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What is the idea with Fusion 360??

15 REPLIES 15
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Message 1 of 16
Mustang69
1169 Views, 15 Replies

What is the idea with Fusion 360??

I'm an Inventor user since long time and now I was trying out the "Confusing" 360

 

But I have not understand the point of it and why use it?

 

Since it seams to lack any type of drawing capability, sheetmetal and other "must have" feature I really don't se the point.

 

Is it a tool to attract new user that later on buy Inventor?

 

I have just use it for some hours and Fusion has some great "easy to use" tools, but as an paying customer I would expect the same tools and better in Inventor.

Spending $10-15.000 on Inventor and later find out Autodesk don't bother to have same features as "freebies" have is a drag!

 

Its like I have bought an Mercedes AMG but se my neighbors little Kia having the same engine but they dont match eachother at all!. :smileyhappy:

 

Even the Autodesk homescreen tell me to scrap Inventor because here comes a different confusing and new program.

What's the deal?

 

This product feels like Autodesk just shot it self in the foot!

 

original.jpeg

 

 

 

 

 

15 REPLIES 15
Message 2 of 16
Oceanconcepts
in reply to: Mustang69

I believe Autodesk recognizes that there is a profound change underway in the world of design and manufacturing, and that new types of tools are required to participate in that change. They have been clear that many of Fusion's capabilities will migrate into Inventor, but the underlying foundation, the engine, of Fusion is very different, it's not simply a matter of dropping new tools in.  And the nature of Inventor and how it is distributed also requires a far longer update cycle. Fusion is clearly not yet ready to replace programs like Inventor, but for many of us it is a much better fit.  And I expect they are right- the future of CAD will look a lot more like Fusion. Have you looked at the roadmap, at what is planned? With a several month update cycle, changes are happening rapidly.

 

I can say that while I personally want to have drawing capability (which we are told will come in an update early next year) and sheet metal tools, for me they are not essential. We go direct to tooling without 2D drawings.  As it is now Fusion provides me with great advantages for most of the work I need to do.  The ability to move fluidly between sculpting and solid modeling, and to iterate design ideas quickly and easily is for me, right now, worth more than what is missing.  And it's a lot more fun.  This is also an opportunity to be on the ground floor of a profoundly different approach to CAD, using distributed processing resources. The term "paradigm shift" gets over used, but I think it is deserved here.  For me, having been involved with software for many years, that in itself is exciting.  And the Fusion team is a delight to work with, responsive and clearly very motivated.  I think they realize there are participating in something important.  

 

Ron

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

Message 3 of 16
Mustang69
in reply to: Oceanconcepts

Well everybody knows that there is profound changes in the CAD world and it has been that for a long time now.

"Cloudbased" is the word now! But Autodesk just don't learn by its previous mistakes.

I see exact same mistake back in the late 90s when Inventor was released....It was not ready, horrible program to use and thrown out to the users to early.

Users of the 3D Mechanical Desktop didn't chose Inventor and instead everybody looked in other directions and Solid Works took over and still has a good grip of the market.

 

You obviously have no "REAL" contact with production to state that drawings is not essential....It absolutely is and will be that for most.

How else can you describe for your Welders how it should be put together?   You mean welders should have I-pads in the booth! 🙂 I think you have to get up from your desk and get your hands dirty. 🙂

Machines have defenetly no use of drawings....We work also without drawings in some cases like in lasercutters and punching machines

 

Of course you can't throw in new tools into Inventor.. That is my problem now that I see how Autodesk "AGAIN" seams to throw out a program and try to start all over again.....Fusion is not ready at all and Autodesk release it anyway and concentrate its energy into this freak.

 

If the Inventor platform has reach is end of its lifecycle Autodesk should have take more time and develop a new Inventor instead of rush in this "Confusion" in to the market.

 

For fun I calculated the IPT, IAM and IDW files we got in the server and its was over 40.000 files.

Autodesk now tell our company to forget about using this and start all over with another program! 

 

It 1997 again! Solid Works seams to get a stronger grip!

"Cloudbased" is not the answer for engineers sitting a develop department.

Its more "fun stuff" for home users and they don't care about long term use.

Sure cloudbased is very usefull in many cases but not essential. 

"Cloud thinkingshould have been thrown into Inventor much harder 5 years ago.

As an bussiness CEO I would think twice before letting engineers putting out company "jewels" to the Cloud!

 

I se myself as and very skilled and openminded user and I'm not that critic to "Fusion" directly but how Autodesk doesn't seam to have a clear overall plan for the moment.

 

I'm dismayed to read that the Fusion team seams to be more motivated than Autodesk in general?

Between the lines you telling me that Inventor is an tired "old school" program at the end of its life!

 

I hope you are terrible wrong and a New Inventor with similair layout and functions as Fusion is on its way!

 

Message 4 of 16
schneik-adsk
in reply to: Mustang69

I'm sorry you find Fusion confusing.

 

Having met Ron, I can say that he and his team make "real" parts and we are delighted that he Finds Fusion 360 useful.  I hope we can continue to earn his business and trust.  I would ask that you criticize Autodesk If you do not like Fusion and not personally attack it's users.

 

Inventor is, and continues to be, a big investment for our mechanical design team.  We differ with your opinion that Fusion 360 is not ready but agree the tools you need are not there. Fusion 360 is a new product targeted at different users, so it is no surprise that you don't find it a good fit.  We understand that users have good reasons choosing their design solutions and hope that they exercise that choice to use Fusion360 or Inventor or whatever set of tools powers their design. Choosing these tools is based on each person's needs and does not deserve to be attacked.

 

If you have some specific Fusion 360 criticisms can we discuss those?

Kevin Schneider
Message 5 of 16
Mustang69
in reply to: schneik-adsk

Who are those "Differently" customers both you and Autodesk website relate to?

 

Quote "Fusion 360 is a new product target at different users, so it is no surprise that you don't find it a good fit"

 

How come you are not surprised it doesnt fit me?.....Because you know Inventor sucks in many ways!

You must be quite sure of who "different" users are......Not existing anyway!

 

My critics has from the 1 post gone to "Autodesk" (read again) and if you both work at Autodesk its tough for you to be honest.

As an Inventor user i can tell how it is!

By how Fusion 360 is presented and working, your exiting paying customer has 0% use of this almost freebie program

 

Still dissapointed that Inventor is not involved into this!

For those out there having Inventor and do alot of modeling, stop the subscription and choose Fusion 360 or go to other programs!

 

In 2 weeks I will meet Autodesk Inventor executives and it will be very intresting to listen to them also about this internal rivalty.

So I printed out these post for showing.

Message 6 of 16
schneik-adsk
in reply to: Mustang69

If you direct message me email and /or phone contact I would be happy to talk about your frustrations directly.

Kevin Schneider
Message 7 of 16
Oceanconcepts
in reply to: Mustang69

I'm definitely not saying Inventor is "old school" or out of date, and I'm not qualified to comment on Autodesk's overall strategy. Though I have been impressed by what I have seen spending a few days at their offices in SF and Portland, and think it is encouraging that they are working to open up new markets they can serve.  Fusion is just a better fit for what I do.  Fusion may not be the right tool for you , and it may not be able to do what you need. Certainly not if you require drawings, which as you point out many tasks still do.  But I'm an example of one who is choosing Fusion over SolidWorks or Inventor because it better meets my needs.  That has everything to do with the kind of business I have.

.  

I think the changes Fusion is good at addressing are those in the world of manufacturing and product development, it's not so much about changes in the traditional CAD world.  In my case, we are are primarily using Fusion to develop cases for electronic instruments that need to go into a marine and undersea environment. We are not a design house or engineering firm (though some of us are engineers), we are developing products for a specialized market.  It's incredibly useful to be able to iteratively run through design options to see how they influence electronic component choice, user interface design, and many other decisions.  Doing that in a more traditional CAD environment is more difficult. Our processes, from electronics design to mold tooling or prototyping are all digital, we have had no need for 2D drawings until we get to the stage of final assembly documentation, when they would be nice- but I can work around that for now.  

 

So I think we are an example of the kind of manufacturing and development that Fusion is particularly good for- very integrated small businesses that are developing quite sophisticated products from the ground up- things that 20 years ago would have taken a big company with large teams of engineers to bring to market.  Small businesses can now do big things, and they won't necessarily have dedicated full time CAD designers or hundreds to thousands of hours to learn very complex applications.  More accessible tools are a huge plus. 

 

I think the "cloud" tag is unfortunate, as most people just think this refers to how data is stored.  That's not the important part- at least in my opinion.  Fusion is designed from the ground up to utilize distributed resources for processing- so tasks like file translation, that can be a real challenge in dealing with diverse desktop environments, can be handled server side with greater reliability and control.  Features I will rarely use, but will want to have access to, like Simulations, are integrated but not in the way.   I have some small grasp of how profoundly different this approach is architecturally, and I don't expect it to be seamless.  

 

I think Fusion is just oriented towards a different market and group of users- it's not the traditional CAD market, but we are quite real.  And I regularly get my hands dirty, and have done for many years. Smiley Wink

- Ron

Mostly Mac- currently M1 MacBook Pro

Message 8 of 16
jeffwaldosand
in reply to: Mustang69

I have been using SolidWorks since 1996 and Alias since before that.  That first seat of SolidWorks was primitive as perhaps the impression many of you have of FUSION now.  I will say this after 20 years of 3D CAD Fusion addresses the key issues that the plague old CAD and CAID paradigms namely speed and freedom.  Its not there yet but considering the improvements in just the last year I say look out.  This package with a few more tools will eat solid modelers for breakfast and surface modelers for lunch.  Let hope that the AUTODESK executives stay out of the Fusion developers way.

Message 9 of 16
rpagewood
in reply to: Mustang69

Interesting to see Dassault Sys have just released a new "cloud" version of Solidworks, called Mechanicaql Conceptual. It looks like they are set up to go directly head to head with Fusion 360. It will be interesting to see how these programs develop and who can stay ahead of the game.

I personally have been using solidworks for a few years and F360 for about a year. I really enjoy using F360 compared to SWKS but it still seems to have limited functionallity in some areas. 

Also I don't buy the notion that people will use these cloud programs as only one tool to complement other programs like inventor of swks. I think most designers prefer the all-in-one package with the ability to customise workspaces and functions to their needs.

 

 

 

Message 10 of 16
steve
in reply to: jeffwaldosand

I too have been using SW since then, and Pro-E, before that. The one thing I cannot stand is "Cloud based" apps, why in the Hell Fusion360 is not a standalone product is beyond me. Autodesk needs to get off that road to nowhere, quick and GET FUSION360 BACK ON TRACK !!
I Tried to run Fusion on my Mac and waited and waited for the "HUB" to configure..... What a POS !!!
Message 11 of 16
AndrewSears
in reply to: steve

 

Hi Steve,

 

If you are not aware, we are trying to develop something new that users (you) want.  It would be best if you gave us a chance to help you.  The product is customer focused and customer driven.  We are trying to make this something great and we know we have much more to do. You are more than welcome to bash the product but coming at it like you are will not help us make it better.  A lot of people are using the product, adding valuable insight, and telling us what they want along with what we are doing wrong.  You can say something sucks but you need to tell us constructively if we are going to make it better for you.

 

So, we are aware of some issues with installations.  We are also aware that server problems discourage users from using the product and sometimes HUBs are taking longer than desired to get created.  Helping us figure this out will help make the product better for everyone.  Please try restarting your system and launching the product again.  If that does not help, please start a new thread so we can diagnose the problem and get you a solution.

 

Thanks,

Andy

Message 12 of 16
schneik-adsk
in reply to: steve

Steve,

 

There have been some times where Hub configuration takes longer than we like.  Can you let us know when you tried. We are sorry you ran into this trouble.

 

 

Kevin Schneider
Message 13 of 16
mrrtomcuk
in reply to: AndrewSears

As a complete noob to 3D I really like F360 and althought it has got its problems I am hoping over time these will be ironed out. I am not adverse to cloud apps and have definitely moved my 'work'flow online for most things but the hangs and crashes are a bit of a drag. I came to Autodesk as a longtime Mac user through the sketchbook app on the iPhone and then to Mac wehre I downloaded InvFusion on app store so am no advanced user or using it for production but for me it has been the easyest and most productive app I have used for creating my stuff..

 

On a side note It seem to have gone quiet on the video content from youtube, always enjoy and learned loads from this. I am chipping away at my projects and am looking forwards to Fusion moving on.. would be sad to see it go..

Tom

Message 14 of 16
steve
in reply to: mrrtomcuk

Hi Tom,

 

I have been using solid modeling software for 23 +, I would like to see F360 succeed, but unfortunately in my opinion it has failed miserably... (to this day, I have not been able to run the software over the "Cloud" to even see it's potential.

 

Autodesk, should of released the software by itself, Fusion360 as a stand alone package, and forget about whether, you can prove you could run it over the cloud or not.

Pretty sad, to think that, (from what I've seen in videos) F360 looked great, it ran on a Mac (because of the cloud?) and that Autodesk let this happen.

And now hopefully the eyes of the engineering world, won't take this as a BIG JOKE...

Message 15 of 16
schneik-adsk
in reply to: steve

Steve, We know of a few cases where hub configuration failed and want to help. Please contact me and we can get you up and running. You are right that it is unacceptable. Please accept our help to fix this rare but unfortunate situation.

You can reach me directly at kevin dot schneider at autodesk.com
or at 503 - eight 69 - 4751, PDT

Kevin Schneider
Message 16 of 16
schneik-adsk
in reply to: schneik-adsk

Steve. please contact us so we can help.
Kevin Schneider

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