Key details

Comprehensive Autodesk Fusion training for newcomers, teaching everything you need to create high-performing product designs. 

Autodesk Fusion (formerly Fusion 360) provides a single cloud-based platform that you can use to carry out all aspects of product development, from design and testing, through to simulation and fabrication.

Fusion Essentials training provides a thorough grounding, teaching key techniques including:

• Sketching
• 3D modelling
• Assemblies
• Visualisations, rendered images and animations
• Simulation
• Drawings
• Importing CAD data into Fusion.

In-class or online

This course is available in-class at eight centres or live online.

Upcoming course dates

Accredited Fusion training

Armada is an Autodesk authorised Training Centre (ATC), and our Fusion training courses are accredited by Autodesk.

Fusion courses are hosted by Autodesk Certified Instructors, with vast experience of using the application professionally. For further details, see Expert trainers.

Autodesk Fusion training guide and certificate

Course delegates receive:

• A comprehensive training guide for Fusion, to refer to throughout the course, and to use as a refresher afterwards.
• An e-certificate confirming successful completion of an accredited Fusion 360 training course. Click here to see an example of the certificate you receive.

Fusion certification exams

When you attend Fusion training, you’re not assessed and there is no exam to sit. We teach you practical skills you can use in the real world, not prepare you to sit a test.

If you want to gain an industry-recognised credential in Fusion, we offer an Autodesk certification exam that you can sit on a future date.

Exams are sat online, from your place of work or home. For further details, see Certification exam.

Fusion running on Windows or Mac

Fusion works almost identically running on a Windows computer or Mac, and our course is suitable for users of both platforms. (There are some minor differences, but nothing of significance.)

When you attend training in-class, you’ll practice on a Windows computer. If you participate live online, you can run Fusion on either a Windows computer or Mac.

Training is based on the current version of Fusion.

After course support

Following Fusion training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

Prerequisites

No prior Fusion or 3D modelling knowledge is required.

Experience using a CAD application, such as AutoCAD, is beneficial but not essential.

Fusion version

Training is based on the latest version of Fusion, running on Windows or Mac.

Our guarantees to you

We offer:

• A price guarantee that you’re getting the best value for money.
• A training guarantee that you’ll learn the concepts and skills you need.

On-request Fusion training available

Fusion Essentials training is also available on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group, hosted at one of our centres, your venue or online.

On-request Fusion training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing. Please contact us for a quote.

General information

Course times

9.30am–4.30pm.

Payment

Payment for Fusion training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Card payments are processed by Stripe. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Cancellations and transfers

You can cancel a booking on a scheduled training course, or transfer to a later course, without penalty providing you give us 10 working days’ notice. Any fees already paid will be refunded.

If you cancel a booking on a scheduled Fusion Essentials course giving less than 10 working days’ notice, or request a transfer to a later course, a cancellation/transfer fee is payable. The fee charged depends on the notice period given. For details, see cancellation terms.

Different terms apply for the cancellation or postponement of an on-request course (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group). For details, see course cancellations.

Terms and conditions

Training course bookings are subject to our terms and conditions.

Expert trainers

Fusion Essentials training courses are hosted by:

• Carl Portman
• Andy Roe
• John Billyard
• Drew Smith

Carl Portman

Carl Portman has been an Autodesk-accredited instructor for 25 years, a College Lecturer (City and Guilds 3D modelling) for 15 years and a CAD consultant for 35 years.

Carl’s background is in engineering. He has vast design experience in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace and medical, and he continues to carry out project work for a range of clients. Projects that Carl has completed include designing complete car plants for Jaguar Land Rover.

Carl has expert knowledge of:

• A wide range of 3D design applications used in engineering, including AutoCAD, Alias, Fusion 360, Inventor and SolidWorks.
• Machining, CAM and CNC.

Away from work, Carl’s passion is motorsport, and until recently he raced motorbikes. He knows Silverstone and Brands Hatch like the back of his hand, and he has the scars to prove it.

Andy Roe

Andy has worked in CAD for over 30 years in roles including Draughtsman, CAD System Manager, Project Manager and Design Engineer.

In recent years, Andy has focused on developing and delivering training courses. He is a long-established Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), and he focuses primarily on Autodesk applications including AutoCAD, Inventor, Fusion 360, 3ds Max and Sketchbook, as well as Dassault Systemes SolidWorks.

Andy continues to undertake project work to keep up-to-date with the latest technologies and practices. He specialises in modelling complex 3D designs from prototype to production, including the development of visuals and animations for a range of engineering projects.

Industries in which Andy has significant experience include aerospace, defence and automotive.

John Billyard

John has used CAD software for over 35+ years, providing high quality engineering and architectural designs to a wide range of clients

He has provided training in the applications he uses for a similar length of time, and for the last 15 years, has been commissioned directly by Autodesk to provide consulting and training services to their corporate client base.

John hosts courses in various Autodesk applications including AutoCAD, Inventor and Vault. He also trains Dassault Systèmes’ SolidWorks, Trimble SketchUp and Epic Games’ Twinmotion.

He takes pride in keeping pace with the latest industry design tools and technologies, enabling him meet the challenges and demands of an ever changing working environment.

Drew Smith

Drew is a highly-experienced Instructor and College Lecturer with a demonstrated history of working in design and craft education.

He has expert knowledge of a range of applications, including AutoCAD, Fusion 360, 3ds Max, Photoshop and InDesign.

Drew has impressive qualifications, which include a First Degree from the University of Oxford, and a Master’s Degree and PGCE from the University of Brighton.

Course content

Introduction to Autodesk Fusion

• Autodesk Fusion fundamentals
  • Feature-based modelling
  • Parametric features
  • Managing assembled designs
  • Design documentation
• Getting Started
  • Understanding workspaces
  • Understanding projects
• The Autodesk Fusion interface
  • Ribbon
  • BROWSER
  • Accessing commands
• Design navigation and display
  • Design navigation
  • ViewCube
  • Named views
  • Design display
  • Geometry selection
  • Environment and effects
• Managing your designs and project data
  • Importing and exporting data
  • Using A360 and Fusion to manage data
  • Version management

Creating the first feature with quick shapes

• Design units and origin
• Quick shape creation

Sketching

• Introduction to sketching
  • Starting a new sketch
  • Creating sketch objects
  • Turning sketches into 3D objects
• Sketch Entities
  • Line, spline, points
• Rectangles
  • Circle, arcs
• Dimensioning
  • Dynamic input
  • Sketch dimensions
  • Sketch constraints
  • Extruding and revolving a sketch
• Additional entity types
  • Polygons
  • Ellipse
  • Slot
  • Tangent arc using a line
  • Tangent line between circles or arcs
  • Fillets
  • Construction entities
• Editing tools
  • Trim
  • Extend
  • Mirror
• Additional dimension tools
  • Center dimensions
  • Radius or diameter dimensions
  • Angular dimensions
  • Over- constrained sketches
• Sketched secondary features
• Using existing geometry to project new geometry

Modelling

• The different modelling options available
• Solid modelling
  • Direct modelling
  • History modelling
• Parametric modelling
  • Changing aspects of your model that automatically update
• Part libraries and content
  • Accessing standard parts
  • Importing parts data into a design
• Feature duplication tools
  • Mirroring geometry
  • Patterning features
  • Rectangular and circular patterns
  • Pattern on path
• Pick and place features
  • Fillets, chamfers, holes
  • Editing pick and place features
• Construction features
  • Construction planes, axes and points
• Equations and parameters
• Additional features
  • Thread
  • Press pull

Assemblies

• Approach 1: Traditional distributed design
• Approach 2: Top-down (multi-body)

Drawings

• Creating 2D drawings from a model or animation
• Add dimensions, balloons and annotations
• Creating a Bill of Materials (BOM)

Visualisations, rendered images and animations

• Materials and appearances
• Decals
• Environments
• Rendering
• Rendering tips and tricks
• Animations
• Exploding assemblies

Simulation

• Example of real-world simulation

CAM and CNC

• High-level discussion of possibilities

Importing CAD data

• Importing other file types – documents, images, specifications

Live online training

Online training lets you participate in a live Fusion course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Watch our trainer demonstrate techniques in Fusion.
• Interact by speaking, or using chat.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online Fusion Essentials courses…

• Are presented by Autodesk Certified Instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises using Fusion.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with…

• Fusion installed. If you don’t have a current subscription to Fusion, you’re entitled to a 30-day trial that’s ideal for participating in training. We’ll send you a link to this. If you’ve already used your trial, we can lend you a license for the duration of your course.
• A webcam and audio capability. If your computer running Fusion doesn’t have these, you can use a second device, such as another computer or tablet. See Hardware recommendations for live online training for further details.

If there’s anything you’re not sure about we’ll do our best to help you. We won’t be able to assist with your Fusion installation, but we can provide details for Autodesk support who’ll be able to help you with this.

We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. Then, a couple of days before your course, we’ll give you a courtesy call to make sure you have everything in place and answer any questions you may have.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time

Discounts and bundles

To make your Fusion training as affordable as possible, we offer:

• A discounted Fusion CAM training bundle.
• A range of training discounts on our scheduled (public) Fusion training courses.
• A price guarantee that you won’t get Fusion training for less.

Fusion CAM training bundle

Book:

• Fusion Essentials training (3 days), and
• Fusion CAM and CNC (2 days)

for £945 + VAT (classroom-based) or £845 + VAT (live online training), saving £95 + VAT in both cases.

The bundle price will be applied automatically when you add these two courses to your basket.

Training discounts

Multiple places

If you book multiple places on any courses, we can offer you:

• 5% discount if you book two places.
• 10% discount if you book three places.
• 15% discount if you book four places.
• 20% discount if you book five or more places.

This can be for several people attending one course, one person attending several courses, or a combination.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and live online training.

Concessions

We offer a 10% discount on scheduled Fusion course places to:

• Students, teachers and lecturers.
• People who work for a registered charity.
• ISTC members.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and remote training.

Please call us if you qualify for a discount. Evidence of your status that entitles you to a discount may be requested.

Terms and exclusions

Only one of the above discounts can be applied to any booking.

The above discounts are not available for on-request course bookings (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group).

Price guarantee

When you book training with Armada, we want you to be certain that you’re not paying over-the-odds. So, if you book a place on any scheduled (public) course and then find the same course at a lower price elsewhere, we will match that price.

To qualify for the price match:

• The course you find must be comparable. By this we mean it must:
  • Cover the same subject.
  • Be the same duration or longer.
  • Hold the same accreditations as our course, i.e. it must be provided by an Autodesk Authorised Training Centre (ATC).
  • For classroom-based courses, be in the same region, i.e. within 50 miles of our centre.
  • For online training, be a live course, i.e. not pre-prepared e-learning content.

• The lower price must be advertised on the other company’s website.

To claim a price match, just call any time before attending your course and tell us where you saw the price.

Certification exam

Armada is an Autodesk Certification Centre offering exams that lead to industry-recognised qualifications. For Fusion, we offer an Autodesk Certified User (ACU) exam.

Whether you’re a student or a professional,  achieving Fusion ACU status validates your skillset, providing enhanced credibility and accelerated professional development.

Successful candidates receive:

• An e-certificate (PDF) from Autodesk confirming your Fusion-certified status.
• An official Autodesk-Certified badge that you can use to market your skills, e.g. on your business cards, in your email signature, on your website, etc.

To read more about the benefits of achieving Autodesk-certified status in Fusion, read Lyndsay Mann’s blog What benefits does Autodesk certification bring?

Fusion ACU exam summary

• Entry level exam to validate your knowledge of fundamental concepts and procedures in Fusion.
• Qualification: Autodesk Certified User in Fusion.
• Sat online, from your place of work or home.
• Length of exam: 50 minutes.
• Recommended preparation: Attend Fusion Essentials training, and have 150 hours’ hands-on experience using Fusion.

• For further details, and for a list of the topics and features you’re likely to be tested in, see Fusion ACU exam guide.

Approach to online exam sittings

Exam sittings are monitored by a proctor from Armada.

All you need is a computer (Windows or Mac) with:

• A strong Internet connection (min. 5Mbps).
• Screen resolution at least 1200 x 800.
• Chrome browser.

You don’t need to have Fusion installed – you’ll access Fusion on a virtual computer during your exam. No webcam is required.

Please note: you’re tested on the Windows version of Fusion, irrespective of the computer you use to take your test.

Practice test

A practice test is available that reflects the questions you’re likely to be asked in your Fusion ACU exam. The practice test is taken online, from your place of work or home. The test has two modes:

• Testing mode, which replicates your exam.
• Training mode, which provides step-by-step help on questions.

The practice test can be retaken up to 30 times in a one-year period. (You’re asked the same questions each time.)

Practice tests are only available for installation on Windows computers running Fusion version 2016-2022. For further details, see www.gmetrix.net/GetGMetrixSMS.aspx.

Practice can only be purchased from Armada along with an exam.

Prices

Fusion ACU exam: £150 + VAT.
Discounted price available to Armada training delegates: £100 + VAT.

Fusion ACU exam/practice test bundle: £200 + VAT.
Discounted price available to Armada training delegates: £150 + VAT.

Fusion ACU exam retake: £75 + VAT.

When can I take my Fusion exam?

You can take your exam in one of our regular Fusion exam sessions.

Dates of forthcoming Fusion exams: 18 Oct, 15 Nov, 24 Jan, 21 Mar, 23 May.

Exam sittings usually take place in the afternoon, at 2pm. We confirm your exam time one week before your sitting.

Booking an exam and payment options

To book an exam, please email exams@armada.co.uk providing details of the exam you’d like to sit, or call 01527 834783.

Payment for AutoCAD exams can be made bank transfer or card.

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Q and A

• What version of Fusion am I tested on?
  You can choose to be tested on the 2023, 2024 or 2025 application version.
• What is the pass mark for Fusion ACU certification exams?
  You will be notified of the pass mark prior to your exam starting.
• When do I find out if I’ve passed?
  Immediately, when you complete your exam. Your result is displayed on-screen.
• What happens if I do not pass?
  You will receive a diagnostic score report that indicates areas for improvement. You may then retake the examination as needed. Should you need to retake an exam, simply re-book. Discounted prices are available for retakes.
• Who can I contact if I have more questions?
  Email any questions you have to exams@armada.co.uk.

See also…

• Top 10 reasons to get Autodesk certified

Exam Ts & Cs

See Exam Terms and conditions.