Shaft MakerParametric transmission shafts for Fusion 360

Shaft Maker builds parametric transmission shafts in Autodesk Fusion 360: describe the sections in a table and it generates the shaft body and its standard machining (keyways, threads, retaining ring grooves, center holes), with a spec sheet and user parameters.

Who is Shaft Maker for?

Shaft Maker is built for design offices that design machines, gearboxes and drivetrains in Autodesk Fusion 360: machine designers, draughtspeople and manufacturing engineers. It helps machine shops that turn shafts from a digital model, and makers designing an axle for a robot, a test rig or a gearbox.

The problem it solves

A transmission shaft means a profile sketch dimensioned section by section, a revolve, then a long list of machining features: a DIN 6885 keyway, a thread, a DIN 471 retaining ring groove, a DIN 509 grinding undercut, a DIN 332 center hole. Every dimension has to be looked up in a standards table, and any change of diameter means reworking the features that depend on it.

Shaft Maker puts everything in a single dialog: you enter the sections, it reads the standards for you, and the shaft is later edited by reopening that same dialog.

Creating a shaft

1. Describe the sections in the table, from left to right: diameter, length, cylindrical or conical shape. The buttons below the table add, remove, move or mirror-duplicate the selected section.
2. Set each section’s transition to the next one and its machining.
3. Equip the ends: entry chamfer, center hole, drilled or tapped hole.
4. Watch the real-time preview, then click OK: the full shaft is built in its own component.

Features

• Unlimited sections, cylindrical or conical.
• Transitions between sections: sharp edge, fillet, chamfer, or DIN 509 form E and F undercut.
• Symmetric shaft: enter half of the shaft and the mirror is unfolded about the mid-plane.
• Spec sheet in the component description.
• Optional parameter-driven dimensions: Fusion user parameters (shaft1_D1, shaft1_L2…) keep diameters, lengths, fillets, chamfers and center holes editable, even without the add-in.
• Edit Shaft reopens an existing shaft with its configuration pre-filled, including for structural changes (adding a section, enabling a keyway), and rebuilds it in the same component.
• The configuration travels inside the document: a colleague with the add-in installed can edit the shaft just like you.
• Two commands in the Design workspace: Create Shaft (Solid › Create) and Edit Shaft (Solid › Modify).
• Interface in French or English, following Fusion’s language.
• Windows only (.exe installer); macOS is not supported.

Machining and standards

• DIN 6885-1 keyway, round ends or through, free axial and angular position.
• ISO metric thread, modeled or cosmetic, on all or part of a section.
• DIN 981 (KM) lock nut and DIN 5406 (MB) lock washer, with the tongue slot.
• DIN 332 / ISO 6411 center hole, forms A, B, R, D and DS.
• Drilled and tapped holes on each end face, with optional counterbore or countersink.
• DIN 471 retaining ring grooves.
• The bundled standard tables have been checked against their source (the standard’s text or a manufacturer’s catalogue).

Limitations

• Keyways and grooves have sharp corners: the DIN 6885-1 bottom radii are listed in the spec sheet but not machined.
• DIN 332 and DIN 509 forms C, G and H are not handled.
• Outside the ranges covered by a standard (keyways beyond Ø130, retaining rings beyond Ø168), the add-in does not extrapolate: it asks for custom dimensions.
• Splines are not covered: use Groove Maker on one of the shaft’s sections.

Shaft Maker is a design aid: always check the resulting geometry before manufacturing or strength calculations.

It is a one-time purchase that gives you every version, past and future, with update notifications by email and downloads from your “My account” area.