On Jul 2, 2023, at 10:41 AM, Sawdust77 <rscotthanna@...> wrote:

Thanks David for the detailed response and information. I will check out the links you?provided and will probably just stay with Fusion. Do you have an estimate of when you will release the Fusion course you are working on?

Thanks again,

?- Scott

On Sat, Jul 1, 2023 at 10:26?PM David P. Best <dbestworkshop@...> wrote:

Hi Scott,

I am only vaguely familiar with Solidworks, so I probably can’t offer much advice on that topic.? I didn’t consider Solidworks because at the time either the “affordable” versions weren’t available or I was unaware of their existence.? I was attracted to Fusion initially through John Saunders (NYCCNC) who is an acquaintance.? I visited his shop in 2017, took a CNC class with him, met some of the Fusion managers, and liked what they were trying to achieve.? I discussed Solidworks with John and one of the HSM post-processor gurus at the time, and concluded it it didn’t meet my needs even if I were willing to pay for the full product.? John agreed with my assessment and encouraged me to pursue the Fusion path.? At the time, the full version of Fusion was free, but it also lacked some of the features I needed (more sophisticated drawing facility in particular).? By 2000, Fusion had evolved and improved to the point that I thought it was a viable candidate for my need.? Also by then I had given up on the idea of moving to CNC VMC milling machine as a pursuit.? So I never tuned back into Solidworks.

The full featured version of Fusion includes a nesting layout facility.? The free version does not, but there are low cost extensions that do provide the facility.? I’ve been playing with this, and it looks like it will meet my needs (although I’m not looking for a direct path to a CNC router): ?

In addition, Autodesk offers a pretty elaborate nesting extension for Fusion - I have no familiarity with it, but they clearly think highly of it. ?? There are several YouTube videos about this package.? There is also a 3rd party plug-in that is much more affordable which you can check out here: ?? You might also check out this plug-in: ?? ?There is quite an extensive library of extension plug-ins which you can see at this link: ?

The layers functionality is only interesting to me in the context of the drawing facility, and I haven’t yet run into any walls because it doesn’t support layering.? I am in pretty constant communication with the 2D product manager for Fusion who manages all the drawing facilities from London, and I have generally been pleased with their progress against commitments and stated goals.? He continues to ask for feedback, suggestions, and for copies of what I do with Fusion that’s related to woodworking.? That said, it is clear to me that his first priority for the 2D team is to satisfy the needs of larger organizations like Boeing, Airbus, etc.? You can see that influence in the 2D environment by virtue of their ANSI and ISO title block parameters and legends (none of which I care about).? You can see the Fusion 360 2D roadmap here: ?

In terms of how Fusion or Solidworks might interface with your CNC router, I can’t help, but I”m sure the Fusion sales team has a good handle compatible post-processors.? You can also find the included posts in the Manufacturing domain of Fusion by clicking on Manage>Post Library.? This might also be useful: ?

Hope this helps.

David Best
DBestWorkshop@...

On Jul 1, 2023, at 5:36 PM, Sawdust77 <rscotthanna@...> wrote:

I have been getting up to speed on Fusion 360 and want to use it for four things:

1. Designing woodworking projects and making rendered images, drawings, and cut lists for them.
2. Designing woodworking projects to be cut on my CNC which uses Mach4 control software.
3. Designing objects for 3D printing.
4. Design of electronic projects (This is a low priority as I have other options)

I do this purely as a hobby, not a business. I just found out about 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS? for Makers. It is my understanding that this version of Solidworks has almost all the features of the professional versions. The issues/limitations that I am aware of are:

• The watermarks on exported native file formats (as Brian Lamb pointed out). They prevent exporting native file formats for use in other software including the professional versions of Solidworks. They can, however, be imported and used by other people who have maker versions of the software. The export of generic (dumb) file formats are supported without restriction.
• The fact that it is web based. I really don’t like this, but Fusion is web based too.
• The fact that it will not allow any 3^rd party plugins. I’m not sure this is really that important to me for my use cases, am I missing something?
• The CAM part of the software (I believe it’s called shop floor manufacturing) seems limited to 3 axes. My CNC currently supports 3 axes but could add a fourth. I would use the fourth axis to add a turning capability.
• The fact that it is not free. At only $99 per year this is really a non-issue for me.

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Some of the unknowns for me include:

• How does the learning curve for Solidworks compare to Fusion?
• What is the availability/cost of training?

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Since it supposedly has all the Solidworks professional version features (except as noted above), I assume it will have design layers and part nesting. These features were recently mentioned by David Best who indicated that the Fusion team has no interest in providing them. I don’t know how long the Maker version has been available, but I was hoping you would comment David on whether you considered this version of Solidworks and if so, why you chose Fusion.

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I have invested a fair amount of time in leaning Fusion but I am certainly not an expert. To gain fully featured professional CAD software, I could be convinced to switch. All the above is based on my somewhat limited research I have done this weekend. It may certainly contain mistakes and/or misunderstandings. I would very much like to take advantage of the group’s expertise and ask for your feedback.

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Thanks in advance.

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-????????? Scott Hanna