Shannon McGarry
Discover how Autodesk Fusion for Manufacturing can help your job shop overcome programming bottlenecks, reduce downtime, and boost profitability with integrated CAD/CAM workflows.
The reality for job shops today
If you run a machine shop, you know the daily pressure you face. Customers want shorter lead times, tighter tolerances, and competitive pricing. Meanwhile, skilled labor is harder to find, material costs keep climbing, and every hour of spindle downtime eats into margins. Even more, you’re likely no stranger to:
- Programming bottlenecks that slow throughput and tie up your best people.
- Disconnected CAD and CAM workflows that force re-imports and manual fixes every time engineering tweaks a model.
- Costly post processor edits that drain budgets and delay jobs.
- First-article delays that push delivery dates and frustrate customers.
- Multi-axis machines that are underutilized because legacy CAM can’t keep up.
In short: old CAM systems bleed time and money. They were built for yesterday’s jobs – not today’s complexity and speed.
Enter Fusion for Manufacturing
Fusion for Manufacturing is Autodesk’s integrated and advanced CAD/CAM solution designed for the realities of modern machining. It combines design, programming, automation, and in-process verification in one platform, so your team spends less time juggling files and more time making chips.
With Fusion for Manufacturing, you’ll get:
- CAD + CAM in one environment – toolpaths stay tied to the model, eliminating file juggling and revision errors.
- Full-spectrum machining – 2D through full 5-axis, milling, turning, and turn-mill.
- Additive and nesting workflows for hybrid jobs and material optimization.
- Free, editable post processors – stop paying $500–$2,000 for basic edits.
- Advanced strategies – multi-axis finishing, collision avoidance, and automation that cuts cycle times without sacrificing surface finish.
Why you should care – In plain shop talk
If you’re tired of babysitting posts, chasing broken setups, and burning hours on first articles, let’s cut to the chase and show you how Fusion for Manufacturing fixes them.
- Bad posts = Bad days: Legacy CAM makes you pay for every tweak. Fusion ships with a library of free, editable posts and clear guidance, so your machine gets the code it expects—without the invoice.
- Slow workflows, lost spindle time: Disconnected CAD and CAM means re-importing geometry and re-posting after every change. Fusion’s associative workflows keep setups and toolpaths in sync—update the model, and CAM updates with it. No more starting over.
- First articles that drag on: Fusion’s probing and inspection strategies help you verify features, adjust WCS, and align parts right at the machine – speeding signoff and reducing scrap. Faster approvals mean more parts out the door.
- Modern machines, outdated CAM; If you’ve invested in multi-axis equipment, you need toolpaths and collision avoidance built for it—not workarounds. Fusion delivers advanced 4- and 5-axis finishing and multi-axis collision control to use your machine fully and safely.
- Turning and turn-mill that keeps up: Fusion handles facing, profiling, threading, grooving, part-off—and drives live-tool lathes with the same CAM logic, so hybrid jobs don’t slow you down.
“Our previous CAM system wasn’t a good fit for our business, but Autodesk Fusion is perfect. CAM programming is now 50 to 100% faster, our throughput has increased, and we’re much more profitable.”
– Konrad Nerc, Managing Director, Nerc Precision Engineering LTD
Fusion also ranks among top CAM solutions in CIMdata’s Global CAM Market Analysis Report, so you’re betting on tech with momentum—not yesterday’s tools.
What are you waiting for? Stop wrangling with old CAM that slows your shop down. Explore Fusion for Manufacturing today.