Creating Custom Drawing Templates

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks

I need to create a custom drawing template for my students. Can someone direct me on how to make one. Or is there a tutorial.

Thanks

Mark

[masa.minohara]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for posting! I found some learning pages that contain useful information. Please take a look at the page below. I hope this helps!

• About Drawing Templates
• Modify the Title Block and Border
• Specify Settings for Drawings

[Anonymous]

Isn't it bass akwards that we have to use ANOTHER package to create a title block to insert into a drawing template instead of just sketching on native to Fusion360? What am I missing? Common sense here?

[scott.price]

Hi @Anonymous -

Just to follow up on this really quickly. Templates can be set up form an existing drawing in Fusion 360. When you've created a Fusion Drawing you'd like to base a template on, go ahead and select output drawing template from the Output panel in the toolbar.

This will save a template that can be shared and reused from the Create Drawing command dialog. The template can also be edited by opening it directly in the data panel.

Currently the template will save Annotation Settings, Title block Attributes as well as any text notes that have been created. We're still working on building functionality for this feature, so please let me know how you find it and if there's anything that can be added to help you accomplish what you're looking for more easily.

Best,

Scott

[TMC.Engineering]

@Anonymous, @Anonymous,

Essentially you need autocad to create the custom title block.  It is frustrating that drawings are only marginally useful in their current implementation.  But they are working on making it better, just posted a few minutes ago.

based on the post authoring title blocks is in the backlog so maybe end of next year If I had to guess.... no idea really

[Anonymous]

Thank you


I will give it a try


Mark

[johnson2423]

Is this still the same story in Aug 2017?  Drawings are definitely the shortcomings of Fusion 360.  Are we going to be able to create custom templates natively?  I don't have a seat of Autocad, only SW.  If I could create a SW template and import it I wouldn't complain but I'm in the unique position where I'm trying to pull all of the hooks out between me and SW but still the drawings in Fusion do not hold a candle to my SW drawings..... currently.  Help me change that!!!

[johnson2423]

To be specific.  I'm talking about Title Block.  I mean, fonts, annotations, units, fine.  But I need to be able to have a beautiful title block and adust my font sizes on the individual dim by dim level so that I can squeeze in more details and dims in certain areas of the drawing.  A bit frustrating.  Let do it Fusion!!!!

[HughesTooling]

You can use QCAD to create a custom title block, I've attached a sample file. You use block attributes to create fields you can edit in Fusion, there is no auto populate with custom title blocks.

[Anonymous]

The drawing template and titleblock features in Fusion are a Freakin joke.  I have spent the last half hour or more trying to bring an AutoCAD titleblock into Fusion so that I can create a new drawing template.  The instructions say to create a block from your AutoCad file so I did that, it wont import because there are imbeded blocks etc.  So the instructions then tell you to explode all the blocks etc but if I do that I lose most of the attributes that I have spend hours creating in the first place, so what's the advantage of doing that as the attributes would all need to be redefined which is another huge waste of time.

Fusion needs to go back to drawings 101 at get this crap fixed.  They have done such a great job with other aspects of Fusion but they have totally dropped the ball on drawings and templates.  this is deplorable that they haven't got this working properly yet.

If I have an AutoCAD drawing template I should be able to import it with minimal editing, or better yet, just use it as it is without having to redo it or change anything.  Working in the Autodesk world, this shouldn't be am impossible task.

Until Fusion gets their drawings and templates sorted out and fixed properly I am forced to do all my drawings in Solidworks, so to do that - what's the sense of using Fusion to begin with?  I am trying to divest myself of Solidworks but it seems this isn't happening anytime soon.

Even better why not get Fusion to the point where I could just import a Solidworks template file and have Fusion do the conversion and be done with it.  I realize that is likely a big task but it should be do-able.  After all they can easily import a part file and an assembly file, so why should drawings be so much more difficult.

We need to have drawing templates designed so that all the relevant fields are automatically populated when the model is imported - basically the same way things work in Inventor and Solidworks.  Only do it better and raise the bar as I have seen Fusion do with other aspects of their great software.  Make it better and make it easier.

[Anonymous]

Drawings are nearly useless in the current state.

Right now we (Team of 3 Fusion users) need to sent our models to another department which uses inventor to make proper DIN drawings... 

[Anonymous]

I am really miffed at the lack of response from Fusion on this topic.  As great as they are on other aspects of the software, it seems as though the drawings and drawing templates are being totally ignored.  Their people that are working on this stuff - if they have any, haven't even given us the time of day to respond to this blog.

I refuse to use Fusion any more until this issue is resolved properly.  I need drawings for any project, so I'll just hobble along with Solidworks until the Fusion people wake up on this topic.  I understand that they are likely busy with other 'important' aspects of the software - but at the end of the day there really isn't anything more important that being able to output the final production drawing to the shop.  Without the production drawing, nothing gets machined and the world stops spinning..... well almost anyway.

This should be so easy for them to fix.  As I posted previously, I should be able to use my already perfected Autocad template and just bring that into Fusion..... after this is the same software company is it not?

[TimeraAutodesk]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thanks for your candid feedback. I can assure you that the Fusion team has, in fact, been focusing on the Drawings portion of the product quite intensely for the last several years. For example, if you follow the What's New posts, you'll see a lot of improvements that just went out in the last month or so. We also post a Drawings roadmap blog twice a year so that our customers get a look inside what we're doing. The last one was posted in April and there will be a new one going live later this week.  

Regarding custom dwg title blocks, you're correct that there are some current limitations - we apologize for any inconvenience. Embedded blocks are forbidden and auto-population of attributes isn't supported yet. We do understand the importance of custom title blocks and we have the teams working on a proper title block authoring environment other enhancements that will be released sometime next year which will make this much easier to work with. You can always follow the progress of what the Drawings teams are working on by visiting this roadmap which I personally keep up to date: https://app.mural.ly/t/timerahart2/m/timerahart2/1475171276107/0945259b7c22117012173ea2be3c9151fec1f184 

Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Timera

[Anonymous]

I tried to create templates a year ago and had the exact same issues you have had.

I was forced into using Solidworks for a year and before my Fusion360 break I posted a number of ideas/suggestions and was asked a number of questions by some of the team.

I have tried to create my first Fusion360 drawing in over a year and nothing has changed, in fact the basic drawing package functionality has gone backwards.

Yes there have been improvements in certain areas but leaving the fundamentals like drawing templates and broken views alone is unbelievable.

Surely these are things that should have been taken care of first?

[Anonymous]

I totally agree. So far it seems as though the Fusion team
has, or is, totally ignoring the drawing template issue.
They may be doing something in the background, but as with
other aspects of the software, why not keep people up to
date on this.



Certainly one can create their own template from within
Fusion - but why re-invent the wheel. I already have
completely functional AutoCAD and Solidworks templates
(basically the same templates) and I cannot use these within
Fusion. I am totally astounded that an AutoCAD template
cannot be imported in to Fusion.



The Fusion team needs to wake up and smell the coffee - or
in this case the smoke that is rising from frustrated users
due to their seemingly total abandonment from this issue.



So as time passes, I just continue to use Solidworks until
such time as pigs learn to fly and Fusion gets template
imports sorted out.



I have an upcoming very large project (potentially anyway)
and I want to do all the modelling in Fusion, but I don't
know what I am going to do for a titleblock yet. I may have
to just buckle down and create a new one, but even if I do,
I can't use attributes yet as Fusion has also forgotten all
about that.



Peter Stenabaugh

[Anonymous]

It is extremely frustrating and after a number of years of testing practically every CAD system on the planet I have found that many companies are having the same issues.

The reason that they are having these issues is because they are all trying to blend the artistic community and the CAD community into one.

Unfortunately this will never work as CAD users need a stable and structured environment whereas that structured environment is not as important to the organic modelling/artistic community.

I too am trying to get away from Solidworks and Fusion360 has some excellent functionality and stability but is being let down severely when it comes to basic CAD requirements.

Over a year ago I posted about the title box being too large and not very practical, so sad to see it is exactly the same all this time later.

[TimeraAutodesk]

@Anonymous & @Anonymous - the teams have been very busy in the last year contributing to the drawings workspace, if you'd like a deep dive, you can review the 2 blog posts from this past year which walk through what we've been up to:

Blog 1: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/drawings-update-roadmap-april-2017/ 

Blog 2: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/2d-drawings-check-2018-sneak-peek/

As far as custom title block authoring is concerned, that is a project that the team is actively working on at the moment. The project is making good progress, and we will release it as soon as it's ready. Thanks for your patience, and remember that you can always peek in on what the Drawings teams are working on at any time by visiting THIS roadmap mural

Best,

Timera

[Anonymous]

I see from their road map that they are actively working on
the drawings, but this seems to be taking a long time to
finish up. Drawings are something that they should have
worked on hard time in the beginning, and maybe they did, we
don't know but a lot of users are becoming frustrated.



Fusion has incorporated at lot of things in their drawings,
which of course need to be there, but the simple task of
having a professional looking title block hasn't been sorted
out yet. I really don't want to have to start all over, and
if I do, I'll be very upset when all of a sudden they pop up
with full functionality for importing templates after I have
spent a lot of time re-doing things that shouldn't need to
be done.



I really want to become proficient with Fusion but without
proper drawing functionality I keep away from it for now.
Eventually they will get it sorted out, and as with their
other modeling abilities it will be stunning.. if only I can
hold off..



Peter

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update links Timera, I'll check them out. I
did have a quick look at the road map and I do see where
there is a lot of action going on, more so than the last
time I checked, so I do see much improvement.



I understand that this is a big undertaking and I can
appreciate the hard work your team is putting in. It is
just that it is frustrating waiting for this software aspect
to be finished because that really holds us up out here, as
I know you are aware, but all we can do is wait.



I am really looking forward to the day that I can delete
Solidworks from my system.



Is there any ETA on being able to import an existing
template from AutoCAD?



Peter

[Anonymous]

We appreciate the work the team is putting in and I have looked at the roadmap but there are things that should have been taken care of way back.

Sorry to say it but the Fusion360 management has dropped the ball on the drawing package development.

I started contracting at a company in December 2016; the company was moving from AutoCAD 2d and asked me to recommend a 3d package.

I initially recommended Fusion360 but after we discovered that there was no broken view functionality and the issue with drawing templates, they went with Solidworks.

To come back after a year and find that there has been absolutely no progress on two critical functions was a shock. When looking at the roadmap they come up as Backlog whereas they should have been in an Urgent group a year ago!