SUCCESS STORY
Nexus3 Stays Nimble with Flexibility Afforded by Fusion 360
Customer Challenge
Co-founded in early 2020, Nexus3 had the goal to produce end-use parts, tooling, and prototypes largely for aerospace companies. The initial business plan was impacted by COVID-19. With business slowing down in the aerospace industry, Nexus3’s founders knew they needed to switch gears, seeing an opportunity to help protect people against the global pandemic. They quickly decided to temporarily pivot their business to create face shields. This would be a bold step, but the team was determined to adapt and make way for an innovative solution.
Marc Syrkel, Vice President of Engineering said, “We needed a low-cost CAD solution that would allow us to design the face shields, but it also needed to be powerful enough to work for aerospace once we transitioned back to our original plan.”
The team had previous experience using PTC Creo and Solidworks, but were interested in learning more about Autodesk Fusion 360, which they had learned about at a recent MIT Advanced Manufacturing event.
Project Goals
Seeking a relationship with a reputable Autodesk Solution Provider, Nexus3 submitted a Contact Us form on KETIV’s website and were immediately connected with Richard Ramos, a KETIV Account Executive. KETIV walked the Nexus3 team through their options, which included Autodesk Inventor and Fusion 360. The team considered Autodesk’s flagship product, Inventor, but decided that Fusion 360’s affordable price, cloud file management, simulation and generative design tools were the best fit for their startup needs. Other benefits included the all-in-one Parametric, Direct and Freeform modeling capabilities of Fusion 360.
“Learning about the partnership and local support that would be provided by KETIV, we knew it was the right fit.”
- Marc Syrkel, Vice President of Engineering
Richard Ramos helped guide the Nexus3 team by introducing them to the Fusion 360 for Startups Autodesk program. The program grants free Fusion 360 licenses to qualifying startup companies.
Solution
Richard Ramos helped guide the Nexus3 team by introducing them to the Fusion 360 for Startups Autodesk program. The program grants free Fusion 360 licenses to qualifying startup companies. Nexus3 was sold on the features it provided for their immediate needs, as well as what it could do for them on their inevitable return to serving their original target industry.
Today, they leverage the mesh to solid body tools frequently, and love the convenience of being able to enable and disable design history. They appreciate the convenience of working within a tightly integrated suite of Autodesk software titles that work seamlessly together. The team sees Fusion 360 as affordable software that gives them the full set of advanced manufacturing capabilities right up front, like generative design, thermal and mechanical simulations. It is an investment they knew would pay off today, as well as in the future as they pivot back to aerospace and respond to growth in other markets.
Business Outcome
Nexus3 was approved for the Fusion 360 for Startups program and began working within Fusion 360, which includes all the features and functionality needed to take products from concept through design to manufacturing. Marc said, “Fusion 360 was simple to use and allowed us to model our first face shield in just three days. This included the learning time from online sources, such as KETIV’s Virtual Academy (KVA).”
KVA is KETIV’s free webinar series that offers training on software like Autodesk Fusion 360. Marc pointed out one training video that was helpful for them: "Designing a Model from Scratch for Fusion 360."
Conclusion
The Nexus3 team has found it surprisingly easy to cross disciplines using the breadth and depth of the Autodesk software portfolio. They are using the software in unique ways to solve design challenges on the fly.
Expanding beyond their use of Revit and Fusion 360, the team finds themselves having strong success with the Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) Collection. They recently devised a proprietary method of developing architectural models, linking processes between Revit and Fusion 360. The team now front-ends some of their 3D model cleanup processes with Revit, before moving into Fusion 360 for final cleanup.
Project Summary
Delivery Date
2021-07-28
Project Duration
30 days
Autodesk Solutions
- Fusion 360
- Product Design & Manufacturing Collection
Services Provided
Customer Industry
- Additive Manufacturing