Also, steep learning curves of software applications can stifle creativity and hinder the freedom of our designs. However, the time we spend learning new tools seems to grow along with the advancement of technology. For example, we have access to powerful digital tools that help make ideas a reality. I hope you’ll find this newer article to be even more helpful than the original one. I decided it was time to take a closer look at these two software packages and see how they stack up in 2019. You also can generate precise cutlists and drawings in a few minutes, which requires quite a bit of effort in Sketchup.** Note, many have found my original comparison between these two CAD packages to be helpful. A intermediate Fusion 360 user can model a reasonably complex table in a matter of minutes and change its length and within a a few seconds. Regardless, the amount of effort you put in Fusion 360 will quickly pay divends.

Fusion 360, on the other hand, requires fewer operations that are easier to change, but it's not as intuitive unless you firmly grasp how these operations work together. Sketchup approaches modeling intuitively, but requires lots of small sequential operations that are difficult to modify. Many of them are related to specific topics, but leave out the 'big picture.' I would use these videos as supplemental information and as reference materials.įusion 360 is a lot easier to use and far more productive than Sketchup, but unless you get it works conceptually, it will be difficult to make the transition seamlessly. There are tons of introduction tutorials on YouTube and it's difficult to wade through them all and find the best one. Given you are new to Fusion 360, however, I would start with a good beginner's video course. has an excellent introduction to Fusion 360 and it's what I used as a starting point. The videos are a nice overview as to its capabilities and power. Both are former Sketchup users who have made transition and occasionally mention the similarities and differences.

I would checkout Jay Bates and Wood Knight channels who have several videos specifically covering Fusion 360 and woodworking applications. Well there's quite a bit of videos on YouTube.

Learn fusion 360 for woodworking