Question about Manufacturing Extension

[changedsoul]

So I just pulled the trigger and purchased a license for 360. Now when I log in I see this Manufacturing Extension add on for 125 credits a month.

Does this extension add to what is all ready included with the Manufacturing workspace? Or does the manufacturing workspace go ByeBye now that I am no longer a trial, and I need to pay 125 credits a month to use it?

I hope not the latter.

[Richard.stubley · Accepted solution]

Hi @changedsoul,

Thank you for taking the dive into the wold of Fusion 360, you have access to the manufacturing workspace with your licence. The extension is an add on that can give users increased functionality if required. You don't need the extension to access the normal functionality inside of the manufacture workspace.

 

This video shows what the extension adds to the current manufacture workspace. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEGat0kF7FQ

Hope this helps

[changedsoul]

Thanks, good to know. 

Thats also for that video link. Pretty neat stuff but thankfully not needed for my uses. 

[suade907FG7QH]

Steep and Shallow toolpathing should be in the normal manufacture workspace so IMO yes you have to spend extra money if you want all the cam features that should be standard. I mean if you're on a subscription and are paying over $300 a year, that should be a standard feature. This is really cheap for Autodesk to pull this sort of bait and switch.

[LibertyMachine]

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@suade907FG7QH wrote:

Steep and Shallow toolpathing should be in the normal manufacture workspace so IMO yes you have to spend extra money if you want all the cam features that should be standard. I mean if you're on a subscription and are paying over $300 a year, that should be a standard feature. This is really cheap for Autodesk to pull this sort of bait and switch.

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How do you figure? You have Scallop, 3D Contour as well as Parallel toolpaths. Steep and Shallow is (mostly) a combination of those toolpaths. ADSK didn't take those aforementioned tools away, right? Where is the bait and switch? You think $300+ a year should entitle you to every time saving option that they try to cram into Fusion? That's a foolish business model, imo. The functionality that exists in base Fusion alone would cost over 10k to replicate in MasterCam or Esprit. And that's JUST the CAM side of things. Tack on another 2-4k for Solidworks.
Just as MasterCAM, Esprit, SW (heck, even BobCad) have different levels of annual cost and access, how is this cheap on the part of ADSK?
Are there parts of the Extension I would prefer to see changed? Absolutely. But do I fault them for trying to increase the profitability of the product? Heck no.

[suade907FG7QH]

All right I'll give you that, Fusion 360 offers a lot of bang for the buck. But, is this the future of fusion 360? Is every new feature going to require a paywall? Coming from a shop that supported Mastercam for years and received god awful service.  I saw Fusion as a great alternative option for a home shop I'm trying to grow. I don't make any money yet but wanted to subscribe to the product just to support it. I wanted to see it succeed. I'm far from getting your level of value from the product. So it's disappointing for me to see new features behind a paywall. Maybe I'm not being logical but for a small fry like me, it's a lot of money. I hope to be getting my money's worth in a few years, and when that time comes I may see it as a bargain as you do. But for now, every feature behind a paywall stings a bit.

[LibertyMachine]

Every feature behind a paywall?! Man, wachu talkin' bout? I (and many many others like me) run a full blown machine shop on a full time basis and have zero NEED for anything that's in the Extensions. Seriously. While I DO have the extensions, would you like to know how many times I've utilized them for my own use? Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Oh sure, I leverage them frequently for service to others on the forums, but that's mostly it. Why have them? Well, I had the Cloud Credits to burn up, so what the heck right? I'm sure that there will be some golden carrot tossed in there at some point that will make it very desired, but seriously, the software is full on powerful enough WITHOUT the Extensions.

Oh, and that figure I quoted earlier? That was based on real-world pricing between competitors software and STANDARD Fusion 360. Not Fusion + Extensions. Just Standard. Aside from Surface Inspection, I'm 99% certain there is nothing there that you can't already do in some fashion or another. Oh sure, it may be a bit more difficult to get them done, but it's still doable. 

Hole Recognition: Drilling, just automated. So, doable

Steep and Shallow: Contour and Scallop/Parallel

Probe Geometry: Manual NC and a bit of hand -editing

Additive: There are addins that facilitate the ease of use. The Ext. Additive is geared towards metal 3D printing. If you have one of those, price isn't a concern at this point.

Surface Inspect: Ok, this is the ONE that is the exception. Nothing comparable in Standard. We ran Fusion for 6 years without that ability, we could run for another 6.

So, what did I miss?

Furthermore, the notion that all new development is going to get pushed into a paywall is not one based in reality. We are getting new turning tool paths that work loads better than current offerings, continuous bug fixes, existing toolpath improvements etc etc. If someone can't run a full standard shop off of current functionality, they're doing something wrong, plain and simple. I'd be more than happy to work through this with you and help you solve whatever roadblock you have encountered that leads you to believe all your tools are locked behind a paywall, cuz...it just ain't so....

[suade907FG7QH]

I think you misinterpreted what I said. Obviously my 3rd sentence said "Is every new feature going to require a paywall?" Questioning if this would be the norm for the future of fusion 360? It was a question not a statement. Then my last line stating "But for now, every feature behind a paywall stings a bit." Was just an opinion of the new extensions and how it sucks you have to pay for them. If I didn't know better I would think you are sponsored by Autodesk. I won't be posting here again. This is silly, a person can have an opinion. To each his own.

[johnswetz1982]

Well no one can predict the future but I think it is doubtful that they will put new features behind paywall. Since extensions became available, regular fusion has gotten Rotary (I have been waiting for that one), Adaptive turning, and soon to get canned cycles for turning. All those are something that I would use often compared to the otherwise doable but easier paths in extension like @LibertyMachine mentioned. Only one you cant do with regular is the one machine inspection and if you did get extension just for that it seems like a deal because I think Power Inspect goes for 5K+ even if that is more powerful than extensions.