Why I'm now using Fusion 360 instead of SketchUp

I just posted a new video on my YouTube channel. It is about why I’m moving over from SketchUp (which I’ve been using for the past 10 years) to Fusion 360. It also a bit of tutorial on how to use Parameters in Fusion 360.

It’s at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efunq7mE_nQ

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cool, there are members here that are on the Fusion 360 team, great program, subscribed to your channel. thanks.

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well done thank you for shareing

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It’s amazing software. And we owe @garin_gardiner thanks for helping make it easier to use for the Glowforge community.

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Awesome video and love the way you layed out the buildings!! Can’t wait to see them cut😀

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Thanks for posting the tutorial. I’m sure lots of people (like me) are totally new to this sort of program.

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That was very helpful, thanks so much! I’m new to 3D design but I did fiddle with Fusion360 to make a storage unit, but I might go back and redesign it parametrically after this. It makes sense to do pretty much all design this way.

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Yes, a big thank you goes out to @garin_gardiner who gave me my first fusion 360 tutorial!

I still have a lot to learn, but he pointed me in the right direction.

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Been following your channel for a long time. Great job on the transition to Fusion. Thank you for doing the video.

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I am so thankful that most everyone on this forum is smarter or more talented than myself in at least one important way. Such a resource!

I have not uninstalled sketchup yet but I can’t remember the last time I used it.
The parametrics are great but so is the ability to sketch on any facet of a body is pretty powerful as well.

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Glad now that I never learned SketchUp! :grin:

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Please don’t get me wrong. I think SketchUp is a great tool. I’ve done a LOT with it, and it’s still my “go-to” tool for many design projects. I love how fast it is to design something in it. If you’re making small projects that you are not going to change in the future, I would still recommend SketchUp. Especially for a beginner.

There are some features in SketchUp that I’m sorely missing in Fusion 360. Like the ability to make rulers and the ability to hide lines.

There are also things in Fusion 360 that worry me. I worry about the fact that it’s an online tool. With SketchUp, even if the company were to go under and stop developing/supporting SketchUp, I still have the tool installed on my computer, and I can always open the files I currently have. Those will keep working.

That is less certain with Fusion 360. If the support for the tool goes away, are we guaranteed that we can still open and work on our files? Or do their servers have to be “active” for the tool to work? I worry about putting 100s of hours into designs that may one day “go obsolete” by no choice of my own.

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Sad now that I never learned SketchUp! :grin:

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Thanks for reminding me to save my hard work in some permanent file format such as dfx. Archives are always important.

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Have you used OnShape? I’ve spent a lot of time in in lately and am really liking it for CAD design. How does 360 compare?

Nice comparison. Curious if you have other projects that you lean toward 360 for. In this example, clearly the parametric modeling is an advantage, and you’ve said you still enjoy SketchUp for small projects, any other 360 advantages you’ve seen so far beyond the parametrics?

Another thing I find to like fusion 360 over sketchup is that you can drop a sketch to any existing flat surface or even out in the air. This makes it (at least for me) much easier to make some truly complex shapes.

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Ya, organic complexity is one of those areas that is best done with plugins on the SketchUp side, so I could see that. Look forward to seeing what else you cook up. The project you showed in your video is stunning, must have been a crazy amount of work.

Awesome video.
I have been using coreldraw to design most of what I do on my laser. After watching the video, I see potential in learning to design in Fusion 360 for other projects.
I homeschool my son and in Oklahoma it is a legal accepted alternative to an “accredited” institution, therefore we are eligible for their educaters license. Im going to teach my son to use Fusion360 and in doing so, learn myself :grin:
Then I’ll get the normal licensing if I think I can use it for my business designing in the future.

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Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists and businesses that derive less than something like $100,000 of income from the use of Fusion 360. I’m sure others on this forum can confirm that dollar amount.

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