In this hybrid course, students will learn how to use Fusion 360 to design a piece of flat-pack furniture out of a single sheet of 4’x8’ furniture-grade plywood, set up cutting and hold-down strategies, cut their parts on Yestermorrow’s CNC machine, and assemble their furniture piece.

This course is intended to be an introduction to all phases of CNC production, including CAD (computer-aided design), CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) and CNC operations. The CAD and CAM portions of the class will be taught online in 6 sessions, focusing on Fusion 360. Fusion includes a stunning array of features, including parametric design (think undo on steroids), full control over CNC tools and cutting, and complete simulation - great for finding problems without ruining materials. After learning the fundamentals of the design process in Fusion, students will choose one of four flat-pack furniture designs to model. Once the modeling is complete, students will learn how to manufacture all the plywood parts and simulate the cutting results in Fusion. The final portion of the class will take place over a weekend at the Yestermorrow campus. Students will each cut their parts (from supplied plywood) on a ShopBot machine and fit the parts together into a finished piece of furniture. The furniture can then be “knocked down” and taken home by each student.

As a hybrid course, we will meet online and in person. We will have 6 online sessions from 6:30 - 8:30 EST on September 19, 21, 26, 28 and October 3, 5. The class will meet in person October 7th and 8th, from 9am - 5pm on Yestermorrow’s campus in Waitsfield, VT.