Introduction

While AutoDesk Fusion 360 is an amazing collaborative design tool, some projects require archiving or exporting data. In this post we’ll be going through methods of exporting data out of Fusion 360 and the advantages and disadvantages of different data formats.

Exporting data

AutoDesk Fusion 360 can export data in several formats. While some preserve assemblies and relationships better, others are more useful for certain tasks such as 3D printing. We’ll be going through data formats in descending order of data preservation from Fusion 360s native archive file, through STEP, IGES, and finally 3MF.

Fusion 360 archive, STEP, IGES, 3MF

Fusion 360 archive

AutoDesk provides a detailed walkthrough for exporting an archive of a project, including screenshots. This file can only be imported back into Fusion 360. This brings in the entire project, with model history, toolpaths, links, etc.

While Fusion 360 archives preserve the project in its entirety, they are not readable by any other programs.

Exporting a STEP or IGES file follows the same procedure as the Fusion 360 archive by selecting either of those file formats in the drop-down.

STEP

ISO 10303 defines the STEP interchange format for CAD data. It can be read by many CAD tools. While this definition and interchange is not perfect, it does the best job of preserving solid model bodes and assemblies. Boundary Representation of NURBS bodies is preserved.

IGES

NIST defines the IGES file format. It is an older format, originating with 2 dimensional drawings, but has been expanded to include 3 dimensional data. It is interesting in being a recursive standard.

IGES files maintain NURBS surfaces, but generally do not incorporate these into BREP solids. As such, while all the surfaces of a body are defined, their relationships are not.

3MF

3D Manufacturing Format is designed to be a replacement for the archaic STL format. This format is predominantly used for 3D printing. This file format converts 3D geometry into a mesh of triangles. This is a lossy conversion.

Exporting a 3MF file is different from the other formats. This option lives under the make option in the tools ribbon.

This brings up the 3D printing utility dialog. Select the body you want to export. Below that, select 3MF. While STl is a popular file format, it is important to mention that the STL file format has many issues. 3MF corrects many of these issues. It is a superior file format. Under output uncheck Send to 3D Print Utility. When you click OK an export dialog will open.

Conclusion

For maximum compatibility, it is worth exporting all four of these options and saving them in a git repository on gitlab or github.