Adding joints by hand, the clamp example
Fusion's toggle clamp sample, assembled from six parts with revolute, cylindrical, ball and rigid joints, then given motion limits so the handle stops where a real one would.
The clamp in Fusion’s Basic Training 06 Assemblies folder is the standard exercise for learning joints, and the written instructions that come with it are worth following as written. This is a walk through those steps with the places where I got stuck.
Set up the project
The sample files are read-only. Make a new project called Manual Joints, open each part from the samples (base, clamp, connector, grip, lever, shaft) and Save each one into your project. Then create an empty design in the same project for the assembly. Six parts, one assembly.
The joints, in order
Base. Insert it and Ground it. Zero degrees of freedom; everything else moves relative to this.
Lever, revolute. Insert, then Joint (not As-Built, because the lever needs to move to its home first). Select the centre of the pin on the lever, then the centre of the hole in the base. If you cannot reach the snap point inside the hole, hold Ctrl while hovering. If it lands backwards, edit the joint and Flip. Set the motion type to Revolute. I left it rigid the first time and wondered why nothing turned.
Joint origin on the lever. The connector attaches midway between the two open holes on the lever, and there is no snap point there. Open the lever design, Assemble → Joint Origin, type Between two faces, pick the inside faces of the two arms, and snap to the hole axis. Save, then in the assembly use Get Latest on the lever.
Connector, revolute. Insert and joint it from that new joint origin to the hole in the connector.
Shaft, cylindrical. A cylindrical joint rotates and slides along one axis. Joint the shaft into the base bore, then change the type to Cylindrical. Set the type first when you know it; Fusion previews it properly.
Clamp, ball. Sphere centre to sphere centre, type Ball. It can rotate on three axes. It will flop around until you add limits, which is fine for now.
Grip, rigid. Insert the grip, Joint, motion Rigid. Click the inside face of the grip away from any snap point; that limits the snap points offered to that face. Pick the point at the centre of the radius at the top of the grip, then the centre of the lever handle’s radius. If it sits rotated, that is a joint alignment problem, not a wrong joint: drag the alignment handle in the dialog until it looks right.
Limit the handle
Drag the handle. It goes through the base. Right-click the lever’s revolute joint, Edit Joint Limits, and set a minimum and maximum. Test, then edit again; my first guess was too conservative. The handle is the input to the whole mechanism, so limiting it limits everything downstream.