For Autodesk Fusion users, the Fusion App Store is full of tools that can improve your design and manufacturing projects. We've thoroughly searched the store to find the highest-ranked add-in across every category by ranking and number of votes. Whether you're into 3D printing, CAE, or data management, these add-ins could significantly impact your work. Here’s our roundup of the best Autodesk Fusion add-ins by category, based on user feedback and ratings.
Our Method
To compile this list, we looked at each category in the Autodesk Fusion App Store section, and found the app with the highest rating and most reviews. In cases where the same add-in tops multiple categories, we picked the most relevant category and then selected the next highest rated add-in for the other categories.
At the time of writing this, the App Store lists are not sorted to surface these easily. We did some serious spelunking to surface the best add-ins currently on the App Store!
3D Printing
5 stars, 57 reviews
This add-in allows you to create parametric bin bodies in a matter of seconds, giving you the flexibility to customize and fine-tune your designs before exporting them.
GridfinityGenerator simplifies the bin creation process with a comprehensive set of tools. Whether you need standard bins or specialized tool bins, this add-in streamlines your workflow effectively. It includes an option to generate solid bins, providing an excellent base for creating highly customized tool bins suited to your specific requirements.
CAE
5 stars, 46 reviews
This minimalist gear design application is user-friendly and follows the metric module DIN standard series. It's designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical knowledge or engineering background. It includes 11 different types of gears—7 standards, 2 non-standard, and 2 experimental—suitable for a wide range of projects.
CAM
5 stars, 54 reviews
This tool offers significant advantages for objects exposed to moving gases or liquids, like wings, fins, ducts, propellers, and turbines, by optimizing their shapes. The term "optimal" varies based on factors such as size, speed, turbulence, and altitude, as well as the medium's properties like temperature and density, and even the surface finish. This tool simplifies the optimization process by focusing on critical variables within a range, such as achieving the best performance at cruising speed and altitude.
Data Management
5 stars, 20 reviews
No surprise here! Bommer for Autodesk® Fusion® integrates tightly with Autodesk Fusion to vastly simplify your bill of materials workflow. It is used by companies and teams of all sizes to capture custom properties, export BOM spreadsheets to Excel or CSV, and build parts lists and custom balloons for 2D drawings. This integration saves valuable engineering time and resources, making the process effortless and efficient.
General Utilities
5 stars, 56 reviews
ParametricText is an Autodesk Fusion® add-in that enables you to create Text Parameters in sketches. These parameters can be either plain text or dynamically linked to other values using special syntax. Additionally, a unique parameter can track and save document version information and dates. All parameters are stored within the document when it's saved. The text parameters are always “rendered” in the sketches, so you can view them even if you don't have the add-in. However, if you need to update the values in these parameters, the add-in is required.
Interoperability
5 stars, 41 reviews
MapBoards Pro is a utility that efficiently arranges model components on one or more boards without altering your original model. This arrangement allows you to seamlessly use Autodesk® Fusion® additive manufacturing features to create toolpaths for model production. Alternatively, you can export the layout as a flat panel in SVG or DXF format, suitable for laser or CNC cutting.
Learning
5 stars, 14 reviews
This gear creator offers several innovative features: It allows you to design gears using the largest bit available for machining efficiency. Additionally, it can generate a pocket, enabling easy machining on the reverse side of the gear. The tool uses an undercut to define the fillet, and you have the option to specify an ellipse for the fillet to create a uniquely shaped gear.
Translator
5 stars, 54 reviews
Shaper Utilities enhances Shaper products by providing a range of workflow improvements. Using this add-in, the Shaper Origin — a handheld CNC — receives a two-click export option that simplifies and speeds up what used to be a complex process. Origin users will benefit from being able to focus more on fabricating, iterating, and experimenting, thanks to the streamlined export process that saves time and enhances their creative workflow.
Visualization
5 stars, 22 reviews
Creating airfoils for aircraft components like wings, tails, or propellers is a challenging task for developers. Manually created splines often lack the precision required for accurate shapes. Airfoils are typically represented by X and Y coordinates in DAT files, which must be multiplied on the wing chord to get real X and Y coordinates of all points. This script streamlines the process by automating spline creation on a designated construction or origin plane, using DAT files with a specified chord length, ensuring precise and efficient shape modeling.
Woodworking
Technically, we've highlighted the third-ranked tool in this category to ensure a variety of applications are showcased. However, we'd like to give a nod to Shaper Utilities and Mapboards Pro, which ranked first and second respectively and are also discussed above.
5 stars, 30 reviews
JoinerCAD enhances woodworking design by providing a suite of tools that streamline the creation and modification of 3D models. It facilitates quick design of complex geometries, assignment of specific materials, and precise control over texture direction and size. Users can effortlessly drill hardware holes, sculpt additive elements, and make necessary adjustments to hardware and materials. Additionally, JoinerCAD produces accurate bills of materials and detailed, independent model drawings, improving overall design efficiency and accuracy.
Conclusion
Autodesk Fusion users have a wealth of tools at their disposal to push the boundaries of what’s possible in design and manufacturing. These top-rated add-ins offer powerful enhancements for your projects, helping you work smarter and achieve better results. Explore these tools to see how they can improve your design and manufacturing processes.
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