I was just doing some self directed training on fusion 360 to keep myself up to speed with other programmes. SketchUp is my main driver and its what I’m most comfortable with at the moment but I want to check out fusion to see what the parametric stuff is all about.
I was modelling a nut in Fusion and I thought id export it to SU to see how well it handled it. It was actually pretty much perfect. For me this could be a good work around with nuts and bolts as its a pain in SU and take some learning and nuances to get it right. It was a breeze in Fusion without the need to scale up and down etc..
This is the model in Fusion - (free version for personal use)
There has been a few models iv found on the internet which have been fusion models that i needed for designs to upgrade my printer and wheniv exported then to SU from fusion they have all been flawless.
Ha, for those of us who are not SketchUp Jedi Thread masters I still have trouble getting the pitch and depth just right. I’ll have to look at the thread tutorial DaveR made one more time. But Fusion 360 is pretty handy.
Yer i agree I think personally it takes too long for what’s it worth to do it in Sketchup. Its a handy exercise to try it and I have managed to do it in the past but is a pain.
Im a complete beginner in Fusion and managed to do this nut in minutes and it was very logical. I’m not saying I’m going to switch to fusion full time but for threads seems like a more efficient time saving time. Like you said I’m defiantly not a jedi master either and use SU mostly for construction projects mechanical install work and in my opinion to a fairly high standard and still find doing threads horrible in SU.
Not gonna lie, the native tools in Fusion for these things are pretty dang awesome. Click a command, tell it what size, how deep, if you needs threads? Pitch (MM or SAE), type of countersink and “Boom”…done. I was floored. (And it didn’t crash in the middle of it, but that’s being petty… )
But yea all in all pretty impressive…gotta give credit where credit is due.
I just grabbed a random model I was working on just to show you what the “Hole” command is capable of and yea the free version. No bashing here…it’s just a impressive feature is all.
I am a Mechanical Designer…HVAC…so I use SketchUp for that. But I have been developing organizational tools for work trucks. I started with my own truck, then everyone started saying I should start a business helping other workers to organize their trucks. I needed something a little more robust than SU for developing parts for 3D printing my ideas…that’s where Fusion came in. So for Fusion? It’s still “kinda” a hobby? Until I launch the business later this year. I have one 3D printer but I will need another faster one to get started and? Well will see how it goes…
Of course, yea Revit is the choice for BIM but I had moved from ACAD to Sketchup back in the Google days and I was just enamored by the ease of use. At that point I just was too comfortable to move on…and at the time Revit Lite was more money. In the mean time I had built a pretty hefty library..see below:
I am still trying to finish this library out for @medeek as I am kinda helping him with his HVAC plug in…
Yea it is challenging in a environment where everyone I work with is using Revit? (UGH!) But SU is what I am used to. I just make everything a component and then I have my BIM list if they need it. In addition? Drawing 3D sheet metal fittings for details is pretty easy in SU.
All that being said? If you are designing parts? Specifically for 3D printing or and CAM work? Fusion is just easier to model “exactly”…like the threads for instance?The native fillet tools and loft tools are incredible and no weird geometry flying in from left field. Honestly I got tired of modeling everything in meters and then scaling it down to millimeters…I am a consrtuction worker and I already got way too many things to remember. Now when I want a 2mm fillet edge? I don’t have to make it 2 meters. Fusion also makes it easy to just grab my calipers and measure a part and input the dimensions without having to think about it. Just my 2 cents. I think @TheOnlyAaron made a video where he said “Hey if something else works better? Then use it…don’t bash the other software for what it doesn’t do”…and I have to agree with that. So for architecture? Hands down SU…super easy (unless it crashes on start up…grrrr) . But for parametric designing of parts and assemblies? For me? I found it easier to get what I expected out of Fusion…and that’s just the free version. The paid version has some super incredible plug ins so once I pony up for that? I may just cancel my SU subscription and invest a couple more bucks in a more optimized software package…again no hate…just my opinion…it’s worth exactly what you paid for it…nothing…
That’s a valuable in sight. I agree with you alot to be honest. I Feel like SU is an old friend and I don’t want to turn my back on, I keep paying for the pro version out my pocket etc. I also use SU for construction work doing all types of stuff such as pipework, structural stuff etc and export and detail into Acad but I do have a love hate relationship with it and like you say mechanical work on the smaller scale is better suited in Fusion. I know it can be done in SU but its a ball ache sometimes.
I do keep coming back to it as when I start learning other packages you realise how quick SU can be and don’t need to rely on multiple dropdowns just to design. However I do think if I stay in SU I may get left behind, my next move is to learn more Revit as my plan is to get into a design manager role of some sort in the future or more structural engineering.
)
