Understanding Intent-Driven Design in Fusion
- Brad Tallis
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
Autodesk recently released a major update for Fusion. You may have noticed a new window that asks, "What do you want to design?" This is the new Intent-Driven Design feature. It helps you choose the right path for your project from the very start. This update makes the software easier for beginners to understand. It also helps users stay organized when working on big projects with large teams. By picking a specific mode, you can focus on the tools you actually need for your current task.
Why Use Intent Driven Design?
Many users find the standard Fusion interface a bit confusing. It can be hard to know if you should create a body or a component. People moving from other CAD systems often miss having separate modes for parts and assemblies. Autodesk created this update to solve those problems.
The new system offers three main ways to work:
Part Design: Used for creating single part designs.
Assembly Design: Used to connect different parts together.
Hybrid Design: The classic way Fusion used to work.
Master the Part Design Mode
When you start a Part Design, you choose between a standard part or a sheet metal part. You can also set your units right away. One of the best things about this mode is the cleaner user interface. You only see tools for making parts, like sketches and extrudes.
Simplified Tools
In this mode, the menus are simpler. You will not see assembly tools like joints or rigid groups. You also do not need to worry about the "Create Component" command. In part design mode, everything is a component by default. This removes a lot of the guesswork for new users.
Managing Your Parts
Once you finish a part, you can save it to your project folder. In your data panel, these files show up with a small cube icon. This icon lets you know at a glance that the file is a single part. If you need to make more parts, you can just start a new part design in a new tab.
Building with Assembly Design
The assembly design mode is where you bring your parts together. Just like part mode, the interface is simplified. You only see tools like insert components, fasteners, and joints.
Inserting Components
You can bring parts into your assembly by using the "Insert" menu or dragging them from the data panel. When you bring a part in, it shows a link icon. This means the part is connected to the original file. If you change the original part file, it will update in your assembly automatically.
Creating Relationships
Instead of just moving items around, you use constraints and joints. This tells Fusion how the parts should touch or move.
Constrain Components: Use this to make faces or edges touch or align cylinders.
Joints: Use these for moving parts, like a revolute joint for a spinning gear.
Rigid Groups: Make a set of parts move together as a group.
Working with Sub-Assemblies
You do not have to put every single part into one giant file. You can create sub-assemblies. For example, you might build a gear case as one assembly. Then, you can insert that whole gear case into your main machine assembly. This keeps your project organized and easy to manage.
Making Changes to Your Models
Sometimes you need to fix a part while looking at the whole assembly. Fusion allows you to do this with Edit In Place.
Edit in Place
If you need to add a fillet or a chamfer to a linked part, use the Edit in Place tool. This lets you work on the part while it sits inside the assembly. The rest of the assembly will turn "ghosted" so you can focus. Once you finish, the changes save back to the original part file.
Handling Updates
If you open a part file separately and change it, Fusion will let you know. When you go back to your main assembly, you will see a warning icon. This tells you that a reference is out of date. Simply click the icon at the top of the screen to grab the latest version of your part.
The Flexibility of Hybrid Design
If you prefer the old way of working, you can use Hybrid Design. This mode keeps all the tools in one place, just like Fusion did before the update. It is a good choice if you are in a rush or working on a very simple project.
Changing Your Preferences
You can tell Fusion which mode to open by default. Go into your Preferences under the "General" tab. Look for "Default Design Type." You can set this to part, assembly, or hybrid.
Quick Shortcuts
You can skip the "What do you want to design?" window by using shortcuts.
Press Ctrl+N on a PC to start a new design instantly.
If the window does pop up, just hit Enter to start your default mode.
You can convert a design at any time. If you start an assembly but need part tools, right-click the top level and select Convert to Hybrid.
Conclusion
The new intent driven design tools in Autodesk Fusion make it much easier to stay organized. Using specific modes for parts and assemblies keeps your timeline clean and your tools easy to find. While it might feel different at first, it helps prevent mistakes as your projects grow larger.
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