How to Use a Planar Joint with Tangent Constraint | Unstuck my Fusion Design

Having trouble constraining parts in your Fusion model to simulate realistic movement? In this episode, senior QA Engineer and Fusion educator Phil Eichmiller demonstrates how to use planar and tangent constraints to get your moving assemblies behaving just right - even if you’re not chasing a “manufacturing perfect” result.

Follow Phil as he works on a whiteboard drawing robot project, using the scenario of a horizontal rail (mounted to a wall) and a vertical rail sliding with bearings. He first explains why grounding and ungrounding components is crucial: anchoring the part that mounts to the wall prevents unwanted movement, while ungrounding the sliding part enables the intended mechanism.

Phil walks through applying a planar joint so your moving part can freely slide along a surface, then adds a tangent constraint to ensure the vertical rail’s bearings remain properly aligned as they move. The video covers why tangent is so powerful for round surfaces or “roller on track” mechanics, and highlights Fusion’s flexibility - there’s often more than one correct approach!

He also gives a quick teaser on advancing the simulation, using motion links to synchronize turns and simulate gears. This is ideal for users interested in realistic motion studies or robotics projects.

If you’re new to joints, want to troubleshoot sliding or rolling mechanisms, or just wish to unlock more of Fusion’s powerful assembly tools, this step-by-step breakdown will get you unstuck and back to designing with confidence!

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