I got a call today from a good friend whose company is looking into getting him Fusion360. I'm fortunate to have SolidWorks available to me, so I know zip about F360.

Evidently the free version (which he's been using for a while) doesn't let him print anything, and won't do the CAM goodies. That's fair, I suppose, since it's the freebie version. But what followed in his call was that there's a $380 version and a $1600 version, and he's wondering what the capabilities are. Yes, we're going to surf on it and look directly at Autodesk's web site next, but I wanted to ask here before even starting that process. We all know, we can learn a lot more here about a topic than directly from a vendor or seller.

Anybody using F360 on the regular? Does it work well with SolidWorks at all? Would he and I be able to exchange files easily? What makes the difference between the versions? What else ought a fella know?

Thank y'all.

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ETA: it looks like the $380 is the sale price on a year's license, and the $1600 is the regular price on a three-year license.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: vthoky,

It's been a while since I've looked into Fusion 360. We thought about moving to it because at the time it was free and even a subscription was cheaper than Inventor costs.

I do recall one thing that stood out to me was, if I recall correctly, all the files were stored on the cloud. That was a no go for us.

I think you can export and import universal file types, such as STEP files.

Also I remember not being impressed with the sheet metal environment. A large bulk of our mechanical engineering is sheet metal design and weldment design. We don't do a lot of machined components, any that we do we design in house and send out for fabrication since we do not have a CNC mill.

Sorry I don't have a more detailed answer, it's been a few years since I've researched it so maybe somethings have changed/gotten better.