Why is Fusion 360 such junk?

[alienjuggernaut]

Fusion 360 is one of the worst software applications I have used in 40 years. It is RIDICULOUS. I started with AutoCAD 35 years ago. Why is the program not the same thing? Why is EVERY convention DIFFERENT? Why are none of the keyboard shortcuts existing anymore?
Why do things get locked I have not selected to be locked?
Why do I have to start with a sketch? Isn't this on a computer? Aren't computers smart? Why can I not draw a solid and the computer figure out the sketch?
Is automation lost on you people?
I made an ENTIRE part in Rhino3d in 90 minutes. I have not even gotten past 1 plane sketch in Fusion in 2 hours because nothing moves after I place it. STUPID CRAP. Just STUPID.

My favorite thing to underscore how stupid this program is... nobody can answer a question without a screencast. Never have I seen a program put together so badly that regular users cannot picture what is going on with another person's install, without a video. THAT is how bad this software is. You cannot even IMAGINE where someone is in the app... because nothing is common and occurs naturally and with an obvious timeline.

This post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

[bobbuck_public]

Yes.

Take for example, import an image, twice as many mouse clicks than necessary.

Then okay, the imported image does not land on the sketch, but is outside it's context in the tree. So when you go back to edit the sketch it disappears.

Then I search online, no help. Documentation in the product, useless to help.

Then there's scroll and zoom, if you use a trackpad, not going to work with industry standard keyboard commands, key sequences that have been standard for 30 years now! So change some geometry, the view of the object may shift, mouse wheel to zoom in and out only, but I have to click to use the grab feature to move the geometry to the middle of the screen? Try learning or taking some hints how to do this from your competitors, geesh, when I worked at Adra 30 years ago, their CAD software was way more advanced than this stuff! My Gosh, you guys, software that was initially written in 1972 as a competitor to CADAM is more advanced than Fusion written when, in the 2010's????  I shouldn't have to tell you guys this stuff. Do you actually have a usability team that has the power to stop shipment on useless software written by engineers??? I never produced software this trashy in my entire career. I don't get how Autodesk gets away with this????

@bobbuck_public - this post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@bobbuck_public wrote:

Yes.

Take for example, import an image, twice as many mouse clicks than necessary.

Then okay, the imported image does not land on the sketch, but is outside it's context in the tree. So when you go back to edit the sketch it disappears.

Then I search online, no help. Documentation in the product, useless to help.

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@bobbuck_public 

Check back in a minute for link to video help with this.

Fusion Calibrate Canvas Image

I can also create a video on how to use the Timeline (read Time Machine - History Recorder) if you need.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

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@bobbuck_public  schrieb:

Take for example, import an image, twice as many mouse clicks than necessary.

Then okay, the imported image does not land on the sketch, but is outside it's context in the tree. So when you go back to edit the sketch it disappears.

Then I search online, no help. Documentation in the product, useless to help.

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If you..

... place a canvas on an existing sketch, it appears behind this sketch in the timeline.
... then activate the sketch again for editing, you will find yourself at a point in the design process where the canvas was not yet present.
... do not like this, you must deactivate the history, which means that you can no longer work parametrically.

günther

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@bobbuck_public wrote:

Yes.

Then there's scroll and zoom, if you use a trackpad, not going to work with industry standard keyboard commands, key sequences that have been standard for 30 years now!

---

Over the past 30 years I have taught CADKey, AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, Inventor, Pro/E (now CREO) and SolidWorks.

Each transition takes a bit of effort to become comfortable having developed "muscle memory" on how certain things work in a different program.

Today, in the 21st century I use a device from 3DConnexion.com for most of my on-screen model manipulation in one hand and a mouse in the other hand.

I don't use the keyboard so much anymore having left AutoCAD behind 15 yrs or so ago.  I have never figured out how anyone serious about CAD uses a trackpad for much other than dog-and-pony shows.  

I understand that you are frustrated.

That is two issues solved.

Next issue!

BTW - I have found that the frustration is most quickly conquered if you Attach actual file(s) that you are working with.

[jordy_keller]

Sorry to say this but...

I have a background in SolidWorks but my employer thought that switching to Fusion would be more cost efficient.

It's been a nightmare ever since, Fusion is NOT professional CAD software, it just isn't. It tries to be everything but lacks in everything at the same time.

I do my best to research and learn (the work arounds) but it's frustrating when it starts throwing 'Error - Not possible' errors at basic operations you'd expect from CAD software. Like an offset on an offset for example, among many others.

When I do an online search on an issue, on this forum... There are countless threads on issues that are years old and haven't been resolved.

I think Fusion suffers from featuritus.

Sorry for my rant but this seemed like he place to post it.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

 nothing substantial, present such a case 

günther

[TrippyLighting]

@jordy_keller There are many ways to look at this. When your employer decided to change the CAD system, did they also understand that they had to invest in professional training for Fusion, perhaps ahead of making a purchase decision?

It requires a very careful comparison of features and workflows when switching from SolidWorks to Fusion. In my opinion, this can only be achieved by comparing two tools throughout the entire project cycle with a product representative of the company's offerings. With a subscription-based Software that is easy and very cost-effective to do.

What are you using Fusion for?

Please present a case!

However, be aware that most, if not all, of the Autodesk Expert Elites and other fine individuals who assist here don't use Fusion in a professional capacity or in a professional setting, and also don't know SolidWorks (I abandoned AutoCAD for SolidWorks in 1998).
You may be presented with more workarounds or workflows that achieve the end goal, but are not very efficient. 

[mcramblet]

I agree with your assessment. Although I think Fusion 360 is good, it depends heavily on the application. I have a thread somewhere on this forum where I explain how my company was looking to make the switch from SolidWorks to Fusion 360. Our tooling department switched to Fusion 360 to perform all the CNC programming. The company saw the price difference and asked a couple of us if we should switch the whole company to Fusion. I was the only CAD designer who had any experience with Fusion. The decision of everyone involved is that Fusion is NOT ready for prime time for a manufacturing company. Sketching in Fusion, for example, is way behind SolidWorks, as you've discovered. I view Fusion 360 as a "Leatherman Tool"; it can do a lot, and it can be good if the situation isn't too serious, but then there are times when the job requires a complete set of tools. I still pull it out and use it for certain tasks (in fact, there are some things Fusion does better than SW), but for day-to-day CAD design and engineering, I'm glad we're still using SW.

[jordy_keller]

Ok,

So about the switch to Fusion. Let's say that in our company we are a relatively small department 'that does the technical stuff'. One of my colleagues suggested Fusion as a viable alternative to Solidworks, but cheaper! So management went with that. However, I'm the one who gets the more challenging projects due to my background and I haven't been consulted on that decision.

And yeah, I was on a rant, I found a place to vent my frustrations, Fusion is also pretty dmn useful in many ways.
But when it comes to those more complex projects I keep running into issues.

About the question to present a case, this is my general impression and experience. I cannot provide screenshots and files for the whole world to see.
But here are a few points:

- Why is the dimension tool not sticky? When dimensioning a sketch I have to hit D after placing a dimension every time.
- While offsetting an offset is somehow possible since oct(?) 24, offset constraints and topology constantly prevent me from getting what I want.
- Inconclusive error messages, compute failed, go figure out what's wrong yourself.
- Edit a feature, 5 items selected and one or more have a problem. What items? No idea, just remove selection and start over.
- Pattern multiple features, compute fails. Seems to be in the order of selection or the pattern type? If it fails just try again.
- Joints. It generally takes multiple tries keeping my fingers crossed every time.

Just to name a few. There are so may issues like this on the forum, first mentioned years ago and never addressed. Basic issues that should just work and be intuitive.

Fusion is just so unpredictable at times. It might take multiple approaches, retries and guesswork to get what you want.
Ok, I'm not a total Fusion expert but I do have experience in CAD software. But after two years of Fusion

there's still a lot of facepalms.

[mcramblet]

This is my take on Autodesk and the status of Fusion 360. There is no way that Fusion will ever become, nor do I think it's the intent of Autodesk, for it to be a fully mature CAD tool. Autodesk already has Inventor; no company in its right mind will develop two competing CAD tools. Inventor will be the flagship, fully functioning CAD design tool. Fusion 360 will continue to have features rolled into it, but it will be a general CAD tool and a landing spot for all sorts of other functions. I started using Fusion 360 when it was the only current source of using T-Splines, which, years ago, was a Rhino Plug-in. Many other Autodesk acquisitions have also been rolled into Fusion. Fusion 360 will appeal to general CAD users and a variety of niche users who want the functionality of the add-ins. Like any other company, the goal is to sell products. If someone wants a mature CAD tool, Inventor is the Autodesk solution. If someone also wants the functionality of what Fusion 360 can do, you can subscribe to that as well. In my mind, it's no different than what everybody else is doing.

[TrippyLighting]

You have mainly two choices , maybe three.

You'll leave the company! If that's not a choice, then you're stuck with Fusion!

Now you can decide whether or not you want help. I'd be happy to hop on a Zoom/Teams call to see where you're stuck.

Then we can talk about bugs, workarounds, and workflows.

If you want to keep venting and discussing with others how limited Fusion is that's fine, but I don't see how that helps you get your work done!

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@mcramblet wrote:

This is my take on Autodesk and the status of Fusion 360. There is no way that Fusion will ever become, nor do I think it's the intent of Autodesk, for it to be a fully mature CAD tool. Autodesk already has Inventor; no company in its right mind will develop two competing CAD tools. Inventor will be the flagship, fully functioning CAD design tool. Fusion 360 will continue to have features rolled into it, but it will be a general CAD tool and a landing spot for all sorts of other functions.

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Having followed this since the inception of Inventor and then Fusion - I still have no idea which program Autodesk sees as their "quarterback" on this field.

As John Madden said, "If you think you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one."  

Think about it.

[terry_fusion]

This software is limited and will always be limited by how is designed, the UI is an abhorrent mess talk about a UI that tries to get in your way.

The little floating dialog box that is always in my way.

The scroll bars that are indistinguishable from the rest of the UI

Teeny Tiny UI elements that require the hand eye coordination of a brain surgeon with magnification goggles.

Things that don't work how a sane person would expect them too.

As an example, I just made another post regarding how you can't use the mouse to scroll (zoom in and out) while another one of those teeny tiny little input boxes is active, so now while I am zoomed in to the dimension I need to pick a value from so I can see the thing, I now am unable to zpoom back out to a reasonable level to find the dimension I originally wanted to link the value to.

Or, how about when you create a new component (which you should be doing all the time) its default action is to open the dialog box with the parent highlighted even though its already been established what the parent component is!

It would be much more intuitive to actually have it highlight the name field so a person could quickly type a new name for their New component and move on, but no, you have to manually navigate to that specific field and name the component!

And here is another one, granted this is a personal work experience but I feel I'm not the only one. 

When you go to extrude a profile, its first selection is to create an new Body, cool but then right when you go and actually input a numerical value it auto-magically changes from new to join, that sets me off.  Why not let the user decide what the default behavior is for their work flow.

I create new body's 95 percent of the time over joining them, which means each and every time thats another mouse movement to do cjhange something that didn't need to be changed. So basically I am adjusting the default behavior 95% of the time.

Stupid!!

Insane behavior.

I come away at the end of the work day with my hand cramping because of all the extra moves and micro movements just to hit a UI target and my eyes hot and red because of all the eye strain.

It is not a pleasant experience.

I'm forced to use this because its all the shop wants to pay for, you try to provide feedback or ideas and you're met with sarcasm, resistance, rudeness, and or ignored.

I've tried to be a good Fusion user in the past, make suggestions, give feedback, provide support.

I've worked in CATIA v4 & v5, Solidworks, Inventor, CREO, UG/NX, so its not like I've never touched  CAD ssytem before.

Yeah, I've given up on that.

@terry_fusion- this post has been edited due to Community Rules & Etiquette violation.

[jordy_keller]

Thanks for the offer, appreciated. But I'll invest some more time in learning the topics important to me, Lars Christensen channel has some good content (despite being 4+ years old). If I'm really stuck there's the forum.

And it's not like I only come here to rant but yeah, when I saw this thread I used the opportunity to vent my opinion.

For now, I'm not leaving the company, I'll keep trying to go with the flow as best as I can. 

[jordy_keller]

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@terry_fusion wrote:

I come away at the end of the work day with my hand cramping because of all the extra moves and micro movements just to hit a UI target and my eyes hot and red because of all the eye strain.

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I feel your pain 🙂

What helps me:
- Using a Wacom tablet and a pen
- Using a 3D Connection Spacemouse

Both take time, tweaking and practice but I wish I switched to these tools years ago

As for the eye strain, I'm currently trying to customize the dark theme and remove the overly flashy highlighting, see these threads:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-support/customizing-environment-s-xml-location/m-p/13398644#M2...

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-support/dark-mode-and-customizing-highlight-colors-to-prevent-...

[terry_fusion]

Firstly, thank you for the feedback, I appreciate the links.

I have and do most all those things, I"ve been at this type of work for a long time and have a very almost OCD like tenancies when iit comes to my work environment and setting. (anyone who does this type of work, I would speculate).

The issues I have with the interface have everything to do with the basic understanding of who is using your product and what environment its being used in, Fusion from my understanding has been the "swiss armyknife" of CAD/CAM software, not on a level that would steal Inventors thunder, but complete with Solidworks, or Rhino. But it"s no where near as polished or near feature parity with either.

I feel a little lied to in the 'press releases' about what it could and couldn"t do, or do well, based upon what I was sold on believing and what  we paid for, is not what I would call a fair exchange.

I talked the owner of the company in to investing time and money into this software and my time to have it do what we need on a daily basis.

It can"t do it.

It wasn't fully parametric, still isn't

It can't do fonts, at all,

It's inflexible to the users needs, as are the moderators and who ever listens in on these chats.

It can't output to our cnc

It can't scale or constrain decals

It breaks all the time

It is slow

It is burdensome to use

It is a resource hog

It does have a crap ton of work-arounds to do some of the simplest tasks.

I put my you know what on the line when I recommended this, POS (piece of software) and now I have to make it work regardless.

Bitter much, yeah, Yeah I am.

[seth.madore]

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@terry_fusion wrote:

It can't output to our cnc

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I can't speak much to the rest of your aggravation (as I'm mainly a CAM guy), but did want to inquire about this area specifically. What is your machine and control?

[terry_fusion]

Multicam 3000 Series  utilizes a Yaskawa F7 controller

[seth.madore]

We should be able to help you get that sorted out. I don't want to derail this wonderful thread by turning it into a MFG discussion, so would you be willing/able to start a new thread in the MFG channel that lays out what you're encountering? Please supply a sample .f3d, proven g-code that you have run and any other needed information.

[FrodoLoggins]

If I turn a component/body's visibility on it should be visible and yet:

Fusion highlights it white and blue so I know Fusion knows it exists. It happens often enough I'm sure someone at Autodesk is aware. Yet this is bug 1 of 1000 that will only get fixed years later after another 1000 bugs are introduced.

Bonus bug:

Nothing in component "1 Bottom]" is selected yet this component is underlined in the browser:

This makes it difficult finding the component/body I want in the browser as it's supposed to be underlined but instead 2 things get underlined.

Bonus bug #2:

Why is this highlighted?:

Name a program (other than Fusion) where in a 37 second video 3 bugs can be seen.