AutoDesk Fusion 360 - Native on Macintosh!

[st_indigo]

Has anyone else tried Fusion 360 from AutoDesk?

I was continuing my fruitless, years-long search for a CAM app that runs native on OS X, and found that the latest version of AutoDesk Fusion 360 does just that. Exciting!

I've been using it for a couple weeks now for 2.5D work and it has done well so far. It includes very useful options for lead ins, tabs, and cornering, as well as letting you define your work holding clamp/jig/vice so that you do not cut into them. Toolpaths for parts can be made within the 3d CAD model, with router axes oriented to each part - so there's no need to "explode" your model to cut out a part.

One of my favorite features is the timeline editing interface. It lets you go back in your time line to make changes in part creation and machining that auto-update, and don't require you to retrace, subsequent steps - a very powerful and convenient way to work.

AutoDesk offers a FREE license for personal use, so if you want to give it a try, you can do it at no cost. If you use it professionally, they offer licensing on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, currently $40, $115 and $300 USD.

(note: I have no ties to AutoDesk or Fusion, other than being totally excited that someone has finally made a Mac-based solution for CAD/CAM)

I would love to hear from anyone who tries it.

http://fusion360.autodesk.com/about

[Fox]

I heard more good stories on it, being free for personal use being the main plus and quite capable... Have not used it, but glanced at it. I was stopped by the cloud thing... I like offline. It's my data and I share when I want it.

For a business I do not like the recurring fees... it adds up quickly, and you end up paying more for it than other software. I'm using several cad tools extensively and it takes years to become fluent in each cad software - so professionally there's no use in learning it if you not going to use it for a longer period of time...

Personal use... Free is cool, and it's quite capable... But what do you do when they start charging for personal use.. it's an old marketing trick, even used on the streets... Give some for free, charge them when they are hooked :D

[ger21]

I'm not sure how long this is going to be free.
Next year, Autodesk is moving all their software to a subscription based model.
They claim it's to better serve their customers, but it's really just to make more money.

[pblackburn]

You must also be careful of the cloud based software. You can lose rights to stuff you do not wish to. Read the license agreements careful. Free is not always a good thing. I was always told that if it is free, look for the catch as very little is truly free.

[racedirector]

I wouldn't touch free cloud based software as as been said, the "free" could go "paid" at any time. When it does that ALL your work is gone or locked up until your fork over dollars. I may be in the older crowd who is always wary of anything free that you do not store your work on a local machine but there have been too many things go wrong with this model that everyone should be careful.

Stick to locally installed software, you'll be better off in the long run.

[Duds]

I think you won't have a lot of choice, "in the long run", you will be using cloud services or stuck on software that is out of date. If you have seen what's happened in accounting services they have pretty much all gone too the cloud and offer minimal support to customers on running desktop services. It has been a rocky transition but hasn't been all that bad an outcome and there are benefits to cloud services.
More competition
Better data portability
Real and better consideration of IP ownership in legal theory.
Better data integrity
Better data backup services and strategies
Increased opportunities for developers and startups

Of course the benefits cost and that's the cost of doing business. Just my 2c.

[pblackburn]

I do agree with what you state. But you do have to read the EULA carefully. I have seen some that, where by using the free service you give away rights to images to the provider. So as with anything, it is buyer beware.