Autodesk Fusion

SoftwareInfoBox Autodesk Fusion 360
Type:	CAD with integrated CAM
Platform:	Windows, Mac OS X (64 bit only)
License:	proprietary, free for private use
Source:	Autodesk
Input Formats:	tons
Output Formats:	STL, DXF, PDF, ...
Users:	Lukas, Patrick

Fusion 360 is a CAD program that is free for students, makers and small companies. It comes with a very powerful CAM suite.

There is an "app store" for professional or community-built plugins as well. Several great extensions are collected here.

Edit in Browser

Fusion 360 supports editing inside the browser. This version of Fusion 360 does not yet have the full set of features, but might still be useful in case you can not install the desktop version. Log in with your Autodesk account and select "Edit in browser" on any design or create a new project and select "New -> Fusion design".

Laser Cutting

You can export any sketch by right clicking it and choosing "Save as DXF".

Another option is to create a "drawing" from your design and lay out the views in the corresponding window, but this is relatively complicated and only makes sense if you already want to arrange multiple pieces at this stage.

CNC routing

Joinery

In contrast to a laser cutter, a CNC router can't cut perfect inside corners because the router bit is circular. To circumvent this issue, reliefs (so-called "dogbones") are put into a design to allow the router bit to cut all the way. There are add-ons for Fusion 360 to help with the design of them.

• Dogbone by tapnair

Tutorials

• First steps
• Fusion 360 seminar
• Fusion 360 for Beginners (YouTube)

CAM Tutorials

• our experience with CAM parameters
• Fusion 360 CAM Basics (Webinar by Lars Christensen)
• CAM tutorial for beginners (Evan and Katelyn)
• bookshelf from design to milling (YouTube)