This is a map for people who already model with a timeline, Combine, and user parameters.
Those habits are the same in Rig Cad. A bracket or a tray is a valid first project here. You do not park the simple version in another tool.
What you will learn: where the Fusion browser, timeline, Combine, and Fx table map; how Join / Cut / Intersect appear in the Objects tree; a mounting tab driven like user parameters; and a tray sized from measurements.
If the editor is new, keep Rig Cad Editor Guide: The Five Core Panels open in another tab.
If you already think in features and parameters
Fusion records a recipe: sketches, features, and named parameters. Rig Cad records a recipe too. The tree is the history. Variables are the Fx table.
The habits you already have are enough to start:
- Combine Join / Cut / Intersect → union / difference / intersection
- a user parameter → a Variable
- a feature that should update when a parameter changes → a node that reads that Variable
- a one-off body with typed sizes → literals in Properties
Build the simple part here. Add names when a hole, wall, or fillet should track another measurement.
Where it lives in the editor
Table: Fusion 360 UI next to Rig Cad panels.
| In Fusion 360 | In Rig Cad |
|---|---|
| Browser (bodies, components) | Objects tree |
| Timeline | The same tree. Operations stay editable. |
| Create / Solid primitives | Add Object |
| Sketch + Extrude | Profiles, then a solid stage. Keep them separate. |
| Combine Join / Cut / Intersect | Union, difference, intersection on the selected operation |
| Modify → Change Parameters (Fx) | Variables |
| Inspector / feature dialog | Properties |
| Shell, mirror, section | Post-Processing: Shell, Mirror, Cut Plane, Surface Offset |
| Export mesh | Download from the project or the embed |
You can ignore Variables on a first part. Type literals in Properties the way you type sizes into a feature dialog.
Combine is the Objects tree
Fusion's Combine tool is union, difference, and intersection. Rig Cad writes that sentence as a parent in the Objects tree. Child order matters the same way Target / Tool does: the first child of a difference is the body you keep.
Table: Combine next to Rig Cad operations.
| Fusion Combine | Rig Cad operation | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| Join |  Union |
Keep volume inside any child |
| Cut |  Difference |
Keep the first child; remove the rest |
| Intersect |  Intersection |
Keep only the shared volume |
| (no Combine equivalent) |  Hull |
Convex envelope around the children |
Switch the operation on the same two solids. The recipe stays on the timeline. Here the timeline is the tree.
User parameters are Variables
In Fusion you open Modify → Change Parameters and write thickness and hole_d. Features read those names. That is already how Rig Cad works.
partThickness = 8
holeDiameter = 10
cutterOvershoot = 2
cutterDepth = partThickness + 2 * cutterOvershoot
partThickness and holeDiameter are user parameters. cutterDepth is an expression, the same class as a Fusion driven dimension. The hole stays a through-hole when thickness changes.
A one-off tab does not need this table. Type 8 and 10 in Properties. Name them when the second size has to stay a through-hole.
A configured tray is still a Combine
Outer body, inner cavity, patterned dividers. In Fusion that is Combine Cut plus a pattern. Here it is a difference, a union, and a repeat.
User-facing parameters: trayWidth, trayDepth, trayHeight, wallThickness, compartmentCount, cornerRadius. Divider count and spacing are expressions.
Try wallThickness at 1.6 mm and look at the floor. That check belongs on the parameters, the same way you would put a minimum on a Fusion user parameter.
What maps, and what you can add
Table: Fusion habits next to Rig Cad.
| Task | Fusion habit | In Rig Cad |
|---|---|---|
| First solid | Sketch, extrude, or a primitive. | Primitive or profile, then the tree. |
| One-off part | Typed sizes in a feature. | Typed sizes in Properties. |
| Same part, new size | Edit a user parameter. | Edit a Variable. |
| History | Timeline. | Objects tree. |
| Sharing | An f3d, or a mesh. | A project, a mesh, or a configurator. |
Next
The operations are already familiar. Constructive Solid Geometry in Rig Cad is how to write the tree so it stays editable.
If a cut leaves a cap after a move, Oversize the Cutter is the through-all habit, written as an expression. Shell and mirror are in Post-Processing. Beyond Sliders is for constrained families.
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