Autodesk Fusion 360 is a really complete program that, as you can gather from its name, merges CAD, CAM and CAE, in other words, computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering in a single cloud-based tool accessible from any computer, whether Windows or Mac.

Industrial and mechancial engineering, design and manufacturing in a single program.

Therefore, it offers the user the possibility to design, test and manufacture a tool or object anywhere and sharing the achievements and problems of the process with other team members, regardless of their physical location and the operating system used.

Main features

• Sculpt and model your designs freely thanks to T-Spline technology.
• Solid, parametric and grid modeling.
• Simulate and test your designs by means of thermal stress and linear static stress tests.
• Import files in the most popular CAD formats such as SLDPRT, SAT, IGES, STEP, STL or OBJ.
• Export files in the following formats: IGES, SAT, SMT, STEP, F3D or DXF.
• Study your designs in movement and check out their adaptability.
• 2, 2.5 and 3-axis machining.
• 3D printing tools.

Taking all the latter into account, Autodesk Fusion 360 looks like a solid alternative to other products such as Solidworks, as it comes along with a wide range of functions at a much lower price.

Requirements and additional information:

• It's a 30-day trial version.