About MapBoards

MapBoards is a Fusion 360 add-in which focuses on preparing your model for manufacturing.

The goal of this section is to give you a quick overview of what MapBoards is and how you might use it.

MapBoards (MB) allows you to create maps, which are arrangements of component bodies in a model on one or more boards or layouts. The arrangements are done by creating components containing copies of the bodies in your model, leaving your original model intact. Placement is based on a tight rectangular bounding box around each body, providing quick results and reasonable nesting.

The map layout can be customized to match your preferences or manufacturing requirements then saved as default. See Choosing Map Layout for details.

Try something simple… Begin by selecting a simple design with only a few components to become familiar with the options available. When you launch MB, it will evaluate your model and display a list of board types described by material types and thicknesses. With each board type there are two dimensions, width and length, which will be used as the default board size when creating a map. The first time a material type is encountered these values will be set large enough to accommodate the largest component of that board type. You can set these dimensions to be whatever you prefer for that target board size and it will remember and use those dimensions the next time that material type is encountered.

When executing MB make sure the option Map Output Type is set to Component Bodies, which is the default. This selection will create and display a map of the components in your model on their corresponding board types.

Creating a map of component bodies results in a single entry in the UnDo list labeled UnDo MapBoards. This enables you to run MB multiple times and create maps with different options, which you can roll back and forth through using commands UnDo (Cmd-Z) and ReDo (Shift Cmd-Z).

To Create a map you simply click the OK button. Popup messages will keep you informed of the progress. When completed one or more mapped boards are displayed in the Top View and the screen will be resized to view both your model and the created map. The view may be rotated if there are multiple boards to fill your screen in more of a landscape view.

If you are using or plan to include linked components and assemblies in your model, see Linked Assemblies for details.

The dimensions you enter in the lumber tab represent the default board size that will be used when mapping.

Don’t worry, MB will not modify your model. A map is created as a subcomponent at the root of the browser tree and cleared with each run of MB. You can remove the map by pressing Cmd-Z (UnDo MapBoards) or rerunning MB and pressing ESC then OK to delete.

Experiment with the following options to get the results you desire:

  • Arrange Type - choose from 3 optional arrangement types

  • Can Rotate - permit 90 degree component rotation for best fit

For a complete list of options with descriptions, see Options. You can also reference this options list from the table of contents.

Note

Unlock the full capabilities of Fusion 360 and MapBoards by adhering to these best practices:

  • Always start by creating a component to house your 3D body and associated resources like sketches. Never place 3D bodies directly at the root, outside of a component.

  • Include only one body per component.

  • Provide your components with meaningful names, which will help navigate your model when it becomes more complicated.