topic Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue in Fusion Electronics Forum

Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

filippo.campanini — Mon, 08 May 2023 16:15:52 GMT

Hello,

I'm working on a PCB in Fusion which is well below the 80cm x 80cm area space fixed as limit for the free version. Nevertheless when i try to move components in some part of the PCB, Fusion reports an error saying that I am outside of the limits allowed.

As per the attached image the size of the PCB is: height 33cm and the width is 4cm in the larger part and 2.5cm in the shorter one.

Can someone help me in understanding what's going on here?

Thanks,

Filippo

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

mtl_asm — Mon, 08 May 2023 16:39:17 GMT

The limitation is 80cm^2, so check your math. An 80cm by 80cm board is 6400 cm^2. Even if your whole board was 2.5 cm wide it would be 2.5cm * 33cm = 82.5 cm^2.

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

filippo.campanini — Mon, 08 May 2023 16:54:21 GMT

Dear mtl.asm,

I checked my math, believe me, and that's not what is wrong....

What's VERY wrong is the info on the Autodesk site.

From the site:

screen from fusion site

Even if it's in Italian I think you can easily appreciate that Autodesk is saying that the limitation is 80cm x 80cm!!! so yes 6400 cm^2!!!

Filippo

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

mtl_asm — Mon, 08 May 2023 17:09:40 GMT

It is a typo on that page unfortunately. The limitation is 80 cm squared.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-electronics/maximum-dimensions-for-pcb-for-free-users/td-p/11685921#:~:text=The%20size%20limits%20for%20the,board%20located%20at%20the%20origin.

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

filippo.campanini — Mon, 08 May 2023 17:17:33 GMT

well... it's a typo... me I have setup my project with Fusion on the basis of this typo!

... now that the schematic is ready (quite complex one!) what am I supposed to do?

Have I to reset everything from scratch on another SW or have I to pay 74 € per month??

I'm really speechless

Filippo

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

barry.coyotecreekranch — Tue, 23 May 2023 09:47:15 GMT

The limitation I see on the Autodesk (USA) site is 8000 mm^2. That's a square of about 89 mm on each side. I just did a PCB that size using the free version; no issues. I really wish is was bigger.

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

jorge_garcia — Tue, 23 May 2023 21:00:44 GMT

Hi @barry.coyotecreekranch,

I hope you're doing well. It's a little more flexible than that, you can use any combination of Length and Width as long as L x W = 8000mm^2.

Duly noted on the request for more space.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

filippo.campanini — Wed, 24 May 2023 22:02:20 GMT

Yep now the corrected the "typo" in all the localized versions:

I finally moved to Kicad cause it was unacceptable for me to pay given the issue i got. I have to say that Kicad in the last version has nothing less then Fusion, actually in terms of user interface it's, in my opinion, even better... and no limitations at all!

Cheers,

Filippo

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

maciej_glowacki2EU2B — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 10:57:56 GMT

@jorge_garcia ok, Please take a look at this file. As you mentioned, it's below 8000, but one isn't working. This is not a commercial project; I'm helping students, and unfortunately, I've been struggling with it for two days.

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

maciej_glowacki2EU2B — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 16:21:58 GMT

Wouldn't it be better to provide a straightforward message saying the board is too large, even though it's not the case in this situation? And if it's too large, just say, 'You cannot design,' instead of not loading and causing confusion about where you can place elements. What's the point of this?

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

jorge_garcia — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:26:49 GMT

Hello @maciej_glowacki2EU2B,

Unfortunately, I dont think you uploaded the file. It seems it's the image of me correcting the error on the website. If the board is smaller and you are still getting the error make sure that all of the copper objects are in the positive X and Y axes. The board limitation is enforced assuming components are only in the positive XY quadrant.

Let me know if you continue to run into problems.

Best Regards,

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

maciej_glowacki2EU2B — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:36:46 GMT

Thank you for your answer, I will check and let you know. BR. Maciej

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

maciej_glowacki2EU2B — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 10:47:37 GMT

@jorge_garcia The attached screen shows surface areas in positive positions that do not exceed the limits. What next? BR Maciej

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

jorge_garcia — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 21:00:27 GMT

Hi @maciej_glowacki2EU2B,

I hope you're doing well. Thank you for the picture, that was key in figuring it out. You have an unusual board shape and I fully believe that it's area is less than 80cm^2. With that said the area limitation is based on a rectangular envelope where the bottom left corner is at 0 0. The top right corner is at the copper object that is the furthest away in the X and Y axes. You have some components already placed at around 4inches in the X dimension which means that the furthest any parts could be placed in the Y axis is around 3inches, so the move you are trying to perform wont work because you are trying to place it near 5inches in the Y direction.

So the key thing here is to realize that it's not measuring the outline of the Dimension layer, but using the extents of copper in the design to form a rectangular envelope and calculating the area of that do determine how far new moves are allowed to go.

I know it's a lot so if you have any questions on the above. Please let me know.

Best Regards,

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

ponchoaem — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:35:59 GMT

what is the allowed pcb board area for fusion pay version?

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

Pieter.Jan.Van.de.Maele — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:44:45 GMT

Hi there, you can find the difference between personal and full here:

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal/compare

Re: Fusion 360 PCB area free version issue

nicholas_rivera — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 03:49:05 GMT

@jorge_garcia wrote:
Hello @maciej_glowacki2EU2B,

Unfortunately, I dont think you uploaded the file. It seems it's the image of me correcting the error on the website. If the board is smaller and you are still getting the error make sure that all of the copper objects are in the positive X and Y axes. The board limitation is enforced assuming components are only in the positive XY quadrant.

Let me know if you continue to run into problems.

Best Regards,

For anyone (like me) coming to this conversation in the future, this is the solution that I needed to see to fix the problem. I had the same problem previously with a board that was well under the 80cm2 limit, but got it working after basically starting over, though I never understood why. I just had the same error pop up again on a new project, which brought me here. Without this info, that the copper all needs to be in the (X+, Y+) quadrant, it just seems like there’s a weird glitch happening. Thank you Jorge.