Thoughts and Opinions on Fusion 360

Pete F · Nov 11, 2014

Now that Fusion 360 is out of Beta and being used live I'm curious as to how people are finding it, any comments of suggestions?

I use Macs and this has always been hobbling in terms of CAD/CAM software, rather ironic considering how much they're used in some design areas. I tried to get in to Rhino, available in Beta for Macs, but it just wasn't for me. Not to take anything away from it, it just seemed more suited to organic shapes than the machining I'm doing on (for now) manual machines. Obviously it also had no CAM capacity at all. As a complete newbie to the CAM side of things, I can still see the value of it if it's available, just in terms of how to go about turning a model into something real.

Autodesk probably don't monitor this forum, but I have to take my hat off to them in terms of pricing and conditions. They've always had an extremely generous policy in terms of academic licensing, but with that window now closed to me, I very much appreciate their "startup" licensing. I know I'll get flack here for saying this, but I think it's very smart of them, and I believe there is absolutely no incentive at all for anyone to pirate their software. If you want to do that, just use the "startup" licence anyway :nutter:

Meanwhile I think that token will be very much appreciated by the community, and when combined with a very realistic pricing scheme, I will have absolutely no hesitation in doing the right thing and converting my startup licence to a regular licence once the software starts producing money. I don't think I'm Robinson Crusoe either. Hats off to Autodesk in my opinion.

csharp · Nov 12, 2014

So far I like the software and agree with your comments. They appear to be listening to uses and their concerns.

I believe it is going to be a great product and have purchased to lock in the ultimate at standard pricing.

Pete F · Nov 12, 2014

What's the difference between these versions BTW?

csharp · Nov 12, 2014

Fuson 360 and Fusion 360 Ultimate Roadmap into nex... - Autodesk Community

at the bottom of the page it has the differences in an image

November Update Preview - Autodesk Community

athack · Nov 12, 2014

I have been using for about 6 months and like it. I am new to solid modeling but can 2d draw well. The learning has been fairly easy. I did buy the service.

Athack

Dan B · Nov 12, 2014

Pete F said:
I tried to get in to Rhino, available in Beta for Macs, but it just wasn't for me. Not to take anything away from it, it just seemed more suited to organic shapes than the machining I'm doing on (for now) manual machines. Obviously it also had no CAM capacity at all. As a complete newbie to the CAM side of things, I can still see the value of it if it's available, just in terms of how to go about turning a model into something real.

Just want to speak up briefly in defense of Rhino for anyone else reading this thread in the future. Pete, I'm not aiming this at you.

Rhino has many plug-ins available that do a variety of things, including CAM. By leaving the added functionality to plug-ins the cost of the core program can remain low. If you need certain functionality (like CAM, photo-realistic rendering, IK animations, FEA etc) then buy it. We have 50 seats of Rhino, but not all share CAM. There are three CAM plug-ins that immediately pop to mind, but this is the one we have:

madCAM

All of our products that pass through the CNC department are surfaced in Rhino. WorkNC is our main CAM software, but we do use madCAM everyday as well. It is capable of full simultaneous machining straight out of Rhino as shown here:

2014-11-12_0945 - DanBayn's library

Sorry for the diversion.

Back to the topic...

specfab · Nov 12, 2014

I purchased the Fusion 360 subscription as well right before the end of Oct., and have been working with it off and on since then. I have decent 2D Autocad skills, but have not previously done much with 3D modeling, so it's "completely" a new experience. Hard to tell sometimes whether a given problem is me or the software. It appears as well that there is still a LOT of development going on at Autodesk for this product, and that leads to further questions in my mind... To their credit, I also think they are being quite responsive to user commentary and requests. I'll spend the year with it (bought the annual deal), and see how it looks next Oct.
The tutorials they created are helpful in basic mechanics of usage, although they are not so informative in terms of why things are the way they are, or what the overall context is for a given sequence of commands. I suspect that for someone reasonably skilled in other 3D modeling software, it might be less opaque, but for noobs, it seems very non-intuitive in many cases. Definitely something to "sit down and learn how it works".

DavidScott · Nov 12, 2014

I have been using it some for close to a year now. It is a very new, work in progress, program that is progressing rapidly. I really like it but the learning material Autocad provides is LAME, but like everything else they are working on it. The best material for the beginner is at https://www.myigetit.com/Library/Topics/69?name=Autodesk_Fusion_360. It is free for the first 3 months or so. I think if you are even contemplating using it now in another year you will be sold on it.

I looked at Madcam about 14 months ago and found it to be flat useless at 2.5d milling, they didn't even support G41 cutter comp.

Dan B · Nov 12, 2014

DavidScott said:
I looked at Madcam about 14 months ago and found it to be flat useless at 2.5d milling, they didn't even support G41 cutter comp.

FWIW... it does now. Added in the May service release.

Atomkinder · Nov 12, 2014

I've been using Fusion since CAM 360 was opened as a Tech Preview. The toolpaths are nice, setups are incredibly simple and intuitive, and the post is the same as the one used by HSMWorks, so if you are considering moving to the next level at some point, your post is already taken care of, and they're very quick to make changes for you if needed. I do need to learn modeling properly though, but that would be true of any software (we have SolidWorks at work, and of course it's notably different). A better training sequence geared towards industrial modeling would be nice, but as stated, it's still pretty new and I think it was aimed more towards 3D design of organic shapes in the past. The CAM integration will help change that I think.

I also bought in in October and intend to keep it up if they continue to improve the software at anything close to the rate they have been so far.

specfab · Nov 12, 2014

One additional note: I also found the CAM side of the software almost knock-me-over easy and intuitive, which surprised me by comparison. If it truly stays that way, it should be a very valuable asset to the package.

Krovvax · Nov 12, 2014

can you guys tell me is it the same has inventor we use inventor 2011 at work and im looking forward to buy a cam for the shop too. can we just get rid of inventor and use fusion 360 alone or you still need both and both lisence too ?

Monomer · Nov 13, 2014

Krovvax said:
can you guys tell me is it the same has inventor we use inventor 2011 at work and im looking forward to buy a cam for the shop too. can we just get rid of inventor and use fusion 360 alone or you still need both and both lisence too ?

You should look into HSMexpress

m98custom1212 · Nov 13, 2014

Im debating if I should sub for $300 for ultimate for life deal. I think the deal ends tomorrow.

csharp · Nov 13, 2014

m98custom1212 said:
Im debating if I should sub for $300 for ultimate for life deal. I think the deal ends tomorrow.

Actually extended it til December 13

Fusion 360 Ultimate Coming this Saturday, Startup ... - Autodesk Community

Code:

We had an overwhelming response to the introductory offer for Fusion 360 Ultimate. 
In case you missed my blog post, as an existing Fusion 360 subscriber, 
you will now have access to Fusion 360 Ultimate (for the price of standard Fusion 360 for life). 
We have decided to extend that date to December 13th.

DavidScott · Nov 13, 2014

Krovvax said:
can you guys tell me is it the same has inventor we use inventor 2011 at work and im looking forward to buy a cam for the shop too. can we just get rid of inventor and use fusion 360 alone or you still need both and both lisence too ?

I believe I read somewhere on Autodesk's forum blog that the cam side for Inventor, Solidworks, and Fusion will eventually be the same. Depending on your needs Fusion may be a little new to ditch Inventor for. You may want to wait another year.

Benjgordon · Feb 6, 2017

I have been using Fusion 360 for my work. I had little experience in 3D modelling and never done 2.5D milling as never had a chance.
since using fusion 360 it has meant that the job shop can do a lot more work and more complex parts.
I am finding it difficult trying to get my model and material different when doing the CAM.
But I think Fusion is one of the best out there. Its just so simple to use. You do run into a few problems but I do think it is worth its price.

apoc_101 · Feb 6, 2017

I think it's developing quite well. They have their competition cut out of them though, with OnShape also providing an excellent cloud based CAD which works very well on mobile. Fusion has the advantage of CAM already implemented, Inventors proven sheetmetal functionality making its way in, 3D print outputs without a 3rd party software, and so forth. A little extra competition will only drive Autodesk to fully implement Fusions new features on a tighter timeline.

Atomkinder · Feb 6, 2017

apoc_101 said:
I think it's developing quite well. They have their competition cut out of them though, with OnShape also providing an excellent cloud based CAD which works very well on mobile. Fusion has the advantage of CAM already implemented, Inventors proven sheetmetal functionality making its way in, 3D print outputs without a 3rd party software, and so forth. A little extra competition will only drive Autodesk to fully implement Fusions new features on a tighter timeline.

It's not Inventor's sheet metal. I'm on the preview and so far it's got some really nice features, especially for integrated designing (like dragging flange angles where you want them) but it needs work and the development team knows this.

Fusion as a whole is still a bit rough but getting better every update (with some bumpy issues of course).

The CAM is pretty good but the developers in that arena do not communicate as well as the CAD side do which is unfortunate IMO.

Zahnrad Kopf · Feb 6, 2017

I guess I will be the voice of dissent. If one is looking for hobbyist software it is great. If you are only needing 3 axis machining, it is pretty darn good for the price. If you need anything past that, either CAD beyond a basic level, or 4th axis ( or even 5th axis ) capability, then I think it is fairly thorough crap and nowhere near prime time, much less worth paying for such and you should look elsewhere to satisfy your needs. And none of that even addresses turning, which is equally functional as 4 axis toolpathing. Actually, it might be better than 4axis... which is not to say much good at all... :rolleyes5:

Thoughts and Opinions on Fusion 360

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