{"id":33317,"date":"2024-03-04T23:24:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T07:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/?p=33317"},"modified":"2025-02-11T10:57:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T18:57:43","slug":"fusion-360-machining-extension-beyond-5-axis-machining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/fusion-360-machining-extension-beyond-5-axis-machining\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fusion Manufacturing Extension: So Much More Than 5-Axis Machining\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Fusion Manufacturing Extension <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fusion Manufacturing Extension goes beyond and 5-axis machining. It also unlocks advanced sheet metal nesting, additive manufacturing tools and more. Explore some of the extension’s top capabilities here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"automated-hole-recognition-drilling\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Fusion Manufacturing Extension certainly does include a wealth of simultaneous 4- and 5-axis technology, but it’s not just a fancy 5-axis add-on for Fusion. As its name suggests, The Fusion Manufacturing Extension unlocks additional functionality for manufacturers using CNC machinery to produce components, along with those nesting sheet metal and 3D printing using metal materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s unbox the Fusion Manufacturing Extension and see what CAM programming goodies are inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Automated whole-part machining <\/h2>\n\n\n

Programming simple 2D and 3D shapes generally isn\u2019t too difficult. It\u2019s easy to decide which strategies to use, they\u2019re pretty quick to produce, and you don\u2019t need too many of them to fully machine components. Creating the necessary NC machining code is quick and painless, meaning you can rapidly produce parts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as the complexity and precision of parts increase, it can be much harder to decide which machining strategies you should use to ensure parts are machined fully and accurately. With so many ways to finish machining a part, the task for the CAM programmer can be overwhelming, resulting in longer programming times and an increased likelihood of costly mistakes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fusion Manufacturing Extension addresses this with a range of \u201cwhole part strategies\u201d that can accurately machine components with a small number of highly effective toolpaths. For example, the Steep and Shallow strategy intelligently recognizes separate regions of the component. It then uses different optimized toolpath types to machine them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An example of Steep and Shallow machining showing toolpath smoothing, and automatic region overlap.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Steep and Shallow<\/a> is way more than just a clever toolpath. It\u2019s a 4-in-1 strategy with individual access to parallel, scallop, and contour toolpaths and the added ability to combine them to produce the Steep and Shallow toolpath itself. With independent controls over stepover and stepdown, toolpath ordering, region overlap, toolpath smoothing, and automatic wall clearance, Steep and Shallow simplifies the programming of complex geometry. Additional smoothing options control the toolpath point distribution, letting you tailor the toolpath point output to suit your controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What may be less obvious is that Steep and Shallow is an attractive option for users of 3-axis and multi-axis machines, with automatic collision avoidance for even greater toolpath safety and efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n

Automated hole recognition and drilling <\/h2>\n\n\n

Drilling holes is one of the most common CNC machining tasks. The Fusion Manufacturing Extension streamlines this tedious process by recognizing holes<\/a> in 3D models (including models imported from other CAD systems) before using pre-defined (configurable) templates to create efficient 3-axis and 3+2 drilling cycles. This includes spot drilling, tapping, threading, reaming, and more. Templates allow company-wide best practices to be defined, recorded, and shared across teams for greater consistency, improved productivity, and a significant reduction in non-value-added tasks that can waste time and lead to human error.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"automated-hole-recognition-drilling\"
Automatic hole recognition can use configurable templates to select and efficiently machine holes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Geometry probing, surface inspection, and part alignment <\/h2>\n\n\n

The core version of Fusion includes workpiece coordinate system (WCS) setup probing<\/a> that you can use with spindle-mounted probes to automate simple part setup on CNC machines. The Manufacturing Extension goes further, adding Geometry Probing,<\/a> Surface Inspection<\/a>, and Part Alignment<\/a> capabilities to monitor the quality and performance of the entire CNC machining process.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These additional tools allow you to measure parts after specific machining operations to validate that the state of the part is as expected. Catch any non-conformance early in the process and use the measurement data to make informed decisions to salvage parts. If parts are already non-conforming, it is better to resign them to the scrap bin and avoid wasting further machining time or money making a bad part worse.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Manufacturing Extension includes dedicated strategies to use with spindle-mounted probes.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Using probing to automate part setup<\/a> is especially useful in cases where the parts you’re machining are large, heavy, or non-prismatic in shape and require considerable time and effort to set up manually. Surface inspection allows you to measure key points to determine where the actual part is on the machine. You can then use this data to adjust the WCS to allow the NC code to align with the part. In many cases, automated part setup only takes a few seconds or minutes \u2014 but it can save up to 80% of time spent on manual setup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe recently used the part alignment capabilities within the Manufacturing Extension to machine some parts out of aluminum that we cut to size from 1″x5″ bar. When we came to start machining on our Haas VF2 machine, we noticed the bar stock had been cut out of square. We were on the verge of having to scrap and reorder well over $200 in material and have our machine sitting idle the rest of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By using the part alignment tools<\/a> in Fusion, we were able to use a spindle mounted probe to measure each piece of stock and automatically adjust the machining orientation so that every part fit in a less than ideal stock envelope. All the\u202fparts came out perfectly. The total savings paid for at least half the annual cost of the Manufacturing Extension, it’s clear the extension pays for itself in a few weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n\u2014 Patrick Fee, Shop Supervisor, Conturo Prototyping <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

Toolpath modifications <\/h2>\n\n\n

In an ideal world, the toolpaths created by a CAM system would be perfect the first time, every time, and do exactly what the CAM programmer needs. In reality, programmers often need to change toolpaths \u2013 possibly removing localized regions to avoid duplicate cutting, restricting the Z-depth, or deciding to use a different tool holder.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the powerful Toolpath Modification<\/a> options provided in the Manufacturing Extension can help. They allow CAM programmers to make small but significant changes to toolpaths without recalculating them completely. Toolpath modifications include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n