general queestion

[Anonymous]

HI,

I'm preparing to design and build a light sport aircraft and could really use some advice regarding which Autodesk product would be the most appropriate for creating working drawings of the fuselage which can than be converted into G code. I have a fairly good working knowledge of AutoCAD and the actual or basics of the design have already been sketched out.

Heres how I plan to proceed,

First- digitize, transfer or convert to Dwg. my sketches. Render, shape, smooth out until I'm satisfied.

Second- convert drawings to G-code and have several modules machined out of foam and than assembled to make an entire "mock up" of the fuselage to be cast into molds, section by section of course.

I've watched most of the tutorials for INVENTOR and FUSION 360 just not sure which one would best suet my needs.

Thanks for checking out my post and if you have any advice to get me off on the right foot I'd greatly appreciate it.

Cheers..

[ShayaGhanbar]

I am not sure what type of machine you are going to use for machining, but I would design everything in 3D. Once the design is done, you can use the CAM feature of Fusion to create the appropriate machining procedure. Once the machining procedure is done, the program will create the G code for you.

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[todd_alford]

Hi @Anonymous,

To add to Shaya's comment I thought I would break down a few more feature differences to help you make the decision.  Since you are coming from AutoCAD you shouldn't have any issues, but Inventor deals with Mesh a lot better, so if you have mesh files I might lean towards Inventor.

That said, as far as the CAM capabilities (creating your G-code) Inventor and Fusion are fairly similar at this point.  To make some complex molds I know people use DelCAM having 7-axis needs.  If you don't think that will be required I would say Fusion is probably the cheaper route to meet your needs.

Regards,

Todd

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the responses.

OK Fusion it is... 

Would it be able to handle fluid dynamics and stress test analysis on the model?

Thanks.

[kate.raskauskas]

Hi @Anonymous, 

Fusion 360 can do static stress (linear and nonlinear) but neither Fusion nor Inventor can do fluid dynamics. Autodesk makes CFD for simulating fluids, but if cost is a large factor then that may not be a good solution for you, especially if this project is the only one you're planning to use fluid simulation for. 

That said, there is an airfoil generator plugin for Fusion 360, and you may be able to find other plugins in the Autodesk app store that could be of use for building your aircraft. 

Best,

Kate

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all your help ..

Choosing the right path is often the hardest part. Having said that, I think all of Autodesk software is mind blowing.

Cant wait to rip into it 🙂

Will.