V-notch, fold & unfold
Make a connected run from one tube, with folds in different directions, tab/slot seams and a straight STEP export.
Fusion 360 add-inPro tier
Steel Frame & Weldments ProTube Folding, 3D Weld Beads & Frame Check for Autodesk Fusion (Fusion 360)
Fold several corners from one tube. Model the welds. Check the frame. Turn your Fusion design into notched tube blanks, weld schedules, cost estimates and cutting files for the shop.
US$89/year or US$12/month, per user · free 3-day trial on your own model.
7-day Pro trial
Already using Steel Frame & Weldments?
With an active Standard license, try V-Notch & Fold, weld modelling and Frame Check on your own frame for 7 days. See how Pro helps with your work before deciding to buy.
Windows and macOS builds
Download ProWeld modelling
Build the beads, review the seams, and produce a weld schedule with quantities and cost estimates.
Frame forces, stress & deflection
Apply loads and supports, compare load cases and design versions, and save the beam analysis with its assumptions.
01 / V-Notch & Fold
One tube. Several corners. Ready to unfold.
Design square and rectangular tube frames in Fusion, then turn a connected run of members into one notched, folded part. Keep the outside wall as a hinge, add optional tabs and slots at the weld seams, and export the straight tube for cutting. Fewer separate pieces to position when assembling table legs, furniture frames, guards and brackets.
Fold in more than one direction
Unfold the same part for fabrication
A closed frame keeps a closing weld
A closed run stays welded at one corner: the start of the member you pick first (a red dot in the preview). Where the section allows it, that corner keeps its bend, relief and optional tab; the weld gap cuts through the bend so each end of the straight blank carries half. A corner without a suitable outside wall remains a plain miter.
Watch the frame-to-laser workflow →A laser bridge keeps the straight tube stiff
The bridge stops the notched bar vibrating on the tube laser. Cut its two necks before folding; the folded part does not change.
Set each corner for the job
Choose outside bend radius, K-factor, weld gap, tab diameter, relief and laser bridge. Apply common settings, then use Corner overrides only where a bend needs something different.
Edit without starting over
Edit Fold loads the saved members, settings and corner overrides. Add members to the run or change a setting. Supported Edit Frame changes update the folded part in place, keeping the sketches and cuts made on it.
Count and cut it as one piece
Cutting List records one folded part with its developed length and notch table. PDF/CSV reports include fold data, and Stock Optimizer uses the straight blank length.
From Frame to a notched tube
- Create the members with Frame, using Miter corners and zero Frame weld gap.
- Open Modify > V-Notch & Fold, select one connected run and preview its folds.
- Cut holes, slots or lettering into the members or the folded tube; the straight tube carries them.
- Set the gaps and corner details, then use Cutting List > Export tubes for STEP files or a new Fusion design.
Choose a foldable run
- ✓Square or rectangular tubes must share section dimensions, wall thickness and material. Supported angle and channel sections need their leg or web on the outside of each bend.
- ✓A closed frame keeps one closing weld joint; its other corners become folds. Unsupported chains and settings show a reason in the dialog.
- ✓Cuts stay off the bends and leave no loose pieces: closed letters such as A, B or O cut through a wall need a stencil font or bridges. Both cases are reported.
- ✓Works in a Part Design or an assembly. Members of a linked design are folded in that design.
Match the K-factor to a test bend. STEP provides geometry for your shop's CAM workflow; export again after editing the frame or fold.
02 / Weld modelling & estimating
From the joint to the weld quote
Find the seams, model the beads, review the quantities and price the work. Explore each part of the welding workflow below.
Follow the joint through the corner
Improved fillets follow supported rounded corners and angled contacts into straight runs. Brace-to-rail side seams previously missed are included, and supported planar gusset tips with different fillet sections now connect.
Preview seams before building. Missing support, holes or ambiguous contacts can still leave separate ends or counted-only intervals. Surface boundaries can remain between connected bead sections; curved quantities remain estimates.
Prepared grooves, from plate to tube
Fill an existing Square, V or Bevel preparation along a straight joint or around matching round and rectangular tubes, including supported rounded box corners. Preview, create and rebuild from saved parameters.
- ✓Model the preparation first. Choose Straight joint or Tube perimeter, then select the top/outer face, prepared groove face or lip edge, and partner body. For Bevel, select the bevelled part first.
- ✓Auto measure detects Square, V or Bevel and fills depth, root opening and angle from the selected geometry. Values remain editable; set reinforcement height yourself. Ambiguous preparations are reported instead of guessed.
- ✓Smooth or Textured appearance, with optional physical Rippled crowns. All three V examples above use Textured + Rippled; schedule and cost retain nominal Smooth quantities.
No automatic preparation or verified penetration. Oval, freeform and oblique-cut tube rims, unequal box corner radii and intermittent grooves are outside the current scope.
Choose how much bead detail you need
- ✓Detect seams from miters, butts, copes and plates. Inspect the seam preview before building; rounded fillets, supported flush-edge caps and coped round-tube saddles use the joint geometry.
- ✓Smooth or Textured controls the surface appearance. Rippled adds physical scalloped bead geometry. Visual finish keeps the same nominal schedule quantities.
- ✓Continuous fillets follow supported Tab/Slot reliefs. Intermittent fillet length and pitch retain unwelded gaps; the schedule counts only welded length.
- ✓Saved weld settings reapply after supported Frame or Member edits. Rebuild problems and seam lengths without solid beads are reported.
Weld what you modelled, where it sits
- ✓With Selected bodies, weld any solid bodies: your own plates, brackets, ribs or motor mounts alongside Weldments members.
- ✓Moved, rotated and nested components use their assembly positions. Pick the bodies of the instance to weld when a component is repeated.
- ✓Your plates enter the weld schedule by body name and are priced by Weld Cost. Entire design keeps to parts the add-in built.
- ✓Beads are created at the top level. Run Weld Bead again after moving a part; Replace existing welds is enabled by default.
A weld schedule you can audit
Joint IDs, fillet/cap and groove lengths, bead counts, deposited metal and fabrication notes carry into Cutting List, PDF and CSV. Optional weld tags connect overview joints to the WELD LIST; fillet symbols include leg size and intermittent length/pitch.
~ marks approximate quantities and N/A marks missing information. Choose whether deleted bead bodies are deducted; older rows use a labelled proportional estimate. Quantities estimate consumables, not weld strength.
Turn the schedule into shop time and cost
- ✓Estimate deposited and consumable mass, arc minutes, labour minutes and cost per weld and for the whole job.
- ✓Start with MIG, flux-cored, TIG or stick presets. Edit deposition rate, efficiency, operating factor, labour, consumable and gas rates for your shop.
- ✓The cost page updates the totals, the labour/filler/gas breakdown and each weld’s cost as you change a rate. Approximate quantities stay marked through the time and cost totals; the CSV carries the assumptions and the per-weld results.
03 / Frame Check
Steel frame analysis in Fusion 360: beam stress and deflection
Loads, supports, member forces, stress and deflection in one Fusion workflow. Save load cases, compare and combine them in Frame Studies, and keep reports that explain the assumptions.
Inspect before you calculate
Results update automatically as you change loads, supports or material. Turn on Model setup to inspect the exact analytical axes, shared nodes and projected load/support positions without solving. Turn it off to return to results; its display options are hidden until needed.
Toggle loads, supports, local axes and labels independently; a visual crossing alone does not create a connection or verify the weld.
Apply loads where the job needs them
- ✓Combine payload in kg over selected members, horizontal push, face loads, point loads and self-weight per material.
- ✓Point loads act straight down or along a signed global X, Y or Z axis, and a load picked off the member axis adds its offset moment. A face load acts only over the part of the member the face covers; a face off the axis also bends the member.
- ✓Use automatic foot/floor supports or custom supports from vertices and planar faces, with fixed or pinned restraint. Points and face centres project onto the beam axes.
- ✓Choose material presets or enter yield strength, elastic modulus and density. Excluded or unsupported members are reported.
Save the cases. Compare, combine and keep versions.
- ✓In Frame Check, place the loads and supports of one situation and click Save loads as case; Apply case brings it back. Cases are stored with the Fusion document, including point-load positions.
- ✓Frame Studies (Fabricate panel) lists the cases, combinations and versions saved in the design. Click a case to calculate it on the current frame: it is drawn in colour and every member is listed, highest utilisation first. Or compare all cases side by side: peak yield utilisation, largest displacement, Euler ratio and beam mass, with the change from the first case under each value.
- ✓Combine cases with your own signed factors, for example 1.35D + 1.5L: type a factor for each case and the formula shows. Loads are combined before solving; each factor also scales that case's self-weight, and a warning shows when self-weight is counted twice.
- ✓Save a calculated result as a design version (Rev A). After changing profiles or rebuilding the frame, save Rev B and compare mass, utilisation and displacement. Versions are never recalculated.
- ✓Export any comparison to PDF or CSV: summary, applied loads, support reactions with an equilibrium check and uplift, member results with span deflection, and the analysis basis.
Factors are yours, not prescribed by a design code; Frame Studies uses the same beam model as Frame Check.
Frame Studies step by step →
Use the section actually in the frame
Built-in and basic custom sections
Straight Weldments members use their saved section and rotation, including RHS and I, U/C, L and T profiles. Custom rectangles, circles and concentric circular tubes are supported. Materials can use presets or your own yield strength, elastic modulus and density.
More custom sketch outlines
Recognises supported sharp thin-wall RHS, I, U/C, equal-wall L and centred T outlines, including rotated profiles and split sketch edges. Bending uses the actual sketch; torsion uses the stated open- or closed-section thin-wall model.
Arbitrary, T-slot and V-slot outlines still require a verified torsion model.
Read the forces, stress and deflection together
Member colours show stress utilisation. Review axial force, shear, bending, torsion and displacement, then export the model overview, member results and CSV with the loads, support assumptions and review notes. The deflection limit is checked per span between supports and joints; cantilevers, including arms or gates hanging from one post, use twice their length, and the largest displacement is reported separately.
Idealised linear-static 3D beam analysis: compression requires buckling review even within stress/deflection limits.
Open the sample Frame Check PDF →See it in action
7 walkthroughs in Fusion
Start with the latest tube-frame walkthrough: build the frame, fold its corners, add locating joints and export the tubes and cut sheet for the shop. Then explore weld modelling, quantities and cost estimates, or check loads and compare design versions with Frame Check and Frame Studies.
How to Make a Tube Frame in Fusion 360 for Laser Cutting | Weldments Pro
Sketch to frame, V-Notch & Fold, miter and lap corners, standard tabs and edge interlocks, then Stock Optimizer, the illustrated Cutting List, tubes exported to a new Fusion design and the fabrication PDF.
V-Notch & Fold Square Tubes in Fusion 360 | Weldments Pro
Create a frame, add V-notched folds with tab/slot seams, and export the unfolded tube for fabrication.
New in 2.5: Frame Check & Frame Studies
Loads and supports, colour-coded results, saved load cases, factored combinations, design versions and the Frame Studies comparison PDF.
New in 2.4: Square, V & Bevel groove welds
Prepared groove welds on plates and around round or rectangular tubes, automatic groove measurement, Textured and Rippled finishes, and improved fillet transitions.
Weld beads, weld lists & cost estimates
Seam detection, Rippled and Textured beads, weld quantities, fabrication reports, stock optimization and DXF exports.
Weld any plate: beads, length, mass & cost
Weld beads on plates you modelled yourself, welded where they sit in the assembly, then the weld list and Weld Cost numbers.
Frame Check: loads, stress & deflection
Combine the main payload, horizontal forces, face loads and point loads. Review member results and export the Frame Check report.
Also in Pro / Fabrication tools
Prepare the parts for the shop
Locate the parts, order the stock and export the cutting files. These tools support the welding and frame workflows in the same project.
New in Pro / Tab & Slot
Matching joints, from a small tab to a whole tube end
Add rectangular or round tabs to separate mitered tubes, lap a mitered corner the way it is cut by hand, make edge interlocks, or locate one member in several receiving parts in a single command. Adjust fit clearance and preview the cuts before creating the joint; pick a pair that already has a joint to change its settings.
Actual Fusion models. Edge and multiple-slot examples are shown separated to reveal both parts; the lap corner has a hole drilled on its miter seam. Select an image to enlarge it.
Miter · rectangular tab
Miter · round tab
Lap corner
Edge · keep the wall
Edge · cut the wall
Full tube-end insertion
Several slots · one command
Choose the joint. Auto keeps standard Tab/Slot for end-to-face contacts and recognises supported miter seams. Select Edge interlock for edge joints, or Lap corner for a lapped miter. Seam joints need straight square or rectangular tubes with aligned flat walls. Miter and Edge joints can join different wall thicknesses; Lap corner still needs equal walls.
Set the fit. Control tab width, depth, seam offset and clearance, or the Lap width. A tab that is too wide is limited to what fits within the stock, including its slot. With Cut wall enabled, a width at least the tube width inserts its complete end; use zero seam offset and set Seam tab depth. Cuts beyond the stock or reaching the opposite wall are refused. Pick an existing pair to edit its joint.
Crossing braces. Frame keeps the through-member and makes each cut piece a separate member, with its own name and cut-list row. Pick a cut piece as the tab body. For an older frame, open Edit Frame and accept once to separate those pieces.
Slots in a folded tube. At a fold corner, pick the tube over each receiving member to select both; pick one again to remove it. The folded tube rebuilds with the slots. It can receive slots, but cannot be the tab body.
New joints open with Auto for both joint style and tab position. Tab placement follows the actual tube section, including members placed with an Anchor or offset.
Mount and locate the parts before welding
- ✓Base plates fit member ends: size by overhang or explicit dimensions, set thickness and chamfered/rounded corners. Choose rectangular or PCD bolt patterns, slots and an optional centre hole.
- ✓Member-to-member, member-to-base-plate and gusset-to-member Tab/Slot creates matching locating cuts. Ambiguous contacts and insufficient receiving material are refused.
- ✓For your own solid plates, Plate Tab / Slot makes tab rows by count or maximum spacing, with fit clearance and dogbone relief, across components.
- ✓Saved settings reapply after supported frame/plate edits. Unrestored joints remain available for review. Joined plates appear in DXF exports without picking them again.
See gusset and hand-modelled plate joints
Which piece comes out of which bar
- ✓Enter one or several purchased stock lengths, saw kerf, end trim and the minimum reusable offcut; the plan is made again as you type.
- ✓See bars to order, utilisation, waste and retained remnants per profile/material, every bar drawn to scale with its pieces. Pieces longer than every stock length are listed.
- ✓Export a scaled bar-by-bar PDF with cut-list item numbers and a CSV cut sequence. The plan can also be appended to the cut sheet.
Cutting files from the real plate outlines
- ✓Export one R12 DXF in millimetres or inches per unique gusset, end cap, base plate or flat plate you modelled yourself, with a CSV quantity, thickness, mass and material index.
- ✓Nest by thickness and material onto your stock sheet size, using actual outlines and holes, four candidate orientations and the chosen part spacing.
- ✓Review each plate’s outline, holes, tabs and slots in the plates page. With nesting enabled, see the sheets drawn to scale and updated as you change stock dimensions.
- ✓Get a layout PDF, one DXF per sheet, occupied bounds and a separate LABELS layer. Remembered sheet size and spacing save repeated setup.
See the exported plate and nesting PDF examples
See the pieces before exporting
- ✓The list page draws each unique piece from its actual solid. Open a row for both views, end cuts and long/short lengths; long members have a break in the middle so their ends stay readable.
- ✓Each cut piece at a crossing is its own member. Rows group interchangeable parts, accounting for end cuts and machining; a folded tube keeps its developed length and notch data.
- ✓PDF and CSV with numbered parts, per-frame scope, mass, surface area, weld schedule and stock-plan pages. Use mass and surface for coating estimates.
- ✓Write profile, length and end cuts into component Descriptions. Add Description to the Fusion Parts List so drawings and balloons carry the cut-list text.
- ✓Choose output units and cut-angle convention before export; your own plates can join the fabrication outputs.
Take the solid parts to the tube laser
Choose All members to export ordinary frame members alongside folded tubes, or limit the export to folded tubes. Write individual STEP files or lay the parts out in a new Fusion design. The actual tabs, slots and end cuts travel with each solid.
See the sample fabrication PDF →The Pro commands on the Fusion ribbon
Base Plate and Weld Bead sit in the Create panel next to End Cap; Plate Tab / Slot and V-Notch & Fold are in the Modify panel; Stock Optimizer, Plates to DXF, Weld Cost, Frame Check and Frame Studies follow Cutting List in the Fabricate panel.
V-Notch & Fold
Make one tube from a connected run: multi-direction folds, tab/slot seams, per-corner settings and unfolded STEP or Fusion export.
Weld Bead
Fillets and Square/V/Bevel grooves, automatic groove measurement and weld schedules. Smooth, Textured and Rippled finishes.
Frame Check
Inspect the model, calculate forces, stress and deflection, save load cases and design versions, export reports.
Frame Studies
Show, compare and combine saved load cases, compare design versions and export the comparison to PDF or CSV.
Weld Cost
Consumable, arc and labour time, cost per weld with process presets.
Base Plate
Foot and mounting plates with rectangular or PCD bolt patterns.
Stock Optimizer
Cut list nested onto stock bars; bars to order, waste, cut plan.
Plate Tab / Slot
Rows of tabs and matching slots between any plates, including the ones you modelled yourself.
Plates to DXF
Flat DXF per plate type, your own plates included, with a quantity index and nesting onto stock sheets.
Cutting List (Pro)
Weld schedule, stock plan pages, mass, surface, part descriptions, per-frame scope and coating cost — plates you modelled yourself included.
Real output samples
Open the files you would hand to the shop
Inspect actual outputs from the Fusion sample frame before buying. See how parts, welds, bar plans and calculation assumptions are presented, and try the fabrication files in your own software. No sign-in is needed.
The downloadable report sample contains 25 parts: 17 members, four base plates and four gussets, with 42 weld groups. Its Frame Check case uses 500 kg distributed across six top rails, self-weight, Steel S235, four fixed feet and an L/250 deflection limit. These are the sample assumptions, ready to inspect in the report.
Fabrication pack
Eight pages: overview, numbered parts, cutting list, weld schedule and stock plans. Check the full-size tables and quantity notes.
Open fabrication PDF
Frame Check report
Eight pages documenting the load case, supports, member results and screening notes. The report records what was calculated.
Open Frame Check PDF
Shop files
Seven individual plate DXFs, a plate index, two nested-sheet DXFs and their layout PDF, plus stock and weld-cost CSVs. The package identifies its contents and units.
Download shop files ZIPNeed the workflow behind these outputs? Read the Pro user guide.
Standard or Pro
What Pro adds to Standard
Quick pick: need V-Notch & Fold, weld beads, weld cost, Frame Check, base plates, a stock-bar cut plan or plate nesting? That is Pro. Just modelling frames, plates, cut lists and plate DXFs? Standard is the complete tool for that job.
| Capability | Standard | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price per user | US$49/yr or US$8/mo | US$89/yr or US$12/mo |
| Free trial | 3 days | 3 days, or 7 with an active Standard license |
| Frame, Member, miter / butt / cope, corner override, weld gap | Included | Included |
| Gusset, End Cap, Tab / Slot joints, Notch, Miter, Trim / Extend, Update Frames | Included | Included |
| Plate Tab / Slot: tabs and slots between any plates, including your own | Included | Included |
| 845 sizes in 43 families, including 229 Indian (IS) sizes: SHS, RHS, CHS, ISA, ISMC, ISMB, NPB and WPB; custom profiles and CSV import | Included | Included |
| Cutting List: table, CSV, PDF cut sheets with balloons, hole and slot positions | Included | Included |
| V-Notch & Fold: one tube, multi-direction folds, tab/slot and per-corner settings | — | Included |
| Unfolded tube STEP / Fusion export, developed lengths and notch tables | — | Included |
| Mass and surface area per piece (paint / galvanizing) | — | Included |
| Weld Bead: beads, weld schedule, textured / rippled options, on any bodies in the assembly | — | Included |
| Frame Check: member forces, beam stress / deflection and reports | — | Included |
| Frame Studies: compare load cases, combinations and design versions | — | Included |
| Weld Cost estimate | — | Included |
| Base Plate with bolt patterns | — | Included |
| Member-to-base-plate and gusset-to-member Tab/Slot | — | Included |
| Miter tabs, lap corners, edge interlocks and multiple Tab/Slot receivers | — | Included |
| Stock Optimizer (1D bar nesting) + stock plan pages | — | Included |
| Plates to DXF + index, including plates you modelled yourself | Included | Included |
| 2D plate nesting onto stock sheets (layout PDF + DXF per sheet) | — | Included |
| Weld symbols on the WELD LIST + weld tags on the overview | — | Included |
| Drawing-ready part descriptions (Parts List) | — | Included |
| AI control (MCP) of the add-in | Included | Included |
License
Simple subscription, Autodesk sign-in, free Pro trial
Pro costs US$12/month or US$89/year per user. App Store purchases unlock through Autodesk Entitlement when you sign in to Fusion. Activation codes are available for team installs and direct licensing.
Try Pro before you commit
Try Pro free for 3 days, or 7 days with an active Standard license, starting with your first use of Pro in Fusion. The longer trial uses your original start date, including trials already started. Downloading or reinstalling does not start or reset the trial.
- ✓Download Pro with your Autodesk purchase email and run it with the same Autodesk account. Your existing Standard frames, plates and joints open with the Pro tools active — nothing to rebuild.
- ✓Need longer to evaluate it? Use a single month (US$12) on a real job, then continue with Pro or return to Standard. After the trial, Pro commands require an active Pro license for editing and regeneration.
Steel Frame & Weldments Pro
Windows and macOS. Built for fabricators who quote, cut and weld what they model — machine frames, tables, guards, carts, trailers, structures.
Latest build
The same add-in runs on Windows and macOS. Pick the machine you will install on.
Checking…
Install, update or uninstall an add-in →
Adding the ZIP by hand? In Scripts and Add-Ins › +, select the folder that contains the .manifest file, not the file: on Windows, the Contents folder inside the .bundle.
Updating or switching versions? Clear Run on Startup for the old add-in, Stop it and close Fusion before replacing files. Restart Fusion before you Run the new version.
Common questions
Can I V-notch and fold square or rectangular tubes in Fusion 360?
Yes. V-Notch & Fold in Weldments Pro turns a connected run of mitred Frame or Member parts into one folded part. Bends can turn in different planes. It retains the outside hinge wall and offers weld gaps, semicircular tabs and slots, and corner reliefs. All members must share section dimensions, wall thickness and material. Standard does not include this command.
Can each fold have different settings, and can I edit it later?
Yes. Use Corner overrides for single bends and Edit Fold to change the saved run later; invalid folds are reported and must be fixed before fabrication export.
What can I export from a folded tube?
Export tubes writes the notched straight solid to STEP or a new Fusion design, and Cutting List counts the run as one part with its developed length and notch table. Existing holes, slots and end cuts on the members travel with the unfolded geometry. With Bridge across each V, the straight tube also keeps a laser bridge across each V (a wide body joined to each side by a small neck), so it stays stiff on the tube laser; cut the two necks before folding.
Does Weldments Pro run on macOS?
Yes. Every release is published as a Windows bundle and a separate macOS bundle with identical commands. Pick your platform in the download section on this page; a licence covers both.
How should I use the deposited-metal figures?
Use the schedule to estimate consumables and welding time. It combines measured seam lengths with section areas and estimating allowances. A ~ prefix marks approximate quantities, with the basis recorded in the export. Curved or unresolved sections can use local-section or nominal-section estimates. These values do not establish weld strength or a qualified welding procedure.
Does every detected seam get a solid bead?
Supported joints produce solid beads. Some curved or oblique intervals remain counted-only when a reliable solid cannot be built; the schedule identifies the length without a bead. Smooth or Textured controls appearance; optional Rippled adds physical surface detail while retaining the same nominal schedule quantities. Rounded corners, oblique contacts and brace-to-rail seams are supported. Review unusual joints in the seam preview before creating them.
Where can I see what changed in each version?
The changelog has the release notes of Weldments Pro: the newest build and its notes appear at the top of its section as soon as the build is published, and Download on this page offers the newest build for each platform.
Which parts can use Tab/Slot?
Use Weldments members for member-to-member and member-to-base-plate joints, or a planar constant-thickness Weldments gusset for gusset-to-member joints. Pick one tab body, then one or more receiving bodies. Pro adds rectangular or round miter tabs, Lap corner and Edge interlock for straight square or rectangular tubes with aligned flat walls. Miter and Edge joints accept different wall thicknesses; Lap corner requires equal walls. Lap corner makes the tubes of a mitered corner take turns, as when it is cut by hand: over the Lap width the tab body runs on to the outer corner and the other tube runs on at the inner corner, and the miter between them keeps its weld gap. Edge joints can retain or cut the wall between slots; with wall cutting enabled, a tab width at least the tube width inserts the whole tube end into a straight-sided opening. Oversized tabs are limited to the width that fits. A folded tube can receive slots: pick it over each member that should get a slot. Unsupported contacts and cuts outside available stock are refused. To change a joint, pick its pair again: the dialog loads the saved settings and OK replaces the joint under the same number. For plates you modelled yourself or imported, use Plate Tab / Slot: it takes solid bodies across components and adds tab rows along supported contact edges.
Can Weld Bead weld parts I modelled myself, or parts inside an assembly?
Yes. With Scope set to Selected bodies, pick any solid bodies: Weldments parts or plates you modelled yourself, in any component. Parts inside moved, rotated or nested components are welded where they sit in the assembly. When a component is placed several times, pick the bodies of the instance to weld; each instance gets its own weld. Beads are created at the top level of the design, so run Weld Bead again if you move a part afterwards. Entire design keeps to the parts the add-in built.
Can I use my own stock lengths and shop rates?
Yes. Enter the bar lengths you buy, saw kerf, end trim and minimum reusable offcut. Weld Cost also lets you edit process efficiency, deposition rate, operating factor, labour, consumable and gas rates. Settings are remembered. Waste and cost depend on your job and these inputs.
What does Frame Check calculate?
It calculates member forces, moments, stress and deflection for an idealised linear-static 3D beam model using the loads, supports, sections and materials you choose. Compression requires a separate buckling review; it is not a design-code check.
Does Weldments Pro add weld symbols to my drawings?
It prints weld symbols on the WELD LIST pages and weld tags on the model overview of its fabrication PDF. It does not place weld symbols in a Fusion Drawing; use Fusion’s own drawing symbols there.
What is Frame Studies?
Frame Studies (Fabricate panel) works with the load cases you save in Frame Check. It shows any case on the current frame, compares all cases side by side, combines cases with your own signed factors (for example 1.35D + 1.5L) and compares saved design versions (Rev A, Rev B) for mass, peak utilisation and largest displacement. Comparisons export to PDF or CSV with support reactions, an equilibrium check and uplift. Factors are user-defined, not a design-code load combination, and the results use the same beam model as Frame Check.
Can my cutting shop use the DXFs?
Plate exports use R12 DXF in millimetres or inches with lines, circles and arcs, plus a CSV quantity index. Download the sample files and check them in your shop software. Flat plates you modelled yourself are exported and nested together with the add-in plates. Set material, thickness, spacing and stock sheet size for your job before exporting a nested layout.
Do I need to rebuild a frame made in Standard?
Pro recognises frames and supported parts made by Standard. Open a copy of an existing project and try the Pro tools for 3 days, or 7 days with an active Standard license. Standard can open the model, but its license does not unlock Pro commands after the Pro trial ends.
How does the 7-day Pro trial for Standard customers work?
Download Pro on this page with your Autodesk purchase email and run it with the same Autodesk account; the 7 days count from your first use of Pro.
Do I need an extra drawing add-in?
No. Member descriptions are ordinary Fusion component properties. Enable the Description column in the Fusion drawing Parts List to show profile, length and end cuts, and use the normal drawing balloons.
Feedback
Tell me what the shop still does by hand
Most of Pro started as somebody describing a step they still did outside Fusion. Bugs, missing profiles, a report the shop wants — send it with the email your Fusion account uses.
Already sent feedback?
My Reports →Development roadmap
Known limitations & next improvements
The planned work below has no confirmed release date.
V-Notch & Fold: current scope
Straight, end-to-end members with compatible mitres only. Curved members, round tubes, solid bars, I/H/T and custom sections are unsupported. Branches and disconnected selections cannot form one folded run.
Radius, gap, relief and tab limits depend on the section and space between bends. Bend allowance uses your K-factor; material springback and machine toolpaths are not simulated.
Read the fold workflow and parameter limits →Weld modelling
Current welding limitations
- Missing support, holes, ambiguous multi-part contacts and unsupported freeform surfaces can leave separate bead ends or seam intervals without a solid. Supported rounded corners, oblique fillets and planar gusset transitions are included since 2.4.0; since 2.5.0 a weld around a ring, disc, flange or tube end is built as one bead per run.
- Those spans can still appear in the weld schedule. Approximate mass and cost carry a ~; read the quantity basis in the export.
- Small corner radii: where a section corner radius is not larger than the weld leg (for example RHS 30x20x1.5 with a 4 mm weld), that corner gets no solid bead; its length and metal are still counted in the schedule.
- Prepared grooves: Square, symmetric V and single Bevel require an existing matching preparation. Automatic measurement does not cut the parts or verify penetration or weld strength. Oval/freeform and oblique-cut tube rims, mismatched corner radii and intermittent grooves are unsupported.
Rebuild to apply the improvements
Rebuild beads created with older versions to use the improved seam detection, transitions and one-piece curved runs; existing beads change only when you run Weld Bead again. After moving a welded part or changing a groove, reselect the joint and rebuild it at its new position.
Planned next
More curved and oblique transitions
Extend the existing rounded-corner and oblique-seam support to freeform surfaces, narrow supports and complex multi-part corners, with checks for reliable bead geometry.
Extend prepared groove workflows
Build on straight and round/rectangular tube-perimeter Square/V/Bevel workflows: evaluate other curved paths and preparation tools, with support checks before expanding coverage.
Weld settings for each joint
Choose weld type and size per joint within one frame workflow, with the settings carried into the weld schedule and cost estimate.
Frame Check
Use member forces, stress and deflection to compare supported frame designs under the loads you enter. Read the results with the assumptions below; a green member is not a complete structural approval.
Current analysis limitations
- Idealised beam model. Linear-static straight beams, rigid member joints and small deflections. Local plate, gusset, weld and bolt behaviour is not analysed; neither are second-order effects.
- Buckling is a separate review. Euler K = 1 is a reference only. Actual effective length, frame stability, local buckling and code compliance are not verified.
- Custom profiles have limits. Rectangles, circles, circular tubes and supported sharp thin-wall RHS, I, U/C, equal-wall L and centred T outlines are recognised. Arbitrary, T-slot and V-slot outlines still stop the check because their torsional stiffness is not determined.
- Torsion and offsets. Open-section torsion uses a thin-wall approximation. Shear-centre effects, restrained warping, eccentric member connections and transverse-shear stress/deformation are not modelled.
- Load placement matters. Point loads project onto the member axis and act down or along a global axis, with their offset moment when Include offset moment is on. Face loads act over the part of the member each face covers. Custom supports also project onto member axes.
- Deflection is checked per span. Parts held by one post or beam are checked as cantilevers. A part held through several members (stand-off stubs, two skids) is not recognised as one: check its largest displacement.
- Cases use the current frame. Cases and combinations are recalculated on the current frame; design versions keep their saved results. Combination factors are yours: no design-code combinations are generated, and rebuilt members are not paired with deleted ones when versions are compared.
- Model coverage. Curved members and members disconnected from all supports are reported as skipped. Moved, rotated and repeated component instances are analysed where they are placed; mirrored or scaled instances are rejected. Section rotation set in Weldments is supported.
Planned next
- Planned
Extend custom-section analysis
Evaluate more complex and extrusion outlines with a verified torsion model before adding them to the solver. Current support covers the recognised section families described above.
More for Autodesk Fusion (Fusion 360)
Combine with other VanThanBK fabrication & assembly add-ins
Steel Frame & Weldments
Frames, joints and cut lists
Tube & Pipe Routing
From tube routes to fabrication packages
Sheet Metal & Press BrakeBend sheets for the press brake, from the Fusion flat
Assembly Hole SeriesBolted-joint holes through every part, linked files too
Auto Backup & ExportLocal backups of your Fusion cloud designs
Caliper – Measure and ReportMeasure in Fusion, save the values, print a report