From Mates to Constraints: Making Yourself at Home with Constraints in Fusion

Bryce Heventhal August 21, 2025

3 min read

Experienced SolidWorks users transitioning to Autodesk Fusion will find Fusion’s constraints system simplifies assemblies with fewer steps, intuitive visual previews, and real-time feedback. Its familiar terms, better management, and improved kinematic control provide a smoother, more efficient design experience than traditional mate-based workflows.

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Hey there, SolidWorks pro. We get it—you’ve been Mating things together for years (we won’t judge your feature manager tree), and you’ve got muscle memory for every click. But what if we told you that with contraints in Fusion, you can ditch the repetitive mate-over-mate slog and still get your assemblies working like a dream? 

Constraints in Fusion

Enter: Constraints.- Fusion’s smarter way to Assemblies 

No, not the kind that make you question your life choices—these are the good kind. The kind that lets you snap parts together logically, cleanly, and in fewer steps. As a long-time Solidworks user, let me lay out the stepping stones for your transition to Autodesk Fusion!   

Let’s say you’re dropping a bracket into place. In SolidWorks, you’re firing off coincident, parallel, and distance mates in rapid succession—every part needing its own attention. Constraints in Fusion? One command. Multiple connections. Clean and done. 

Contraints in Fusion – Familiar names, fewer clicks 

Fusion uses constraint types you’ll recognize—like Align, Flush, Tangent, and Rigid. But unlike the mate-heavy approach you’re used to, you can: 

The learning curve? Barely a speed bump. 

If you’ve been mating for a decade, you’ll feel right at home—and probably faster than you expect. 

Ever fight a stubborn mate that just won’t behave unless you suppress half your assembly? Constraints in Fusion come with intuitive visual previews and real-time feedback. That means less guessing, less suppressing, and more actual designing. 

Get started with constraints in Fusion today

Even better: you can combine constraints with Fusion’s As-Built Joints, Motion Links, and Contact Sets for full kinematic control—all on a platform that doesn’t require a separate “Simulation Add-In” just to prove your mechanism works. 

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