Dan VanDeWoestyne
The Fusion manufacturing workspace experienced remarkable advancements in 2024. New features and technology enhancements were seen across all areas, including milling, turning, nesting, and additive. Here are our top 5 new Fusion manufacturing features from the year.
1. Leads and links modifications
The toolpath modification tools now include a new function called leads and links. This enables the adjustment of leads and links on a toolpath without requiring a complete recalculation. This significantly decreases programming time for toolpath adjustments. It also helps resolve issues that might be challenging or impossible to address solely by modifying strategy parameters. The modification tools allow for updating either all leads and links or a manual selection of individual ones. Users have control over various elements like clearance geometry, clearance and retract heights, start and end positions, rapid links, transitions, and leads.
2. Multi-axis finishing
A new toolpath called multi-axis finishing is unique as it can utilize circle segment cutters to machine wall and floor geometries. Barrel, oval, taper, and lens tool geometries are all supported. This allows you to capitalize on their ability to use large stepovers to reduce cycle times while maintaining a high-quality surface finish. When machining floors, the toolpath uses a scallop strategy. For walls, you have the choice of a blend or scallop strategy. Options can be set to automatically tilt the tool during multi-axis movements or be user-defined. Here you can specify a unique lead angle and manually control the minimum and maximum contact points of the tool on the surface.
3. Groove roughing
A new standalone groove roughing strategy for external, internal, and face grooving operations was added. It incorporates all the elements users loved in the old grooving toolpath but with superior results. Users now have more toolpath control through a simplified UI, improved boundary handling, and an improved set of tangential extensions. This provides a safer and more efficient lead-in and lead-out, resulting in a better and more consistent toolpath. The option to define the entry point of the groove in relation to the center or the side of the groove minimizes tool deflection and controls swarf.
4. Automated arrange
The new automated arrange brought significant improvements to the arrange feature. Part-in-part arrangements are now available to improve material usage along with the option to create copies or move original components. Arrangement nodes are created in the browser tree, and multiple manufacturing setups can be created directly from arrangements, enhancing associativity between model, arrangements, setups, and toolpaths. Nesting users saw enhancements with a global value of part quantity control, multi-edit capability, the ability to apply individual overrides, grain and orientation settings, multiple envelopes, and filler part settings to maximize material utilization.
5. 3D arrange true shape
After creating an additive setup with an SLS or MJF 3D printer, the new 3D arrange true shape algorithm can be utilized. This innovative voxel-based arrangement method considers the true shapes of all components rather than just their bounding boxes. This ultimately allows for more parts to be added to the empty volume of a printer. Additionally, this new filling type provides the option to consider different part orientations by rotating the part around its X, Y, or Z axis during the nesting process. This allows parts to be arranged in various orientations to fully utilize the build volume. This substantially maximizes the parts you can print and ensures the most efficient use of your build volume.
Check all these highlights out in more detail here:
Fusion manufacturing – Share your top picks
These were our top 5 picks from the numerous new features in Fusion manufacturing last year. We look forward to providing you with even more functionality in 2025.
Please let us know in the comments which top 5 features from 2024 you found most exciting and that significantly enhanced your productivity.