(Question) Fusion 360 vs Inventor Differences

[Anonymous]

Hey there, I just recently downloaded the Fusion 360 student version since it was recommended as a software that is going to help me accomplish anything that inventor can do while not requiring much computer resources (RAM, Processor, etc)

I'm a mechanical engineering student and would like to know if fusion is enough for doing modeling and assembling mechanical parts and machines. Or if I have to upgrade my PC and get Inventor. Is there a big difference or are they pretty much alike?

Thanks for all your help!

[paul.clauss · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for posting! Fusion 360 certainly works for modeling and assembling mechanical parts - you can even set up your CAM operations! While Inventor and Fusion are similar, I would recommend Inventor if you are working with very large models (over 2000 parts in one file). I would recommend Fusion if you are working with smaller designs - it is easier to learn, less expensive, and includes the CAM workspace. You can learn more about Inventor vs. Fusion by referring to this link.

Please let me know if you have any questions - we appreciate your interest in Fusion 360! 

[JDMather]

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@Anonymous wrote:

... help me accomplish anything that inventor can do....

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No sheet metal.

No Frame Generator.

No Bolted Connection.

No Cam Generator (not to be confused with CAM).

No Dynamic Simulation.

Very poor 2D drawing environment.

No plastic mold environment.

Very limited helix tools.

No Routed Systems.

Those are the things I would miss, not in any particular order.

No ASME 14.41 digital product definition tools.

Edit:

Looking at previously attached reference -

Work Environment - of course your Inventor files can be cloud hosted.

[Anonymous]

sheet metal is in the preview process in Fusion 360, Since you are a student then why not to install both software and see the difference and based on your reply i assume your a inventor user because a beginner in using inventor would not asked all those thing things like physical dynamics which is more indeep in inventor. And the word Those are the things I would miss hmmm

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply Paul

Based on what you wrote, it seems like fusion 360 is enough for me. As I said I was just learning and wanted to accomplish several small tasks that my professors may ask me

Asked for differences since I downloaded the student version of Inventor and it was really, really slow, some friends recommended me Fusion because "It was the same" and wanted to know if that was true.

Again thanks for all your help!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your in-depth reply JDMather ! 

Going to have a look about all of these features that aren't present on Fusion and then decide what software to use.

Have a great day!

[mikets]

I have a similar question. I am associated with an Education institution. We have been using Inventor for a few years. Recently, we have acquired a CNC router, so we need CAM capability. So we are delighted to find Fusion 360 that will serve that purpose. However, after reading the differences between Fusion 360 and Inventor on various forums, I have a few concerns:

1. We may need sheet metal capability and it seems people say it doesn't support it now but it's coming. If so, when?
2. People also said Fusion is cloud based. Does it mean that the design I created must reside on the cloud? We have our own server infrastructure to store student works and we don't really care much about cloud. Can we store files locally. Somebody said it can be "stored offline for a short period of time" which I don't understand what it means.
3. Some discussions seem to say Inventor has access to a much larger parts library but this may be outdated and it seems to imply eventually Fusion 360 will have the same access to libraries like Inventor. Is it true now?
4. Since we have access to both Inventor and Fusion 360, one idea is to try 360 out and if it doesn't serve our needs, switch back to Inventor. So my last question is: are design files of these two products compatible with each other, meaning if we have a design from Fusion 360, will Inventor be able to load it?

[dmvolz]

These are good questions.  Have they been answered somewhere?

[JDMather]

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@dmvolz wrote:

These are good questions.  Have they been answered somewhere?

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I don’t have time to do an exhaustive review and therefore might miss some critical differences, but here is a relatively quick overview of differences.  It should be noted that it has been some time since I took an in-depth look at Fusion 360 as I have determined that it does not meet my needs.  This might be considered as a statement of bias.  I will concentrate on specific competencies that can be traced to course syllabi and course abstracts that have been reviewed by our curriculum committee and external industry advisory board.   These documents are, in effect, contracts with the students.  The students should expect professional level of instruction in preparation for professional careers.  I believe all of the information I present below is readily available in discussion threads here.  It is certainly available by due diligence experimentation with the softwares.

1. We may need sheet metal capability and it seems people say it doesn't support it now but it's coming. If so, when?

Fusion 360 now includes limited toolset for Sheet Metal.  Missing Punch Tools, Lofted Flanges, Rip, direct conversion of standard/imported to sheet metal, *Hem, *Corner Seam edit.  *(work-arounds available though)  Punches and Lofted Flanges particularly critical to us.

1. People also said Fusion is cloud based. Does it mean that the design I created must reside on the cloud? We have our own server infrastructure to store student works and we don't really care much about cloud. Can we store files locally. Somebody said it can be "stored offline for a short period of time" which I don't understand what it means.

Fusion is, by design, cloud based.  That is relatively transparent in practice and should not be an issue if you have reliable internet connection.  In my experience - a drive is a drive, I don’t care whether it is cloud, network or local.  (as long as it works) You can export files to a local drive (which I do for back-up) and I understand that there is a way to work offline, but I have no experience with working offline as offline/online is largely irrelevant (when it works) to me as it is all transparent.  I have moved most of my Inventor work to cloud as well for access anywhere. I work on as many as 4 or 5 different computers in a single day (and more than that in a month in different labs) and it is really convenient to have my work available on different boxes and not have to manage/resolve version issues.

On the topic of version issues – one major concern is that our lab computers are locked down tight with DeepFreeze software that returns to ghosted image with each reboot.  Because of the frequent updates to Fusion this becomes an issue as the students automatically update on their personal computers, but the lab computers are locked to ghosted image.  You might want to discuss this with your IT.

1. Some discussions seem to say Inventor has access to a much larger parts library but this may be outdated and it seems to imply eventually Fusion 360 will have the same access to libraries like Inventor. Is it true now?

I was going to quantify this, but it isn’t worth the effort.  Simply no contest here.  Fusion doesn’t have the libraries that Inventor has.  Fusion doesn’t have the standard part/geometry Design Accelerators that Inventor has.  My impression is that Fusion is more geared towards (pun intended) on-line vendor catalogs.  This could be logical as purchased parts probably should come from the source.  But in practice I have seen a lot of rubbish on vendor sites.  I create custom libraries.  I need the Design Accelerators.

We have specific classes or competencies rolled into classes for: Dynamic Simulation, Frame Generator, Weldments, Bolted Connections, Cams (not to be confused with CNC/CAM which is a different class/major), Plastic Mold design, Routed Systems (electrical wiring and pneumatic/hydraulic piping).  Also the basic Helix is found in many mechanisms.  Fusion is missing a robust helix tool.

In short, missing stuff that would wipe out maybe 90% of our course content.

1. Since we have access to both Inventor and Fusion 360, one idea is to try 360 out and if it doesn't serve our needs, switch back to Inventor. So my last question is: are design files of these two products compatible with each other, meaning if we have a design from Fusion 360, will Inventor be able to load it?

I do not have experience going back and forth with native files between Inventor and Fusion 360, but from a quick check it appears that Fusion can open Inventor part and assembly files, but the reverse is not true.  I just tried opening a Fusion 360 file in Inventor and do not see that (native format/AnyCAD) functionality.

I don’t think Fusion 360 is intended to be a replacement for Inventor Professional in professional classroom MCAD instruction.

Edit: I forgot to elaborate on missing 2D drawing documentation functionality.