Designs overview

In Fusion, a design is a document in the F3D file format, where you can define geometry to create a singular component, or define relationships between many component to form mechanical assemblies. Design data is used as input for simulation and generative design studies, animations, renderings, electronic designs, drawings, and manufacturing setups.

Each design contains a default component, also known as the root or top-level component, and can also contain a full assembly of internal and external components that relate to each other.

You can import a design as a new version of an existing design, create Milestones to identify that the design’s stage of development is important, create a link to share designs with collaborators, and cache designs so you can access them offline.

Design types

When you create a design, there are three Fusion design types to choose from:

• Part Design : A design where you model a single component to manufacture or use in an assembly.
• Assembly Design : A design where you create or insert other designs as external components, then define relationships between them to create an assembly.
• Hybrid Design : A flexible design where you create and model internal components, insert other designs as external components, then define relationships between them.

The design's type drives the design's intent and determines which toolbar tabs are available by default and the operations you can perform in the design.

Design type	Solid	Surface	Mesh	Sheet Metal	Plastic	Assembly	Manage	Utilities
Part Design In a part design, modeling toolbars are available so you can create geometry like bodies.
Assembly Design In an assembly design, the focus is to insert and assemble components so modeling tools are not available by default.
Hybrid Design

The design type determines how the design displays in your data. A design type icon will display at the top of the Browser, in the Data Panel, and in BOM. The only exception is Hybrid because its contents can be a singular component or it can contain children. If the Hybrid design contains child components, it will display as an Assembly in the data. If it does not contain children, it will display as a Part.

There are a few ways to identify a design's type:

1. In the Data Panel, look for the design type icon in the design's information card.
2. In an open design, look for the top level component icon in the Browser.
3. In an open design, expand the Document Settings in the Browser to see the design type.

Default design type

You can set your preferred design type in Preferences > General. When you use File > New... to create a new document, your default design type is automatically selected in the dialog.

Convert the design to a different type

You can convert the design to a different type after it's created.

A Part design can be converted to an Assembly or Hybrid design at any time. If the Part design contains geometry like sketches or bodies, they will remain in the default component after it's converted.

You can convert an Assembly or Hybrid Design to a Part design as long as it does not contain any child components.

Design references

When you insert designs, this creates an associative reference to that design document.

You can reference any Fusion design as an external component in the assembly of another design. When you edit the original design, the changes display in any assembly where it is referenced.

In the Data Panel, you can see where a design is used, a list of other designs it uses, and related drawings. The design's history is recorded as a list of versions and milestones. Open the Fusion web client to view the Overview of the design details.

You can open, rename, copy designs with their related drawings, or move them to new folders and projects without breaking their associative relationships.

Deleting referenced designs

If you delete a design that's referenced in another design, the reference will become unresolved in the destination design. You can work with your admin to restore the reference and resolve external components or you can replace the unresolved external component with a different one.

If you delete a design that includes external references, the source designs for the external components are not deleted.

Copy designs

When you copy a design that is referenced by a drawing, a list of related drawings displays. You can choose to Include Drawings or Skip Drawings. To Include Drawings, make sure you have Viewer access or higher to the location where the drawing resides.

You can also copy any historical version of a design.

Any drawings that reference that specific version are listed in the Related Drawings dialog. You can choose to Include Drawings or Skip Drawings. To Include Drawings, make sure you have Viewer access or higher to the location where the drawing resides.

Save an existing design as a new design

Use the Save As tool to save the current design as a new design. Any external references still point to the original designs. Any Assembly Contexts are broken.

When you use Save As on a design, you can choose to Include Drawings. If you include drawings, they remain associative with the new design and update automatically when the new design changes. This way you can branch and reuse designs while keeping drawings up to date.

Designs

In Fusion, a design is a document in the F3D file format, where you can define geometry to create a singular component, or define relationships between many component to form mechanical assemblies. Design data is used as input for simulation and generative design studies, animations, renderings, electronic designs, drawings, and manufacturing setups.

Each design contains a default component, also known as the root or top-level component, and can also contain a full assembly of internal and external components that relate to each other.

You can import a design as a new change to an existing design, Create Versions to identify an important stage in the design's development, create a link to share designs with collaborators, and cache designs so you can access them offline.

Design types

When you create a design, there are three Fusion design types to choose from:

• Part Design : A design where you model a single component to manufacture or use in an assembly.
• Assembly Design : A design where you create or insert other designs as external components, then define relationships between them to create an assembly.
• Hybrid Design : A flexible design where you create and model internal components, insert other designs as external components, then define relationships between them.

The design's type drives the design's intent and determines which toolbar tabs are available by default and the operations you can perform in the design.

Design type	Solid	Surface	Mesh	Sheet Metal	Plastic	Assembly	Manage	Utilities
Part Design In a part design, modeling toolbars are available so you can create geometry like bodies.
Assembly Design In an assembly design, the focus is to insert and assemble components so modeling tools are not available by default.
Hybrid Design

The design type determines how the design displays in your data. A design type icon will display at the top of the Browser, in the Data Panel, and in BOM. The only exception is Hybrid because its contents can be a singular component or it can contain children. If the Hybrid design contains child components, it will display as an Assembly in the data. If it does not contain children, it will display as a Part.

There are a few ways to determine a design's type:

1. In the Data Panel, look for the design type icon in the design's information card.
2. In an open design, look for the top level component icon in the Browser.
3. In an open design, expand the Document Settings in the Browser to see the design type.

Default design type

You can set your preferred design type in Preferences > General. When you use File > New... to create a new document, your default document type is automatically selected in the dialog. If you use 'CTRL+N', your default document type is created and opens automatically.

Convert the design to a different type

You can convert the design to a different type after it's created.

A Part design can be converted to an Assembly or Hybrid design at any time. If the Part design contains geometry like sketches or bodies, they will remain in the default component after it's converted.

You can convert an Assembly or Hybrid Design to a Part design as long as it does not contain any child components.

Design references

When you insert designs, this creates an associative reference to that design document.

You can reference any Fusion design as an external component in the assembly of another design. When you edit the original design, the changes display in any assembly where it is referenced.

In the Data Panel, you can see where a design is used, a list of other designs it uses, and related drawings. The design's history, recorded as a list of changes and versions, is available for Fusion designs and drawings. To view the history, click the History button to launch the dialog in the canvas.

You can open, rename, copy designs with their related drawings, or move them to new folders and projects without breaking their associative relationships.

Deleting referenced designs

You cannot delete a design if it is referenced in another design. Even if you break the link, older changes of the design may still be in use. If you delete a design that includes external references, the source designs for the external components are not deleted.

Copy designs

When you copy a design that is referenced by a drawing, a list of related drawings displays. You can choose to Include Drawings or Skip Drawings. To Include Drawings, make sure you have Viewer access or higher to the location where the drawing resides.