Complex/Large assemblies performance

[danealex101D5NH4]

Hi,

Would F360 be able to handle complex/large assemblies with many sub assemblies? For example a machine with all its components from structure to engine to hydraulic pipes and fittings? I need to have every single component modeled and able to view on its own. Inventor seems to handle it fine but the cost of inventor is really high compared to F360.

Cheers.

[brad_francola]

Are we talking about a garden tractor or a space shuttle?  I think the answer is "probably" as I've seen fairly complex models in F360 with many subassemblies.  

[danealex101D5NH4]

Hi Brad, thanks for the reply.

A good example would be a front end loader. Id like to model every physical component. I wouldn't need to make changes in the Top level assembly and could go into sub assemblies to do so. I just want to know if the application would be able to handle all the components fitted together.

Thanks.

[HughesTooling]

@danealex101D5NH4 This question should be in the Design forum, you'll get more advice on this sort of question there.  @seth.madore can you move this thread? @TrippyLighting might have some advice.

[TrippyLighting]

@danealex101D5NH4 

What is your experience with "large" assemblies in other CAD systems and ho many components does that entail?

Once you have the assembly, what are you going to do with it?
Are you going to create BOMs / Parts List for purchasing? Are you going to release manufacturing and assembly drawings to production?

[danealex101D5NH4]

Ive been studying draughting and have 3 years experience (as a student) and I need to purchase/subscribe to a drawings plan. Inventor has been able to handle my projects which max out at around 5000 total occurrences in document. I plan to create a total parts list of the machine and also fitment of certain components if needed, in inventor the presentation drawings are perfect for this. Id also like to make up fabrication drawings for parts to make instead of having to buy them. Ive done small models in F360 before and it works well, I just don't know how it will handle with large assemblies.

Thank you for your reply

[TrippyLighting · Accepted solution]

I believe that could work, but I also believe that the experience is not going to be as fluent as with Inventor and might require a compromise here and there.

There's a reason Inventor is more expensive as it is much fuller featured than Fusion 360 when it comes to designing and engineering machinery. 

I would recommend to try Fusion 360 out on a smaller project and see how that works. After all it;s a subscription based product and if it does not satisfy, you can cancel the subscription. 

[danealex101D5NH4]

Thank you for your advice. I just wanted to know if it was a known bad idea to try use fusion 360 with so many components. Ill give it a go.

Cheers.

[jeff_strater]

In my experience, no matter the CAD system you are using, there are tradeoffs - to what level of detail are you planning to model your designs?  You say "I need to have every single component modeled and able to view on its own.".  Does this include all fasteners in the model?  Do you need every fastener listed in a large design?  Do you need the threads on the fasteners to be modeled in 3D? 

"A good example would be a front end loader"  This is a good example of the problem/question here.  A front end loader contains an engine and one or more gear boxes.  Do you need to model all the internals of these components, as well?  There may be a safety card associated with the loader that, when manufactured, will have embossed text on it.  Do you need that level of detail in your design?  So, depending on how you decide these tradeoffs, your experience may vary.

There is also the factor of design practices.  There are some design practices that lead to better performance than others (how your components are partitioned across designs in Fusion, knowing to avoid large sketch patterns, etc).

Don't hesitate to come back here and ask for more advice.  There is a lot of experience on this forum that can help guide you, and make your experience as productive as possible.

[danealex101D5NH4]

Hi Jeff, Thank you for your reply.

I wouldn't need to model internals of components, its more just a parts list that clients would be able to order from.

There would be a few things such as a filter which will consist of the housing, filter itself and seals. Tag plates with text will also have to be on there. Id need to do all the hydraulic hoses/pipe runs with their fittings. Not all the fasteners need to have thread, just one on each component for the parts list when showing how to assemble.

I do not think i would have the best design practices in fusion, I'm only looking into fusion because of the price difference.

[TrippyLighting]

I would still think you should give Fusion 360 a try, particularly as you already have solid experience in Inventor.

Based on your descriptions in Autodesk Inventor you use a bottom-up design method. Each part/component is designed in it's own file. Assemblies are dedicated assembly files.

In Fusion 360 that is equivalent to using linked components. With a proper sub-assembly hierarchy that  should keep things relatively speedy.

If you use imported geometry, e.g fasteners or other of-the-shelf components like fittings etc. then, after import, do NOT enable the timeline. Timeline designs are 2-3 times larger data-size. Even when changes are needed to such purchased parts, are these simple one-time changes and do they really need to be parametric? If not, then don't enable the timeline.

Also, "pure" assembly files where you don't create geometry also don't necessarily require a timeline. 

All of the above can make a significant difference!