Fusion 360 for Makers, 2nd Edition: Design Your Own Digital Models for 3D Printing and CNC Fabrication | Lydia Sloan Cline

Learn how to use Autodesk Fusion 360 to digitally model your own original projects for a 3D printer or a CNC device.

Q&A with Author Lydia Sloan Cline

As a college professor teaching about 3D design, especially as it relates to being a maker, why did you choose Fusion 360 in particular?

Well, I started the course actually with Autodesk's 1-2-3D software, since that was developed specifically for 3d printing and heavily marketed to teachers and it was free. Then when Autodesk discontinued 1-2-3D. I looked around for another program and Fusion just seemed to make the most sense because it contains multiple modeling types and was designed for 3d printers and fabrication machines.

What types of different modeling can you do with fusion 360?

You can do parametric, which is modeling that has a timeline and preserves design intent. You can do direct, which has no timeline. You push and pull geometry to create a model. You can do solid modeling, surface modeling, form modeling, sheet metal modeling, and you can do generative design modeling.

You can import STL files and then edit them in the mesh modeling workspace. You can bounce a model. Between all those workspaces to take advantage of each space's unique capabilities. So I don't know of any other software that has so many workspace capabilities built into one. So it's just, it's just perfect for the maker.

I find myself particularly fascinated by generative design. Can you talk a bit about how generative design works?

Sure. Generative design replaces the iterative process that designers were all trained on. Now, the traditional design process has you start with a concept idea and then iterate it: modify it, develop it, try it again. With generative design, all that is turned on its head. You input into the software the parameters you need such as loads the object needs to carry, what material the object is made from, what you want the design to do. And then the software designs it for you. It offers multiple solutions. You pick one and then you can convert it into a form model into Fusion and then develop it further.

It sounds like you need a high-end workstation to run this software, along with high-end peripheral input devices. Is that the case with Fusion 360?

Well, honestly, the faster processor and bigger graphics card that you have, the better, the happier you'll be. A gamer-level computer, the type that gamers like because of the great graphics cards and fast processing capabilities, is a good purchase for Fusion. You don't have to have that and you can find the minimum specs needed to run Fusion online.

Is this book good for other things besides 3D printing?

A 3D printer adds material to build up an object. I would just like to encourage people to learn about CNC fabrication, because that is a huge use of modeling. CNC stands for Computer Numeric Control. Those are the machines that cut shapes out of flat pieces of wood. Lots of people use Fusion to take to a CNC machine where they can cut jigsaw puzzles or toys or whatever they want. Out of flat pieces of wood or wax or metal. So as many people are, I think, are using Fusion for that.

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About the Author

Lydia Sloan Cline teaches digital modeling and 3D printing at Johnson County Community College. She is a 3D printing enthusiast, a judge a competitive technology events, and active in her local Maker community. Her previous works include 3D Printing with Autodesk 123D, Tinkercad, and MakerBot , 3D Printing and CNC Fabrication with SketchUp , Architectural Drafting for Interior Designers, 2nd Edition, and Today's Military Wife, 7th Edition.