This week we got the privilege of having an expert, Jeff Smith, come in and teach us how to use one of the most powerful CAD programs out there, Fusion 360. He structured the learning session by teaching us a lot of tools all at once, and then having us build on our own and seeing what we could create. It was really a privilege to have Jeff come in, and it amazed me the things that 3D printing was capable of doing. One of the things that really stood out to me was the sculpting mode of Fusion, where one could use several features to create complex objects that would take hours to create in normal CAD programs. Best of all, the creator of Fusion 360, Autodesk, offers the program as well as various others for free to students.
A design like the one picture above could take hours with standard CAD software, but only took several minutes for me to create on Fusion.
This experience was truly awesome because our class got to learn the true power and potential of Fusion 360. Complex designs and parts that would normally take hours to create or modify now can be done with several clicks of a button. This is especially helpful in the world of 3D printing, where there is no need to worry about typical manufacturing constraints such as the increase in cost with an increase in complexity. CAD software like this will lead the charge in the 3D revolution as much as the actual 3D printers will. As Jeff Smith said when he talked to us, “without CAD these 3D printers are just paperweights, and without 3D printers, these CAD designs are just stuck on a screen.” The development of each is important to the advancement of 3D printing and I know I will be keeping close track of developments in each field in the future. The fact that this revolutionary software is offered free for students is also awesome, as the future of 3D printing lies in our generation, and the more young students who have access to the software, the better.
Now that I have learned the basics of Fusion 360, I will continue to play around with it at home, as well as continue to learn how to use it in this class. Jeff will be coming back later in the semester to teach us more advanced Fusion concepts, and I am very excited to see what he has in store for us next time. If you’re interested in Fusion 360, click here for a video that further explains what Fusion 360 does.
If you’ve read this and are interested in learning Fusion 360, then there are some awesome YouTube tutorials found in the links below. I have also added the link for downloading the Fusion software as well.
Hi John,
Great post! I definitely agree that there’s a strong connection between CAD and 3D printers and that one can only reach its potential with the help of the other. I personally have never gotten the opportunity to operate a CAD program prior to this class, but I can imagine that the structure you showed could take up a lot of time if it were not built with Fusion 360. Also, it’s quite an interesting strategy for Autodesk to make the program free for students in hopes that we will continue to use it in the future. Do you think that a few years down the road there may be an even newer and more advanced program that we would need to learn?
Hi John,
I can’t agree more with your idea that there is a positively-mutual relationship between CAD technology and 3D printing. To explore the potential of 3D printing, we have to improve the CAD technology; to create complicated CAD design, we have to use more advanced 3D printer. Also, Fusion 360 is such a convenient design tool that can save us tons of time when we design our own projects. Meanwhile, Fusion 360’s strategy surprises me as well. Most of software companies will provide discounts to students to increase user bases, while Fusion 360 is almost free to students. I have to say it is a very bold and smart strategy to advertise Fusion 360.
Best,
Ben
Glad to know that you’ll keep on exploring the uses and possibilities of Fusion. It really is a complicated but powerful software that makes creating complicated objects much easier than other CAD softwares once you get used to it. CAD and 3D printing are two halves of the same coin, you can’t really have one without the other, at least not to the best of their ability.
Below is also a link for my Fusion Project. I created a water bottle using Fusion 360 with two components, one being the lid and one being the bottle. You can see the use of the sculpting tool in the lid. This tool allowed me to easily make a normally pretty complex part.
http://a360.co/2ll4vFT
Hi John,
I really enjoyed reading your post, I liked how you mentioned the dependence that CAD and 3D printers had. It’s incredible to see how both functions have strong functions but they essentially can’t use their ability without the other, it’s a collaboration. Also, I was amazed that these softwares were free and readily accessible for students to use, truly letting the next generation innovate freely. Furthermore, I like how you mentioned the difference in creation time between a standard CAD software and Fusion, who knows in the future if there will be more softwares that can exceed the already fast Fusion software.