Fusion 360 - Cloud based CAD - Free for Hobbyists.

Guys and Gals,

I was introduced to this program via some maker spaces we run in Schools across Australia.
It's free for Students and Educators, but also free for Hobbyists.

Download the free trial here: https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/free-trial

I'm not sure what the process is to register as a "hobbyist" (ie to prove it's just for fun?!?)

It's an awesome package.
I'm from the Blender Camp originally, but the stuff I can do in Fusion 360 is mind-blowingly simple.
It's very similar in power to SolidWorks and Rhinoceros 3D

Check out this video on just how easy this program is to use:



Enjoy!

Oh...forgot... This is my Thingiverse page. The first 6 designs were all made with Fusion 360.

https://www.thingiverse.com/archie73/designs/page:1

Yeah - You download the 30-day trial and register for an account. Then I think you just tick a box that says it's Hobby / Noncommercial use.

I'll re-download from home this week using my personal email and step through the process. and post here

This is the speel at the bottom of that page:

Free for startups, hobbyists, and enthusiasts
Full use of Fusion 360 for as long as you need it

Start by downloading the free 30-day trial

Once you're in, simply register for free use

Need help?
Get step by step instructions on how to activate startup licensing

^^^^
|
| That link explains how to get the FREE version.

And the TC blurb -

A free 1-year startup license is also available for hobbyists, enthusiasts, makers, and emerging businesses that make less than US $100,000 in revenue per year. At the end of 1 year, you can reselect the startup entitlement or transition to a commercial entitlement.

See Terms of Service: Autodesk Web Services Entitlements.

We are moving to Fusion 360 from 123D Design next year. 123D has been deprecated by Autodesk. Fusion 360 is more polished than Sketchup or 123D IMHO. It also has more import options. However, with the added features come more complexity so that has to be weighed up if you are considering switching.

This guy taught me everything I know

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgunnLdsV72eAezHW6u0KA

I've just made a modular trophy for a local charity event using Fusion 360 and what I learned from that channel.

Also, this is a great resource https://academy.autodesk.com/

I've been using Fusion 360 for all my stuff and while it took a bit to get my legs, it's been very simple to learn and use and invaluable to me in my build. It's amazing what you can build up from the basic command set once you get the hang of it. Great stuff!

@Archie
Thanks for the YouTube link ... I have subscribed

He does some Udemy courses as well which are good value (when on special due to the exchange rate)

Autodesk also have a FREE store on Udemy

https://www.udemy.com/user/autodesk-education/

The "Lunch box" one is my fave lesson. It's quite amazing to watch it come together!
https://www.udemy.com/product-design-user-centered-design/

123D is like you design with a hammer.. xD! fusion is a very nice parametric software like you said more polished..

That's cool. I'll have to check it out. I worked on Solidworks for several years (Blender since 2000ish). I'm missing the parametric stuff.

Man! I'm totally sold. I think I would have had a more difficult time relearning Solidworks again. The UX is the best I've seen and it's very intuitive. Using it to make an elevator trim interface for printing later (just learned how to drive a servo from scratch this weekend). Psyched about the stuff I'm learning. Thanks all.

Be sure to check out the YouTube channel for more stuff. This guy (Vladimir) is excellent at explaining F360.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgunnLdsV72eAezHW6u0KA

(Although you do seem advanced anyway from that Trim design!)

When i make my 3D printer, i started with Blender to design my own parts... but it seemed a lot of difficult... then i found Fusion 360 and... impressive. To make mechanical parts (not organic) is perfect for me. Easy and complete! I can only recommend!

Hammers are an acceptable tool! I have a several of them.

In all seriousness I really need to move away from 123d. I have fusion360 installed etc, but 123d is just so much quicker. At the moment for me.

I suspect that I'm still thinking in 123d terms when I'm designing. Meh I'll get there.

OMG solidworks 2017 is bada$$
just started playing with it. its so easy. I've done models, assemblies, exploded views and renders within a week. I have 3ds max 2018 and its so dificult to learn. seems really powerful but its not very intuitive. I messed with it for a week and didnt get very far. I learn by poking around and 3dsmax isnt set up for that.

thanks for the trial

To the best of my understanding, after the trial you should be prompted to either buy a license or continue for free as a hobbyist.

One of my colleagues ran into issues activating and thought it might be a time limited thing? If that's the case, make sure to open the program shortly after the trial expires just in case!