What is mechanical design?

All machines, whether used by consumers or industry, rely on myriad different parts, components and interworking systems, and these need to be designed carefully to ensure that they work as intended and without errors. This is the role of mechanical design engineers. They must consider how each individual part and component will work alongside each other, and within the wider environment. Mechanical engineering software like Autodesk Fusion gives them the tools and data they need to plan, test and implement their designs. Mechanical drawing software can also be used to refine already existing designs and find ways to make them better.

3D engineering in the cloud

Software for mechanical engineering is at its most effective when it�s at your fingertips whenever you need it. Autodesk Fusion gives you that versatility by offering fully integrated CAD, CAE, CAM and PCB mechanical design capabilities wholly within the cloud. This means that you can take your CAD mechanical engineering work on the road, work from multiple offices seamlessly or collaborate with colleagues across the planet easily and without obstacles.

What is 3D mechanical engineering design software?

Engineers and designers use mechanical engineering design software to model (US site), validate and communicate ideas before production. Additional tools are available and sometimes integrated in 3D engineering software for manufacturing products on a CNC machine or 3D printer. Mechanical engineering design software is employed across many industries, including industrial machine, automotive and consumer product design.

Types of mechanical engineering design

Computer-aided design (CAD) for mechanical engineering

CAD engineering software is commonly used by mechanical design engineers. The models created by CAD software such as Autodesk Fusion and AutoCAD are often used as inputs for other mechanical engineering design tools.

Computer-aided engineering (CAE)

CAE covers a broad range of analyses. CAE software allows you to perform complex tasks such as finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) virtually before creating physical prototypes.

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)

CAM refers to the use of mechanical engineering software to help automate the manufacturing process. CAM is typically used to create toolpaths for 2.5-axis to 5-axis CNC milling, turning and mill-turn (US site).