Fusion 360 Defunctioning

[matthewsx]

OT, but my dad had just completed his instrument rating when the doctor put him on insulin. I sometimes wonder what could have been if he had said no and changed his lifestyle rather than going down the path he did....

John

 

[gerritv]

I've been a Mac user for years as it's been the platform of choice for photographic editing which is my other hobby. That said, I'm using a 2014 MacBook Pro which runs the current MacOS no problem. Six years on the same hardware seems like good ROI to me.

My reluctance to pay for F360 is that for me it's near $400 CAD and I don't use it enough or have the CAD/CAM needs to warrant that expense.
In all honesty, SketchUp lets me draw what I need but I'm always looking to expand my knowledge base.

Yes, the photo thing best on Mac is one of my favourite myths I happily run LightRoom on a 10 year old lt with large IPS monitor that originally ran Win7, then 8, now 10. At least I know I can keep that up without MS deciding 7 years is enough support for the OS so you replace the machine or stay in the past.

I do understand the cost vs. how often you use Fusion. It took me a long time to give up my drafting table I am seriously looking at spending for the 3 year license, the sw is more than adequate for my needs, present and planned.

Personally I got tired of FOSS, too many 'attitudes' from developers. And too many abondments or random changes in direction. I have better things to do with my time. (And I say this after spending more than 11 years with Unix, a precursor to the Linux confusion with myriad versions)

 

[DAT510]

As a Mac user Solidworks is a non-starter so it will have to be FreeCAD for me.

I'm running SolidWorks on iMac via VMware Fusion. I'm not a power user, but for what I do, it runs smoothly.

 

[Flyinfool]

I found my old EAA paperwork and was able to renew my membership today, It needs a couple days to get thru the system and then I will get my free Solidworks.
I also have another ulterior motive for Solidworks. I am currently unemployed due to COVID. It seems most Mechanical Design Engineer positions seem to want Solidworks experience. I have been using Inventor for the last 20 years. I think IF I can learn SW it will help me get a job sooner.

 

[DavidR8]

I found my old EAA paperwork and was able to renew my membership today, It needs a couple days to get thru the system and then I will get my free Solidworks.
I also have another ulterior motive for Solidworks. I am currently unemployed due to COVID. It seems most Mechanical Design Engineer positions seem to want Solidworks experience. I have been using Inventor for the last 20 years. I think IF I can learn SW it will help me get a job sooner.

I hope the learning curve is gentle so you can get back to work!

 

[Cooter Brown]

Time to start unlearning Fusion 360

 

[ericc]

So you are willing to pay 30-40% over what is the value of a machine but you won't pay US297/year for using software that includes mutli-axis CAM? Interesting decision.

Hmmmm. I think David means that they do not have a Mac OS version. A hardcore CAD vendor would say that is no excuse. You must buy the primary platform hardware. Generally, laptop users have a different mindset and are price sensitive. I have noticed that once the tool costs more than $100,000 to 200,000, end users do not care about platform limitations -- they just buy a seat of whatever is dictated, even if it is a $10000 workstation. Your comment when translated to the home metalworking world would say that since I am willing to pay a premium of 30-40% for a South Bend lathe over a comparable vintage lathe of the same capability, I shouldn't complain about a small tariff or whatever increase in the price of imported lathe tools. Well, I don't really care what anybody says about how I spend MY money unless they are my employer or client. And, I feel free to braze a broken insert on to a piece of junk garage sale steel and get the job done. <--- token metalworking content

 

[Superburban]

I think it's been posted before. EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) offers a free home use license of SolidWorks with membership. Memberships start at $40/year and decrease if you join for longer durations.

I haven't used Fusion360, but I've been told there's a bit of relearning to use SolidWorks. Haven't tried installing the Solidworks CAM software, but according to the EAA forum it's included too.

SOLIDWORKS Resource Center | EAA

Maybe it is something a mod here could look into. I would rather pay money to a forum I use, over paying into another place just to get a software I would not use much. Not slamming EAA, it is great that they do that.

 

[ttabbal]

Maybe it is something a mod here could look into. I would rather pay money to a forum I use, over paying into another place just to get a software I would not use much. Not slamming EAA, it is great that they do that.

That would be amazing. I'd bump up a level or two for HM if that were a perk.

 

[pdentrem]

I still use my ancient Autocad 2000 Education Edition on my equally antique Win XP system. That computer is only turned on for this program, all other work is done on a modern machine. I was not impressed with Draftsight. I may look again at Freecad as a few years ago, it was not for prime time.
Pierre