Thank you for your interest in helping us develop the tools for the future of design to manufacturing. Technology previews gather customer feedback around business goal/objectives that the new functionality intends to solve, while the development approaches release. Each preview will start with a small group of users invited, and we’ll continue to expand based off feedback and community interest. The information you provide will be used to ensure we’re reaching our target audience, gathering feedback from diverse backgrounds and experience levels.
Please respond to this thread with the following details and you’ll be added to the list of users we pull from with each new preview:
This part is important - there is no guarantee that the models you make now will function properly once the preview technology is fully released. Please consider this when utilizing your time testing this functionality.
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started playing around in my dads AutoCAD 2.18 in 1985, started working in unix based CAD tools in 1988. I've seen all releases of autosurf and designer , mechanical desktop, inventor and now breaking things in fusion on a regular basis 😉
It depends on the contract, usually something creative.
It seems like there's something new going on! i wanted to check it out! 🙂
good question, I'm not sure! it will improve things, I'm hopeful, but also its important to know what it can and cant do before i can use it for anything constructive.
Hey @promm,
Please consider me in the sheet metal technical preview.
Thanks a lot.
solidworks, Hicad, microstation, draftsight, autocad, 3ds max
Staircases, both straight and helical
The folding sheet metal previews.
For producing models and drawings of helical staircases we need to be able to fold and unfold parts.
Currently we are using other software for any curved stairs. Would love to use solely Fusion.
Helical stairs, especially with a patterned balustrade, usually test folded sheet metal parts pretty hard.
Hello,
I'm a director in Nexus Systems Company. We work with fiber optic technology, making a wide projects of network Components. We use Solidworks and learn Fusion360 to make fiber optic enclosures, and others parts needed parts which are later molded or.... printed. We are also a supplier of sheet metal enclosures, but to design them we need to cooperate with other Company. Implementation of Metal Sheet mode into Fusion360, could give us a new possibility to improve our offer, and making needed changes to our products much faster.
Rafal Zachara
I've been using F360 since it was a development preview
Consumer electronics enclosures [light switches, sconces, etc.] and mobile robotics / mechatronics
I've wanted to design enclosures and parts with sheet metal for a very long time
Hopefully it will be a much better approach than kludging with other tools to designin uniform thickness parts
Thank you!
Admaiora
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Hello promm,
thank you for giving me/us the possibility to engineer in such a affordable and nice CAD-program. I am Clemens from Germany and i am extremely excited to be using a sheet-metal bench in Fusion360. At the moment i am trying to implement Fusion360 in the engineering bureau in the company i am working.
But the main issue is that there is no sheet metal bench, so its a pain to create metal parts, unfold it manually and export in .dxf.
1year solid edge
4years CATIA
some months Onshape
Mostly i am designing Bike-Products, Bike-Stands and Parts/machines you need to produce bike-components
Fusion fits me very well, but without a the SM-Bench its not complete
I´d like to see an easy to use bench with basic functionality and precise, parametric fold/unfold and .dxf export options.
best regards
Clemens
Software I've used in the past :- SDRC I-deas, Catia V4 and V5, Solid Edge, Pro-E, UGNX, AutoCAD, Inventor, Fusion360, OnShape and lots of other "Free" CAD systems
I work for a VAR now so my designs are varied, everything from parts of a Nuclear plant to small plastic components, but most of my life has been in the automotive and white goods environments. Essentially I've designed a bit of everything from Plug Sockets to HGV Fuel systems.
Being in-front of the technology coming is high on our priority list as a VAR, but also ensuring that our customer workflows are tested and comments made before release to try to make their life easier down the line is something I'm quite passionate about.
Having Sheet metal in the mix would bring most of my customers workflows under one umbrella reducing the need to switch between 3 or 4 different software's to get a single job done.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
not much more, 3ds max and web development, so Fusion360 is my first CAD tool
Mostly building stuff in University
Using the sheet metal feature would be very helpful
Better and easier preparation in University where we have the tools to do sheet metal bending.
I'm very excited to put these tools to use!
Robert
Autocad LT and Inventor professional.
Cilindrical shell, covers, repairs for machines
I'm interested in sheet metal environment
In Inventor if I use to built multybody parts, but to unfold some of them I have to make parts from bodies, create an assembly... In fusion I like that al datas are stored in one file.
I have used a number of CAD packages professionally: AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop, Inventor, Microstation, PTC Creo. I have used a few as a student/Casually: CadKey, Rhino, Concepts 2D, Shark Lt, Shark FX. Currently I use Fusion 360 as a learner/casually. I have a small side sheet metal project I would like to use it on, and expect another that will use a combination of development and sheet metal this fall.
Professionally I design industrial air compression equipment. The design work consist mostly of sheet metal and tubing/piping. Probably 70-80 percent of my parts are sheet metal.
I initially purchased Fusion 360 because I am using Shark FX at home and it lacks good parametric modeling and sheet metal. I had initially expected that F360 would include sheet metal. As you might expect, I was disappointed that it was not initially included. I was very excited to hear that it will be available soon. My small project is due as soon as I can manage it and my fabricator will have a small window in April/May before being inundated in a production run.
This feature will allow me to do virtually all if not all all of my side projects in Fusion 360. My current CAD (Shark FX) does not have sheet metal.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions
Mark Ezell, PE
mark.ezell@gmail.com
I teach 3D Design, Engineering and Robotics at the high school level. We would very much like to test the Sheet Metal tools for forming parts for the robot we are currently building for the FIRST Robotics Competition.
Hi There I would like to be considered for sheet metal preview.
Thank you for your consideration
Jason Spurrell
SysTech Stainless Works, LLC
330-775-2007
The majority of my previous CAD background (15 years) started with R12 in high school, then the various versions up to current through college and work. I have also used SolidWorks though not nearly as much as AutoCad. I also have experience using a few different CADCAM software packages, mostly for 2D parts (laser cutting) and nesting.
My (our) day to day items that we use CAD for is flashing / trim / facia / sills that are fabricated using shears and press / leaf brakes out of various gauges of sheet metal (26ga up to 0.250"). My company has recently installed a laser cutter to expand our capabilities. We are now able to cut complex 45 degree miter cuts on complicated bent trim pieces flat then bend them. The un-folding manually and drawing the flat pieces is a pain, this could be very helpful being able to draw in 3D then just miter / flatten the solid.
A few of our guys (4 total) here are still on some old versions of AutoCad. Our company is looking to upgrade in the next 6 months or so, this would be a great addition to our capabilities. I would like to test the software to see how well it fits with what we do. Combined we have over 150 years of sheet metal fabrication experience in our little shop from the office / design to the shop floor.
Thanks.
Eric Noe
Thanks!
Mark
I have 5 years of Inventor experience, i do training's at one of the ALC in Tallinn and teach it in vocational school. Also i have 7 Years of Autocad experience and now a year of Fusion 360, also other kinds 3D software's
I usually do all kind's of stuff, mostly for myself, i have done models for laser and 3D printing, built prototypes, and created some fun projects with students. At the moment making parts for laser and doing CAM for milling and turning.
At the moment i work in one metal working company as CAD/CAM engineer and we use Fusion for CAM on HAAS machines and we got a AMADA Fiber laser that i do CAM for and run the machine. And i would like to test out the sheet metal stuff, that i have been telling everybody about 😄
Sheet metal would be a great in fusion and will save a lot of time running backwards and forwards between CAD softwares.
Hi Promm,
My name is Jed. I have an extensive background in cad/cam and manufacturing.
1. I have spent the last 10 years working heavily with inventor, solidworks, and autocad. I have also worked alot with solid edge.
2. Primarily i work on sheet metal design, welded assemblies, sheet metal inserts, punched sheet metal shapes, bent and stamped sheet metal, roll formed sheet metal, and sheared sheet metal. I also work alot with machined parts, sometimes mill sometimes lathe, although normally i dont do alot of cnc with these parts. When I do have cnc machining I often spend more time designing fixtures. I also design alot of plastic parts and extruded shapes. However my primary background is in sheetmetal. This caused me to work alot with waterjets, laser cutters, press brakes, punching machines, stamping machines, shearing machines, insert machines, welding machines, and roll forming machines.
3. I come primiarily from an inventor background designing alot of sheet metal parts and assemblies. I would like to have that functionality with fusion 360 and see some of the potential enhancements that could result from the process.
4. I think that fusion 360's direct modeling capabilities, as well as its various cad/cam packages will provide a much more elevated sense of design intent productivity when used in the sheet metal world.
I fully believe that the technology will mature enough soon but at the same time i think it will be very helpful to see how this technology differs in its early stages from existing technology.
Thanks.