Has anyone used Fusion to produce an etch?

[Marc Dobson]

This might sound like a silly question. I have been using Fusion to produce my 3D parts for my kits for years and a very old XP laptop with AutoCad2002 to produce my etched parts. Both my desktop (W10) and laptop need to be replaced so I'm wondering if anyone has produced etches using Fusion? If it's pain then I might eeck out the life of the laptop a little longer.
Marc

 

[Mike W]

Marc, I had the exact same problem and was reluctant to give up what I'd learned about AutoCAD. My local PC repair man sorted out AutocCAD on Windows7 and later Windows10 at very little cost. I've not asked him how.

Mike

 

[garethashenden]

I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t done it yet. I think I will try at some point, otherwise id need to learn a vector graphics program and that’s a steeper learning curve.

 

[Bill Bedford]

This might sound like a silly question. I have been using Fusion to produce my 3D parts for my kits for years and a very old XP laptop with AutoCad2002 to produce my etched parts. Both my desktop (W10) and laptop need to be replaced so I'm wondering if anyone has produced etches using Fusion? If it's pain then I might eeck out the life of the laptop a little longer.
Marc

You can export sketches in Fusion as DXF files, but there is no way in Fusion to add block colours. That will have to be done in vector software, such as Inkscape.

 

[Herb Garden]

I've tried and failed for the reasons Bill describes...

Autodesk inventor yes...

Autodesk fusion no....

 

[simond]

TurboCAD can, but I’ve not found it easy. I am using v20 which is well out of date.

 

[richard carr]

Version 20 of Turbocad is more than good enough for an etch, but unfortuantely it's not very intuitive software. The 2025 version isn't really any better for doing 2d etches.

Richard

 

[Stephen Freeman]

Well I use Turbocad 2015 deluxe for designing etches. I believe it has some 3D capability but I find Freecad easier. It has to be said that the people doing the etching might have an issue with anything newer than DXF 2007 version.

 

[Phil O]

I'm using QCAD for some etching artwork, the hard part is finding all the bits that aren't joined up, some of which are spurious lines that have mysteriously appeared from nowhere. The good thing is that software does tell you where to look. I found the quickest way is to delete and where necessary remove and replace one line at a time in the indicated area.

 

[Mike W]

That's an interesting idea Phil. With AutoCAD I "fill" the shape and if there is a gap I then draw a line to bisect the shape, and again, to narrow down the search area!