01
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.
Fusion 360 add-in v1.3.2
Steel Frame & Weldments
Build frames from sketches.Solve joints, tabs, plates,and export cut lists in Fusion 360.
616 sizes
4 section standards
CSV + PDF
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 real 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.
616 sizes, steel and aluminium
EN/DIN, ANSI/AISC, and JIS structural sections, plus real T-slot and V-slot aluminium extrusion profiles. Add your own with CSV import or a closed sketch.
Cut list and PDF sheets
Export CSV plus printable cut sheets with lengths, long/short points, end angles, arc data, gusset dimensions, and end-cap outlines.
Need more than frames?
Steel Frame & Weldments Pro adds weld beads with a weld schedule, weld cost, base plates, a stock-bar optimizer, flat DXF of every plate and drawing-ready part descriptions.
See it in action
Two walkthroughs, start to cut list
Real sessions in Fusion 360: a steel frame with tab/slot joints through to the PDF cut sheet, and an aluminium extrusion frame from the built-in T-slot profiles.
Steel frame, tab & slot joints, cut list PDF
Centerline sketch → Frame → Tab / Slot → Cutting List with the PDF cut sheet.
Aluminium extrusion frame with 2020 / 4040 T-slot profiles
The built-in T-slot and V-slot profiles: frame, corner treatment, cut list.
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.
New in v1.3
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
02
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.
03
Export cut sheets
Generate a model overview, item balloons, CSV, and PDF detail sheets for members, curved members, gussets, and end caps.
Edit frames after creation
Select an existing Frame item, change groups, profile, orientation, corner defaults, per-corner overrides, trim type, weld gap, or component mode, then rebuild.
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.
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.
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.
Profile library
Steel sections and real aluminium extrusion
616 sizes in 35 families across four standards, drawn as real sections: root fillets on I and channel shapes, tapered inside flanges on channels, and true 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Cutting List
Export CSV, model overview, item details, and printable PDF cut sheets.
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.
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.
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.
- CSV for estimating plus printable PDF for shop-floor review.
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.
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.
- Enter the email your Fusion account is signed in with and click Download.
- Unzip the file and replace the add-in folder from the previous version.
- In Fusion, open Utilities › Add-Ins, Stop and Run the add-in (or restart Fusion).
Not a customer yet? Buy on the Autodesk App Store.
Latest build
Checking…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.
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). Purchase through the Autodesk App Store 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 v1.3.2
For Autodesk Fusion 360 on Windows and macOS. Built for designers who need faster frame modeling and cleaner fabrication data.
Common questions
Does it do aluminium extrusion, not just steel?
Yes. T-slot 20/30/40/45, V-slot 20, C-Beam, and the imperial 80/20 10 and 15 series ship as real extruded outlines, so joints and end caps follow the true wall.
Does it support custom profiles?
Yes. You can capture a closed sketch profile, inner loops included, and reuse it in Frame or Member.
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. 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?
Rebuilding a frame re-applies the tab/slot joints, gussets, and end caps recorded on that frame. Items you deleted by hand stay deleted, and anything that cannot be re-applied is listed after the build.
Can one corner use a different style from the rest of its group?
Yes. Corner override gives a single corner its own corner type and trim type without splitting the group, and the setting is saved with the frame.
Does the preview match the final body?
Frame preview uses the same temporary BRep treatment pipeline used for 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?
Since v1.2.2 every Frame build is verified. If any pair of members still overlaps after treatment, the add-in tells you which joint needs attention instead of leaving it hidden in the model.