What is the Manufacturing Extension? Before I take a deep dive into the details that make Steep and Shallow more than just a one-size-fits-all toolpath for lazy machinists, I want to quickly cover what the Fusion 360 Manufacturing Extension actually is. The Manufacturing Extension adds deeper fu

You are probably asking yourself “how can I use surfaces to machine other surfaces?!”. We know that a lot of the functionality within Fusion 360 can be underutilised by users. This may be down to lack of knowledge of each environment, or merely not knowing the benefits of utilising them

A 5-axis machine can be a very big investment for many job-shops. In this post, I will explain how to choose the correct 5-axis machine configuration for your applications. There are three main types of 5-axis machine configuration, depending on “where” the axis rotations are happening.

Following on from my “How to Machine” posts, today I’ll explain to you how to machine a Chess Piece using Fusion 360.     If you haven’t read the previous posts of these series, you can take a look at the links below:   How to Machine a Steering Wheel How to

Working from Home? Harness On-Demand Manufacturing to Supercharge Your Projects. While navigating new environments or working remotely, steering projects to the finish line can pose a challenge. Often, we are accustomed to using multiple on-site resources throughout. How do we fill in those product

In this post, we are going to explain how to get Fusion 360 running with a Grbl post processor. If you have spent much time with desktop CNC machines, you have probably run across the term Grbl. What is it exactly? How is it pronounced? And most importantly, where do I find a Grbl post? Fusi

If you’re generating toolpaths with a CAM system, you need a way to turn them into code for your machine. Typically this is done by a post processor, another code file that turns toolpath data into machine code. Post processors are often expensive, difficult to create, and hard to find support

Even Depths of Cut: Why is it important, and how does it work?   There has been a new addition to the way we calculate the depth of cut in Profile Roughing. What does it do? Why is it important? And How does it differ from the standard strategy?   Let us take a look at what we are doing to

  CNC milling is undoubtedly a detailed process, employing specialized machinery and processes to carry out any design. Industrial products have grown more complex over time, and manufacturing processes have evolved alongside them.   While 3-axis milling is widely used across the industry

    Usually, I start my blogs with something like, “it’s not often you meet” or “people like this are a rare treat.” I’ve recently realized that while those statements about these people are very accurate, I am quite fortunate to meet these folks quite

  Though many people may be tackling projects from the comfort of their homes, staying connected is more important than ever. Staying productive may seem especially daunting for technical team members — namely machinists and engineers — who work in tandem on multiple products. Thankfully, clou

Teamwork makes the dream work.   Being a machinist is great, being a machinist who runs a machine shop is greater, and being a machinist who runs a successful machine shop is the greatest. That last part can be quite difficult, though. Competition is high, and the economy is currently slumping,

Read this article in: Deutsch (German) Fusion 360 releases include so many new features that it can be easy to overlook and forget exciting new functionality. We want to make sure you’re aware of all of the cool things you can do during your 3D modeling workflow with Fusion 360. To help

  Saunders Machine Works (aka NYC CNC on YouTube) recently shared a comprehensive guide on how to mill a hemisphere using Fusion 360. There are so many ways to go about milling hemispheres in Fusion 360, including single operation or multiple operation workflows, and each method yields a sligh

  Traditional subtractive manufacturing has been a reliable approach for years, but developments in additive manufacturing have drawn attention to its feasibility as a scalable solution—especially for customization, complex geometry, and small batch production. Hybrid manufacturing incorporat

Many things in the world of CAM can be tricky, but one aspect programmers should never neglect, if they want their tools to last, is how they plan to machine internal corners. In this post I will explain why analysing the internal radii on your model is very important when programming your toolpaths

As a CAM engineer, for the past 5 years, I have been using Autodesk PowerMill for most of my programming. However, I recently made the switch to Fusion 360 for programming my components and I want to share my experience. This post is going to give you a few tips on how to machine a Wheel Hub with Fu

After telling you everything about the design and manufacturing process behind the Wheel Hub component, today I’m going to explain in detail how to machine a Spider Plate like the one pictured in the image below, utilizing the integrated CAD and CAM capabilities offered by Autodesk Fusion 360. If yo

As part of our “How to machine” series, in this post I’m going to explain how to machine a steering wheel mould using the integrated CAD and CAM capabilities of Autodesk Fusion 360. If you have not had the chance to read the previous posts of this series, you can access them by clicking on the links

A common question we get asked about Fusion 360 is “What is the difference between creating a new work coordinate system and defining a tool orientation for a positional axis-move?”. I will separate this blog into two halves. In the first part, we’ll look at Work Coordinate Systems, or WCS for