Can Fusion 360 cope with Valve based equipment?

[Drewpan]

Hi All,

I have been wading through the getting started with Fusion 360 Documentation, i.e. doing all the tutorials and reading etc. I knew AutoCAD Electrical existed, but I didn't know Fusion 360 could also do Electronics. I personally don't do a lot of electronics work but I wondered if it could cope with Valve (or Tubes in the US) based equipment?

It seems that all you would need to do is download the appropriate library of parts. I did look for one but I am only a beginner so either looked in the wrong place or searched for the wrong parts. I know that SPICE can do Valve modelling, so the information is out there somewhere.

My reason for asking is that most modern designers left such antiquities behind decades ago, but the Music Industry is still VERY heavily into Valve based equipment. Most Musos will tell you that transistorised equipment often sounds "harsh" some times, while Valves sound "warm". Ask any Rock and Roll Guitar Hero what kind of Amplifier they own and use and it will almost universally be a new, or more likely very OLD, Valve Amplifier.

Old Guitar Amps like the Fender 5E3 '59 Tweed, the Fender '66 Twin Reverb or the Vox AC30 are worth a fortune for a real one, and the Kit and Replica market are very strong. Fender itself sells modern "Replica" amps for thousands of US$. Fender also sells transistorised Amps that are "modelled" electronically to sound like these classic Amps. Every more modern Guitar Amplifier company also offers Tube based Amps.

So I suppose what I am asking is CAN you do this work on Fusion 360? If so - How?

I am VERY new at this part of Fusion 360. I have only done the Tutorial in the Documentation and watched the videos. A link to a web page that explains how would be useful, otherwise some simple instructions to download and load the appropriate Library and I will play with it myself.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Andrew

[jorge_garcia · Accepted solution]

Hi @Drewpan,

As someone who has designed, a Fuzz, a compressor, and a Tubescreamer clone in Fusion 360 I can definitely attest that you can do audio work within Fusion 360. As you have correctly concluded it's all about libraries, remember that you can make your own libs and it's not that hard. You just have to put in a little bit of work in the beginning to learn how.

See these two playlists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNIEXCimRSg&list=PLmA_xUT-8UlKE-U-eEqrkNEI7rd1fUnLY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jgUZeBiusw&list=PLmA_xUT-8UlL80Xm8Gxz98YNum3I9GInr

The first playlist goes through how to create your own libs and the second one goes through the design of a Fuzz. The principles of how to use Fusion will apply to the making designs with tubes. I commend your efforts to build your own gear, it's a very rewarding endeavor.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[Drewpan]

Hi Jorge,

Thanks for your help. I will check out those links.

I am in the process of actually building my very first Valve Amp right now, a 5E3 '59 Tweed Kit from a company called StewMac. When I am finished I will be able to frighten the neighbours and small children. 😁

Cheers

Andrew