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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
3 min read
Fusion provides flexibility for creating complex mechanical assemblies, but mastering its design history tools is essential. Whether you’re transitioning from SolidWorks or starting fresh, this guide covers assemblies, components, bodies, and the importance of design intent. Explore tips and workflows to save time and boost project efficiency.
SolidWorks users often work with three main workflows:
In Fusion, the approach is similar but more flexible. Fusion enables you to mix and match workflows depending on the design intent, making it adaptable to different project needs. Let’s look at how this flexibility works.
Every project starts with a fundamental question: What’s the design’s purpose? Whether it’s a mechanical assembly or a single component, understanding your design intent will guide your strategy.
For example:
Fusion recommends starting new designs with components for assemblies. Each component has:
This makes managing designs easier, especially for creating exploded views, animating motions, or generating detailed bills of materials (BOM). Components can also be added later if needed, converting top-level bodies into movable, trackable entities.
For designs that don’t need motion or detailed tracking, creating multiple bodies at the top level simplifies the workflow.
However, bodies are less versatile for advanced workflows, such as animations or BOM management.
Imported designs (e.g., STEP or IGES files) often lack a timeline. Turn on Design History to track changes and organize components within Fusion’s coordinate system.
Starting with an empty component helps maintain a clean timeline and reduces interdependencies. Each feature or sketch within a component remains self-contained, making it easier to update and troubleshoot later.
Complete each component before moving to the next. This ensures:
For example, in the grill design, the main housing was fully modeled before adding additional components, keeping the timeline logical and grouped by design stages.
Fusion’s joints define mechanical relationships between components. Add joints early to prevent issues caused by downstream modifications. For example, creating a rotational joint for ball bearings before adding fillets or chamfers ensures the joint remains unaffected by later changes.
When designing in Fusion, always start with your intent:
Follow these key tips:
By understanding these workflows and using tools like grouping and naming, you’ll streamline your process and make the most of Fusion’s powerful design history capabilities.
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