How to Design a Honeycomb Lampshade in Fusion
In this Fusion tutorial, you’ll learn to model a honeycomb lampshade prototype—along with a simple lightbulb and cord. The result? Stunning renderings that showcase your design beautifully.
The full step-by-step video is at the end of this post.
Start with the Honeycomb Pattern
Begin by sketching on the vertical construction plane. Using the Inscribed Polygon tool, place your first hexagon at the origin to keep everything aligned. For this tutorial, I’ve used a 5 mm dimension, but feel free to experiment—this is about workflow, not specific manufacturing requirements.
Next, draw two guide lines for your honeycomb pattern. Turn them into construction lines since they’re only for reference. Fully constraining your sketch isn’t strictly necessary here, but it’s a good habit for keeping your design stable and predictable.
With your sketch still active, create a rectangular pattern. Select the polygon and use the two construction lines as directions. Set the distribution type to Spacing, switch the direction to Symmetric, and use 10 mm spacing. A quantity of eight in both directions gives plenty of flexibility.
To define the lampshade area, draw a 2-point rectangle starting and ending at polygon centers. This ensures alignment when applying a circular pattern later.
Model the Lampshade Body
Sketch a 100 mm diameter circle on the horizontal construction plane and extrude it 35 mm. Hollow it out with the Shell command using a 3 mm thickness.
Next, activate the Extrude Intersect option to cut the honeycomb pattern into the lampshade body. Over-extrude slightly for flexibility if you change dimensions later.
Add a Full Round Fillet to the top edge to soften it. Fillets improve aesthetics, usability, and even strength. You can edit fillets at any time in the parametric timeline if needed.
For appearances, apply a glossy yellow to the lampshade if you want uniformity across all bodies—or wait and assign different colors later.
Finish by creating a circular pattern using the Z-axis. Adjust the quantity until the pattern fills the lampshade evenly.
Add a Lightbulb and Cord
Switch to the top-level component and create a new component for the lightbulb. A tangent plane on the rounded lampshade body provides a clean surface for sketching.
Place an 8 mm diameter circle at the center and extrude it 20 mm down and 15 mm up. Then, create a sphere to represent the bulb on the bottom face of this solid. Change the default operation to New Body to keep parts separate.
For the cord, create another component. Sketch a 70 mm path on the vertical plane and sweep a 3 mm diameter circle along it.
Apply appearances:
Black oxide for the bulb base
Frosted glass for the bulb
Glossy black plastic for the cord
Render Your Design
Save your project and head into the rendering workspace. Set up a photobooth environment with a resolution of 1920×1080. This will make your model stand out in presentations or online portfolios.
Key Workflow Tips
This project uses a top-down design approach, keeping components organized and timelines clean.
✅ Sketch patterns are fast but harder to edit later—consider solid patterns for complex designs.
✅ Fully constrain sketches for stability.
✅ Save versions often so you can experiment freely.
Watch the Full Tutorial below.
Chapters:
00:11 Honeycomb Pattern Component in Fusion (formerly known as Fusion 360)
00:26 How to Sketch a Honeycomb Pattern in Fusion
01:10 Turn Reference Lines into Construction Lines in Fusion
01:20 Add AutoConstraints to Your Fusion Sketch
01:37 Create a Honeycomb Pattern from a Polygon in Fusion
02:58 Use a Rectangle Sketch to Refine the Honeycomb Layout
03:17 Driven Dimensions vs Regular Dimensions in Fusion
03:46 Design a Lampshade Sketch in Fusion
04:04 Extrude a Center Diameter Circle for the Lampshade
04:22 Hollow the Lampshade Using the Shell Command in Fusion
04:46 Cut a Honeycomb Pattern into the Lampshade Body
05:11 Use the Extrude Intersect Option in Fusion
05:29 Apply a Full Round Fillet in Fusion
05:44 Strengthen Your Design with Fillets in Fusion
06:41 Add a Glossy Yellow Appearance to Your Honeycomb Body
07:03 Use a Circular Pattern to Complete the Lampshade Design
07:13 Find the Right Quantity for a Circular Pattern in Fusion
07:38 Create a Lightbulb Component in Fusion
07:56 How to Create a Sketch Plane on a Rounded Body
08:20 Sketch on a Tangent Plane in Fusion
08:41 Extrude in Two Directions in Fusion
09:12 How to Create a Realistic Lightbulb Replica in Fusion
09:47 Create a New Component at the Correct Hierarchical Level
10:03 Sketch an Electrical Cable Path in Fusion
10:38 Draw a Center Diameter Circle for the Sweep Command
11:00 How to Use the Sweep Tool in Fusion
11:28 Apply a Black Plastic Appearance to the Electrical Cable
11:48 Add a Metal Black Oxide Coating in Fusion
11:59 Use a 1500 Lumen Lightbulb Appearance in Fusion
12:33 Set Up a Photobooth Rendering in Fusion (1920×1080)
12:46 Pros and Cons of This Honeycomb Workflow in Fusion
13:25 More Honeycomb Pattern Tutorials in Fusion