SmartPost for Fusion 360

Alternative to standard Fusion 360 post-processing and removal of Personal license restrictions

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Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Overview
• Key Features
  • Notes:
• Technical Constraints**
• Installation & Usage
  • Configuration
• Roadmap
  • Q3 2025
  • Q1 2026
• License & Disclaimer
  • Contact Me

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Overview

Click to see the image

SmartPost bridges the gap between Fusion 360 Personal and commercial CAM capabilities by leveraging the undocumented XML post-processing pipeline. This add-in provides:

SmartPost enhances Fusion 360 capabilities by delivering:

1. Full toolchange operations output (restricted in Personal license)
2. No Watermarks (restricted in Personal license)
3. Simplified NCPrograms interface alternative (first-ever implementation for Fusion 360)
4. G-code generation using any Fusion 360 postprocessors (standard .cps files)
5. Extensibility and open platform (customizable for various workflows and third-party integrations)

⚠️ Technical foundation: utilizes post.exe engine via xml.cps intermediate files.

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Key Features

Feature	Commercial	Personal
Automatic Tool Changes	✅ Full support	✅ Unlimited tools
3 axis milling	✅ Full support	✅ Any .cps compatible
User comments	✅ Full support	⚠️ Only program-level comments
Drilling Cycles	✅ Full support	⚠️ Expanding cycles (G0/G1)*
2 axis turning	✅ Full support	❌ Not supported yet
Manual NC	✅ Full support	❌ Not supported yet
Rapid moves	✅ Full support	❌ Not supported yet
Probing	✅ Full support	❌ Not supported yet
3+2 axis milling	✅ Full support	❌ Not supported yet

Notes:

1. Legend:

   • ✅: Fully supported
   • ⚠️: Partially supported (with limitations)
   • ❌: Not supported yet

2. Expanding cycles (G0/G1): Uses basic linear moves instead of canned cycles for drilling operations.

3. Limitations in Fusion 360 XML Post-Processing: Due to restrictions in Fusion 360's XML post-processing framework (xml.cps), the following features are not supported in this release.

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Technical Constraints**

SmartPost Final G-code in 2 Stages:

1. Fusion 360:

   • Uses xml.cps for post-processing. The xml.cps file contains configuration settings specific to the machine and tool operations.
   • Fusion 360 CAM generates intermediate XML files that contain machining data. These intermediate files are then merged into one final file.

2. post.exe:

   • The external post-processor for Fusion 360 takes the generated .xml and .cps files as input.
   • It processes these files and creates the final machining instructions, which are then used to generate the correct G-code for the CNC machine.

   graph LR
     A(Fusion 360 CAM) --> B{xml.cps}
     B --> C(post.exe + any .cps post)
     C --> D((G-code))
   

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Installation & Usage

Click to see the image

• Setup

1. Download latest .zip release.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Copy the add-on folder to the following directory:
   %appdata%\Autodesk\Autodesk Fusion 360\API\AddIns.
4. Open Fusion 360.
5. Press Shift + S or go to Tools → Scripts and Add-Ins.
6. In the upper part of the window, click on the plus (+).
7. In the Add-Ins dialog, choose Link an App from Local to load your add-on directly from a local folder. Navigate to the folder where your add-on is located and select it.
8. Select the add-on from the list and click Run.
9. To have the add-on run automatically at startup, check the Run on Startup box.

⚠️ Important:

• SmartPost works only on Windows.
• If the AddIns folder doesn't exist, create it manually.
• If the add-on doesn't run, try restarting Fusion 360.

Configuration

SmartPost default settings are in the config.py file:

Click to see the image

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Roadmap

Planned improvements for future releases:

Q3 2025

Postprocessor Enhancements Improve support for the intermediate XML format, including:

• 2D turning operations
• Drill cycles
• Manual NC code insertion

Q1 2026

Extend the list of configurable parameters for the postprocessor

Community contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.

Found a bug? Open an Issue

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License & Disclaimer

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for full details.

Key points:

• ✅ 100% legal (uses official Fusion 360 APIs)
• ❌ Not affiliated with Autodesks
• ⚠️ Not a replacement for commercial licenses

"SmartPost demonstrates what Fusion 360 Personal could be — limitations are imposed by Autodesk, not the technology."

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Contact Me

Let's connect!

Email: maestrofusion360@gmail.com Telegram: @MaestroFusion360

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