AddMan: A non-standard approach and easier prototyping with Fusion 360

AddMan is a small design office based in Wrocław. The company deals with rapid prototyping, 3D printing and reverse engineering.

The services provided by AddMan include preparing 2D and 3D documentation of parts and prototypes, preparing visualizations and preliminary simulations of mechanical parts of products.

Due to the specificity of the industry in which AddMan operates, implemented projects often require a non-standard approach and the creation of a number of prototypes. 2D documentation at AddMan is prepared mainly as a supplement to visualization and 3D documentation, but it is also prepared for the subsequent production of details on a laser plotter (cutting and engraving parts, mainly steel and PMMA plates).

The AddMan company is very closely associated with the popularization of science and closely cooperates with the WroSpace Association and the Lunares Research Station in Piła - an analog space base, participating in international space projects.

To a large extent, the orders undertaken by AddMan involve modeling and/or optimizing models for further production using additive technologies (mainly FDM, SLA/DLP, SLS and MJF technologies). Due to the above, it is often necessary to convert models in the STL (Mesh) format.

The client was looking for a software solution that offers the widest possible range of value in modeling, simulation and project presentation using 2D documentation and visualization.

Among the solutions available on the market, he chose Fusion 360 from Autodesk, which has all the options mentioned above and much more. After a short training by a PCC Polska specialist, the client was already able to design simple 3D models for 3D printing.

Examples of AddMan's implementations thanks to the use of the Fusion 360 program:

• Development of housing for parking sensors glued directly into the road or parking space in any location in the city

The production of the product involved:

• Many tests and experiments (computer simulations and empirical tests)
• Making a number of prototypes with the support of additive technologies (FDM and powder technologies)
• Optimization of design for large-scale production on injection molding machines
• Preparation of 2D documentation and product visualization
• Preparation of architectural models for permanent exhibitions 

Challenges undertaken during this project:

• Modeling very complex structures in large assemblies and developing original solutions within the project aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the exhibition
• The mock-up designs assumed that half of them would be made using additive techniques, so it required a thorough analysis of each element with a view to maintaining its technological suitability for a given 3D printing technology and the subsequent finishing of the print and its integration with the rest of the mock-up.

Currently, AddMan uses the Fusion 360 program from Autodesk to provide CAD design services, which allows for quick execution of orders and the implementation of the client's vision.

Reworking existing models in STL format is no longer a problem for the company. If 2D documentation is necessary to fully describe a part or finished product, Fusion 360 has tools that allow you to easily create 2D documentation from a previous 3D model. This saves the company's resources and enables the implementation of unusual orders.

Better cooperation, intuitiveness and versatility of the solution used allowed AddMan to become more involved in international projects. Now it is easier to transfer ideas or unusual solutions to reality.

"Most of the time (in Fusion 360) we use the design module in the solid, surface and mesh modeling tabs. Some projects require simple mechanical simulations and simple visualizations, which are sufficient to present the future product."

- Dominik Liskiewicz, founder of AddMan