Steel frame built from EN rectangular hollow sections (RHS 40x30x2) in Autodesk Fusion 360

Fusion 360 add-in

Steel Frame & WeldmentsWeldments & Frame Generator Add-in for Autodesk Fusion (Fusion 360)

Fusion 360 has no built-in weldments or frame generator. This add-in builds complete steel and aluminium frames from centerline sketches, solves the joints, adds self-fixturing tab and slot connections, gussets and end caps, and exports shop-ready cut lists and plate DXFs without leaving Fusion 360.

Build frames from sketches.Solve joints, tabs, plates,and export cut lists in Fusion 360.

Buy on Autodesk App Store Contact for a license Download (licensed users)

Windows and macOS builds · free 3-day trial

845 sizes

43 profile families

CSV, PDF, DXF

fabrication output

Rebuildable

edit after creation

Why it matters

The weldments workflow Fusion users keep rebuilding by hand

Steel Frame & Weldments turns centerline sketches into structural members with repeatable trim rules. It is built for fabricators, fixture designers, machine frames, carts, benches, guards, 3D-printer and CNC frames, and any welded or bolted structure that needs both geometry and a usable cut list.

Grouped frame builder

Select sketch lines, arcs, or model edges. Build several profile groups in one command, with predictable group priority, and reopen the frame later to rebuild it.

Real joint treatment

End miter, End Butt1, End Butt2, simple cut, coped cut, weld gap, X-cross cleanup, allow extension, and a per-corner override. Every build is verified: incomplete joints are reported, never hidden.

845 sizes, steel and aluminium

43 profile families covering EN/DIN, ANSI/AISC, JIS and Indian IS sections, plus real T-slot and V-slot aluminium extrusions. Add your own with CSV import or a closed sketch.

Cut list, PDF sheets and plate DXF

Export CSV plus printable cut sheets with lengths, long/short points, end angles, arc data, gusset dimensions, and end-cap outlines — in mm, cm, m, inches (1/16 fractions), or feet. Plates go to the laser as flat DXFs.

Switching CAD

Coming from SolidWorks Weldments or Inventor Frame Generator?

The same jobs, done with Fusion commands. It is an add-in rather than a separate environment: members are ordinary Fusion bodies, or components if you choose, so drawings, joints and parts lists work with them as usual.

In SolidWorks or Inventor	In Steel Frame & Weldments
Structural members / frame members on a sketch	Frame: several profile groups from sketch lines, arcs or model edges; Member for a single piece
Trim / extend, end treatments	Corner rules per group (miter, butt, coped cut), per-corner override, weld gap; Trim / Extend, Miter and Notch commands
Gussets and end caps	Gusset and End Cap commands, editable after the frame changes
Weldment cut list	Cutting List: CSV and PDF cut sheets with lengths, end angles and balloons
Profile library and custom profiles	845 sizes in 43 families (EN/DIN, ANSI/AISC, JIS, Indian IS, aluminium extrusion), plus your own profiles from a sketch or CSV
Weld beads and weld tables	Weldments Pro: Weld Bead and the weld schedule

What differs: a frame is rebuilt from its saved settings when you edit it, instead of living in a separate weldment feature tree, and the joint rules are set per group and per corner.

Steel Frame & Weldments Pro

Add tube folding, weld modelling and Frame Check

Fold one tube. Use V-Notch & Fold for multi-direction bends, tab/slot seams and an unfolded STEP for fabrication.

Model the welds. Create Rippled beads with a Textured surface, build weld schedules and estimate welding costs.

Check the frame. Apply loads and supports to review member forces, stress and deflection with Frame Check.

Plus base plates, bar cut plans, plate nesting onto stock sheets and PDF reports for the shop.

Active Standard owners get a 7-day Pro trial. Annual upgrades charge only the price difference for the time left in your paid Standard term, with the same expiry date.

Explore Pro →Check upgrade price

See it in action

Four walkthroughs, start to shop files

Real sessions in Fusion 360: the frame generator and weldments overview, a steel frame with tab and slot joints through to the PDF cut sheet, an aluminium (aluminum) extrusion frame from the built-in T-slot profiles, and tabs and slots on plates you modelled yourself, exported as DXF for the laser.

Frame generator and weldments add-in for Fusion 360
Structural members along sketch lines, miter, butt and cope joints, and a cut list: the overview of Steel Frame & Weldments.

Built for real frame decisions

Control priority with groups, not manual cleanup

Put primary rails in Group 1, posts or secondary rails next, then braces, diagonals, arcs, and special profiles later. Earlier groups keep priority; later groups butt or cope to them — adding a brace never restyles a corner the main frame already owns.

End Miter for clean same-group corners.
End Butt1 / End Butt2 when one member must run through.
Coped cut for body contact against round, hollow, or complex profiles.
Allow extension when a later brace must reach an earlier frame boundary.
Move Up / Down to reorder groups and change cutting priority without reselecting.

Frame command with seven groups and a live multi-colour preview in Fusion 360

Corner override

One corner different? Override just that corner

Group settings cover the whole group, which is usually what you want. When a single corner has to be different, you no longer have to split the group in two: expand Corner override, click a member near the corner, and give that corner its own style.

A cross marker is drawn at every corner the active group takes part in — grey can be overridden, orange already has its own style, cyan is the one you are editing.
Set Corner (Miter / Butt1 / Butt2) and Trim type (Simple / Coped) for that corner alone. Leave either on Use group default to keep the group setting. Where the corner is shared with an earlier group, that group still runs through and the override changes the trim type only — reorder the groups to swap which member survives.
The override reaches only this group at that corner, so other groups meeting the same node keep their own rules.
Overrides are saved with the frame, follow the group when you reorder it, and load back when you edit.

How it goes

Sketch, build, and hand the shop a cut list

Sketch the centerlines

Draw lines, arcs, or use model edges. Select each structural role as a separate group so the priority and corner rules stay clear.

Preview and build

The live preview uses BRep geometry, so coped cuts, hollow sections, arcs, and dense joints are shown before you commit. Add tab/slot joints, gussets, and end caps on the members you just built, and tab your own plates onto the frame.

Export cut sheets

Generate a model overview, item balloons, CSV, and PDF detail sheets for members, curved members, gussets, and end caps — in the unit your shop reads.

Edit frames after creation

Select an existing Frame item and change groups, profile, section orientation, corner defaults, per-corner overrides, trim type, weld gap, or component mode. The frame is updated in place and keeps its component, name and timeline position.

Joints and plates follow

Rebuilding a frame re-applies the tab/slot joints, gussets, and end caps recorded on it, scoped to that frame. Items you deleted by hand stay deleted, and anything that cannot be re-applied is reported instead of failing silently.

Use Drawing when needed

For large projects or controlled production drawings, create members as components and finish ballooning and drawing views in Fusion Drawing.

The Frame command in the user guide →

Laser-cut tube workflow

Tab and slot joints that fixture themselves

Pick the tab member, then the slot member. The add-in extends one wall of the tab member into a straight finger along its own axis — the only shape a tube laser can actually leave standing — and cuts the matching hole through the other member. Parts drop together in the right place, so the weld is the only thing left to do.

Tab and slot joints in the user guide →

Tab / Slot dialog with the orange tab preview on a square tube joint

Curved shell-strip tabs previewed on an inclined round tube brace

Three-way corner with tabs seated in the slots of the post

Post with through-wall slots cut on both faces

Curved slots cut to match a round tube tab

Any profile with material at the joint

Square and rectangular tube, round tube, flat bar, angles, channels, and custom sections captured from a sketch. If the tab would aim at open air, the dialog says so before you commit.

Square or angled members

A brace does not have to meet the wall at 90 degrees. The finger stays aligned with its own member, and the hole is elongated to receive it.

Round tube follows the tube

On round tube the tab is a curved strip of the wall, not a straight box hanging off the side. A near-square joint, and any joint cut with Angled with tab, gets a slot cut to the same curve; an inclined brace on the default square cut gets a straight-sided hole sized to clear it.

Slot cut to match your machine

Square through wall works on any tube laser. Angled with tab follows the tab for a constant gap all round when you have a 5-axis or bevel head.

Tab position and fit

Place the tab automatically, on a chosen wall, on the centreline, or on both sides at once. Clearance is set per side, with 0.15 mm as the default.

Survives a frame edit

Each joint is grouped in the timeline and recorded on the document, so rebuilding the frame re-applies it to the new bodies.

Mitred corner with a tab on each mitred end

Plate fabrication

Tab and slot your own plates, then send them to the laser

Plate Tab / Slot adds a row of self-fixturing tabs along a plate edge and cuts the matching slots in the part that edge sits on. It works on any solid body — plates you modelled by hand, imported bodies, gussets, end caps, and frame members as the slotted part — in the root or in any component of the assembly. Nothing has to be made by the add-in. Round parts work too: rings and holed plates around a tube, discs inside a tube, and tube ends standing on a plate.

Watch the Plate Tab / Slot and DXF walkthrough →Plate Tab / Slot in the user guide →

Hand-modelled plate tray with the walls lifted: tabs under the walls, slots with round corner relief in the base, and tabbed corners between the walls — Parts separated to show the fit. Tabs under the walls, slots with round corner relief in the base, and tabbed corners between the walls. Every plate was modelled by hand.

Hand-modelled bracket pulled away from a square tube post, showing two tabs and the matching slots in one tube wall — A hand-modelled bracket tabbed into an SHS 60x60x3 post. The slots go through the first wall only.

Any plate, any component

Hand-modelled or imported plates, gussets, end caps, and frame members as the slotted part. Bodies can sit in the root or in moved, rotated, or nested components.

Many plates in one run

Pick the tab plates, then the parts they sit on. Every edge resting flat on a slot part becomes a joint, so four walls and a base are one command.

Tabs by count or by spacing

The same number of tabs on every edge, or a maximum spacing so a long edge gets more tabs than a short one. Set tab width, end margin, and a flush or custom tab length.

Made for the cutting table

Per-side fit clearance and optional round (dogbone) relief, so a sharp tab corner clears the radius a laser or plasma cut leaves. A weld gap of up to 2 mm is bridged by the tab.

One wall only

A plate tabbed into a tube goes through the first wall and leaves the far wall untouched. Tabs that would land over a hole or past the supported edge are skipped, and the dialog says so.

Survives edits

Each joint is grouped in the timeline and recorded on the document. Editing a Frame, Member, Gusset, or End Cap re-applies it to the rebuilt part.

Plates to DXF

Every plate as a flat DXF for the cutting table

Plates to DXF writes one flat DXF per unique gusset and end cap — and per flat plate you modelled yourself — for the laser, plasma, or waterjet shop, with a plates_index.csv for the cutting order.

R12 DXF in millimetres or inches with true lines, circles, and arcs, and the outline at the origin.
Identical plates share one file and one quantity, whichever way they lie in the model. Quantity and thickness are in the file name.
Plates carrying a Plate Tab / Slot joint are listed without picking them and get tab or slot in the name, so a tabbed gusset is never mistaken for a plain one.
While the dialog is open, every plate that will be exported lights up green in the model, so a plate that still has to be picked is easy to spot.
Write one DXF per plate, one per thickness — every piece side by side, each with its name on a separate LABELS layer — or both.
The index lists file, quantity, thickness, size, mass, and material. Nothing is added to the design.
The same plates go into the Cutting List: pick them under Other plates, or let the ones carrying a Plate Tab / Slot joint list themselves.

Nesting the plates onto stock sheets is part of Weldments Pro.

Six plate outlines drawn from exported DXF files, each with its file name, quantity, thickness, size and mass — Drawn from the DXF files the command exported for the tray above and for a motor mount. File names carry the plate name, thickness, tab/slot role, and quantity.

Profile library

Steel sections and real aluminium (aluminum) extrusion

845 sizes in 43 families covering EN/DIN, ANSI/AISC, JIS, Indian IS and aluminium extrusion. Steel sections include root and toe radii, tapered flanges where specified, and inside and outside corner radii on hollow sections. Aluminium extrusions are the actual extruded outline — slots, X core, and centre bore — so coped joints, notches, and end caps follow the real wall instead of a plain box.

In plain words: square and rectangular steel tube (SHS, RHS, HSS), round tube and pipe, I-beams and H-beams (IPE, HEA, HEB, W shapes), channel, angle iron, flat bar, and 2020 / 4040 T-slot and V-slot aluminum extrusion, including 80/20 series.

Aluminium T-slot extrusion frame built with the add-in — An aluminium extrusion frame built the same way as a steel one — same groups, same corner rules, same cut list.

EN / DIN311 sizes: IPE, HEA, HEB, UPN, equal and unequal angles, T, RHS, SHS, CHS, round tube, and flat/square/round bar.
ANSI / AISC187 sizes: W, C, equal and unequal angles, HSS, Pipe, and flat/square/round bar.
JIS98 sizes: H, C, STKR square and rectangular tube, and STK pipe.
Indian (IS)229 sizes: SHS and RHS (IS 4923), CHS (IS 1161), and ISA, ISMC, ISMB, NPB and WPB (IS 808). Selected sizes checked against Tata Steel and SAIL catalogues, available in both Standard and Pro.
Aluminium extrusion20 sizes: T-slot 20, 30, 40 and 45 series, V-slot 20 series, C-Beam 40x80, and imperial 80/20 10 and 15 series (1010, 1020, 1030, 1515, 1530, 3030).

Custom sections from a sketch

Capture any closed sketch profile, inner loops included, and reuse it in Frame or Member. Hollow custom sections stay hollow at coped joints.

CSV import and export

Edit the parametric library as a spreadsheet, or hide the standards you never use so the dialog lists only what you buy.

Orientation you control

Anchor, rotation, offset X/Y, and flip are set per group, so the same section can sit differently in different parts of the frame.

Included tools

One add-in for the whole weldment pass

Model the frame, add reinforcement, close open profile ends, then produce the fabrication package from the same tagged bodies.

Frame

Build multi-group frames from lines, arcs, and model edges. Reopen the saved frame and rebuild it after changes.

Member

Create a single structural member when you do not need full frame grouping.

Gusset

Add triangular or polygonal reinforcement plates between support faces, then edit dimensions and placement later.

End Cap

Close open profile ends with outward, inward, or internal cap placement. Edit thickness, offset, and corner treatment later.

Plate Tab / Slot

Rows of tabs along plate edges and matching slots in the parts they sit on. Any solid body, including plates you modelled yourself.

Cutting List

Members, gussets, end caps and the plates you modelled yourself: CSV, model overview, item details and printable PDF cut sheets in the unit you pick.

Plates to DXF

One flat DXF per unique gusset, end cap, and plate you modelled yourself, plus a CSV index for the cutting order.

Manage Library

Show or hide standards, edit the naming patterns, and import or export the parametric library as CSV.

Miter

Finish two selected members with a controlled miter.

Notch

Cope a member by the body it touches.

Trim / Extend

Trim or extend a member to a face or plane. Between Member-built members the end follows the target when a parameter changes; Fit to target member closes skew corners.

Tab / Slot

Add a self-fixturing tab on one member and a matching through-wall slot on the other, so laser-cut parts locate themselves for welding.

Profile from Sketch

Capture a custom closed sketch profile.

Gusset dialog with a triangular plate previewed between two members — **Gusset** — triangular or polygonal plates between two planar or cylindrical support faces, with leg lengths, thickness and side, corner relief, and offset along the corner.

End Cap dialog with a cap previewed on a square tube end — **End Cap** — outward, inward, or internal placement, wall-relative or exact offset, and chamfered or filleted cap corners.

PDF page one: model overview with item balloons and the cut list table

PDF item details with long and short-point lengths and end angles

PDF item details for straight and round members with compound end angles

Fabrication output

Cut lists that include the details people actually need

Member quantity, profile, length, and visible end-cut angles, in your choice of face-angle or saw-setting convention.
Long/stock length, short-point length, and both end offsets on skewed cuts.
Curved member path length, chord, radius, sweep, rise, inside/outside radius, and section depth when available.
Ends carrying a tab are called out as such, and members are grouped by how many tab/slot holes they carry, so two pieces with a different slot count are never merged on length alone.
Gusset and end-cap plate outlines with length, width, thickness, and significant corner angles.
Output units you choose: mm, cm, m, inches (with 1/16-in fractions), or feet — defaulting to the document’s unit, remembered per unit system.
CSV for estimating plus printable PDF for shop-floor review.

See a real cut sheet (PDF)Cutting List in the user guide →

AI control

Drive it from your AI assistant

Weldments ships a local Model Context Protocol server, so an approved AI client can inspect the open design and build editable items in it. Everything it creates is an ordinary add-in item you can reopen and edit by hand.

Read — add-in status, the profile library, sketch paths available for a frame, the current selection, and the items already in the design.
Create — Frame, Gusset, and End Cap items from a prompt.
Stays local — loopback connections only, a fresh random token each session, no arbitrary script execution, and model changes still require a license or an active trial.

License

Buy through Autodesk or contact for licensing

A free 3-day trial starts automatically the first time you run the add-in (internet required). Subscribe on the Autodesk App Store — US$8/month or US$49/year per user — and the add-in unlocks through Autodesk Entitlement when you sign in to Fusion. Activation codes are also supported for manual grants, team installs, or direct licensing.

Steel Frame & Weldments

For Autodesk Fusion 360 on Windows and macOS. Built for designers who need faster frame modeling and cleaner fabrication data.

Buy on the App Store (Windows)App Store (macOS)Ask about licensing

Common questions

Does Fusion 360 have weldments or a frame generator?

Not built in, as of September 2026: Fusion has no weldments environment and no Inventor-style Frame Generator. You can sweep sketch profiles by hand, or use an add-in. Steel Frame & Weldments places structural members along sketch lines, trims the joints (miter, butt, cope), adds gussets, end caps and tab and slot joints, and exports a cut list with lengths and end angles.

Does it run on macOS?

Yes. Every release is published as a Windows bundle and a separate macOS bundle, with the same commands and the same profile library. Buy once on the Autodesk App Store and use either; the download section on this page lets you pick the platform.

Does it do aluminium extrusion, not just steel?

Yes. T-slot, V-slot, C-Beam and 80/20 extrusions ship as their real extruded outline, so joints and end caps follow the true wall.

Does it support custom profiles?

Yes. Profile from Sketch turns a closed sketch into a reusable section, and CSV import adds your own sizes to the library.

Can I edit created items later?

Yes. Frame, Gusset, and End Cap store add-in data: select the created item in the matching dialog, change the settings, and OK rebuilds it. Edit Frame updates the frame in place, so its component, name and timeline position stay. Tab/Slot joints are recorded on the document too and replay automatically when the frame is rebuilt; to change one, delete its timeline group and place it again.

What happens to my tabs and plates when I edit the frame?

They follow it: rebuilding the frame re-applies the tab/slot joints, gussets and end caps recorded on it (details under How it goes, above).

Can I add tabs and slots to plates I modelled myself?

Yes. Plate Tab / Slot works on any solid body, including plates you modelled by hand or imported, in the root or in any component.

Can I export plates as DXF for laser or plasma cutting?

Yes. Plates to DXF writes one flat R12 DXF per unique gusset, end cap, and flat plate you modelled yourself, in millimetres or inches, plus a CSV index with quantity, thickness, size, and mass.

Can one corner use a different style from the rest of its group?

Yes. Corner override gives one corner its own corner and trim type without splitting the group.

Does the preview match the final body?

The preview runs the same BRep treatment as the final build.

Can Fusion Drawing balloon the parts?

Yes. Enable component mode for Frame members, and create gussets/end caps as components.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. A 3-day trial starts automatically the first time you run the add-in in Fusion. All tools stay available during the trial; an internet connection is required to activate it.

What happens if a joint cannot be cut?

Every Frame build is verified: if two members still overlap after treatment, the add-in names the joint that needs attention.

Download

Get the newest build before the App Store lists it

App Store reviews take a week or more. Licensed users can download the latest build here with the email of their Autodesk account, or from inside the add-in (Info › Download latest version). The add-in still checks your license through Autodesk when it starts, so the file is only useful with a license.

After downloading, follow our installation and update guide for the ZIP bundle, switching from an older version, or uninstalling.

Not a customer yet? Buy on the Autodesk App Store.

Latest build

The same add-in runs on Windows and macOS. Pick the machine you will install on.

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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.

Feedback

Found a bug? Missing a feature?

This add-in is built and maintained by one person, and most of what is in it started as somebody’s report. Tell me what broke or what you need — no sign-up and no password, just the email your Fusion account uses so I know who I am replying to.

Bugs — say which profile and size, what you expected, and what happened. A screenshot by email helps.
Feature requests — describe the part you are trying to make, not just the button you want.
Who can send — anyone using the add-in, including during the free 3-day trial. The form checks that the address is on record; open Info in the add-in if you are not sure which one that is.
Your email is used only to answer this report. It is never published, sold, or added to a mailing list.

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