Fusion 360

[Hood]

You've certainly picked Fusion 360 up quickly, @Hood – impressive!

It is similar in a lot of ways to other CADCAM so I am not learning from the start, then again I am still at the stage where I have to think about every move/click of the mouse but practice will make it automatic.

 

[ronan]

I used solidworks before i used confusion 360. I was getting on ok with it and then wallop, they go and change the layout of the thing . Don't think i'll bother with it again, don't really need cad anyway, i'm more the back of an old envelope with a hb pencil type.

 

[pressbrake1]

How much does fusion cost.
Used to have delcam but it was horrendous, initial licence and a years subscription came to more than a new zxy mini mill back in 2012

 

[ronan]

How much does fusion cost.
Used to have delcam but it was horrendous, initial licence and a years subscription came to more than a new zxy mini mill back in 2012

An educational/personal licence is free.


https://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/fusion-360-for-hobbyists

 

[Hood]

How much does fusion cost.
Used to have delcam but it was horrendous, initial licence and a years subscription came to more than a new zxy mini mill back in 2012

At the moment I am on the demo but should qualify for the startup licence which is free if you earn less than $100,000
Even if I have to pay it is not horrendous, under £500 a year.

 

[pressbrake1]

At the moment I am on the demo but should qualify for the startup licence which is free if you earn less than $100,000
Even if I have to pay it is not horrendous, under £500 a year.

Cant see s canny old scot like you admitting there’s another zero on that turn over limit

 

[Hood]

Not sure if all conditions have to be met or if it just any of these but here is a screenshot.

 

[WorkshopChris]

It is similar in a lot of ways to other CADCAM so I am not learning from the start, then again I am still at the stage where I have to think about every move/click of the mouse but practice will make it automatic.

Just had a quick look through the video and realise for years I have been doing cad wrong, looks like you just drew a rough shape then altered the properties to get the dimensions you wanted. I often draw each bit at a time, often use a construction layer to get coordinate to snap start and endpoints too, that way looks so much quicker, why didn't I pick up on this earlier,

 

[Hood]

Just had a quick look through the video and realise for years I have been doing cad wrong, looks like you just drew a rough shape then altered the properties to get the dimensions you wanted. I often draw each bit at a time, often use a construction layer to get coordinate to snap start and endpoints too, that way looks so much quicker, why didn't I pick up on this earlier,

That all depends on the CAD, most you have to define the lengths/sizes at the start but the likes of SolidWorks, Fusion and one or two others you can sketch then define, it is much nicer that way

 

[WorkshopChris]

I suppose you get into a mindset of how you go about doing something, and until you see a different approach you stick with what you know.

 

[Hood]

Aye, I started off with TurboCAD many years ago, brother in law bought it in the USA for me and sent it over because it was the same in $ as it was in £'s and at that time the exchange rate was nearer the 2:1 than the 1:1 it is now.
TurboCAD was that you had to define the length/angle etc of each line you drew, when I first started using Solidworks it was a revelation and it is one of the reasons I have been loath to use others.
I do have licences for Cubify which is GeoMagic but likely they are redundant now as I have not used for years, it was similar to SolidWorks.
BobCAD and DolphinCADCAM were the more clunky define as you go way and I avoided using them unless it was something very simple.

 

[DAPPH]

I tried to get my head round Lars channel but he always started way over my head.
I then found McWhorter on and www.Toptechboy.com although he seems like marmite and his "boom" every time he completes a task can get tedious BUT I really think I can follow his method of working........

I started off with McWhorter but soon found that I needed more , did search of someone else & found Lars live , so went over to Lars. Now I need more so did some internet searching & let my wife buy the book for me .

On my birthday 21 / Dec I was given ISBN 978-1-68045-355-3Fusion 360 for Makers ( 280 pages paperback book printed 2018 from Amazon £ 15 ……….. USD $ 29 )
It's been a long progression but a very useful one as I've never done any CNC 2 or 3 D type modeling ..looks like I may be a busy boy for the next few months as I work my way through the book as well as keeping an eye out for the new Lars tube clips .

 

[DAPPH]

You've certainly picked Fusion 360 up quickly, @Hood – impressive!

If he's been using other quality CAD programmes for 3D CAM or 2 D drawings the transfer over won't be that difficult for him .

I'm looking ahead for a not so expensive camera to 3Dd CAM or 3D print programme to be available onto me . as a lot of time I've tried to recreate a broken bit . where as with the photographic prog I could glue the broken bits together then photograph it from many different angles and stitch the lot together as a 3D object then slice it & sent it to the printer . for printing .

 

[Hood]

I have watched a couple of Lars' videos and quite liked them, others I have watched bore me too much
I have not really had to watch too many as often a google search to find out how to do something comes up with the answer in text and stops me having to watch loads of videos only to find out they don't contain the answer

I was looking for a way to make a drawing up for the plasma from a model I had made.
In Solidworks I would have the model and cut away the bits I didn't want, save as a new file then repeat for the rest of the parts and then I would drop them all into an assembly and align as I wanted. Couldn't find a way to do that with Fusion and watched a few videos and then I came upon the Lars one about nesting, downloaded the script and it does all I want Still had to do a search to find out where the Add-Ins button had gone as it is not where the video showed it to be, I suppose that is the problem with constantly developing software.

 

[DAPPH]

Yup , I found the constant updating a bit strange initially , as I'm a bit thick in the brain dept. due to a stroke , but once I got it got in my skull it's been a boon …. it seems a good idea as most updates are intuitive .

 

[ronan]

I'd love solidworks again as i prefer it to Confusion 360, but they really don't want to know about the home user at all. Whats Rhino used for ?

 

[Hood]

I'd love solidworks again as i prefer it to Confusion 360, but they really don't want to know about the home user at all. Whats Rhino used for ?

They don't want to know nowadays unless you have mega money to spare.
Regarding Rhino it is something I have not really tried, I actually got a licence and books from a friend who was a lecturer at Uni but never followed it through apart from a few quick trials, it didn't seem intuitive so I never proceeded to learn it properly.

 

[galooph]

I'd love solidworks again as i prefer it to Confusion 360, but they really don't want to know about the home user at all. Whats Rhino used for ?

If you join the EAA for $40/year, you get a Solidworks license included – https://www.eaa.org/eaa/eaa-membership/eaa-member-benefits

 

[ronan]

They don't want to know nowadays unless you have mega money to spare.
Regarding Rhino it is something I have not really tried, I actually got a licence and books from a friend who was a lecturer at Uni but never followed it through apart from a few quick trials, it didn't seem intuitive so I never proceeded to learn it properly.

Solidworks gave away or sold cheap thousands of licences for all the schools over here, probably some tax-write off or dodge of some kind. A home licence, maybe with reduced ability, not for free, but relatively cheap, would be brilliant.

I want to get into sand casting next year. My woodworking skills to make patterns are dismal, and i thought being able to 3d print them would be a clever way around that. Its really the only reason i want a computer modelling program.

 

[Hood]

That EAA route looks like a good way for you then. Not sure if there is anything involved other than paying your $40 and sending the form in but must be worth a go.