Autodesk Fusion ACU key terms

The toolbar across the top of the Fusion window holding the Data Panel toggle, file operations, undo and redo, workspace switcher, and help tools. It stays visible across workspaces.

A task-focused environment that changes the toolbar and available commands, such as Design, Sketch, Render, Animation, Simulation, CAM, and Drawing. Switching workspaces does not alter the model itself.

The context-sensitive ribbon area below the Application Bar that shows commands grouped by panel for the active workspace and tab. Available tools change with selection and modeling state.

The tree panel listing every component, body, sketch, construction element, and feature in the design, in creation order. Selecting items there selects them in the canvas and exposes related commands.

The history strip at the bottom of the canvas recording each feature in sequence. Dragging the end marker rolls the model back, and right-clicking a feature allows editing, suppression, or deletion.

The slide-out panel on the left of the window used to browse projects, open and create files, and manage versions. It connects local work to cloud-stored designs.

The on-screen control cluster for orbiting, panning, zooming, and fitting the view, plus the ViewCube. It provides mouse-free camera control during modeling and review.

A clickable cube in the corner of the canvas that snaps the camera to standard views such as top, front, and right, and supports free orbit. Clicking a face or edge aligns the view.

Rotating the camera around a pivot point to inspect a model from different angles without moving the geometry. Middle-mouse drag performs a free orbit in Fusion.

Sliding the view sideways or vertically without rotating or zooming, used to reposition the model in the canvas. Middle-mouse drag with Shift held performs a pan.

Changing the apparent size of the model in the viewport by moving the camera closer or farther. The scroll wheel zooms toward the cursor position.

A command that frames all visible geometry so the entire model fills the canvas. It is a quick way to recover orientation after zooming or orbiting away.

A container holding its own bodies, sketches, origin, and features, which can be instanced multiple times. Components enable assembly structure and independent motion or reuse.

A continuous solid or surface region inside a component, made of faces, edges, and vertices. A single component may contain several bodies that are later combined or kept separate.

A single modeling operation recorded in the timeline, such as extrude, fillet, or hole. Features build and modify geometry parametrically and can be edited later.

A 2D profile drawn on a plane or planar face that serves as the input for 3D features. Sketches contain curves, dimensions, and constraints.

A closed region inside a sketch that a feature can use, such as the area inside a loop of lines. Open profiles can drive surface or thin features instead of solids.

A rule that limits how sketch geometry can move, such as horizontal, vertical, tangent, or coincident. Constraints keep a sketch's shape predictable when dimensions change.

A driving value applied to sketch geometry, such as a length, angle, or radius, that controls size. Editing the value updates the sketch and any features built from it.

A sketch whose geometry can no longer move because dimensions and constraints fix every degree of freedom. Fusion indicates this state by color and a lock icon in the browser.

The remaining ways a sketch entity can move, such as sliding along an axis or rotating. Each unconstrained direction counts as one until constraints remove it.

Reference lines, planes, axes, or points that guide modeling but do not become part of the solid. They are often used as sketch references or revolve axes.

A user-defined or origin-based flat reference surface used to host sketches or split geometry. Planes can be offset, angled, or aligned to existing faces.

A feature that pushes a sketch profile along a straight direction to create or cut a solid. Options include distance, symmetry, taper, and join, cut, or intersect operations.

A feature that sweeps a sketch profile around an axis to form a solid of revolution. The axis can be a sketch line, a construction axis, or an origin axis.

A feature that moves a profile along a path curve to create a solid or surface. The path and profile must meet at the start, and orientation options control twist.

A feature that blends between two or more profiles on different planes to create a smooth transition solid or surface. Rails and section conditions refine the shape.

A rounded edge or corner applied by a feature to soften transitions and reduce stress concentration. Radius, variable radius, and edge sets control the result.

A feature that bevels an edge by cutting an angled flat face, specified by distance or distance-and-angle. It is often used to break sharp edges for manufacturing.

A named value, expression, or equation stored in the design and used to drive dimensions and features. Changing a parameter updates everything that references it.

A design structure in which multiple components are positioned relative to one another using joints or constraints. It represents how parts fit and move together.

A relationship that defines how two components move relative to each other, such as rigid, revolute, or slider. Joints replace traditional mate constraints in Fusion.

A 2D documentation sheet generated from the 3D model, containing orthographic views, dimensions, annotations, and a title block. Drawings update when the model changes.

The first view placed on a drawing sheet, which establishes orientation and scale for projected views. Additional views are created relative to it.

A table listing the components in an assembly with item numbers, quantities, and descriptions. It is placed on drawings and can be linked to part properties.

A realistic image produced from the model using materials, lighting, and a scene environment. Rendered output communicates design intent before physical production.

A visual material property applied to bodies, components, or faces that controls color, reflectivity, and texture. Appearances affect display and rendering but not physical mass.

A mesh file format that represents a solid as triangles, widely used for 3D printing. It stores geometry only, without units, features, or design history.

Saving the design or selected bodies to another file format such as STEP, STL, DXF, or OBJ. Export choices depend on whether downstream use needs solids, meshes, or drawings.