Hi Everyone,
March is by far the most expansive release yet for our Fusion 360 Electronics users, and there is much more to come! From a completely new Library & Component Search / Placement Experience to seamless Migration of EAGLE content, huge improvements in Design Reuse with Design Blocks and Inserting the Contents of a Schematic into another file, new 3D Package Generators, and a much faster overall 3D PCB experience -- we have been hard at work, and this is only the beginning of a precedented level of stability, performance & productivity-enhancing features to come.
Place Component Panel
Finding and placing components – regardless of where or how you store them – is as fundamental to PCB Design as Routing or generating CAM files. We deliver on our promise to strip away the confusion and make the migration, management, and utilization of your content much more intuitive within this release.
We have done away with the outdated, modal, add dialog and instead introduced an entirely non-modal, always-on place component panel that consolidates multiple experiences into a single workflow you can feel confident using. With the new panel, better search and more flexibility in searching ensure you find what you need faster. Component previews and a deeper search into part metadata combine to deliver the search results you would expect without the limitations inherent in EAGLE. Search filters enable you to identify and switch between different content sources quickly. Components that include multiple footprint variants can be expanded and previewed, making choosing between packages more obvious. Combined with easier migration and management of your legacy local content and a complete overhaul of the Library Manager experience, we are delivering massive improvements to the #1 concerns expressed by our users!
Navigating Library Repositories
The Library Manager had been unwieldy, challenging to use, and not exactly intuitive –particularly for those new to Fusion 360 or users coming from EAGLE but using only local Libraries. This new experience for enabling/disabling libraries streamlines this process, making things more evident with fewer steps and less guesswork. Whether your content was local, stored in the Autodesk Cloud, or was shared on Library.io – you asked us to make it obvious where and whom Libraries were coming from - and what they contained before you Installed them. Many of you asked to see the contents of Libraries like the Control Panel experience in EAGLE and to display the version, so you knew what you were selecting and where it came from, minus the clutter. Coupling this with filters to identify a Library’s origin, a more obvious update experience, more obvious In/Out of Use status, we have cleared the way to a more productive and enjoyable experience.
Design Blocks and Design Re-Use
Design Blocks are finally coming to Fusion Electronics, and this release marks the first of several significant updates in delivering on the promise of intuitive Design Reuse. For this first release, we have added the ability to source and place your Design Blocks created in EAGLE and bring those into Fusion. Coupled with adding a new Insert Schematic from file the file, we introduce multiple ways to leverage smaller, more reusable subcircuits or third-party reference designs with ease. Also, merging the contents of one design into another could create a myriad of challenges with net naming and part name collisions. Rest assured, we have taken precautions to show you both the source and current net names and part names, even providing you with control over the merging of signals.
So, whether you want to reuse that A/D converter, your favorite Buck / Boost Regulator, or even the mating connectors for your favorite Development Kit – Add your existing Design Blocks or insert that existing schematic into your current design to make short work of building a new design from existing assets and develop better circuits in less time than ever before.
PCB 3D Modeling Performance
Our Electronics Design experience provides you a bidirectional 2D & 3D PCB pipeline with the performance you’d expect from a viewer while maintaining the timeline integrity essential to modern Mechanical Design workflows. You told us that you’ve been experiencing performance problems around 3D PCB generation, specifically around designs with large numbers of stitching vias, cutouts, or other “cut” operations. As of this update, we are happy to report that we have vastly reduced the time to generate the 3D PCB model by 90% with a baseline average of 25% - paying special attention to boards with large holes or interior cutouts. This effort will vastly reduce your design time when working with PCBs with high drill and hole counts, and with more to come, you can expect even further improvements in your productivity.
Component 3D Model
After laying out your components within, I’m sure you would like to review the 3D model of your circuit board. After selecting the Push to 3D option, you might notice that some of your components are represented by dark grey boxes. In Order to resolve this, you had to manually match components across 2D and 3D using name attributes. The improved interface includes a new PCB Component section informing you of the mapped components and those that are not. It is possible to map 3D models in the library and replace them on the design, or you can also map components directly on Schematic or the PCB Editor. It is always best to work with realistic 3D models. That way, you can catch any enclosure interfaces and optimize component placement.
Automatic EAGLE library Access
Excellent news for our Autodesk EAGLE users, migrating to Fusion Electronics! Beginning with this release, on the first launch, you will be prompted to migrate your existing EAGLE libraries to Fusion 360, automatically importing your Parts and ensuring a smooth transition to Fusion 360. For those trying Fusion 360 but not ready to make it your primary tool, rest assured that importing your libraries to Fusion 360 does not limit your ability to use these same components in EAGLE until you are settled in and using Fusion Electronics more regularly.
Improvement to Library Package Editor
Sockets
Sockets are a great way to ensure you build flexibility into your designs, future-proofing your PCB, and making it easier to change devices with changing circumstances. With the March update, Fusion 360 Electronics Package Generators have been enhanced to include more options for sockets, making designing these complex mechanical components faster and more flexible than ever before.
Expanding on Round-lead sockets, you will now find an option for Rectangle leads which use double-leaf contacts to hold IC pins in place under tension. These models are fully parametric, and the corresponding footprints are built to IPC specifications. This is exciting news since you no longer have to limit your search to round pads for programmable components susceptible to soldering heat.
DFN
The Fusion 360 includes an IPC-compliant Package Generator that provides several templates to generate footprint and 3D models of your component by simply entering the mechanical details of the part. We provide three DFN templates: 2, 3, and 4 SMD pads. Our developers have added a roundness factor to the footprint for this update. Since the Dual Flat No Leads (DFN) component has a shorter bond wire length, it provides higher electrical performance than leaded packages due to less inductance.
Align Command
I’m sure some of you have been working on a large LED display or possibly a street sign that requires hundreds of LEDs, and you would like them to appear perfectly aligned on your Schematic. After a quick review, some components are just slightly off a few grid points. Fusion 360’s Align command is the perfect solution for this problem and can clean up your schematic with just a few clicks. However, we recognize that the Align command was not that discoverable, so we’ve added it to the primary toolbar. While we were at it, we decided to add Align to the Schematic Symbol and Footprint editor too.
Manufacturing Documentation
The final stage of your PCB design is generating the manufacturing files to get your design made. Equally important is creating your design documentation. The design documentation will not only have illustrations of your design but also includes instructions for manufacturing exported in a file format compatible with everyone to read. For this update, we have included PDF as one of the export formats in the image section of the CAM processor command. With the output defined, it is possible to select the layers that contain your manufacturing details. Exporting your manufacturing data will automatically include your design documentation. This method is more manageable than exporting a PDF directly from the design editor.
New library parts - IC_Linear, IC_Logic
In this release, we have added popular & traditional Amplifiers like LM741, NE5532, AD822
as well as a couple of Instrumental and Current Sense amplifiers. Though some of them are years and years old still they are handpicked by many hobbyists for basic projects. Along with that, we also added popular logic ICs from 74HC series like AND, OR, NAND, Invertor, Comparator, Flip-flop, etc., to the IC_Logic library.
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We are really excited about this update, and we are certain you will as well. Our user experience and development teams have engaged with you and gathered your feedback to reassure you that we are improving and adding the features you need to enhance and optimize your design experience with Fusion 360. I’m sure the Component Panel with all its Filters and search options will be one of your favorites. Migrating to Fusion 360 is becoming easier for our Autodesk EAGLE users since support to design blocks and migration of libraries is now available.
With Warm Regards,
Ed
Edwin Robledo
Tech Marketing Manager
