Fusion 360 Manufacturing Extension- Worth it or move on?

[LOTT]

BLUF: Question [HASH=638]#1-[/HASH] Is the Manufacturing Extension worth $1,200/yr?
Question [HASH=640]#2-[/HASH] Have any of you "graduated" from Fusion to a "real" CAD/CAM and been amazed by all the great things they've been missing out on?

Background: I've been using Fusion 360 for about five years, and don't have experience with any other program to speak of. We make our own products and custom OEM products for others, and I've been happy (or at least satisfied) with it. The Manufacturing Extension has some features I'd like to use, but the Scot in me doesn't want to pay $1,200 (on sale right now) for an additional 5% capability when I'm only paying $300 (grandfathered in 360 license) for 95% of the capability. The German side says that doesn't matter, if the added capability is worth the money than buy it. Feature's I want are tool path trimming, Steep and Shallow, and 4th axis rotary (4th axis indexing is all I've needed up till now, but it would be nice to go full 4th).

At $1,500/yr total I'd still be paying less than maintenance for most other options and am saving the upfront costs. That said, if spending money will make money we're on board. I hear all the Fusion haters talking about how bad 360 is and how much better MasterCAM/SolidWorks/NX etc are, but I don't have a frame of reference. It seems like most of the disdain is coming from guys who have decades with other programs, and then try the free version of Fusion. Or they have to match a customer program or be ITAR compliant (not applicable to us). I'd like to hear from anyone that went the other way around, started on Fusion and then moved to something else.

Thanks.

 

[Herding Cats]

I ran Fusion for a few years, then Inventor for a few months.

Then I went to SolidCAM, NOT Solidworks CAM! There is absolutely no comparison for what I do. iMachining is way faster and better tool life than adaptive. You have control over simple operations like facing and have the ability to add loops on corners, which Fusion wouldn't do when I used it, though I don't know now. It also has proper plunge milling that doesn't require you to sketch a pattern. Fusion is extremely limited for 3D work. I want to say I have around 40 different 3D toolpaths to choose from, including both part based and surface based paths. That's not to say you can't make the same part with Fusion.

Also remember, simplicity and complexity are often directly related to ability.

The only regret I have is all the time I spent learning and using Fusion could have been spent with SolidCAM and Solidworks.

No, maintenance is not cheap but it comes with unlimited phone and help desk tech support. And if I decided to stop paying, the only thing I loose is tech support and and updates. They can't take away what I've already paid for!

I'll also add SolidCAMs youtube channel is very informative. It's done by SolidCAM apps engineers and not some kid in his parents basement with a router and 3D printer

 

[LOTT]

I ran Fusion for a few years, then Inventor for a few months.

Then I went to SolidCAM, NOT Solidworks CAM! There is absolutely no comparison for what I do.

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. What are you using for CAD, or are you working off customer supplied models? I should have mentioned that, CAD is at least as important if not more so for us, since I'm designing everything we make.

Edit to add- Can you share ball park price? They don't show anything online, and I don't feel like killing 30 minutes on the phone right now.

 

[Herding Cats]

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. What are you using for CAD, or are you working off customer supplied models? I should have mentioned that, CAD is at least as important if not more so for us, since I'm designing everything we make.

SolidCAM runs inside of Solidworks and will not function without Solidworks. They also make InventorCAM (though it is beyond me why you would buy a CAM package that runs inside a CAD package that is subscription based )

They also offer iMachining as an add-in for NX.

So I am using Solidworks and I model 90% of what I make. Maybe not the best CAD package out there, but it's an industry standard with lots of info on the internet. Also if you buy Solidworks through SolidCAM they also do tech support for CAD. I don't know if this is official but every time I called they were more than happy to help with SW questions just as much a SC questions.

 

[Mhajicek]

Been using Mastercam since '95. It's not great for Swiss or Millturn, but for anything else it's got you covered. I agree with Cats above that even if you're doing simpler parts, your time is better spent learning a system that can do the more complex parts you may get to later on. Mastercam pricing is tiered; you can get simpler packages for a lower price, and upgrade to the full kit and caboodle later when you need it.

 

[Herding Cats]

Another thing I will add about SolidCam is they have their own Post department rather than sending you to a third party. While this may not matter if you aren't messing with fancy options or millturns and swiss it's nice to know if you decided to grow.

Another bit of advice I have to offer is no matter what CAM package you go with, buy as many modules as you can possibly afford right off the bat for several reasons.

One, the more you buy the more they will negotiate.

Two, you may find yourself avoiding work that you can't program cause the job doesnt pay enough to add that package. I got every 3 axis mill package they had which included 3+2. If I ever want to go full 5 I was told it's about $3500 since I already have all the 3D modules required for full 5th

I really wanted to try Esprit till they got bought out.

 

[LOTT]

Been using Mastercam since '95. It's not great for Swiss or Millturn, but for anything else it's got you covered. I agree with Cats above that even if you're doing simpler parts, your time is better spent learning a system that can do the more complex parts you may get to later on. Mastercam pricing is tiered; you can get simpler packages for a lower price, and upgrade to the full kit and caboodle later when you need it.

What do you use for CAD? Does Mastercam have a good drafting package?

 

[Mhajicek]

What do you use for CAD? Does Mastercam have a good drafting package?

Mastercam has decent solid modelling and passable drafting ability, but it isn't great. It has no parametric capabilities. I use Solidworks for CAD.

 

[DavidScott]

BLUF: Question [HASH=638]#1-[/HASH] Is the Manufacturing Extension worth $1,200/yr?
Question [HASH=640]#2-[/HASH] Have any of you "graduated" from Fusion to a "real" CAD/CAM and been amazed by all the great things they've been missing out on?

Background: I've been using Fusion 360 for about five years, and don't have experience with any other program to speak of. We make our own products and custom OEM products for others, and I've been happy (or at least satisfied) with it. The Manufacturing Extension has some features I'd like to use, but the Scot in me doesn't want to pay $1,200 (on sale right now) for an additional 5% capability when I'm only paying $300 (grandfathered in 360 license) for 95% of the capability. The German side says that doesn't matter, if the added capability is worth the money than buy it. Feature's I want are tool path trimming, Steep and Shallow, and 4th axis rotary (4th axis indexing is all I've needed up till now, but it would be nice to go full 4th).

At $1,500/yr total I'd still be paying less than maintenance for most other options and am saving the upfront costs. That said, if spending money will make money we're on board. I hear all the Fusion haters talking about how bad 360 is and how much better MasterCAM/SolidWorks/NX etc are, but I don't have a frame of reference. It seems like most of the disdain is coming from guys who have decades with other programs, and then try the free version of Fusion. Or they have to match a customer program or be ITAR compliant (not applicable to us). I'd like to hear from anyone that went the other way around, started on Fusion and then moved to something else.

Thanks.

I'm in the same boat with my own products, Fusion for $300 a year, etc. What I would hate to lose is the full cad/cam parametrics. Being able to change a few dimensions, post an updated program, and make a new part is something I would hate to lose.

 

[LOTT]

David, it seems like Solidworks with SolidCAM has a similar function, and is integrated CAD/CAM. I'm getting a demo next week and will know more then.

I do wish everyone would do the Haas/Autodesk model of online pricing to give you a starting point.

 

[Herding Cats]

David, it seems like Solidworks with SolidCAM has a similar function, and is integrated CAD/CAM. I'm getting a demo next week and will know more then.

I do wish everyone would do the Haas/Autodesk model of online pricing to give you a starting point.

Yes there are certain ways to program with Solidcam that will make the toolpaths associative to the model so all you have to do it click synchronize toolpath after adjusting the model.

As far as parametric models. I think (notice I said think) you can export from Fusion as an STP or such and run feature recondition in Solidworks when turning it into the sldprt. I have very little experience with this and think the success depends on the complexity of the model.