edges manually. You do not need to type units.

Selecting the Top plane and starting a sketch in Fusion 360
2
Extrude the Base Body

Press E (or click the Extrude icon in the toolbar). The sketch profile should be selected automatically. Type 10 and click OK or press Enter. Press Escape to exit the tool. You now have a solid 20×20×10mm block — the body of the brick.

Extruded base block in Fusion 360
3
Sketch the Studs on Top

Click on the top face of the block to select it, then start a new Sketch. Press C to activate the Circle tool. Draw 4 circles — diameter and position don't matter yet. Shift-click all 4, then press D and click any circle's edge to dimension them all to 5mm diameter. Then dimension the spacing: 7.5mm between centers, and 5mm from each edge to the nearest center.

4 stud circles sketched and dimensioned on the top face
4
Extrude the Studs

Press E again. Click inside each circle profile to select all 4. Extrude them up by 5mm. Press Enter or click OK. Your completed Lego brick with 4 studs is ready!

Completed Lego brick with 4 extruded studs in Fusion 360
⚙

Challenge

Use the extrude demo to create a shape exactly 30mm tall.

⚠ Predict First

If you double the extrusion height, what happens to the volume of the shape?

Extrude pulls a 2D sketch profile along an axis to create a 3D solid.

Key parameters: Distance (how far), Direction (one side, symmetric, or both), Operation (new body, join, cut, intersect).

Volume = Cross-section area x Height

Guided Exploration
  1. Start with a small extrusion (10mm). Observe the shape.
  2. Double it to 20mm. How did the proportions change visually?
  3. Now try a very large value. At what point does the shape look unreasonable for a real part?
Pause and Reflect
✓ Your reflections are saved automatically
Apply What You Learned

Your team needs a simple L-bracket for a robot chassis mount. Plan the modeling steps by checking off each item below.

  • Identify which plane you would start your sketch on
  • List the sketch tools you would need (lines, rectangles, circles)
  • Decide whether you would use one extrude or multiple features
  • Consider what fillets or chamfers the bracket might need
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