Transcript — "Fusion's new AI update changes everything" (Product Design Online)

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Is the Autodesk assistant just another useless AI chatbot? That's what I thought until Autodesk gave it direct access to Fusion's core API. It's no longer just answering questions. It literally executes commands and writes back in scripts directly inside your active file. Here are seven time-saving use cases that completely changed how I use Fusion. If you're in the free personal use license without access to Fusion's arrange tools, one of my favorite time-saving use cases is prompting the assistant to lay all components flat on the XY origin plane. You can even provide additional instructions to lay it out with 1-in spacing or to make it fit within a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Once you find a prompt like this that works for you, click the save prompt button. You can then reuse the prompt on other files without typing anything. But layout is easy. Can you apply a dozen fillets at once?

[00:01:02] When you're modeling in Fusion, you often need to fillet a ton of sharp edges. This requires a lot of rotating and manual selection, even when using selection filters. I found the assistant works quite well when asked to select all of the sharp edges and apply the defined fillet radius. Be specific about which component or 3D body you want to fillet, and that will produce better results. You can even specify multiple fillet radii by being specific about which edges and dimensions you want. Pro tip, if a complex model requires multiple steps, give it a few follow-up turns, then ask it write the best single prompt to do this next time. This is a great way to expedite these reusable time-saving workflows. But modeling geometry is only half the battle. The next headache is usually manual documentation, but the assistant can actually build out your entire bill

[00:02:00] of materials for you. If you need a part or cutting list for your woodworking projects, you can have the assistant generate a table for the name, material, dimensions, and other requested information. It can also generate and save a CSV file to your local desktop. One word of caution. If you have any mirrors or patterns in your file, you'll want to keep a close eye on the quantity. You may have to specify that it includes the component quantity, or it may show only a quantity of one. Something to keep an eye on before you export. Now, pulling data from a model is one thing, but what happens when you reverse it and ask the AI to calculate complex engineering math from scratch? Using the assistant to create sketches with more complex math is also a huge time saver. As an example, I asked it to create a circular drill bit organizer where the

[00:03:01] diameter of holes not only steps up in size by 1 mm each time, but they are spaced evenly in a circular pattern around the access. When you ask the assistant to sketch, you will want to keep in mind that it may not always dimension and fully constrain the sketches, but you can specify that it do so. Speaking of sketches, we all know the nightmare of trying to find that one missing constraint that's keeping your sketch from having that red lock icon. Every Fusion user runs into a time when they cannot figure out why they don't have a fully defined sketch. In a previous video, I showcased a lesser-known trick to use Fusion's text command to highlight under-constrained objects. You can now have the assistant use the same Show under constrained. This does require you to be in an active sketch, which the assistant can open for you. However, I often find it fastest to open

[00:04:00] the sketch and then prompt the assistant. You can also have the assistant define the sketch object or delete it if desired. Fixing a single sketch is great, but what happens when you're dealing with a large assembly and your browser tree becomes too cumbersome to navigate? When working on mid to larger assembly files, you often need to turn several sketches or bodies on and off. This can be tedious and take a lot of clicks to toggle folders in the browser. You will find the assistant is pretty quick at turning off sketches or bodies in addition to other browser assets. You can also have the assistant change or rename any of the assets in the browser. Instead of wasting 10 minutes clicking through a massive browser tree to fix a naming convention, just tell the assistant to rename all the bodies to match their corresponding components. It cleans up a massive assembly in seconds.

[00:05:01] You can also delete unused components or empty sketches to clean up your files. That works perfectly for native Fusion data, but what about the ultimate workflow nightmare, dealing with imported mesh files? The assistant can help you split imported STL files into separate bodies, allowing you to 3D print them separately. You can even have it turn each body into components or export the bodies as separate STL files, saving them to your desktop. When possible, always specify which tool the assistant should reference. This will help it call the correct tool via the API, and it will provide faster results without the assistant having to determine the tool. The prompt to API update turned this chatbot into an actual co-pilot. But, I want to know your take. Is this the future of CAD, or are you sticking to manual clicks? Drop your thoughts in the comments. Hit

[00:06:00] that subscribe button if this saved you some time, and I'll see you in the next one. [music]