{"id":28329,"date":"2022-03-04T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=28329"},"modified":"2022-03-09T08:04:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T16:04:22","slug":"4-axis-milling-fusion-360","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/4-axis-milling-fusion-360\/","title":{"rendered":"4-Axis Machining with Autodesk Fusion 360\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Learn all about 4-axis machining capabilities in Autodesk Fusion 360, including wrap toolpath functionality.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"4-axis-milling-fusion-360\" class=\"wp-image-28663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Tech-Center-San-Francisco-Fusion-360-12.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Some products are machined using old-fashioned methods \u2014 often at a slow pace. With the help of techniques like computer numerical control (CNC) machining, mass-producing products quickly is easier than ever before.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Machinists use CNC machining paired with computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/free-trial?mktvar002=4333583001|ORG|&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=other&amp;utm_campaign=4333583dmblogf360&amp;utm_id=4333583001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Autodesk Fusion 360<\/a> to create anything from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/jon-boggs-titanium-tweezers-edc-fusion-360\/\">keychain<\/a> to useful soft jaws for CNC vises. Milling mechanisms are vital to CNC machining and provide applications for aerospace, automotive, and medical industries. That said, conventional machining is limited to three dimensions: the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. However, machinists have revitalized the machining process by adding more milling axes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/cnc-coordinate-system-made-easy\/\">CNC machines<\/a>, creating 4-axis, 3+2 axis, and 5-axis machining.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Types of CNC machines include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>3-axis \u2014 X, Y, and Z axes<\/li><li>4-axis \u2014 X, Y, Z, and A axes<\/li><li>5-5xis \u2014 X, Y, and Z axes and two out A, B, and C axes<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-4-axis-machining\">What is 4-Axis Machining?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>4-axis machining involves the original three axes (X, Y, and Z) plus the A-axis, which is the rotational axis around X. 4-axis machining is practical for when you need a hole or cut-out around a cylinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The A, B, and C axes are labeled alphabetically in correlation to X, Y, and Z. Hence, the A-axis is the rotation around the X-axis; the B-axis is the rotation around the Y-axis, and the C-axis is the rotation around the Z-axis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Axes movement includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>X-axis \u2014 left to right<\/li><li>Y-axis \u2014 front to back<\/li><li>Z-axis \u2014 up and down<\/li><li>A-axis \u2014 180\u00b0 rotation around the X-axis<\/li><li>B-axis \u2014 180\u00b0 rotation around the Y-axis<\/li><li>C-axis \u2014 180\u00b0 rotation around the Z-axis<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For positional multi-axis application examples, refer to this <a href=\"https:\/\/help.autodesk.com\/view\/fusion360\/ENU\/courses\/AP-C-POSITIONAL-MULTI-AXIS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">positional multi-axis video library<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4th-axis-wrap-toolpath\">4th Axis Wrap Toolpath<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/help.autodesk.com\/view\/fusion360\/ENU\/?guid=GUID-7FF25192-AED7-4230-92DC-E22ADF15D498\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wrap Toolpath<\/a> can analyze the selected chain and create a 4th axis rotary contouring toolpath. This option is only available in the 2D Adaptive, 2D Pocket, and 2D Contour toolpaths. It is important to always select the geometry from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/autodesk-fusion-360-3d-modeling-software-for-beginners-and-beyond\/\">3D model<\/a>, so the toolpaths maintain associativity. The concept is relatively simple: select the edges to machine and then select the face representing the cylindrical part\u2019s radius. As a result, Fusion 360 will calculate an unwrapped geometry, create a toolpath, and re-wrap the toolpath around the specified radius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can find the Wrap Toolpath functionality on the <strong>Geometry Tab<\/strong> in the 2D Adaptive, 2D Pocket, and 2D Contour Toolpaths. Select this option before attempting to select the geometry. Fusion 360 will change the geometry selection capabilities if it recognizes the creation of a 4th axis wrapped toolpath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/free-trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fusion 360<\/a> to explore the possibilities of 4-axis machining for your next project!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/free-trial\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/download-free-trial-1024x146.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26265\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn all about 4-axis machining capabilities in Autodesk Fusion 360, including wrap toolpath functionality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4033,"featured_media":28663,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235],"tags":[52,367,355,143],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-28329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-machining","tag-cam","tag-machining","tag-machining-extension","tag-manufacturing","dhig-theme--light"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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