Fusion 360 to Glowforge

Glowforge Tips and Tricks
#1

Fusion 360 is a great 3D CAD software that is free for education and hobbyist use. Check out this video and follow along with the files to take your 3D designs from Fusion 360 and cut them out on your Glowforge laser.

If you upload the Fusion 360 Box file it is fully parametric so you can modify the dimensions and number of tabs to any measurements and everything will automatically update. This includes the material thickness.

BRENNAN_Fully_Parametric_Box_example_v1_v2_2021-Mar-15_01-46-59AM-000_CustomizedView6187513496_png_alpha
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BRENNAN_Fully_Parametric_Box_example_v1_v2_2021-Mar-15_01-48-48AM-000_CustomizedView42502893813_png
BRENNAN_Fully_Parametric_Box_example_v1_v2_2021-Mar-15_01-48-48AM-000_CustomizedView42502893813_png2100Ă—1500 178 KB
BRENNAN_Fully_Parametric_Box_example_v1_v2_2021-Mar-15_01-51-48AM-000_CustomizedView8148820446_png
BRENNAN_Fully_Parametric_Box_example_v1_v2_2021-Mar-15_01-51-48AM-000_CustomizedView8148820446_png2100Ă—1500 188 KB

There are a lot of great box generator websites out there if you want easy laser cut boxes like Boxes.py. This tutorial is to demonstrate my way of exporting any 3D files from Fusion 360 with the intention of laser cutting them. Here are the .svg files for the box above. It is .12" thick with a .25mm offset for a tight fit.
box

17 Likes
June 2022 Update
#2

Well done video and some interesting takes on things.

A couple of things to consider, I’ve come to find that since F360 is fully parametric it is mostly better to put kerf compensation in the F360 file.

Also, if you have not tried it, try the Shaper Origin plug in. It is free as well and outputs a :glowforge: ready SVG.

4 Likes
#3

FYI I was unable to save this to my “Watch Later” on YouTube because it is designated as “For Kids”. Not sure if that was intended.

Hope to watch later!

#4

Thanks for the tips!
As a teacher, this plugin is my “go to” for students who forget to accommodate for the laser kerf. I’ll have to try the Shaper Origin plugin, especially if it is one less step or file format to work with. I’ll still probably go through Illustrator to apply graphics, but I will definitely give it a go.

Would love to actually add a Shaper Origin to the arsenal. Thanks again for the feedback.

#5

Sorry for the inconvenience, but yes that was intended. I am a teacher and this helps prevent issues with our school filters. Hope the video is helpful in some way.