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Exporter for Fusion 360 models to SDFormat

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SDFusion

SDFusion is an add-on for Fusion 360 that can automatically generate an SDF description of the model as well as export meshes or additional markers. Examples can be found here.

Table of contents

Installation

  1. Clone or download the SDFusion repository git clone https://github.com/Roboy/SDFusion.git
  2. Open Scripts and Add-Ins dialog in Fusion 360 by pressing Shift+S
  3. Click on the Add-Ins tab and press the green plus icon on the top
  4. Navigate to the SDFusion folder and select it. You should be able to run/debug the add-in from the Scripts and Add-Ins dialog now:

Fusion 360 script dialog

Usage

Preparing the robot in Fusion360

  1. Switch Fusion360 design configuration to Z-axis up (default is Y up).
  2. Break all links in the design at all hierarchy levels.
  3. Create rigid groups for all links of the robot and call them EXPORT_link_name. For example, select all components that belong to base link, create a rigid group called EXPORT_base.
  4. Define all joints between the links and call them EXPORT_joint_name. Select child as Component1 and parent as Component2. Child and parent component must belong to two different rigid groups, e.g. links. Supported joint types are: fixed, revolute, prismatic and ball. Other joints that are defined in the design, but are not used for export are known to cause issues, so it's recommended to remove from the design all other joints without EXPORT_ in their name.
  5. Define joint limits for the joints. Otherwise, min and max joint limit will be exported as 0.

Now the model is ready to be exported.

Links

SDFusion requires all the links to be defined as rigid groups in Fusion 360. The script will automatically:

  • create and export an STL mesh of the link
  • calculate intertia and center of mass
  • generate a model.sdf file with all rigid groups as links

Rigid group names have to follow the naming convetion: EXPORT_link_name. The rigid group has to contain all components (including children) that consitute the link.

Joints

In order to export a joint, it has to be

  • defined between components that belong to different rigid groups
  • called EXPORT_joint_name

When creating a joint in Fusion 360, make sure you select the child first and then the parent. Currently, fixed, prismatic, revolute joint types are supported. A ball-and-socket joint can be emulated as a gimbal joint - a series of three 1-DoF revolute joints nested in each other.

Tendons

SDFusion allows to export cable-driven robot models with multiple attachment points (via-points). The naming scheme defined for the viapoints is the following: VP_motornumber_EXPORT_linkname_viapointnumber (e.g. VP_motor0_EXPORT_base_0). You can either add them manually as construction points in Fusion 360 or use ViaPoints tab from the plugin.

SDFusion viapoints tab

Here, you have to specify the motor number and the link name. Press Select and the viapont number will increment automatically as you click on circular edges in your design. The newly created attachement points are listed under the Construction in the Fusion 360 browser.

SDFusion viapoints

Refer to CARDSflow to learn about possible options to control your cable robot.

Configs

SDFusion configs

Configuration Explanation
updateRigidGroups by default the script will cache your rigid groups, as each of them is copied to a new component. This is done to save time for the subsequent exports, since this step is time consuming. If you add or remove components from a rigid group, check this box to update it.
exportMeshes creates a folder with stl meshes for each rigid group
sdf model.sdf is created
viapoints model.sdf will include descriptions of viapoints
caspr only valid when viapoints are defined and checked; generates CASPR files with definitions of bodies and cables, that are required for controlling the robot
opensim generates a separate muscles.osim file with muscle descriptions in OpenSim format
darkroom exports visual markers defined on the robot
remove parts smaller 1g deletes all components in the design with mass less than 1g
self_collide <self_collide>false</self_collide> tag in model.sdf
dummy_inertia ignores real inertia values calculated from your design

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Exporter for Fusion 360 models to SDFormat

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