The theme for this update is around how to better work with distributed teams by referencing designs in an assembly. I heard loud and clear that this was something you have all asked for. This update delivers that with distributed design and more. We talked about it here in our preview blog post last week, check it out if you want to get a sense of how it works. This update lays the foundation for more powerful collaboration workflows, such as our branching and merging plans that are well underway.

Aside from distributed design, we also made significant improvements to the sketching, modeling, sculpting, 2D drawings, and CAM workflows. Below is a list of everything that is new for this update. Thanks for ongoing support, and enjoy the update!

Detailed list of What’s New

Team Collaboration

Distributed Design:

• Associative insert of one design into another
• Control what version is referenced
• Open referenced designs to edit from browser
• Get latest for changed designs at any level in assembly hierarchy
• See parents and children on data panel
• Badge notification in browser if a design is referencing old version(s)
• Move, copy items from data panel
• select and delete multiple designs from the data panel
• New Fusion 360 Mobile Client for IOS and coming to Android later next week
• Improved commenting across mobile web and desktop clients
• Support for threaded messages
• Automatic refresh of comment feed
• Create and respond on any client or device
• Include screen caps of viewable on any device
• Remember camera when reviewing comments

• Commands remember last value
• Better access to feature edit in canvas. Select any face or edge and get access to Edit feature in context menu
• Surface pro touch screen gesture support
• Wacom Tablet touch screen gesture support
• Download on demand cloud appearances integrated into appearances dialogs and replaces legacy materials exchange service
• Viewport layout and cameras are remembered when switching between single & multiple viewports, and switching between workspaces

Form

Sketch:

• Sketch spline command is now in the marking menu
• When the Dimension command is active, allow direct selection of existing sketch dimensions to reference related parameters
• When an numeric input is active, display parameter names in tooltips
• Create driven dimensions ( can not participate in equations, yet)
• Prompt to toggle a dimension to driven if it over constrains sketch
• Sketch geometry shows constrained/under constrained ( in preview enable in preferences-> previews settings)
• Fully constrained sketches have icon in browser (pin) to show they are fully constrained
• Inference to other sketch geometry not in same sketch
• Sketch Dimension and constraint commands add a cursor icon to help identify the active command

Modeling:

• Timeline support for patch Un-stitch
• Timeline support for patch Reverse Normal
• Support patch Extrude of self-intersect spline
• Improve loft results on shape along profiles and rails
• Pattern hole thru multiple parts in one feature
• After Insert of a component the first Move no longer invokes snapshot

Sculpt:

• If new Sculpt surface is created during Create face command, all border tangent handles are linked resulting in better shape along the T-Spline surface boundary
• Sculpt edit performance improvements (open and edit)

Function

• New downloadable appearance materials have new swatch icons
• Animation supports shift + select for multiple actions
• Improved real time (OpenGL/DirectX) render of translucent materials
• Cloud Rendering as a Service (RaaS) improvements
• Added ability to select views that are rendered automatically when a new file version is saved
• Rendering preview updates more frequently as rendering progresses
• New materials available for download from Cloud
• Free render coupons feature available from render settings
• Chinese language version support added
• Distributed design (cross-reference) support added

Fabrication

Drawings:

• Detail Views
• Dimension improvements
• Dual unit dimension
• Inspection dimensions
• Dimension tolerances
• Precision control
• Reference, Not to scale and theoretical exact dimension styles
• Creating a new drawing allows setting common options to be set up front
• Access to drawing settings from nav bar at bottom of graphics screen
• Balloon command now allows repeating balloon creation
• Access to named views when creating drawing views
• Baseline dimensions
• Chain dimensions
• Drawings support 2D navigation gestures ( two finger pan and pinch to zoom on supported gesture devices)

3D Print tools:

• 3D Print now supports Spark Print Studio. Prepare and communicate directly with Autodesk Ember, Type A and Dremel Printers, Makerbots, Ultimaker, and many more.

CAM:

Patterns

Patterns allow you to only generate a toolpath for a single instance and then duplicate it for the remaining instances. Making use of patterning can speed up the entire programming process since all changes to a pattern take effect immediately and no toolpath has to be recalculated or updated.

The following pattern types are now available:

• Linear Pattern
• Circular Pattern
• Mirror Pattern

You configure the linear and circular patterns much like the Rectangular Pattern and Circular Pattern functions in Fusion 360.

CAM Browser

Browser Improvements allow users to:

• View toolpath information such as X, Y, and Z movements, feedrate, etc.
• Calculate the machining time for a selected toolpath.
• Use the Create Derived Operation feature to create a new operation based on an existing operation. Essentially the derived operation is a duplicate of the original operation, but with the strategy type changed.

CAM Tool Library

• The Tool Library manager dialogs on Mac OS and Windows OS are identical as both use the new design.
• Windows and Mac can export/import both .json and .hsmlib cloud library file types. Previously, .hsmlib was Windows-only and .json was Mac-only.
• Added the names of operations in which tools are used in the tool list of the Documents folder.
• The Text Search field in the Select Tool dialog does not search in columns that contain numerical values.

Waterjet/Laser/Plasma Sheet Cutting Support (Preview)

Enable the 2D toolpath options in the preferences – > preview. Allows creation of 2D toolpaths for machine such as waterjets and laser cutters.

Extensibility

API:

• Added support for hosting 3rd party Add-ins (ie. Protolabs)
• Enhanced Spyder IDE integration
• Added isPassword property to StringValueCommandInput class

Additional Modeling Features Coverage

• SplitFaceFeature
• SplitBodyFeature
• SilhouetteSplitFeature
• BoundaryFillFeature

Additional Patch Features Coverage

• ExtrudeFeature
• RevolveFeature
• SweepFeature
• OffsetFeature
• RectangularPatternFeature
• CircularPatternFeature
• PathPatternFeature
• MirrorFeature
• ThickenFeature
• BoundaryFillFeature
• ExtendFeature
• StitchFeature
• ScaleFeature
• SplitFaceFeature
• SpitBodyFeature
• MoveFeature

New classes/interfaces

• ButtonRowCommandInput
• TextBoxCommandInput
• Command
• isOKButtonVisible
• okButtonText
• cancelButtonText
• setDialogInitialSize
• setDialogMinimumSize
• isRepeatable
• selectionEvent
• CommandEventArgs
• terminationReason
• CommandInput
• parentCommand
• Component
• partNumber
• description
• createOpenProfile
• createBRepEdgeProfile
• ExportManager
• Occurrence
• isGrounded
• isSelectable
• isIsolated
• isActive
• activate
• BoundingBox2D/BoundingBox3D
• combine
• HoleFeatureInput
• setPositionBySketchPoints
• FusionProductPreferences
• isGhostedResultBodyShown
• isDimensionEditedWhenCreated
• isAutoLookAtSketch
• Design
• isRootComponentActive
• ActivateRootComponent
• SurfaceEvaluator
• area

Extending Fusion 360 with Partners

• Brighthub quoting from file menu. Sign up and get quotes directly from Fusion 360. Bright hub offers a variety of services from concept thru manufacture.
• CADENAS parts4cad access available in Fusion 360, gives access to millions of designed-to-spec 3D models and assemblies from more than 400 certified manufacturers’ catalogs, ready for you to browse through and insert right into a new or existing design within Fusion 360, from the Insert drop-down menu.

Learning

• In-product command specific tips and tricks
• In-product sculpt command tooltips
• Videos of Top 10 tips for SolidWorks users transitioning to Fusion 360 
• learning site redesign to align with product site
• Learning content update clean up
• A large number of videos have been converted into simple text and images for better scannability and quick read
• Fusion 101 training update
• Training modules are undergoing an update – Introduction, Model, Sketch, Sculpt, Assemblies, 2D Drawings, and Animations have been updated to provide better formatting, instructions, as well as visual guidance
• In-product tutorials update
• tutorials have been updated to reflect the latest workflows with update gifs as well as step-by-step instructions