# Fusion 360 Data and Design Files: What They Are Worth to AI

> Does Autodesk use your Fusion 360 data to train AI? What its terms say, what buyers want from a Fusion hub, and how to export .f3d files with the timeline.

Canonical: https://origindatapartners.com/guides/fusion-360-data-ai-licensing
By: Origin Data Partners
Status: Published
Published: 2026-11-13
Updated: 2026-11-14
Sources checked: 2026-11-12

## Quick answer

Autodesk's General Terms, last updated 30 March 2026, say you keep ownership of the designs you upload to Fusion (formerly Fusion 360). They do not mention AI or machine-learning training of designs by name; they let Autodesk use your content to provide and improve its products. For AI buyers, the valuable part of a Fusion hub is the design timeline, kept only in native .f3d and .f3z archives.

## Key points

- You keep ownership of Fusion designs under Autodesk's General Terms; Autodesk may use them to provide and improve its products.
- Only the native .f3d (one design) and .f3z (design with references) archives keep the timeline; STEP, IGES and STL do not.
- A Fusion export saves the latest version only. Older versions have to be opened and exported one by one.
- Count designs, versions per design and linked drawings before talking to any buyer.

## Does Autodesk use my Fusion data to train AI?

Autodesk's terms do not say either way. The General Terms state: "You will retain Your ownership rights to files, designs, models, data sets, images, documents or similar material created by You (or Your Authorized Users) and submitted or uploaded to an Offering by You (or Your Authorized Users)." On use, they say "Autodesk personnel will not use Your Content except (a) at Your request, or with Your consent; (b) in connection with providing and improving Offerings (including maintaining, securing, updating, or otherwise modifying Offerings); or (c) in connection with legal obligations, enforcement, investigations, or proceedings." ([Autodesk General Terms, last updated 30 March 2026](https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms)).

The words "artificial intelligence" and "machine learning" do not appear in those clauses. They appear in the Privacy Statement, which covers personal data, not designs: Autodesk uses it "To develop and improve our current and future offerings and your experience, including through the use of automated systems that analyze data using machine learning and other analytic techniques" ([Autodesk Privacy Statement, effective 1 January 2026](https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-notices-trademarks/privacy-statement)). Some individual AI features carry their own statements; for Autodesk Assistant in Inventor, "Chat context is stored temporarily and is not used for AI model training." ([Autodesk Support](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Autodesk-Assistant-data-handling-and-disabling-options-in-Autodesk-Inventor.html)).

If the answer matters for a license you plan to sign, ask Autodesk in writing and check any enterprise agreement you signed, which can change the standard terms. A buyer will ask whether anyone else already holds rights in the same files.

General information only, not legal advice: the clauses above are quoted with their dates, and your counsel applies them to your hub.

Want a number first? Put your design and version counts into the [calculator for CAD archives](https://origindatapartners.com/tools/cad-archive-value), or ask Origin for an [estimate for your company](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit).


## What a Fusion hub holds that AI buyers want, and what it lacks

Buyers pay for how a design was built, which in Fusion is the timeline. [Mercor](https://data.mercor.com/refer/view/?slug=hardware) wants complete assemblies in native CAD, each "with feature trees", and names Autodesk Fusion among the tools it works with. Research shows why: the Fusion 360 Gallery paper said that "currently there does not exist a dataset of realistic CAD models in a concise programmatic form" and released "a dataset of 8,625 human design sequences expressed in this language" using only sketch and extrude steps ([arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.02392)). A company hub holds the full feature set, over years of real products.

| Record in Fusion | Why an AI buyer wants it | Kept by a native archive? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Design timeline (sketches, features, joints in order) | Shows the steps an engineer took, not only the final shape | Yes, .f3d and .f3z only |
| Versions and milestones of each design | Shows how a design changed between saves and releases | One version per export |
| Assemblies with external components | Shows how parts relate in a product | Yes, as .f3z |
| Drawings that reference a design | Link geometry to dimensions and tolerances | Exported separately |
| Test results, supplier quotes, change reasons | Tie a design to its outcome | No: these live outside Fusion |

The last row is the usual gap. Fusion stores geometry and its history, not the bench test, the field failure or the email that explained a change. If your company kept those elsewhere and can link them to designs, say so: it is what separates an archive from a parts library. The [CAD and engineering data guide](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/license-cad-engineering-data-ai) covers the wider record set.


## How to count what is in your Fusion hub

Count before you export. In the Data Panel each design has a History tab: "On the History tab, the first 3 versions display in order from newest to oldest." and it expands to show the rest; the same panel lists drawings, where "All of the drawing documents that reference the design display in a list." ([Fusion Help](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/ASM-VIEW-DESIGN-HISTORY.htm)). Versions add up quickly, because "A version of a design is created every time the design is saved." ([Fusion Help](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/TPD-DESIGN-MILESTONES.htm)).

For a large hub, a short script is faster than clicking. In the Fusion API, a folder's dataFiles property "Returns a collection containing all of the items within this folder" ([Fusion API](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-360-API/files/core_DataFolder.htm)), and a file's versions property "Gets the other version of this item." ([Fusion API](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-360-API/files/core_DataFile_versions.htm)).

| Count | Where to find it | Why a buyer asks |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Projects and designs per project | Data Panel or API folder listing | Breadth of products |
| Assemblies versus single parts | Designs with external components (Uses tab) | Single parts are not a fit for most buyers |
| Versions and milestones per design | History tab or DataFile.versions | Depth of design history |
| Drawings linked to designs | Drawings tab | Geometry tied to tolerances |
| Designs owned by customers or partners | Your contracts, not Fusion | These come out first |


## How to export Fusion designs with the timeline intact (.f3d and .f3z)

Use the native archive. Autodesk's export list describes F3D as the "native Autodesk Fusion file type, only file type that preserves Timeline information. Assemblies are saved as F3Z (zip) files" ([Autodesk Support](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Export-format-options-for-Fusion-360.html)). An F3Z is an "Archive file of a distributed design, which includes all external design references. An F3Z file is a ZIP file that contains one or more F3D files." To make one in the desktop app, go to File, then Export, and "In the Type drop-down menu, select Archive File." ([Autodesk Support](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-make-a-local-archive-back-up-file-in-Fusion-360.html)). Fusion Help lists the other targets: you can export "to other CAD application formats, or as native Fusion files." ([Fusion Help](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/ASM-EXPORT-DESIGN.htm)).

Two limits shape the job. First, an export keeps one version: "Autodesk Fusion document export feature archives the latest version of a certain design and will be saved locally. If all previous versions of the data set need to be archived locally - then it is required to open each instance of a certain version and export it, one by one." ([Autodesk Support](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Does-a-local-copy-of-an-exported-design-from-Fusion-360-lose-any-information.html)). Second, there is no bulk download of native designs from a hub: "Bulk export options are only available for nonnative Fusion designs (that is, designs for which the file size is displayed on the Hub)." ([Autodesk Support](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Unable-to-bulk-download-Fusion-360-Project-folders-from-the-A360-Dashboard.html)).

In practice, agree with a buyer which designs and which milestones matter before anyone exports, and export those milestones as separate archives. A buyer that wants every save can work from a sample first.

| Export format | Keeps the timeline? | What it is good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| .f3d | Yes | One design with its full feature history |
| .f3z | Yes, for each design inside | Assemblies with external references |
| STEP, IGES, SAT, SMP | No | Final geometry for other CAD systems |
| STL, OBJ, FBX | No | Meshes, which buyers say are not enough |
| DWG, DXF | No | 2D sketches and drawings |


## What to remove from a Fusion hub before licensing

Separate what is yours from what sits in your hub. Four groups come out first.

- Designs your customers own. Mercor lists "Designs the company owns, not customer IP" as a requirement ([Mercor](https://data.mercor.com/refer/view/?slug=hardware)). Work done for clients follows the contract; see [who owns client CAD files](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/product-design-consultancy-client-cad-files).
- Content you bought or downloaded: purchased part libraries, supplier models and community designs inserted as external components. They keep their own licences.
- Export-controlled designs. Check classification before anyone outside the company sees a file; Origin's [export-control checklist](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/itar-ear-checklist-cad-data-ai) covers the steps.
- Personal data in names and comments. Version history records who saved what; replace names with role codes, as the [de-identification guide](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/de-identify-company-data-before-licensing) explains.


## What a Fusion design archive is worth to AI buyers

No price for a Fusion archive has been published. The one public figure that covers it is the range on [the Mercor listing for hardware engineering firms](https://data.mercor.com/refer/view/?slug=hardware), which names Autodesk Fusion: $45K to $1.3M a company, for firms of 20 to 2,000 staff, and "Depends on assembly count and completeness". Treat it as a ceiling advertised by a buyer program for CAD in any system, not as money paid on a closed sale.

Where your archive falls depends on the counts above: how many multi-part assemblies you own outright, how many versions each kept, and whether drawings and test results link to them. Compare Fusion with cloud-native [Onshape documents](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/onshape-data-ai-licensing), or with [PCB design data in Altium and KiCad](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/altium-kicad-pcb-design-data-ai) if you also design boards.

Does your company hold records like these? [See what your data is worth](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit).

Origin Data Partners works with companies that own data and helps get it bought. We are independent of the services on this page, and a buyer may pay us when a deal closes ([how Origin is paid](https://origindatapartners.com/referral-disclosure)). [See what your data is worth](https://origindatapartners.com/check-fit).


## Questions and answers

### Does Autodesk use my Fusion 360 designs to train AI?

Autodesk's General Terms, last updated 30 March 2026, do not mention AI training of designs by name. They say you retain ownership and that Autodesk personnel will not use your content except at your request, to provide and improve its offerings, or for legal reasons. Get Autodesk's position in writing before you promise a buyer exclusivity.

### Who owns designs saved in Fusion 360: me or Autodesk?

You do, under Autodesk's General Terms: you retain ownership of files, designs, models and similar material that you or your authorized users create and upload. Ownership between your company and its clients, contractors or employees is a separate question that your own contracts answer, not Autodesk's terms.

### Which Fusion file format keeps the design timeline?

Only the native archive formats. Autodesk describes F3D as the only file type that preserves timeline information, and assemblies with external references save as F3Z, a ZIP of F3D files. STEP, IGES, SAT, STL and OBJ exports keep geometry or meshes but lose the feature history that AI buyers ask for.

### Can I bulk export a whole Fusion 360 project with version history?

Not with a built-in button. Autodesk says bulk export from a hub works only for non-native files, and that an archive export saves the latest version only. Older versions must be opened and exported one by one. Agree with a buyer which designs and milestones it needs before starting.

### How do I count the designs and versions in our Fusion hub?

For a small hub, use the Data Panel: each design has a History tab listing its versions and a Drawings tab listing linked drawings. For a large hub, a short Fusion API script can walk each folder and count files and versions. Record assemblies, versions per design and drawings separately.

### What Fusion data do AI companies want?

Native multi-part assemblies with their timeline, the versions that show how each design changed, drawings tied to them, and, where you kept them, test results and change reasons. Mercor asks for native CAD with feature trees rather than exported meshes and names Autodesk Fusion among the tools it works with.

### How much is a Fusion 360 design archive worth?

Nobody has published what a Fusion archive sold for. The only public figure is Mercor's advertised band for hardware engineering firms, $45K to $1.3M a company, set by assembly count and completeness, and it applies to CAD from any system. Your own counts of owned assemblies, versions and linked drawings decide where you fall.

### What is the Fusion 360 Gallery Dataset, and does it make our hub less valuable?

It is a public research dataset, published by Autodesk's AI Lab on GitHub, derived from about 20,000 designs users submitted to the Autodesk Online Gallery. Its subsets include 8,251 assemblies with 154,468 parts and 8,625 construction sequences limited to simple sketch-and-extrude designs. Its subsets describe geometry, construction steps and assembly joints, not the version histories, drawings or test results of a working engineering team, which is what a company hub adds.

### Can Fusion export Gerber files for our circuit boards?

Yes, from the Electronics workspace. Autodesk's steps are to open the 2D PCB, go to the Manufacturing tab, open the CAM Processor, load a CAM template that matches the layer stackup and choose Process Job; the files land under the project's CAMoutputs folder. Gerbers are fabrication images, so keep the electronics design files with them, as the [Gerber and PCB design data guide](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/altium-kicad-pcb-design-data-ai) explains.

## Sources

- [Autodesk Terms of Use: General Terms (last updated 30 Mar 2026)](https://www.autodesk.com/company/terms-of-use/en/general-terms)
- [Autodesk Privacy Statement (effective 1 Jan 2026)](https://www.autodesk.com/company/legal-notices-trademarks/privacy-statement)
- [Autodesk Support: Autodesk Assistant data handling in Inventor](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Autodesk-Assistant-data-handling-and-disabling-options-in-Autodesk-Inventor.html)
- [Autodesk Support: Export format options for Autodesk Fusion](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Export-format-options-for-Fusion-360.html)
- [Autodesk Support: How to save a local archive (backup) file in Fusion](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-make-a-local-archive-back-up-file-in-Fusion-360.html)
- [Autodesk Support: Does a local copy of an exported Fusion design lose any information](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Does-a-local-copy-of-an-exported-design-from-Fusion-360-lose-any-information.html)
- [Autodesk Support: Unable to download entire project or multiple Fusion files at once](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Unable-to-bulk-download-Fusion-360-Project-folders-from-the-A360-Dashboard.html)
- [Fusion Help: View design history and related data](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/ASM-VIEW-DESIGN-HISTORY.htm)
- [Fusion Help: Versioning (milestones and versions)](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/TPD-DESIGN-MILESTONES.htm)
- [Fusion Help: Export designs](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-Designs/files/ASM-EXPORT-DESIGN.htm)
- [Fusion API: DataFolder object](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-360-API/files/core_DataFolder.htm)
- [Fusion API: DataFile.versions property](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/ENU/Fusion-360-API/files/core_DataFile_versions.htm)
- [Fusion 360 Gallery: a dataset of human CAD design sequences (arXiv)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.02392)
- [Mercor Data: Hardware Engineering Company listing (read 12 Nov 2026)](https://data.mercor.com/refer/view/?slug=hardware)
- [Autodesk AI Lab: Fusion 360 Gallery Dataset (GitHub)](https://github.com/AutodeskAILab/Fusion360GalleryDataset)
- [Autodesk Support: How to generate Gerber files in Fusion Electronics](https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-generate-BOM-and-Gerber-files-in-Fusion-360.html)

## Related reading

- [Licensing CAD files and engineering data to AI companies](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/license-cad-engineering-data-ai)
- [ITAR and EAR Checklist Before You Share CAD Files With AI](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/itar-ear-checklist-cad-data-ai)
- [/tools/cad-archive-value](https://origindatapartners.com/tools/cad-archive-value)
- [Onshape Data and Documents: Who Owns Them and Their AI Value](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/onshape-data-ai-licensing)
- [Gerber Files and PCB Design Data: What Altium and KiCad Hold](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/altium-kicad-pcb-design-data-ai)
- [Who Owns CAD Files: the Design Consultancy or the Client?](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/product-design-consultancy-client-cad-files)
- [How to de-identify company data before licensing it](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/de-identify-company-data-before-licensing)
- [Data licensing agreement: what to include](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/data-licensing-agreement)
- [CAD Data and Quality Records for AI: Manufacturer Guide](https://origindatapartners.com/guides/engineered-product-manufacturer-data)