VCarve Inlay Plugin for Autodesk Fusion

Download & Install

Get the latest version <link TBD>
Unzip the folder somewhere (ideally your AddIns folder on Fusion)
In Fusion, click Utilities -> Add-Ins -> Scripts and Add-Ins.
- Alternative: Use the keyboard shortcut: Shift-S
Click the plus icon, and select “Script or Add-In from device”
Select the folder that you unzipped
Click the Run button, and optionally set it to Run on Startup
For more information, see Autodesk’s How to install an add-in or script in Autodesk Fusion

License

This software is shareware! If you find it useful and it saved you some time, please purchase a license for $5. The license is a lifetime license for the individual who purchased it. All updates are free.

Terminology

Inlay: The part that fits into the pocket and is at the finished size. In the picture on the right, the inlay is the dark walnut wood. Generally, this is just for looks, and isn’t used for manufacturing.

Female Pocket: The part that the inlay does into, with a pocket v-carved out. The light cherry wood.

Male Plug: The complete male plug that will fit into the inlay when you are constructing it. This includes a backing, the Base Plug Thickness. It is the gray part in the image.

The Inlay Depth is how deep the inlay will go into the Female Pocket. The Male Plug will have a Plug Base Thickness to hold it all together, which you will remove after the inlay glue has dried. The Inlay Surface Gap is the space between the base and the top of the inlay. The Plug Stock is additional material not in the design, but in the stock that allows the inlay to seat correctly (this will be explained more later).

The Fit Adjustment is the only parameter you will modify to get the inlay to fit properly. There is no glue gap! Simply changing the Fit Adjustment will make the fit better, as described later. The Fit Adjustment only affects the plug. You do not have to change the Inlay Surface Gap to get a better fit; pick some value and stick with it, unless you find you need more or less space for some other reason.

Creating Features / Inlay

In the Design Workspace, in the Solid environment, click Create -> Inlay / VCarve to bring up the primary command.

Name: The name of your inlay; generated component names are based on this name.
New Component: The plugin will always create new Components for: the Inlay, the Plug, and the Plug Stock. It will also create a new component for the target body if New Component is checked. If it is not checked, the target body will be directly modified. See Organization Recommendations for more details.
Profiles: The closed profile shapes for the inlay. You can select Texts, Sketches, and Profiles. The sketch entities MUST be “on or above” your Target face or body, and should all be co-planar. The inlay is created by projecting “down” to the shape (ie: the perpendicular normal from the Sketch’s X/Y plane). To create a sketch “above” a 3D design, right click on the X/Y Plane and select Offset Plane. Offset the plane until it is above your main 3D body, and then create a sketch at this location. Note that the profile and Sketch do NOT have to be in the X/Y plane, and can be on any face or in any orientation. Note that “Text” objects sometimes fail with “2 : InternalValidationError : face” – if that is the case, you have to explode the text (this is a Fusion Bug).
Target planar face (2D): Selecting a single planar face will generate a 2D / flat inlay, and toolpaths geared towards 2D shapes.
Target body (3D): Selecting an entire body will generate a 3D inlay, and toolpaths better for 3D machining. Currently only one body can be selected at a time.
Inlay Depth: How deep the inlay should be. I’d recommend 0.100″ for superficial inlays — although, that is the depth I use for my kitchen utensils, and they get regularly used and washed, and I haven’t ever had an issue with the inlay over the past several years. Use 0.230″ (6mm) for a deep inlay that needs more strength: something like a cutting board. The Inlay Depth is a constant; you do not need to change it to affect how well the plug fits into it. This value can later be customized after the inlay is created via the inlay_depth User Parameter. See Parameters for more information.
Create Plug: Optionally create a Male Plug, and the associated Male Plug Stock that will fit into the inlay pocket.
Inlay Surface Gap: The gap that will be above the inlay before the Plug Base Thickness. Keep it small to avoid having to do a deep inlay. I find 0.050″ works well. This value is a constant; once you pick a surface gap you don’t need to change it to adjust the fit, unless you find you need more or less clearance for some other reason. This value can later be customized after the inlay is created via the inlay_surface_gap User Parameter. See Parameters for more information.
Plug Base Thickness: How thick the backing of the plug will be to hold it together. You probably want at least 0.25″.
Flip Plug: The plug is created right above the female pocket. If Flip Plug is checked, the plugin will flip the plug “upright”. This is a component move at the root level, and you will have to hit Capture Position to save that position.

Parameters

TODO: list parameters.

Manufacturing / CAM / Toolpaths

TODO: list details here

TODO: list modifying the sketch for a plug..

Organization Recommendations

The current active component will become the parent for all the sub-components the plugin creates (Pocket, Inlay, Plug and Plug Stock). In general, before I run the plugin I will create a new empty component to contain all the relative sub-components, as they are all related. I also find this a good place to put my design sketch. This is good for a one-to-many relationship: you have one primary CAD shape, and you want to have a lot of different variations of inlays you can do on the main shape.

The example on the right illustrates this. I like to have a lot of different designs for my spatula inlay. I created a new empty component named “Hibiscus Design” and activated it. I created a Sketch in that component for my design. I then ran the plugin while the Hibiscus Design component as active, and it generated all the related components in one group. This makes it easy to hide or show the entire group.

When to NOT use “New Component”: In general, if you want to have a bunch of inlays targeting one particular body, I recommend unchecking “New Component”. This is generally only useful for flat 2D inlays. For 3D shaped inlays, you will likely need to machine your basic shape before actually machining the inlay pocket, so you need a copy of the basic shape without the inlay pocket to get it done correctly.

V-bit Tool Selection

Bits that work with this technique are “Engrave/Chamfer mills” and “Tapered Mills“.

I prefer fine detailed inlays, and use a 15 degree v-bit: Amana 15-degree v-bit. This bit has a 15 degree inclusive angle (the total angle).

Bits are usually named and sold by the Inclusive Angle, which is the total angle. The Taper Angle is half the inclusive angle, as shown to the right. Fusion will name bits based on the Taper Angle — so if you see it named as a 30 degree bit in Fusion, don’t get confused and put 30 degrees as the Parameter when it is really 60; things won’t work right!

Pure V-bits, like shown below, will not work (toolpath generation will fail) unless you set a Tip Diameter. You can use a really small Tip Diameter, like 0.001″, to get it to work, and it shouldn’t affect the inlay.

Some people have their v-bits as a Spot Drill – you will have to re-create the bit as a Engrave/Chamfer Mill.

Issues / Bugs

Empty CAM Browser
Sometimes the CAM workspace browser shows up empty, as shown to the right. Clicking the Show/Hide icon doesn’t help. You have to close the project and reopen it to get it to show up.

2 : InternalValidationError : face
This seems to be a bug in Fusion 360 caused by SketchText objects. In your Sketch, Right Click on the text and “Explode Text”. Then try again with the exploded text.

Jerkiness in Movement
Possibly too dense of a Gcode file. Increase Smoothing…more details TBD.

Text: You can select text profiles, but editing it after the inlay was generated will likely not work. There is no way for me to keep track of the bodies changing. You could manually fix it up, but it is probably easier to just run the plugin again when you change the text.

Flat 2D Inlays – CAM/Toolpath Flat does not generate
Sometimes the “flat” 3D toolpath operation will not generate. You can right click on it and select a derived toolpath to try another strategy. Be sure to keep the machining boundary the same! Sometimes Fusion resets it when you create a derived operation. Spiral and Morphed Spiral are good alternatives, and Parallel will always work, but might generate poor toolpaths that might not machine well.

Feature request: Allow multiple “Target Body” for 3D Inlays
It would be nice to allow multiple bodies to be selected; currently you can only select one.