One of the early adopters of the integration between Workbench and Fusion 360 is Aurel Estidial, creator of Microgeneration Concepts. The objective of Microgeneration Concepts is to design energy conversion systems for small scale power generation. Aurel is a huge advocate of open source projects so the open engineering capabilities of Workbench naturally caught his attention.
When GrabCAD and Autodesk announced the integration of Workbench and Fusion 360, the 3D modeler, Aurel jumped at the opportunity to use it. It was the first time 3D design and editing tools had become available through GrabCAD, making sophisticated CAD editing and collaboration tools accessible to users of all sizes and types. Though currently he is primarily a SolidWorks and Solid Edge user, he can convert his files to Fusion 360 to collaborate with others in the same environment.
“GrabCAD Workbench allows me to review details in explode or section view. I can also measure dimensions of selected parts.”
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“From the same project, I can import into Fusion 360 so every user can update and modify the CAD model. Importing the model is seamless.”
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“In the Fusion 360 section view I can also inspect details of the imported model.”
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Aurel believes “it is great to work in a platform available to everyone because you avoid issues with software incompatibility that sometimes occur with open engineering.”
AutoCAD is Aurel’s preferred 2D CAD system and he sees value in the clean line drawing Autodesk has built in Fusion 360. He says he sees “a great opportunity to use Workbench and Fusion 360 for concept design”. For example, currently Aurel is using Fusion to design a micro turbine rotor and set up basic features for blades.
How to start using Fusion 360:
- Start a Workbench project
- In Workbench, select a project model
- Click the “Edit” drop-down, and select “Edit in Fusion 360″
- Edit the model
- When done, click “Save”
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