Free Fusion360 subs ended

I have had the free version of Fusion360 installed for a good while now - three years maybe. I have not used it for anything other than tutorials but when I went to use it a couple of days ago it tells me my free subscription has expired.

Its a good job I had not invested to much time in learning it because having the rug pulled like this would have stung badly.

Not sure which package to go for now. For my occasional use it would not make sense to spend to much. Free sounds good!

Rik

Don't you just renew your F360 hobbyist subscription??

THIS site says that the free version can be renewed on a 3-year basis.

I have used Fusion360 for about 15 months and will probably give up with it. It is now very slow and bringing items back from store, "the cloud", can take a very long time.

I read the website that Gary mentions as the free version can be used for three years with yearly renewal (which was easy). After that you have to pay to access your work. I may have misunderstood the website and got this wrong.

JA

I use Fusion personal edition to produce gcode, not 3D designs or drawings and initially didn't like the cloud saving element. A mention of this in another thread brought up the suggestion by Jason Bellamy to "export" the files to my computer for storage and just click "no" to the invitation to save the file when the design is closed. That way, I get to keep a copy of my file on my hard drive and the number is only limited by the capacity of the drive.

John

You have. You have to download and re-register from scratch but when you do it recognises who you are and all your old designs reappear. I had to do this a couple of months ago. I guess that the company is trying to ensure that commercial companies do not keep using the free versions.

HTH,

Rod

I use the free one and just renewed when it ran out. Store my CAM stuff on it and don't find it slow to bring anything up except for a click or two to alter it from read only to editable. I did upgrade my PC to SSD and changed virus protection a few months back and it's a lot faster as is the whole PC.

In fact at the moment you can run all the usual paid for items for free as they are trying to let you see what you may be missing.

Edited By JasonB on 25/06/2022 13:29:58

To me the question is "What happens after three years?"

I think John is using a paid for version and not the free option. I am aware you gain quite a bit more if you pay.

Up grading my PC would bring advantages. I am told that SSDs give far better performance. However I ask myself "Can I face the hassle?" At present, it is no. I don't really need solid modelling.

JA

JA,

Nope. I don't pay for anything if I don't have to! Free version of Fusion for me. I admit that I do pay for the Atom3D licence and annual maintenance charge - 'cos I'm worth it!

John

Can you have several computers under the same free subscription and get the advantage of cloud storage to access from either? I am using freeCAD but have to move files from PC to laptop to PC which is a bit of a faf.

The Fusion subscription is for your account, not the computer you use the program on. So you can download the program to as many computers as you use.

Correct, but you can only access from one device at a time.

Oh no.

Just out of interest, how many devices can you use simultaneously?

I do my main CAD work indoors in my office so might leave F360 running there, but quite often want to tweak a toolpath so would also use it on the workshop PC in the middle of a job. Can't do that now without one shutting down - and as it is about as quick to go back in the house than start/restart F360 on the very slow workshop PC, in practice it's not a big deal. Not two at the same time, but close...

Another case where I suspect Autodesk want to make it more difficult for commercial organisations to use the free edition?

I often achieve this in a different way with Remote Desktop Protocol. Briefly, RDP allows one computer to take over the display, keyboard and mouse of another. Software running on the base computer is operated by the second: with something like CAD there's no need to copy files or install another licence on the second machine.

Fusion 360 and Solid Edge are both installed on my main workstation, which is set up in my dining room. Two big screens, comfy chair, roomy table top etc for serious work. However, in the evenings, I often tinker in front of the telly with a laptop connected to the workstation. The laptop behaves just as if it were doing all the work, but actually the action is on the workstation. It lets me do 3D-CAD, browse the web, do email etc. just as if I was sat in the dining room.

RDP clients are built-in to Windows and can be downloaded for Linux (Remmina). Setting up the Windows server is a little more difficult, it's built-in to Pro versions, but has to be installed on Home editions. Howto here.

Dave

RDP - good thought! It's gone through my mind a few times in the past (after a working life in IT, it's a familiar idea) but never quite got round to setting it up. Would be ideal here - I have a similar setup to you. Thanks for the stimulus to actually do it!

Newbie here, but saw the post and was interested
I also started on F360 free license, but when we started up making parts for other people and selling we upgraded to a full license package.
We have been for the past few years now and i would say its money well spent.
It really is a versatile piece of kit.
I came from Creo, Catia & Inventor packages.

The last time i checked i was paying roughly £350 per year. When it comes up again for renewal i may just buy 3 years outright as you do get a slightly better deal.
I can see the free side maybe not stopping as its still available i believe, but they may reduce the coverage of what parts are accessible. So split up the parts as subscriptions as this is the way everything is going.

I have used many other software packages, but F360 is a top one in my book for not alot of money if you do decide to go that way