PeterSteele Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Is anyone using Fusion 360 cad and cam program? I don't have much use for Fusion 360 as a modeling program myself (I've got about 15,000 hours using Inventor Professional, and Fusion feels cheap and flimsy by comparison), but the CAM side of it is absolutely brilliant. It's the EXACT same thing as HSMWorks that you've seen people mention. I don't use it anymore now that I have my own license for Inventor HSM (HSMWorks for Inventor, in other words), but if you don't have the money to spend or a way to get an educational license for Inventor HSM or for Solidworks + HSMWorks, then Fusion 360 will do VERY nicely for you. I absolutely cannot say enough good things about Autodesk's CAM stuff. It's flexible, it's (mostly) intuitive, and it's SERIOUSLY fast. The kernel is fully multithreaded, so if you've got 8 cores to throw at it, you'll max them out generating toolpaths and posting. It'll post about a quarter million lines of code per second with a mid-range i7. I had a parallel finishing toolpath that I needed to generate a year or so back, and with VisualMill 2012 it took over 2 hours to generate the toolpath. Fusion 360 with the CAM add-in did it in 97 seconds on the same computer. (It was something like 7 million lines, and took about 30 hours to run - the machine couldn't ever accelerate past about 6 ipm before having to change direction again.) They are really great about the customer service side of things, too. I had a fairly unique CNC router at the last company I worked for, one that the Autodesk CAM guys had never heard of, and they spent about 2 weeks working with me to get a post created for it. Just for me. They REALLY treat their customers very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Good stuff! I am still on the hunt for my software and I wish I could justify $75 hundo on an app like Fusion 360 but that's like 4 open guns so the search continues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 $7500? Not sure where you're getting that from for Fusion 360 ... It's a subscription-based service, I don't think there's a perpetual license available. $40/month for the package that includes 2.5D machining and $100/month for the full 3D machining package. I don't know about you, but I spend more than $100/month on cigarettes and liquor. Hell, I probably spend more than $100/month on cigarettes or liquor. Now if you want the 3D package for Inventor HSM ... that's a good bit more. That's 10k. But if you only need 2.5D, then you can get the basic Inventor (not pro) for ... not sure exactly, but I think it's under $2000, and the 2.5D add-on is free. For Solidworks ... I don't know much about the Solidworks pricing plan, but I do know that if you're a veteran you can get Solidworks Premium for $20/year. I can afford that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) http://cam.autodesk.com/fusion360/# Click the try or buy link at the top of the page. But I found the one you are talking about. Edit: OH I was looking at inventor. Sorry bout that... Edited January 10, 2015 by StraightUp_OG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 1200 per year is more like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Okay, yeah - you're looking at Inventor HSM, which is $7500 and comes with a "free" license to vanilla Inventor. HSMWorks ... Professional? Premium? The middle package, whatever that is - same price, but you have to also buy Solidworks. Fusion 360 is a separate thing from Inventor, but uses the same CAM kernel. It's VERY different, when it comes to modeling, but very similar in CAM capabilities. You should, at a minimum, do the demo of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amish_rabbi Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 At the full $1200 per year im not sure i would reccomend fusion 360 unless you really really need 3d CAM. The basic version of solidworks is ~$4000 and HSM gives the 2.5D version of their solidworks integrated CAM for free. That would give you professional level modelling software and a very good CAM for not all that much. You would also be surprised how little you really need more than 2.5D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Another Slide a 9mm STI slide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 More Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Sights Edited January 10, 2015 by dskinsler83 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskinsler83 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) more Edited January 10, 2015 by dskinsler83 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Fantastic work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Nice work! You're on your way, just keep on keepin' on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 more Dude, that's good looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Saunders Machine Works, NYCNC on youtube is having an open house. If anybody is near Columbus Ohio I'd go to this in a heartbeat. Great youtube channel with all kinds of firearms related projects. Incredibly helpful to cnc newbies like me. Cool arduino stuff too if that's interesting to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmiller Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Saunders Machine Works, NYCNC on youtube is having an open house. If anybody is near Columbus Ohio I'd go to this in a heartbeat. Great youtube channel with all kinds of firearms related projects. Incredibly helpful to cnc newbies like me. Cool arduino stuff too if that's interesting to you. I will go to this. Thanks for the heads up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Please report back on how it was! NYCNC's Wednesday Widget's and John Grismo's Knifemaking Tuesday's are my favorite youtube channels. Both incredibly informative and open about their work process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightUp_OG Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) Kevin thanks for posting that vid. I have not seen that channel, you're right it's a great channel! I downloaded 360 and man it is slick! Gonna goof with it for the next 30 days and most likely will pony up and it runs on my MAC! In anticipation of getting some real software I decided to upgrade my tooling and have bought into the TTS. I have an R8 adapter and a bunch of holders on the way from Tormach! Glad this is a hobby and I don't add up what I have spent. Edited January 11, 2015 by StraightUp_OG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Kevin thanks for posting that vid. I have not seen that channel, you're right it's a great channel! I downloaded 360 and man it is slick! Gonna goof with it for the next 30 days and most likely will pony up and it runs on my MAC! In anticipation of getting some real software I decided to upgrade my tooling and have bought into the TTS. I have an R8 adapter and a bunch of holders on the way from Tormach! Glad this is a hobby and I don't add up what I have spent. You're welcome and congrats on the tts! If you're not already hip to tool offsets this is the best write up I've found on setting up tool offsets in Linux, and a good website in general for linuxcnc stuff. http://gnipsel.com/linuxcnc/g-code/gen05.html I've been using a 1-2-3 block and my awesome new game pad pendant to set the tools to a fixture.I can slowly bring the z down while I"m sliding the block back and forth until I just feel it drag. I also learned the hard way to add a G49 at the end of every program to clear the offsets. Doesn't clear out your stored tool table, just the active offsets. If I don't do that and forget they're active then the machine goes to strange places lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 A safer way (for the tool) to set tool Z is to put the block next to the tool, starting too low and bring it up till the block slides under. If you have ever crunched a new carbide end mill into the block or the workpiece you will know what I'm talking about. Experience is what you get right after you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) This is a far quicker way to set tool Z, and pretty safe too. If you're using Mach3 it's definitely a go - simple to set up - and I suspect that LinuxCNC or EMC or whatever will work easily too. For only $11.00 it's a very good solution. I've got one of these on both my router and on my mill. edit: Gah. I can't seem to put the link in here from my tablet for some reason. Look on Amazon for "Toolmall CNC Router Engraving Machine Tool Setting Auto Check Instrument." Takes probably 15-20 minutes to get it set up with Mach 3, then when you want to set your zero there's no more messing around with a sheet of paper or anything. Edited January 11, 2015 by PeterSteele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 A safer way (for the tool) to set tool Z is to put the block next to the tool, starting too low and bring it up till the block slides under. If you have ever crunched a new carbide end mill into the block or the workpiece you will know what I'm talking about. Experience is what you get right after you need it. Thankyou!!!!!! That's my new way to do that.! Kinda how I learned about g49. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinj308 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 This is a far quicker way to set tool Z, and pretty safe too. If you're using Mach3 it's definitely a go - simple to set up - and I suspect that LinuxCNC or EMC or whatever will work easily too. For only $11.00 it's a very good solution. I've got one of these on both my router and on my mill. edit: Gah. I can't seem to put the link in here from my tablet for some reason. Look on Amazon for "Toolmall CNC Router Engraving Machine Tool Setting Auto Check Instrument." Takes probably 15-20 minutes to get it set up with Mach 3, then when you want to set your zero there's no more messing around with a sheet of paper or anything. here's the link for anybody http://smile.amazon.com/Toolmall-Engraving-Machine-Auto-check-Instrument/dp/B00M3XHSIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420996252&sr=8-1&keywords=Toolmall+CNC+Router+Engraving+Machine+Tool+Setting+Auto+Check+Instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterSteele Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Kevin thanks for posting that vid. I have not seen that channel, you're right it's a great channel! I downloaded 360 and man it is slick! Gonna goof with it for the next 30 days and most likely will pony up and it runs on my MAC! The modeling is a little awkward for me, since I'm used to sketch --> feature --> etc, but you'll have a LOT of fun with the CAM side of it. Enjoy! here's the link for anybody http://smile.amazon.com/Toolmall-Engraving-Machine-Auto-check-Instrument/dp/B00M3XHSIE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420996252&sr=8-1&keywords=Toolmall+CNC+Router+Engraving+Machine+Tool+Setting+Auto+Check+Instrument. Perfect, thank you. For some reason this forum doesn't seem to like the version of Internet Explorer that's on my tablet, and my tablet doesn't like Chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind bat Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Peter - thanks for your contributions to the thread. I believe the forum has a feature whereby it won't allow you to post links until you've hit a minimum post threshold. It's an anti-spam feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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