AltiumCoDesignerisaninterfacefortransferringprintedcircuitboarddesignsbetweentheECADandMCADdesigndomains.OncetheCoDesigneradd-inhasbeenaddedtoyourMCADsoftware,CoDesignercanpassdesignchangesbackandforth.DesignchangesarepassedthroughanAltiumWorkspace,whichactsasabridgebetweentheECADandMCADdomains.
TointerfacetoandfromAutodeskFusion,youneedtoinstalltheAltiumCoDesignerforAutodeskFusion360Add-In.
ToinstalltheAdd-In:
InAutodeskFusion,theAltiumCoDesignerpanelcanbeenabledbyclickingtheAltiumCoDesignermenuentryorbutton,asshownabove.
AutodeskFusioncollaborateswithyourAltiumdesignsoftwarethroughaWorkspace,towhichyoumustsignin.
Whenyouarenotsignedin,theAltiumCoDesignerTabwillincludesign-infields,asshownbelow.Therearetwosign-inmodes,oneforsigningintoanAltium365Workspace,theotherforsigningintoaWorkspaceonanOn-PremEnterpriseServer.
MultipleWorkspacesaresupported-opentheCoDesignermenuandselecttherequiredWorkspace.
Onceyouhavesignedin,youarereadytostartcollaboratingthroughAltiumCoDesigner.
Notes:
Theselimitationswillbeaddressedinanupcomingrelease.
Notethatafterinsertionintothedeviceassembly,AutodeskFusionretainsthepositionsofthePCBcomponentsrelativetothedeviceassembly.InthesituationwherethePCBismovedinthedeviceassemblyinMCADandthenthecomponentsaremovedinECAD,itisrecommendedtoremovethePCBfromthedeviceassemblyandinsertitagain,inordertoresetthoserelationsandtokeeptheproperplacementofthecomponentsinthecontextofthedeviceassembly.
Thetop/bottomSoldermasklayersarenottransferredtoAutodeskFusion.Instead,theboardobjecthasthecoloroftheECADTopSoldermasklayerapplied.
Ifacomponent'slocationfailstoupdatecorrectlyafteraPullfromECAD,right-clickonittocheckifitisgrounded.Ifitis,selectUngroundFromParent(asshownbelow).ThecomponentwillimmediatelymovetothenewlocationdefinedbythelastPull.
Aswellasmanuallygroundingacomponenttoaparent,Fusionautomaticallygroundsthefollowingcomponents:
Todisablethisautomaticgroundingbehavior,unchecktheFirstcomponentgroundedtoparentoptionintheGeneral–Design–AssembliespageoftheFusionPreferencesdialog.
TherearedifferencesinhowyouworkbetweenAltiumCircuitMakerandFusion360comparedtoothersupportedECADtoolsandFusion360.
Theseinclude:
NowthatCoDesignerisinstalledinyourMCADsoftwareandconnectedtoyourWorkspace,thenextstepistoconfiguretherelevantWorkspacesettings.