Autodesk Fusion vs. LightningCAD

This software has been so easy to use from day one! I couldn't be more thrilled with it. Being an SME, it is offered on an annual basis free of charge. My network of engineers are amazed I am able to accomplish what I have using this software when the companies they come from are paying thousands for licensing. I also would like to note that Autodesk offer an incredible specialization to really round out your skills via Coursera.

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• The first PRO of Fusion 360 that always comes to mind is how versatile it is. Fusion 360 is the first CAD/CAM software that also includes other key features that CAD programs of this size don't have.
• Fusion 360 has a generous licensing structure that gives those just starting out a place to start with a professional level CAD program. As a result, this has helped build up a huge community and user base around Fusion 360.
• Fusion 360 is updated on a monthly basis. This has proven to be a huge advantage over Solidworks (something else I use) which is only updated once a year. The nice thing about monthly updates, other than regular bug fixes, is that the team can adapt quickly and no one is taken by storm with a big overhaul of the UI or features at the beginning of the year.

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• Fusion 360 is a very simple program, so once you begin to draw more complex 3D models, the software gets sluggish and loses its fluidity.
• It would be really nice if Fusion 360 could output a model as a SolidWorks file so I can begin to draw something out in Fusion 360 and then pick it up in SolidWorks when I need to do some more advanced functions.
• Because Fusion 360 is a simpler program, there are a few functions such as 3D sketches that are not intuitive like all the rest of the functions are.

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It does everything I need for great value.

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Because the tool is very useful and easy to access, it provides very basic and useful tools to start in the modeling part despite being basic processing aspects. It is also very easy to get a free, temporary, or student license, which makes it a very good CAD tool.

Sometimes I like using it on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, they usually do their updates at this time and it isn't available to use.

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It can freeze sometimes while doing heavy tasks.

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Support is conducted via internet Q&A boards; newcomers to 3D modeling may find that articulating their questions in the language of CAD software is the tricky part — once they find the right technical term for what they're trying to accomplish, answers come quickly. Autodesk also provides a large library of educational tutorial videos that make the initial process of learning Fusion 360's interface much easier.

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No. It is basic and straightforward.

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Autodesk Inventor excels at daily core engineering tasks. When integrated with Vault management systems and part libraries, Autodesk Inventor is tough to beat when you need a mechanical design solution. When Inventor and Vault are setup properly it allows for a very efficient design workflow. I think it would be difficult to achieve the same amount of workflow efficiency with Autodesk Fusion 360, that said, Autodesk Fusion 360 offers a very good toolset at a much lower cost. I can maintain a yearly subscription of Autodesk Fusion 360 and get about 85% of the functionality that is available via the Inventor design suite for the cost of about 2 months of an Inventor subscription. I then also get access to manufacturing plugins with Autodesk Fusion 360 but lose a lot in the drawing environment. Inventor beats Autodesk Fusion 360 hands down when it comes to documentation.

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It offers so much already, and the reason being is that it showed promise early on.

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• It gives me totally positive impacts. Its zero cost eliminates the need to search for other software to use.
• Fusion 360's Autodesk cloud solution enables me to use 3d files generated via other Autodesk design software that are widely used by my customers.

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A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info