Fusion 360’s January Update Is Hot on Simulation

In Autodesk’s first Fusion 360 update of the year, a number of new features have been announced, but no segment of the software has been overhauled more than its nascent simulation section.

Thermal Simulation Fuses Its Way into 360

New features in the Fusion 360 simulation tool set.

In what amounts to a bit of a humble brag, Autodesk noted that their January update was so extensive Fusion 360 had to be completely taken down to accommodate their new features. Previously, Fusion 360 incorporated static simulation features. In this latest release, Autodesk has added a number of thermal simulation features that will help mechanical, electrical and mold designers among others.

First among its numerous updates are Fusion 360’s Thermal Study and Thermal Stress simulation features.

Fusion 360’s static stress analysis of a wrench.

Thermal Study, as its name obviously implies, gives users the ability to analyze the impact of thermal effects, including thermally induced stress.

In Fusion 360, thermal studies can be set up in much the same way that static stress analysis is built. First, users have to define the materials, contacts and loads (temperatures, surface heat, convection and radiation) associated with a component. With those variables in place, a component can be meshed and the simulation run.

Once a simulation has been run, the model is ready for postprocessing. Fusion 360 comes equipped with three postprocessing options, the point probe, a surface probe and a slice plane. With the point probe, any point on a model can be clicked and assayed for thermal analysis results. The next tool, a surface probe, extends the utility of the point probe by giving users multiple points of contact for analyzing a component. Lastly, the slice plane makes it possible to cut through a model to see how temperature dissipates through or across a part.

Fusion 360’s new thermal analysis in action.

In addition to its thermal study upgrade, Fusion 360 also has a thermal stress option that can illustrate which areas of a model will be most affected by temperature variations. These results can be used in concert with the results of static stress analysis.

Modest Modeling Updates Offset Simulation’s Rule

Aside from simulation, Fusion 360 has also received updates to its ever-important modeling capability. Principle among Fusion 360’s modeling updates are an improved offset tool and a new way to control freeform design.

With its new offset tool, Fusion 360 allows users to select other sketch entities or edges and offset them by using a slider or by entering an exact offset amount. What’s nice about the new offset feature is that it’s associative. This means that any changes made to the geometry upon which the offset is based will update if it’s altered in any way.

Following its parametric update, Fusion 360’s engineers have also added a critical new feature to the Sculpt function. Now, users will have the ability to freeze regions in a freeform shape so that they can’t be modified by the tugging, pinching or pushing of surrounding regions. With this added control, users will be able to create an even-wider range of shapes more quickly and with greater control.

Additional Updates

To round out this expansive update, Fusion 360 has also added the ability to comment, mark up and add redlines within the A360 3D Web Viewer. Given that design reviews are a critical part of a product’s lifecycle, it’s good to know that Autodesk has Fusion 360 positioned to move into a fully digitized product lifecycle.

January in Review

Fusion 360 is quickly becoming a CAD juggernaut. As the software continues to add new features to its core functionality, the case to switch from Inventor or other CAD packages is becoming ever more compelling. Given that Fusion 360 was only launched in 2013, I’m excited to see what the year ahead brings. No doubt, by the end of 2016, Fusion 360 may be an irresistible tool for designers, regardless of their previous design software biases.

To get a complete list of Fusion 360’s January updates, visit Autodesk here.