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CNC CLASS (/class/CNC-Class/): LESSON 2

FLAT PACK FURNITURE

with JON-A-TRON (/member/JON-A-TRON/)

(/file/FQX6Z39IY4Q4OSR/)

This lesson will demonstrate a step-by-step method of designing a at-pack / friction- t table for CNC fabrication.

I've been doing at-pack / friction t projects for more than 10 years. I've learned a lot of tricks that I'm about to pass on to
you, and if you stick with me I think you'll learn some really useful concepts and techniques that will serve you will with any
kind of fabrication, especially CNC.
FLAT PACK / FRICTION FIT
You're going to design a table that's at-packed and friction- t. Flat-pack refers to its being made of interlocking at parts,
and friction- t means it can be assembled so that the friction between the pieces will hold it together without any
fasteners.

The example in the lesson has 7 parts in total. Two legs, four stiffeners, and one table top. The stiffeners provide lateral
stability to keep the table from twisting or wobbling.
 The Fusion Interface

Fusion 360 has a great Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiMwMz3RMbW5mbx0iDcRQ2g) with

lots of helpful videos. If you're the type of person who likes to learn software by going through every function it can
perform, this channel is a good place to start. The overview here should get you pretty well oriented to the interface and
give you an idea of how the program works.

But before we dive into a full- edged 3D model, I'll quickly run through the interface.

PRO TIP: Use a 3-button mouse (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BTRRBNG/?tag=instructabl09-20)! It's so much easier

than using a trackpad.

1. Application bar: Access the Data Panel, le operations, save, undo and redo.

2. Pro le and help: In Pro le, you can control your pro le and account settings, or use the help menu to continue your

learning or get help in troubleshooting.

3. Toolbar: Use the Toolbar to select the workspace you want to work in, and the tool you want to use in the workspace

selected.

4. ViewCube: Use the ViewCube to orbit your design or view the design from standard view positions.

5. Browser: The browser lists objects in your design. Use the browser to make changes to objects and control visibility of

objects.

6. Canvas and marking menu: Left click to select objects in the canvas (the space where you make your models). Right-
click to access the marking menu. The marking menu contains frequently used commands in the wheel and all

commands in the over ow menu.

7. Timeline: The timeline lists operations performed on your design. Right-click operations in the timeline to make

changes. Drag operations to change the order they are calculated.

8. Navigation bar and display settings: The navigation bar contains commands used to zoom, pan, and orbit your design.

The display settings control the appearance of the interface and how designs are displayed in canvas.
 Canvas Navigation

There are three ways to manipulate the view of your design:

Navigation Bar

ViewCube

Wheel button on a mouse

Navigation Bar

The navigation bar is positioned at the bottom of the canvas. It provides access to navigation commands. The menus on the
right end control Display Settings and Layout Grid options.

To start a navigation command, click a button on the navigation bar.

Navigation Commands

Orbit: A set of commands that rotate the current view.

Look At: Views faces of a model from a selected plane.

Pan: Moves the view parallel to the screen.

Zoom: Increases or decreases the magni cation of the current view.

Fit: Positions the entire model on the screen.

Display Settings

Set of commands that enables you to specify desired visual style, visibility of objects, or camera settings, for example.

Grid and Snaps

Commands that allow you to specify increments, grid settings, and show / hide the layout grid.

Viewports

Viewports are windows that display your design. You can show up to four viewports in the canvas at once. Displaying
multiple viewports allows you to work in one view and see the changes from other camera positions.

ViewCube
Use the ViewCube to rotate the camera. Drag the ViewCube to perform a free orbit. Click faces and corners of the cube to
access standard orthographic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthographic_projection) and isometric
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isometric_projection) views.

Mouse: Use mouse shortcuts to zoom in/out, pan the view and orbit the view.

Scroll middle mouse button to zoom in or zoom out.

Click and hold the middle mouse button to pan the view.

Shift Key + middle mouse button to orbit the view.

Trackpad: If you have a Mac with a touchpad or an Apple Magic Mouse, you can use multi-touch gestures to navigate the
view.

Pinch to zoom in.

Spread to zoom out.

Two nger drag to pan.

SHIFT + two nger drag to rotate.

For more help with the UI, click here (https://www.google.com/url?

q=http://fusion360.autodesk.com/learning/learning.html?guid%3DGUID-A18E7686-1C84-4690-95EE-
E2076A1BD84E&sa=D&ust=1477688391392000&usg=AFQjCNH07P0SVIPt8doVjLqlVRvpZ7RaaA).

Sketch the Table Top Profile

Most things in Fusion are best made by creating 2D sketches, then turning those sketches into 3D objects. For a round
tabletop, that means drawing a 2D circle, then extruding it to give it thickness.

Create Component
A component is an encapsulated part that can have one or more 3D bodies or 2D sketches in it. You want each of the table
parts to be its own component because it will allow you to manipulate and manage the whole model more easily.
Go to CREATE > New Component, and give the component a name like "tabletop". Keep the default settings there (Empty
Component) and click OK, and you'll see that your new component has shown up in the Browser and that it's activated.
While it's activated, anything you make will be within this component.

Create a Sketch
Go to SKETCH > Create Sketch, and click on the bottom plane of the model space. This will bring you into the Sketch
environment. The view will change to the Top view.

For this sketch, all you'll need is a circle. Go to SKETCH > Circle > Center Diameter Circle and click on the model origin as
your start point.

Type in 42 for the diameter and you'll have a 42" (1066mm) table top. Click the Stop Sketch button on the upper right to
leave the sketch environment.
 Create 3D Part / Use Parameters

MEASURE YOUR PLYWOOD

Before you design anything, you need to know exactly what the thickness of your plywood is. 3/4" (19mm) plywood is a
nominal dimension, meaning the actual thickness will vary a bit. This can be an infuriating problem if you're not
prepared! Never make assumptions, always measure twice and cut once.

You should always have a set of digital calipers on hand to measure the wood. Close the jaws on the sheet as shown to get
an exact measurement.
CREATE A THICKNESS PARAMETER
Any time you're making at pack furniture, you almost certainly should use a parametric thickness. In 3D modeling,
parametric means that a variable has been established that can be changed later, automatically changing any part of the
model that used the parameter.

Plywood thickness changes from batch to batch, even from the same supplier, so if you use parameters, you can just change
the parameter to adjust all of the parts instead of doing it manually- this will save you hours of work!
To set a parameter, go to MODIFY > Change Parameters, click the green plus-sign next to User Parameters to create
your thickness parameter.

1. Name: The name you'll use to enter the parameter in any number eld. This should be as short as possible because you'll

be using it a lot, so pick "t" for thickness.

2. Unit: Defaults to the units your le is working in, but you can use any unit you want and it will automatically convert.

3. Expression: This is the value in selected units of the thickness of your plywood. This will be different for practically
every batch of plywood, so use digital calipers to measure your plywood to get an exact measurement. Mine is .76.

4. Comment: This is optional, but if you've got a really complicated model it's a good idea to make a note about what the
parameter is for here.
EXTRUDE SKETCH
Now that you've got your parameter set, you can extrude the tabletop pro le sketch you made previously. Go to CREATE >
Extrude, select the circle sketch pro le, then type "t" in the Distance eld in the EXTRUDE dialog that comes up.
Operation should be set to New Component. Click OK and you'll have a tabletop component.

You can go back to MODIFY > Change Parameters and change the parameter value to see the thickness of the table
change.

Move Table Top Component

The tabletop was made on the oor of the model, so we'll need to move it to the proper height. Click on the tabletop, then
right-click and select Move from the popup dialog.

You'll get a manipulator that will let you move and rotate the part. Drag the Up arrow to move the table up, then enter 28"
(710mm)- that's the standard underside height for a dining table.
 Sketch Leg Profile

CREATE A SKETCH
With your tabletop in place, it's time to draw the rst pair of table legs. To do this, like pretty much everything else, start
with SKETCH > Create Sketch. Pick either the Front or Side plane to sketch in. You'll get a warning about parts having
been moved. Be sure to click Capture Position. If you click "Continue", the tabletop will move back to the bottom plane.

PROJECT TABLE PROFILE

Remember that when you're in the Sketch environment, you're only creating lines. Parts of the 3D objects and other
sketches that might be visible can sometimes be snapped to, but they don't represent lines in the sketch you're working in.

You're going to need the line representing the underside of the tabletop to make the pro le of the legs. To get this, go to
SKETCH > Project / Include > Project. As with any tool, hit ESCAPE to get out of it.
Click on the underside edge of the tabletop, and you'll get a pink line with points at each end. Click OK to exit the Project
tool.

CREATE LEG PROFILE BOUNDARY

With the projected line, you can now make a rectangle to create a boundary for the pro le of the legs. You could always just
draw the legs however you like, but I like to start with boundaries that relate to other objects as a way to control the
geometry. To make a boundary, just go to SKETCH > Line and complete the rectangle with the projected table line as the
top. You could also use the Rectangle tool in the SKETCH menu.

Table legs should always touch the oor so that there's a signi cant gap between the foot and the edge of the table as seen
from above. Did you ever notice how your kitchen cabinets have a kick underneath them? This recess lets you belly-up to
the countertop without stubbing your toes.
The idea is the same for tables. Work backwards from the rectangle you just made to create this recess. Go to SKETCH >
Offset, unchenck Chain Selection, and select one of the vertical lines. This will offset the line parallel to the original by a
distance you specify. A 4" (100mm) offset will give you enough room to avoid stubbing your toes without sacri cing too
much stability. Notice by pulling the arrow that you will probably need to enter a negative value since you're offsetting to
the inside of the rectangle.

Think of this line as the outermost possible distance the leg can go from the center of the table.

DRAW LEG PROFILE

Now that you have your boundary complete on the left side, you can start drawing your table leg pro le. To make them
slanted, draw a Line from the bottom point of the line you just offset and move the other point so that it makes an angle. An
85 angle (meaning 5 off of the vertical line) works well for style and stability. You can make this angle any arbitrary angle
that's close to 5, but if you want to be precise, hit the Tab key and enter the degree in the degree box, then hit Tab again to
lock it. You'll see that you can now drag the mouse to make the line longer or move it around the origin, but the angle will be
locked. Click the other end of the line when you're satis ed.

This line will be the outermost edge of the table leg on the left-hand side. To give the leg thickness, go to SKETCH > Offset
and offset the line you just drew. 3" (76mm) is about the minimum that will be stable with off-the-shelf soft plywood in my
experience. When you've dragged the arrow in the correct direction, give it a value of 3" (76mm) and click OK.
The pair of table legs is going to be a single, connected part, so it's going to need depth to give it stability. To do this, just go
to SKETCH > Offset and offset the line you projected from the underside of the table. This should also be at least 3"
(76mm), but don't go too much deeper or you'll hit your knees on it!

At this point, the leg pro le is nished aside from all the crossing lines. Remember, a 3D object comes from an extruded
sketch (just like you did with the tabletop), so you'll need a closed pro le for the table legs. You can clean up the crossing
lines by going to SKETCH > Trim and clicking on the line segments that you don't need. As with any tool, hit ESCAPE to get
out of it.

With your leg pro le nished on one side, you can avoid drawing it again on the other side by mirroring it. To mirror, you'll
need a centerline. Go to SKETCH > Line and draw a line down the center of the leg pro le. You'll see a triangle symbol
when you're snapping to the center of the top line. It's important that this line is vertical and centered on the drawing.
To mirror the leg pro le to the other side, go to SKETCH > Mirror, then select the lines that make up the leg pro le on the
left side. Click on Mirror Line, then select the centerline you made in the last step. You should see a preview that gives you
a symmetrical pair of legs. Click OK, and you should have all the lines you need to make your 3D part.

If you use the Trim tool again to clean up the pro le, you should see a closed pro le like the one shown below. This is what
you'll use to create the 3D leg part. Click Stop Sketch to get back to the modeling environment.

Create First Leg

 01:13

With your leg pro le complete, you can now make a 3D part. You can go to CREATE > Create Component to create an
Empty component to work in. This will save you having to deal with the other parts of the model- you'll be in the activated
component you just made, which will gray-out the other parts as shown below.

Go to SKETCH > Extrude and click on both of the pro les separated by the mirror line. If you pull on the arrow, you'll see
that the 3D part will be extruded in one direction only. You want the table leg part to be aligned with the center of the
table, so you'll need to do an extrusion that does in both directions and still has the t thickness parameter.

To do this, set Direction to Symmetric, and Distance to t/2. This will extrude the part in both directions by a value of 1/2
t, which totals t.
You should end up with a new 3D part with a thickness of your t parameter that's aligned to the center of the tabletop.

Create Tab Feature

This is a at-pack / friction- t design, so we're going to need some interlocking features- tabs and slots. The top of the table
leg part will slot into the underside of the table with a tab.

CREATE SKETCH
To create a tab, go to SKETCH > Create and select the front face of the table leg as your starting plane.
The tab should be centered on the top part and have gaps on the sides- if it's too wide it'll be too dif cult to build. Go to
SKETCH > Line and draw this gap at about 6" (150mm) along the top edge.

Draw another 6" line on the other side, then draw a tab that looks about half way through the depth of the table top. Make
sure all the angles are 90! The cursor should snap to 90 automatically.
USE PARAMETER FOR TAB HEIGHT
Remember, all your parts are parametric, meaning you need to make sure they'll update properly when you change a
material thickness. The tab needs to be exactly half as deep as the thickness of the material. To make this work in a sketch,
go to SKETCH > Dimension, and click on the top line of the leg part and the top line of the tab part. A real dimension
will show up, but you'll need to change it to t/2. This will give you a tab that's 1/2 the thickness of your material and will
update when you change the parameter. If the parameter was entered properly into the dimension, you should see "fx: "
then a number value. In my case, it's 0.38" because that's 1/2 of .76".

Click Stop Sketch to get back to the modeling environment.

EXTRUDE TAB
Go to CREATE > Extrude and extrude the body back to meet the back face of the leg part. You should enter t for the
Distance here as well to make sure the parameters are being used everywhere. Operation should be set to Join by
default.
 Use Leg Tabs to Create Pocket

Now that your leg is done, click the circle next to the Top-Level Component in the Browser. This will be the rst item in
the list. At this point you should have two components under the top level- the leg and the tabletop.

COPY BODY TO NEW COMPONENT

Next, you'll need to make a copy of the table leg for the second leg component. If you copy the component in the browser,
you'll have two copies that are connected, meaning if you change one the other will change to match. If you copy the body
within that component, you'll get a new, independent copy of the leg in that state.

Click the arrow next to the leg component in the browser, then click the arrow next to Bodies in that component. Right-
Click on the body, then Copy+Paste it. You'll now have a new body in the Bodies folder under the Top-Level Component
in the Browser.
Right-click on the body you just made, then select Create Components from Bodies. You'll get a new component that you
should name something like "leg 2".

ROTATE LEG
Right-click on the new component, then select Move. Move the Rotation Arc on the Manipulator to rotate the leg by
90. You'll now have two legs at a right-angle to each other.

CREATE POCKET IN TABLETOP

Now that the leg components are in place, you can make the pocket in the tabletop. Go to CREATE > Combine, and select
the tabletop as the Target Body. For Tool Bodies, select both of the table legs, and be sure that Keep Tools is checked- if
it's unchecked, both of your legs will disappear.
If you turn off the leg components in the Browser (click the lightbulb next to them) You should now see that your table has
a pocket on its underside.
 Create Interlocking Features

The next step will be to create an interlocking feature between the legs. The trick here is to make a tab on each leg that's
half-way through the depth of the top part. This will keep the legs in place but won't sacri ce too much in the way of
stability.

CREATE SKETCH FOR SLOT

Start by creating a Sketch on the face of one of the table legs.

Go to SKETCH > Project / Include > Project and select Bodies in the Selection Filter. Click on the leg part that's crossing
the sketch you're drawing in, and you'll get two lines that match the thickness of the leg.
To draw the cutout, draw a Rectangle from a top point to the intersection between the lines on the opposite side of the
bottom.

With that in place, bisect the rectangle with a Line from midpoint to midpoint (the triangle icon means you're snapping to a
midpoint). Click Stop Sketch to get back to the modeling environment.

EXTRUDE TAB CUTOUT

Turn off the crossing table leg component in the Browser, then go to CREATE > Extrude and select the top part of the tab
sketch. Pull the arrow into the component so that it cuts through, and you'll see that this will be a negative value. Enter t
for the Distance, and leave Operation on Cut.

SUBTRACT TAB CUTOUT FROM OTHER LEG

There's no need to repeat all these steps for the other leg. Go to MODIFY > Combine, select the leg without the cut as the
Target Body, then select the leg with the cutout as the Tool Body. Be sure to have Keep Tools checked.

You should now have one leg with a cut at the top and one leg with a cut at the bottom.

Draw Stiffener Profile

03:57
This table would stand at it is, but it would wobble like crazy. There's nothing to keep the legs from bending against the
short dimension so you would basically get a twisting motion if you were to push on the tabletop. To prevent this, we'll need
some stiffeners.

Go to CREATE > New Component to make an empty component to work in. Next, create a Sketch on one of the leg faces.
You'll need a centerline for this part, so just draw a Line roughly down the center of the leg.

In the Sketch Pallette on the right side of the canvas (it might be nested, if so just click on the double arrow), click on
Parallel under Constraint. Click one of the table leg lines rst, then click the centerline you drew before. This will allow
the centerline to move but will keep it parallel to the leg line. You should see a couple of double line graphics showing you
they're constrained.

To make sure the line is centered, go to SKETCH > Dimension, and click the leg line and centerline. Enter a value that's 1/2
of the width of the leg, which is 1.5" (38mm) if the leg width is 3" (76mm) as shown.
This line represents the center of the stiffener from the side. To give it thickness, go to SKETCH > Offset and offset it by a
factor of t/2 in both directions.

Draw a Line from the intersection at the top of the outer line so that it meets the inner line at a 90 angle. This will be the
top of the stiffener.

Next, Offset the top line by 14" (355mm) to make the bottom edge of the stiffener. It needs to be at least this deep to keep
the table from wobbling.
You should now have a closed rectangular pro le, select it to be sure there aren't any gaps in the lines.

Create Stiffener Component

CREATE A 3D BODY
Use the side pro le you just made to Extrude the part. Be sure to use the t parameter and extrude it in the correct
direction. The Operation should be New Body.
When that's done, Extrude both faces of the new body by a Distance of 3" (76mm).

CREATE CUTOUT SKETCH

Like the table legs, this stiffener part will need a slot to interlock it with the legs. To do this, create a Sketch on the face of
the table leg, then use the Project tool. Make sure Bodies is selected in the Selection Filter, then project the side face of
the stiffener to create a rectangle that's constrained to the shape.
Draw a Line connecting the midpoints of both of the long lines that make up the rectangle. This will give you a pro le you
can use to create a cut in the stiffener that's half way down its length.

EXTRUDE CUTOUT
Use the CREATE > Extrude tool to select the cutout pro le. If the stiffener is turned on in the browser, you probably won't
be able to select the pro le you want. Hit the down arrow to cycle through the possible selections with the cursor
hovering over the pro le until the pro le is highlighted, then click on it.

Extrude this pro le into the stiffener using your t parameter. This should give you a cutout that's centered on the piece.
CREATE TAPERED PROFILE
The stiffener needs to be tapered at the end to keep knees from knocking into it, it should also be narrower at the top. To
make this pro le, create a Sketch on the face of the stiffener.

Draw a Line from the midpoint of the bottom line to give yourself a top point to aim for.

Offset the line on the side of the cutout by a distance of -t. Be sure Chain Selection is off.

Draw a diagonal Line connecting the two points to create a tapered pro le.
Draw a vertical Line at the midpoint of the cutout to give yourself a mirror reference.

Go to SKETCH > Mirror, select the diagonal line under Objects and the vertical line for the Mirror Line. This should give
you a symmetrical tapered pro le.

With your pro les nished, go to CREATE > Extrude and select the pro les you want to cut out of the stiffener. Use the t
parameter for the thickness here as well.
 Multiply Stiffeners and Create Interlocks

MULTIPLY STIFFENERS
Now that you've got a usable stiffener, it's time to copy it in place at each of the four legs. To do this, go to

CREATE > Pattern > Circular Pattern.

Set Pattern Type to Component Bodies, select the stiffener under Objects, select the model up axis under Axis, and set
the Quantity to 4. This should give you four stiffeners in the correct place at each leg.
CREATE INTERLOCKING CUTS
Now it's time to cut the pro les of the stiffeners out of the legs so they interlock. To do this, go to MODIFY > Combine,
select one of the table legs as Target Body, then select the two corresponding stiffeners as Tool Bodies. Be sure to have
Keep Tools checked or your stiffeners will disappear. Repeat this step with the other leg component.

This will leave behind a small wedge at the top of the cutout, so just select those faces and extrude them so that they cut all
the way through the top of the leg.
When you're done, the legs and stiffeners should look like the picture below.

Fillet Sharp Corners

Sharp corners tend to split and chip easily, they're sharp to the touch, and, in my opinion, they don't look as nice as rounded
corners. To round off the corners, go to MODIFY > Fillet, and select the edges of the legs and stiffeners to llet them. You
can do multiple parts at once, but in the video, you'll see that I did a few different llet radii for different parts. The tapered
points of the stiffeners should be about a .25" (3mm) radius to keep them from being shortened too much. You'll see that
when you llet the edges on one of the stiffeners, all the other ones will change automatically, since they're all copeis of
each other.
 Recap

We covered quite a lot in this lesson. Give yourself a hand if you stuck with it and modeled something!

Your nished table should look something like this:

Did you design a table or something similar?

CLASS PROJECT
Share a photo of your finished project with the class!

I Show More

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