[LeeWay]

Honestly with a fast DSL connection, I don't hardly realize it is in the cloud.
I sometimes had to wait while Turbocad did a render on a complicated drawing, so kinda like the wait for uploads. If you do not have fast reliable broadband, this probably won't work for you.

[cyclestart]

$300/yr for Ultimate with updates for the software's lifetime looks like a killer deal.
I'm surprised that there's not more buzz around this.
And yes, I'm buying before the 13th.

[LeeWay]

Right.
They are planning all kinds of updates with new features and actively take requests for new features and fixes on their website. I expect it should be quite a bit better within the next year. It's already a very nice platform to build on, cloud stuff aside.

[mklotz70]

I had a chance to play with it the other day for the first time.....I figured out how to upload a simple fuel pump block off plate I had designed in SolidEdge AND do the tool paths in the CAM side and simulate the operations. I've never done any CAM work at all, so I was happy to see that I was able to figure it out fairly quickly. I couldn't figure out how to get the chamfer to go to the outside of the selected line, rather than the inside, but it was close enough for a first time out. I think I'm going to be very happy with it!!

[cyclestart]

It's already a very nice platform to build on, cloud stuff aside.

I'm looking at this as free software with a $300/yr maintenance/upgrade fee, or at least it's hard to see how any subscriber can be locked out of the update/upgrade cycle.
If an update breaks things you're stuck with that as well so there is a possible downside.
So far speed has been acceptable working through tutorials and a bit of playing around.
Life is OK on the cloud but I reserve the right to b*tch about it later.

[ger21]

Honestly with a fast DSL connection, I don't hardly realize it is in the cloud.

I've only played with it for a short time, as I just got a new PC assembled. I'm not sure how much is actually done in the cloud, because I see no noticeable lag at all. And when I enable ray tracing, Task Manager shows 12 CPU's running at 100% (@ 4Ghz) on my 6 core i7-5820K (w/ Hyperthreading).

I only played with the CAM for a few minutes last night.

Question? Can you set up stock and have the simulation show the material being removed? Or does the simulation just show the tool moving along the toolpaths?

[alan_3301]

They must have done some updates, I was getting 50% max cpu usage on only 1 core before the ultimate upgrade
Now I get 100% on all 8 cores when computing toolpaths on a fx-8350.

I also have not seen any lag when working. Uploads are slower than you would think, but never so long that I got tired of waiting.

[amish_rabbi]

I've only played with it for a short time, as I just got a new PC assembled. I'm not sure how much is actually done in the cloud, because I see no noticeable lag at all. And when I enable ray tracing, Task Manager shows 12 CPU's running at 100% (@ 4Ghz) on my 6 core i7-5820K (w/ Hyperthreading).

I only played with the CAM for a few minutes last night.

Question? Can you set up stock and have the simulation show the material being removed? Or does the simulation just show the tool moving along the toolpaths?

click the stock check box when in simulation, then it will show the stock

played a bit with this on the weekend, ran well and was very familiar vs the solidworks version, just a few changes here and there plus obviously a reskinned look

[mmoe]

I've only played with it for a short time, as I just got a new PC assembled. I'm not sure how much is actually done in the cloud, because I see no noticeable lag at all. And when I enable ray tracing, Task Manager shows 12 CPU's running at 100% (@ 4Ghz) on my 6 core i7-5820K (w/ Hyperthreading).

I only played with the CAM for a few minutes last night.

Question? Can you set up stock and have the simulation show the material being removed? Or does the simulation just show the tool moving along the toolpaths?

It shows the stock as it is being removed, and you can also set the stock to be transparent. To make the stock visible, you check the "Stock" checkbox in the simulation dialog window. My preference is to show the "tail" toolpath function when simulating (I don't like looking through all the toolpaths to try and discern what the cutting looks like). Here's a quick video of some simulation in Fusion 360:

https://files.secureserver.net/0sSeZbGevWr7fR

I'm assuming you set your stock up right when you started creating toolpath features in CAM? I'm not sure if you can generate toolpaths without stock, but if you did, you first need to establish your stock before you start creating toolpaths. That stock is then used for the simulation, so there is no setup to be done beyond that. You can configure the simulator as I did in the video to produced "Fast for 3 axis" motions, but keep in mind that if you have multiple machine setups or multiaxis motions this will not work right. If you are flipping your part which requires setting up more than one machine setup (multiple workspace origins), you can't use the "fast" function as I understand it. If you're just using a single coordinate system (not including workspace coordinates that might be tool related), the "fast" option does make the simulation run better, but collisions are also not detected and you have to visually inspect for those instances where it may be producing a collision. It's really just an option for fast generation of what you would get. If you need more details, you stick with "standard".

As for speed, what I think is going on is that you first upload the file to the cloud (say if you're opening a 3d DWG, or STEP, etc.), it gets translated into the Fusion 360 native format (whatever that is), then downloaded again and opened locally and likely stored in a temporary folder somewhere. At that point, you can work "offline" and even save the file, but it won't put it on the cloud until the next time you go to the "online" mode. This is not a good practice at this point as I've had a few crashes when trying the offline mode, most crashes relating to the fact that it wants to save the file and can't really do it the way it normally does. You would be best off leaving the application running until you have connectivity again, then going online rather than trying to close Fusion while it's still offline, but that's just my personal experiences so far (hope that made sense). All actual calculations are performed locally, both for CAD and CAM. The delays can be significant though if you are uploading a 50mb file, which then has to be downloaded again, so it would be nice if you could just open a STEP file or DWG file right from the local source. I have a feeling this is part of the "thin client" approach, and there is no translation component in the local application to keep it smaller, again just my best guess from using it so far. One issue I have, which I know will be prevalent in many small job shops is that it is not possible to upload NDA (non-disclosure agreement) files to any computer that is not in the control of the person in the agreement, including the one Fusion uses. Without being able to open files locally and keep them local, there are many that won't be able to use Fusion 360 for legal exposure reasons.

You'll find that while you can get 100% of the cores active for some things, there are always portions of various toolpaths that simply can't be split into multiple threads. It should be expected that there will be times where you'll only be using a single or maybe two cores, but that's not a reflection on the performance of the system. I just means that the specific portion of the toolpath currently being calculated can only be done in one or two threads. Other multicore systems do the same thing, such as Meshcam and Bobcad, where they will run at 100% for portions of a toolpath, then drop to 12.5% or 25% (4 core/8 core processors), then jump back up to 100%, etc. The most cool feature of Fusion 360 in regard to toolpath calculation is not the use of multicore, which is nice, but the ability to multitask while calculating toolpaths. You can actually start producing another toolpath while the last one is still being calculated. Most systems make you wait for the current calculations to complete before you can do anything new. If it's a really complex calculation, that can sometimes be a very long wait even with multicore. I've had some toolpaths take 20-30 minutes in multicore on even some more basic jobs, and up to 16 hours in multicore on really complex jobs, so multitasking with the software is huge by not being locked out until calcs are completed.

[ger21]

I'm assuming you set your stock up right when you started creating toolpath features in CAM? I'm not sure if you can generate toolpaths without stock, but if you did, you first need to establish your stock before you start creating toolpaths.

Never assume.
No, I hadn't set up any stock, and yes, you can create toolpaths and simulate without setting up any stock.
As I said, I only had a few minutes and wanted to take a quick look at the toolpaths.

I played around with the CAM for about an hour yesterday. Pretty powerful stuff. Probably a fair bit more complicated than general woodworking requires, but with power comes complexity.

In another year or two, this should mature into an extremely powerful CAD/CAM package.

[mmoe]

I haven't really seen it mentioned much, if at all, but for those who are not working commercially, you can apply to get the software for free. They only charge for a license for those who use it for commercial work. IMHO, this is a pretty cool thing. I know a lot of people that are just hobby users of CNC machines, and I can't see how there is a better value out there. The toolpath strategies are excellent and it's hard to beat "free". For commercial users, it isn't so cut and dry, but I'm not aware of any other personal use options that are even half as good for free.

From Autodesk:

Are you a startup (a product not yet commercially available) or planning to use Fusion 360 Ultimate for personal use?
If Yes, you qualify as a Startup.
GET IT
Details -

If you selected the startup entitlement, you will have personal use of Autodesk® Fusion 360™ Ultimate for one (1) year. You will be notified at the end of your entitlement term via email or via a notice to your account. At the end of one (1) year, you will have the option to re-select the startup entitlement of transition to a commercial entitlement.

Bought my one year license (I don't qualify as a startup), but so far I'm still showing that I'm on the trial version. Not sure if there is something I'm supposed to do to activate my license or not. I may have to call Autodesk tomorrow and find out if it hasn't figured it out on it's own by then. For me, this is a compliment to Bobcad Mill Pro, which I'll probably continue to use primarily, but for $300, it's hard to pass on a tool like this. There are a couple unique features that I know I'll put to use and get my money's worth.

[ger21]

I think you just have to wait a day or so for the license to be updated on your Autodesk account.
I purchased about 2 weeks before I had my new PC to run it on, and it showed up as Ultimate as soon as I logged in, after installing.

[mmoe]

It updated overnight, so all is good....

[Kenny Duval]

I know a lot of people that are just hobby users of CNC machines, and I can't see how there is a better value out there. The toolpath strategies are excellent and it's hard to beat "free". For commercial users, it isn't so cut and dry, but I'm not aware of any other personal use options that are even half as good for free.

There isn't. I jumped on the personal use licensing and quite frankly could not be happier. It's an awesome gift from them for the guys not making money playing in the garage.

[ger21]

I've used other "free" software where they ended up taking it away a few years later.
I'm not using it commercially, but decided to pay for it to hopefully avoid any chance of losing it in a few years.

[Kenny Duval]

And this will probably end up the same. Not such a big deal to those using it at home as most will lose interest, get frustrated or gain enough skill to go commercial. All of those have a way out at this point. If I manage to acquire enough understanding and a good enough skill set then it will be worth the money I spend to license the package later on. Software never stays the same for very long anyway. The only downside I can see at this point is the trapping of the user files in the "cloud" or I just haven't figured out the correct method for exporting the drawings to something that could be imported to another package later. I' m not a fan of the "cloud" model that's become the hot thing lately but when you are using it for free there is only so much room for complaints.

[mmoe]

You can export the geometry, but not the CAM. You also should be able to access your work even if your license is expired, if I understand it right. You just can't do anything new at that point, like read only files until you renew your license. You can probably even generate the toolpaths that you've already established in the form of G-code, but you likely can't modify them further. I could be wrong, but that's how I understand it.

I'm hoping they will eventually allow for opening local files and saving them locally. As I said before, there are jobs that I just couldn't run with Fusion simply due to the "cloud". When you sign a NDA stating that the files can't be transmitted via the internet (email or online server folders), then Fusion 360 is out of the question for that job. Since they are aiming the software at startups that are innovating new products, one would think that they will start to understand that it's not practical to require files to be uploaded to a location out of the control of the user. I'm finding NDAs to be a more common part of my work, which is either indicative of the changing clientele or the changing legal environment. Either way, it's a problem for me at this point that makes Fusion remain more a curiosity (about the future) than a solution. It's already excluded itself from perhaps 25% of the work I do by not operating off of local files. That number will only climb over the next year since one of my bigger repeat clients requires it for most jobs.

[cyclestart]

After subscribing storage increased from 5GB to 25GB.
I believe cloud credits increased from 25 to 100 ? Using the trial version the credits remaining were clearly visible but I'm not sure how to
access that information now. Honestly I don't understand the credit system or if I'll ever need the credits.
Reading the license agreement it appears perpetual $300/yr isn't guaranteed for early adopters. What is guaranteed is continued Ultimate
for the price of basic.