According to Autodesk’s engineers, sheet metal has been one of the features most requested by users, and now those voices are being answered with the release of sheet metal tools made available in tech preview mode by invitation. While it doesn’t appear that Fusion 360’s sheet metal tools will fundamentally change the way people interact with sheet metal design, by upgrading the user interface, Fusion can offer something that Onshape does not. Because Fusion 360 has its own standalone CAM package embedded into the software, users will have the option of going from a sheet metal to cutting paradigm with just a few clicks. Essentially this means that all of the work of designing a sheet metal component and most of the manufacturing planning can be done without the help of a third party.
Although sheet metal has been the most anticipated addition to 360, Fusion users will also now have access to improved collaboration tools with the tech preview of “branch and merge” functions. With branch and merge, designers will have the chance to “explore design ideas and then merge them back into the master branch without conflict.” These new features should make file management and design exploration much less of a headache.
Back in November, Autodesk also promised a soon-to-be-released ECAD element for Fusion. Currently, the ECAD add is still in the works; however, Autodesk EAGLE, the backbone of the company’s ECAD package, hasn’t been packed into 360 just yet. Currently, EAGLE is available as its own subscription package, but not as an integrated design tool in Fusion 360. As of now, there’s no clear indication when that might occur.
In addition to the sheet metal, the collaboration improvements and the tease of soon-to-be ECAD additions, the Fusion team has also announced that 360 now has a CAD in a browser mode that, again, is being offered in tech preview mode by invitation for users in North America. This new development should firmly usher Fusion 360 into the universe that appears to be the home of the future of CAD. It’s a future where your work will be able to follow you and you won’t need a hefty workstation to use advanced CAD tools.