Honest comparison between Fusion 360 and Inventor 2020?

[nkloski]

I see that this question has been asked over the course of a few years, but I thought I would ask again, now that the latest Fusion 360 update is out and Inventor 2020 is now released.

I am pretty darn handy with Fusion (having recorded various classes on this program) but I also have access to Inventor 2020.   I really don't know that program, but I have heard various sources over the months/years saying that most all things work in Inventor, and that Fusion is "really getting there".

Can someone who really knows both platforms advise:

-I know about Fusion's Cloud capabilities which are "better" than Inventor's (in that they exist at all)

-I know about Fusion's ability to create animations better than Inventor

-I know that Fusion incorporates HSM

-I know that Inventor is better at large assemblies

OTHER than those things, for small to medium-size product design, which tool would people recommend?

Thanks!

[etfrench]

I'd say it depends on what you're designing.  If it involves cams or other complex sliding joints, then Inventor is the only choice.   If you're designing for companies with NDAs, then Inventor is the only choice.

I prefer the UI in Fusion 360.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@nkloski wrote:

I see that this question has been asked over the course of a few years, ...

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Can you cite the sources of your prior references?

[daniel_lyall]

One is around 6 years old the other is around 20 years old, inventer has itar fusion does not, use what you need.

[TrippyLighting]

Those comparisons and the judgements that go along with it - "It's getting up there" - are usually made by people that only use a small part of the functionality offered by these more mature tools and compare that functionality with the one in Fusion 360.  There is no doubt that Autodesk Inventor and Solid Works are more mature tools than Fusion 360.

There can also be no doubt that Fusion 360 does not nearly have the depth and breadth of tools that are in these tools.

The one thing that Fusion 360 and Inventor share is the geometric modeling kernel ASM. That isn't a good thing IMHO because that means that both suffer from the same modeling problems. 

Both share somewhat similar UI elements, such as the view cube, and some tools share the same concepts.

But that's where similarities end!

There are still no configurations in Fusion 360 and only more or less unproductive workarounds exist.

There is no library concept available in Fusion 360.

No Frame generator.

No weldments.

Drawings and BOM functionality still in infancy.

No design accelerator.

etc.

A lot of these things above only matter to people that do mechanical design/engineering and that design machinery or machinery-like products.

As a (product) concept design tool I find Fusion 360 compares favorably to Inventor as none of the above listed deficiencies make a difference. Fusion 360's cloud abilities make sharing a model in pretty good semi-realistic rendering quality a breeze.

[nkloski]

Here are previous discussions:  LINK

[nkloski]

Thanks @TrippyLighting that does help.  I don't mind learning Inventor if the tools are more mature...I guess that is what I am asking since I do not create terribly complex designs, I might be "blissfully unaware" that Inventor might be better since I learned on Fusion to begin with.

Oh, and the "it's getting there" comment was referring to Fusion being capable but not fully-fully capable yet...where I have seen people say that Fusion is maturing to a more and more usable place, often comparing to Inventor and Solidworks as somehow the "bar to at least meet, if not someday exceed".

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@nkloski wrote:

...I guess that is what I am asking ...

Are you really ready for an honest discussion? If so, I have several questions for you and this will take some time to go all in.

[nkloski]

I would be happy to have this discussion here!  I think it would help the community by showing the advantages / drawbacks of either software, and might help the Fusion team to see what the community might be wanting, etc.  I'm sure they already know a great deal about the two products, but getting the community perspective is very important.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@nkloski wrote:

-I know about Fusion's Cloud capabilities which are "better" than Inventor's (in that they exist at all)

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What cloud capabilities of Fusion are critical to you?

[nkloski]

None that I can think of!  🙂

I like the "couple click" view-only sharing aspect to share designs with clients, but honestly, there is A360 as well as GrabCAD for that.

[TheCADWhisperer]

My students collaborate with Inventor, SolidWorks, MS Word and virtually any software files via the cloud.

Fusion does have cloud-based Rendering, Simulation (the Shape Optimization via cloud also works in Inventor) and Generative Design.  It seems that most of the Autodesk Simulation developers have concentrated in Fusion.

Let's be sure to circle back to Generative Design topic nearing the end of this discussion.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@nkloski wrote:

-I know about Fusion's ability to create animations better than Inventor

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What is the source of this information?

What animation functionality does Fusion have that Inventor does not have?

Do you have any Screencast or YouTube sources of information on animation functionality that Fusion has that does not exist in Autodesk Inventor Professional?

How can I set Gravity, Forces, Friction, Contacts, Motion Laws into Fusion and port to Animation the way that I can with Autodesk Inventor Professional - Dynamic Simulation?  (This represents a total of three  16-week long  5hr/week courses for me, that is, 240 hours of lecture/lab advanced level contact with students.)

https://www.pct.edu/catalog/courses/dsg327 Rendering and Animation

https://www.pct.edu/catalog/courses/dsg421 Product Design and Engineering Analysis

https://www.pct.edu/catalog/courses/dsg422  Applied Product and Systems Design

Inventor Studio is the animation environment of Autodesk Inventor Professional.

Publish to Studio

[nkloski]

Wow...ok , I stand corrected.  I thought I read that Fusion did something along those lines better, but I see that probably not.  I do not know Inventor (hence my initial question), so all previous statements about that product are from a viewpoint of non-knowledge.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@nkloski wrote:

-I know that Fusion incorporates HSM

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Yes, separate product.

Inventor CAM

[TheCADWhisperer]

Sheet metal is very limited in Fusion - missing several tools including Lofted Flange.

Just in the past couple of days this has come up in the forum.

Sheet metal represents at least 30 hours of instruction in our program.

Punches, Rips, Hems and conversion from other sources are important to us.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/sheet-metal-loft/td-p/8710952

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/flange-on-a-cone-problem-please-help/td-p/...

Lofted Flange

[TheCADWhisperer · Accepted solution]

Over the next couple of days as I continue to point out key comparisons - it should be noted that according to Autodesk - Fusion is not intended as a replacement for Autodesk Inventor Professional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGYPagFaALg&t=4s

[nkloski]

Ah, great video!  The products are similar enough that even the PM's have a name that differs by only one letter!  :))

Your comments are really helpful, thank you!

[TheCADWhisperer]

As I find time - I will keep adding comparison functionality.

Plastic part feature and injection mold functionality is important to us.

https://www.pct.edu/catalog/majors/BPS

http://autode.sk/29uU7ot

Clarification:  This was demonstration of a reverse-engineer of finding a part where only the mold was known.  Usually you go the other way around - create the mold from the part.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/problems-creating-runoff-for-mold/m-p/8495618#M726831

[M&GToolWorks]

Please continue posting comparisons. I have spent 4 hours between yesterday and today working with a reseller trying to get a 30 day trial setup for Inventor, HSM, and Desktop Connect. It has been on problem after another. I would really like to do a direct comparison of the two, for the type of work that I do. 

If Fusion allowed me to work from my desktop and allowed me to eliminate the cloud, it would be very difficult for me to even consider Inventor. It is somewhat disappointing that I , potentially, will have to pay 5x the cost to simply eliminate the cloud.