Fusion 360™ 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool

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Fusion 360 does not come in Standard and Ultimate editions anymore as it got consolidated into a single product.

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Autodesk reimagined 3D CAD/CAM from the ground up. The first tool of its kind, Autodesk® Fusion 360™ enables teams to work together within an integrated design, engineering and fabrication platform, virtually anywhere and on any device.

If you’re into 3D modeling, design, and project management, you’ve probably heard of Autodesk. And, while their AutoCAD family of products has been very popular for quite a while, some new products seem to be gaining attention in the past couple of years.

One of those is Fusion 360, which went live in 2014 and has been getting more and more users since. The product has seen many updates and new features, making it a completely new program to what it was at the beginning.

So, what is Fusion 360 and what are its key features? Let’s get into all the important details about this program.

What Is It?

Fusion 360 is a web-based platform for collaboration that supports 3D modeling, simulation, CAD, CAM, animation, rendering, and more. So, it’s very much like many other Autodesk products, with one key difference – it’s cloud-based.

This makes Fusion 360 perfect for team projects and working from various devices, since you can just download it on a different device and all of your data will be there when you log in. Of course, you can use the program alone, but it’s built from the ground up to make collaboration much easier.

It also works on both Windows and Mac.

 

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Who Is It Best for?

People who share a workspace or who sit next to each other are less likely to see the obvious benefits of using a cloud-based system. However, data centralization and file sharing makes it much easier to collaborate on projects even if the person working with you is just two feet away.

People who will benefit the most from this product, however, are those who work on the same projects in different cities or countries.

How Does It Work?

Fusion 360 has three “modes” or environments which all allow you to do different things.

• Sculpt environment – this is where Autodesk integrated the t-splines technology. If you have worked with SubDs (sub-divisional surface modelling), t-splines will feel very familiar. You use them to work with complex geometry by manipulating points, faces, and edges.
• Model environment – this environment will feel familiar to most people who have experience with other Autodesk products. Here you have most of the common operations like sketch, pull, push, move, and rotate.
• Patch environment – in this environment you can patch, heal, repair, and knit surfaces. You can also create these surfaces from scratch.

Key Features

Here are the key features of Fusion 360.

Subscription services

The program updates on a regular basis, so you don’t have to worry about paying extra for the latest features. You also get support on the forum or by using the phone or email support center.

Design

Design capabilities include most of the familiar tools you get from AutoCAD or similar products. These include sketching, parametric modeling, freeform, direct, surface, and mesh modeling. Fusion 360 also allows you to design PCB objects in the program.

Documentation

You can use 2D manufacturing drawings, as well as 3D animations and exploded views. You can also create photorealistic renders of your model.

Data management and collaboration

One of the key advantages of Fusion 360 is easy collaboration. You can see live design edits and interact with them from your browser. You can also comment and redline on designs, as well as share the data using secure links.

Accessibility

As we mentioned before, the program is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems. You can access your designs from your web browser or any mobile device – Android or iOS.

Simulation

You can set up multiple tests with the help of the cloud credits. The program also allows you to analyze designs using different materials, constraints, and loads. It can also help you understand and plan for thermal distribution and stress.

Manufacturing

Fusion 360 allows you to generate toolpaths for different 3D printers. You can also program CNC machines and create multi-axis toolpaths for more complex 3D designs.

Advanced simulation *

You can use multiple load cases, rigid elements, and bolt connectors in your simulation tests and analyze nonlinear materials with advanced cloud simulation. The Ultimate subscription also gives you the event simulation option which makes it easier to determine whether your design will be able to withstand impact.

Advanced manufacturing *

Locating work offsets is easier with the probing feature. The advanced manufacturing feature also allows you to use 4-axis matching and 5-axis simultaneous matching.

Generative design *

With the help of the generative design features you will be able to define project objectives and set your manufacturing and material options. These features also allow you to export CAD-ready files and import CAD-ready geometries.

* available only with the Ultimate subscription

Advanced Features

Once you understand the basics of Fusion 360, you can start discovering its advanced features that will really make your job much easier. These features are packed with little things that may not seem that important at the beginning, but will really start to matter as your workload keeps increasing.

Here are some of the more interesting advanced features in Fusion 360.

Part modeling

If you’re using this program just like you’ve been using Creo, Inventor, and SolidWorks – you’re missing out. Fusion 360 has the great advantage of having surface, direct, parametric, and freeform modeling in the same tool. Freeform modeling on Fusion 360 in particular works great.
A very interesting feature here is the Bridge command. Let’s say you’ve created two separate shapes and now you need a way to connect them quickly and easily. The Bridge command can create segments to transition from one shape to the other. Once you’ve created your bridge, you can just click the Edit Form button and keep defining the shape.

Assembly modeling

While multi-part or top down modeling is hardly a new concept, many engineers and designers still avoid it. Most people model a part and then move them into place to create an assembly. However, Fusion 360 has a great feature that makes top down modeling easier and more efficient.
The feature is called As-Built Joints and it allows you to design the parts in the context of an assembly. This means that all parts are already positioned and you don’t have to move these parts into place. You can use this feature with imported geometry as well.

CAM

If you work in manufacturing, you know that even a small mistake here can cost the company a whole lot of time and money. To make sure you don’t make these mistakes, you can switch to the CAM workspace and use the Adaptive Clearing feature found under the 3D options.
This feature enables you to clear large amounts of material, reduce tool wear, and almost eliminate tool breaking. You can specify the cutter’s optimal load, after which Fusion 360 makes roughing toolpaths that can maintain a continuous tool load.

Collaboration

We’ve already mentioned that collaboration is one of the key advantages of Fusion 360, but it’s time to get into some more detail about this feature. The key terms here are Groups and Folders. You create groups for every project you start. In these groups you create folders which can contain all kinds of data – resources (like images), links from the internet, PDF documents, etc.
You then invite users into this group. They can see all the data, comment on it, and even interact with it by “liking”. Because it’s available for both Mac and Windows and it works on so many devices, there is no need to ask people which version they are running or which viewer their system supports.

Recent Upgrades

Since it was first introduced to the public in 2014, Fusion 360 has seen many upgrades and new features. For example, sheet metal design was made available in 2017. And, although these tools (Extrude, Flange, and Hole/Thread) are not as complete as Inventor’s, you can still do a lot with them.

In 2016, Fusion 360 introduced PCB design features when Autodesk acquired CADsoft, the company that created Eagle – an innovative PCB design system.

Final Word

Fusion 360 is a useful program for all professionals who work on 3D modeling projects as part of a team. Collaboration, data management, and interaction are all much easier. The accessibility features are also very useful, as you can view your designs from your browser, no matter which device or OS you’re using.

What’s more, the folks at Autodesk introduce new features and update the program on a regular basis. Give Fusion 360 a try if you want to find a new way to collaborate on projects.