Ellie Rathbone
Elevate your design and manufacturing processes with Autodesk Fusion
Collaboration is one of the most important factors that can determine the success of a business in today’s hyper-competitive global market. Ideas and professional expertise from around the world can be used together to solve highly complex problems in the engineering field. Collaborative software such as Fusion 360 has been designed to make this process easier. Continue reading below to learn more about how this works.
The importance of collaboration in your organization
Engineering and design, at its core, is a truly collaborative process. Beginning in engineering school, students are taught the importance of teamwork through large group design projects that require solutions to complex problems. Later, these teamwork skills are carried over to the workplace as employees work together to contribute to the success of a company or organization.
Another reason collaboration is important is due to the creative abrasion it creates. This term was originally coined by Jerry Hirsch when he was working as an executive designer for the company Nissan Design International. Like its name suggests, creative abrasion refers to the frictions created when people work on a team with others who hold different opinions and values to their own.
This diversity in opinions creates a hotbed environment for innovation and was also a favored method for Steve Jobs. When choosing Apple employees, Jobs intentionally chose a team of engineers with diverse personalities so they could contribute conflicting biases and problem-solving ideas. This is one of the reasons why the Apple company thrived and continues to be one of the most innovative players in the technology industry.
When collaborations go wrong
Despite the benefits, having a team that can collaborate successfully is not always an easy task to achieve. This is because communication is one of the most important factors in ensuring whether a collaboration is successful or not. All members of a team need to be kept updated on the progress of the project, which can be an extremely time-consuming task with a lot of room for errors.
One of the most famous examples of a team project gone wrong is in a project commissioned by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. In 1993, a Mars Climate Orbiter was initiated to explore the climate on Mars. As the satellite approached the red planet, it abruptly vanished and stopped sending information back to NASA. Later investigations found there had been a miscommunication in the type of units used between the American and British engineering teams. Forces were not converted to the Newton as per the standard for space missions. And since one pound of force is equivalent to 4.45 Newtons, it became a disastrous mistake that resulted in the loss of a $125 million project.
How Fusion 360 improves collaboration for your organization
Autodesk’s Fusion 360 is a program that can improve the overall collaboration across your organization or company. It is designed to enhance all lines of communication to minimize misunderstandings and make the overall collaborative process more efficient. Designs can be reviewed and different versions can be managed easily. For example, you can now insert one design into multiple designs while at the same time maintain the associativity between all available designs.
The Fusion 360’s A360 feature is one of the many features that can be used to simplify collaboration. It can be used for data storage and collaboration by giving users access to updated information about the project on any device with access to a web browser. You do not need to buy expensive PDM (Plant Design Management) systems, worry about implementation costs, or set up a complicated infrastructure for organizational purposes.
Another feature of Fusion 360 is that it can be used for collaborations with groups and hubs. Each user has a personal hub or dashboard at the center of their Autodesk 360 software. From here, groups can be created or accessed easily. Invitations for collaboration can also be sent to team members to give all group members access to projects.
Other useful features for collaboration include:
- Version management
- Fusion Team
- Live design reviews
- Commenting and redlining
- Public or private design sharing
You can learn more about these features on the Autodesk website.
Conclusion
Fusion 360 is a powerful piece of software that can be used for collaborative projects involving teams of people. It can help streamline the teamwork processes and reduce inefficiencies and mistakes caused by miscommunications. Features such as A360 and the ability to use hubs give users access to their own files and the option to create groups and send out invitations to other users for collaboration.