# F3D Files: How to Open a Fusion 360 Design Online Without Fusion

An .f3d file is an Autodesk Fusion design archive. Learn how to view one online without Fusion, what is shown from the design, why measurements are approximate and when to ask for STEP.

An `.f3d` file is an Autodesk Fusion (formerly Fusion 360) design exported from the cloud project to a single file. It is a ZIP archive: the design's component tree, timeline, sketches and appearances sit next to the solid bodies, which are stored in Autodesk's ShapeManager binary format. Board makers, hobby suppliers and open-hardware projects often publish their parts as F3D, so you may receive one without having Fusion installed or signed in.

You can open an F3D file in [the CADProps workspace](https://www.cadprops.com/workspace/index.md) without Fusion or an Autodesk account. The current solid bodies are read from the archive, placed by their components and shown as a triangulated preview with the component names in the model tree. You can rotate and section the model, hide components, check the bounding box, measure point-to-point distances and export STL, OBJ, GLB, glTF, 3MF or mesh STEP after sign-in.

## What is shown

- Solid and surface bodies of the current design, converted from ShapeManager's centimetres to millimetres.
- Components and their occurrences: a resistor used eight times appears eight times, each with its own placement, and the tree follows the design's parent and child components.
- Bodies hidden in the design's browser are left hidden when the file says so.

The first view usually appears within a few seconds while the rest of the components load.

## What is left out

An F3D archive holds much more than geometry, and only the geometry is read:

- The timeline, sketches, parameters and joints are not shown, so nothing can be edited. If you need to change the design, open it in Fusion.
- Mesh bodies, appearances and materials are skipped; parts are drawn in a neutral grey.
- Components linked from other Fusion documents are not inside the file and are not fetched.
- When a component's placement or a body cannot be decoded, it is left out and the model is marked incomplete. Large designs with hundreds of components may also be cut off at the processing time limit, with a warning that further bodies were omitted.

Some electronics models contain very thin footprint bodies that the designer may not include in a STEP export. CADProps shows what the design file contains, so its bounding box can be slightly larger than the supplier's STEP.

## Measurements and STEP

Area, volume and mass are not calculated for F3D files, and exact STEP export is not available: the display is a mesh made from the bodies, and the mesh STEP export contains triangles. Point distances are approximate.

For quoting, machining or an exact solid, ask for a STEP export from Fusion; [what a STEP export keeps](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/step-export-no-feature-tree/index.md) explains what changes when you do, and [native CAD vs STEP](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/native-cad-vs-step-supplier-handoff/index.md) covers which file to request. The [format matrix](https://www.cadprops.com/supported-formats/index.md) lists every input and its limits.

## Related reading

- [IGES File (.igs, .iges): What It Is and How to Open It](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/iges-file-what-it-is-how-to-open/index.md)
- [Native CAD vs STEP for Supplier Handoff: Which File Should You Send?](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/native-cad-vs-step-supplier-handoff/index.md)
- [Open a Rhino 3DM File Without Rhino](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/open-3dm-without-rhino/index.md)
- [Open CAD Files on Mac: STEP Viewers and Format Options](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/open-cad-files-on-mac/index.md)
- [NEU Files: How to Open a Creo / Pro/ENGINEER Neutral File Online](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/open-neu-file-online/index.md)
- [Why STEP Files Lose the SolidWorks Feature Tree](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/step-export-no-feature-tree/index.md)
- [What B-Rep Means in a STEP or IGES File](https://www.cadprops.com/guides/what-is-brep/index.md)

Original article: https://www.cadprops.com/guides/open-f3d-file-online/

HTML page: https://www.cadprops.com/guides/open-f3d-file-online/