Getting Fusion 360 files into lightburn

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

What is the best way of getting Fusion 360 files into lightburn ?

[Rob_H (Robert Hollis)]

Just export your file as a .dxf file. Lightburn will open it.
If you need help you can find it here: Lightburn Documentation.

cheers,
Rob

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

I’m using the free version of fusion and it won’t let me save files as .dxf unfortunately.

[Marcus_Wakefield]

I usually use PDF.

Is this an option for you?

[berainlb (PY)]

You may be able to get an add-on from Shaper that allows you to export SVG files.

Take a look here:
Installing the Shaper Utilities Add-In for Fusion 360 – Shaper (shapertools.com)
Exporting SVGs from Fusion – Shaper (shapertools.com)

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

Hi Marcus,
Unfortunately in the free version of fusion this option isn’t available. As I’m only a hobbyist it’s not worth me getting the paid version.

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

Hi Rob,
The free version of fusion doesn’t have the .dxf option. I’m only a hobbyist user so it’s not worth me getting the full version.

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

Do you know if this is compatible with the free version of fusion 360 or do you need the full version for this add on. I only use this for a hobby so the full version really isn’t an option for me.

[berainlb (PY)]

Personal edition should still allow add-ins to be used. I’m not aware of any restriction to use this specific add-on.

Note that while you can’t export to DXF in the free edition, you should be able to save a sketch as DXF:
How to save or export a Sketch as DXF in Fusion 360 (autodesk.com)

Also, one other thing to take a look at. There was a group that made a solution to more dynamically convert between F360 and LightBurn. Check out the post here. I’ve not tried it but it may work for you:

New Fusion 360 to LightBurn project post-processor (LaserPost)

Hi all - I wanted to share a new (free, open source) project called LaserPost that we’ve been working on for a few months, and just released the stable version today! It creates ready-to-burn LightBurn projects directly from Fusion 360 (or Inventor/HSMWorks, anything that uses the Autodesk CAM post-processor system). The back story is we found it painful taking models (especially complex ones) and projecting sketches, exporting DXF file(s), and then setting up layers and adjusting the settings…

[Marcus_Wakefield]

@ILoz

Unfortunately in the free version of fusion this option isn’t available

Ok, I wasn’t sure whether this was a ‘paid for’ feature only

What about ‘printing’ the drawing to a PDF using ‘Microsoft Print To PDF’ or ‘PDFCreator’. PDFCreator appears to support larger paper sizes than the MS PDF printer.

[CarlFisher]

That’s odd. I’m on the free version of Fusion360 (hobby license) and I have an option to export DXF. Right click on the sketch and try from there.

[berainlb (PY)]

@CarlFisher

Right click on the sketch and try from there.

That’s the method I linked above.

[RalphU (RU)]

@ILoz

Do you know if this is compatible with the free version of fusion 360 or do you need the full version for this add on. I only use this for a hobby so the full version really isn’t an option for me.

If you don’t have a sketch created for the body, you select the body and right click and create a sketch of it, then export DXF from the sketch.

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

I’ll try this tonight thanks.

[Marcus_Wakefield]

I should have asked earlier but is it a drawing or a model profile you want to transfer over to LB?

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

Thanks for all your tips people. Got it sorted now.

[ILoz (Loz Brady)]

Drawing profile. I have now managed to sort this issue.
Thanks
Loz

[BillieRuben]

You can export a dxf from a sketch in the free fusion (just not a drawing).

I normally project all the parts I want to export onto a new sketch, then export that sketch as DXF by right clicking on it.

[cggorman (Chris)]

In Inventor (another Autodesk product that predates Fusion) you can right click on a model face and export face as DXF. I tried Fusion several years ago and hated it (mostly because of the cloud computing requirement for the “good” features) so I can’t help with fusion specific workflows, but it may be worth trying. Lets me bypass the sketch entirely.