Improved Sheet Metal Tools

[kellings]

Sheet metal in Fusion has been virtually untouched since the initial appearance of sheet metal tools in Fusion 360. It's time these sheet metal tools were updated with some enhanced capability like:

Convert a part to a sheet metal part

Rip Tool 

Corner Seam tool

Hem tool

Bend Tool

Lofted Flange tool (press brake initially, formed eventually)

These tools have been implemented in Autodesk Inventor for a very long time and Autodesk knows how these tools should function. For Fusion to be a professional design tool, it must include core sheet metal functionality that has been missing for a very very long time now. 

[Anonymous]

Conversion of a part to sheet metal would also take care of my other sheet metal gripe, that we can't import as sheet metal. Most of what I do is sheet metal, and not being able to import a file as sheet metal means I can't collaborate with others - if they don't use the same CAD program we wind up drawing the same thing independently, hoping we didn't miss anything. This is not workable.

[Simon.Uniqa]

Please add an export tool and creating 2D drawing from unfolded design with ability to add measurements. It is unbelievably hard to export design to DXF, (create sketch project unfolded design in many cases not all of the edges projected, add lines manually).

[sandris.vitolins]

Yes, yes, yes... Please.

Brilliant idea!

1st - lofted flange tool;

2nd - convert part to sheet metal tool;

3rd - hem tool.

[twhit16]

Additionally, adding a “lofted bend” command would give f360 the ability to design aluminum boats with flat patterns. It would also be nice to have a witness mark option to place on the bend line, as of now, I extrude holes through the bend line but they aren’t that accurate as measuring and center punching by hand.

[SEIZMICdesign]

I meant to comment on this the other day, but now I'm glad I didn't, because I just caught wind of this video:

THIS is what I've been saying sheet metal in Fusion needs to be since before sheet metal was even in Fusion yet. There are thousands of companies out there that do product development. Every product needs a package. Packaging needs die lines. It would be an absolute product development POWERHOUSE if we could design & engineer a product, create packaging, and generate die lines, all in one app. Icing on cake would be the ability to quickly & easily generate blister forms by being able to draft a sheet over an object/product with a built-in offset. But first things first!

I don't want to be forced into yet another crappy Adobe product, but it looks like I will have no option here.

[SwApNiLbAd]

hiii @SEIZMICdesign thanks for showing such a video......seriously the features in that software is best for packaging design.

[SEIZMICdesign]

@SwApNiLbAd Not sure what you’re getting at. I use fusion for packaging design (as well as product design & pop design) and I doubt I’m the only one. I think the features in the video would be awesome functionality for Fusion. I can’t tell if you’re agreeing or disagreeing. 

[SwApNiLbAd]

@SEIZMICdesign yes i ' am agree with your idea for fusion it will be very useful for packaging designing.

[SEIZMICdesign]

@SwApNiLbAd  Thanks!

And for any Fusion360 Team members reading this, I just wrapped up a couple Die Line projects using Fusion360, and here are a few big takeaways fwiw:

1)) Interference. This is the biggest one because it is a key issue in other points as well. We've got to be able to flatten/unfold even when there's touching going on. Things need to be able to touch. Things touch in the real world. That's just the way it is. You could give us a little red or orange or yellow tint where the intersection is, but things should be able to touch/intersect. 

2)) Tabs & cut. Directly related to Interference, we need to be able to push a tab flange through another flange and cut out the intersecting area - heck, maybe even with an offset option! 

3)) It's sheet metal, right? I remember in SolidWorks whenever you made a cut as in Takeaway #2, no matter the angle, the cut would be made perpendicular to the sheet metal surface, because the software knew that it was sheet metal and in all likelihood wouldn't/couldn't be cut at an angle to the sheet metal surface. Fusion360 treats a cut in sheet metal like any other body cut. Which wouldn't be a problem I guess, except as I've found out, It throws an error at you if you try to make a flat pattern. 

So in leu of putting actual cardboard/packaging capabilities into Fusion360, taking care of these issues would go a long way in streamlining the workflow for those of us who use Fusion's Sheet Metal functionality for cardboard, paperboard & packaging.

[lesterN4P2J]

I Totally agree! A large part of our work is sheet metal and I am surprised at the lack of focus on bringing sheet metal u to power with other traditional platforms. Please, please, Autodesk, take this seriously and show us some real progress in this area. Otherwise We think Fusion 360 is amazing!

[Anonymous]

I think these ideas are really awesome and would be nice to see them in implemented into fusion 360.

[Anonymous]

Also idea for ACP with V groove could be added. All the time inner angle is 0 and final width depend on V groove position. Please consider this as well.

[john.h]

Dev team, take note of this thread please.

Most of the sheet metal work I do in CAD is reverse engineering real world prototypes we hand fabricate and then I convert to models for CNC bending. One of the requirements for this type of workflow is to be able to create a face, then draw new faces off the edges of the original face using planes sharing the edge as the new flange face. Inventor and SolidWorks both automatically generate bends between the new face and the existing face using the Bend Rules with the option for overrides (Bend relief shape and size for instance).

I was forced to go back to inventor for these projects due to this lack of functionality in the sheet metal realm currently. I didn't realize how much I relied on this functionality until it was absent, I just assumed that a sheet metal CAD package would always have this ability.

In summary, as the OP stated, a Bend operation that uses existing face edges OR the ability to automatically create bends between two faces that share an edge would be HUGELY beneficial.

[lesterN4P2J]

Totally agree!
I think Fusion 360 is great but there is little or no priority on developing the sheet metal functionality. Come on Autodesk, let’s see a bit of action please!

[Anonymous]

Sheet metal tools are extremely important.  Please improve them with functions that allow curved surfaces to be unfolded.  We should be able to use sheet metal tools to create flat patterns of conic-sectioned surfaces as would be found on aerodynamic bodies such as planes, cars, drones, etc.  Please add tools that allow users to select/place seams. 

[Anonymous]

After years of using onshape, I am now with two companies that have been fairly insistent on using Fusion 360 for collaboration.  This has left me trying to migrate to this new system and now having so redraw all of my sheet metal parts since you can't import as sheet metal or convert once imported.  Would be very grateful for this functionality.  

[carl-bartlett]

Slight modification to this Idea.
Be able to save The “drop” end of a “tube” (in my case)and make it its own body you could split a the face and convert it to sheet metal. For a printable tube notch template. 

[Technilamp]

How about a sheet metal rolling and unrolling tool?