Item: Autodesk Fusion
Rating: 9
Author: Mark Williams

Overall Satisfaction with Autodesk Fusion 360

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Autodesk Fusion 360 as a CAD design tool but also as a CAM tool to generate g code for manufacturing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Autodesk Fusion 360 is great at top down design
Design Flexibility
Cloud Based/Great for collaboration
Many different tools available for analysis
Affordable subscription-based software

Cons

Drawing environment could improve significantly, especially when compared to Inventor
Would like to be able to replace parts within a design assembly
Joints are sometimes limiting for assembly environments

Most Important Features

Cloud-based Collaboration
Design history
Intuitive design approach

Return on Investment

Reduced the need for in-person design strategy meetings
Allows me to do sophisticated FEA analysis without purchasing an expensive software. I can just buy credits to use for a specific project to put towards very specific engineering activities. Upfront investment is small, benefit return is big.

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.

Key Insights

Do you think Autodesk Fusion delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Autodesk Fusion's feature set?

Yes

Did Autodesk Fusion live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Autodesk Fusion go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Autodesk Fusion again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Autodesk Inventor, Microsoft Excel, Katana Manufacturing ERP, Adobe Acrobat DC

Likelihood to Recommend

Autodesk Fusion 360 has a pretty small learning curve so I think it is great for someone that may be less familiar with CAD. The base software offers a ton of features typically not available in an entry level software and would typically require multiple software packages to provide similar functionality. I love that I am able to do design a part and then generate g code to 3D print the part or use a myriad conventional manufacturing approaches to process the part according to capabilities that I have.

Comments

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Autodesk Fusion 360 - budget design software full of good surprises