Cut lists from Autodesk Fusion 360

By Cutlist Evolution · Updated 29 July 2026

Step 1: Designing Your Project in Fusion 360

Model the project the way you normally would. Fusion 360’s 3D modeling capabilities cover bespoke furniture, custom cabinetry and joinery at whatever precision you work to, and none of what follows asks you to design differently.

One constraint does apply. Cutlist Evolution generates its cut list from rectangular parts, so the import reads components defined by length, width and thickness. Fusion 360 will model far more complicated geometry than that. Break the design down into rectangular components before you export and the handover is clean.

Step 2: Exporting Your Model as an OBJ File

With the design finished and every component in place, export it. Fusion 360 writes several formats. OBJ is the one to use here, because it keeps the geometric detail of the solids intact, and that detail is what carries the exact dimensions across.

To export your model:

Navigate to File > Export.
From the “Type” dropdown menu, select OBJ Files (*.obj).
Choose a location to save your file and click Export.

Before you run the export, check that every rectangular component you want on the cut list is visible, and selected if you are prompted to select. Anything hidden at that moment will not be in the file.

Step 3: Importing into Cutlist Evolution

Cutlist Evolution is purpose-built to read 3D model data and produce a cut list from it. Point it at the OBJ file you just exported and it interprets the solids, extracts each part’s dimensions, counts repeats into quantities and organizes the result into something you can buy material against and cut from.

This is the step that removes the typing. Transcribing dimensions from a model is where most cut list errors start, and it is usually the slowest part of planning a job.

For a detailed guide on the import process, refer to the official documentation: Importing from OBJ format.

Step 4: Refining and Optimizing Your Cut List

What arrives is a starting point rather than a finished list. An OBJ file describes shape. It does not know that a part is oak rather than MDF, or that its grain should run along the length, which is what this step is for.

Assign a material to each component so that plywood, solid wood and MDF are counted separately and the take-off is accurate. Set grain direction where it matters, for appearance across a run of doors or for strength. Edit dimensions, add parts the model does not contain and drop parts you are not cutting, until the list matches both the job and what your workshop can handle. Then let the optimizer nest the parts onto sheets, which is where the material saving comes from.

What the OBJ Route Saves

The route is short and it asks little of you. Exporting an OBJ is three clicks in a menu, so you do not need to be fluent in the more involved corners of Fusion 360 to get a usable cut list out of a model.

Accuracy is the larger gain. The OBJ file carries the precision of the model with it, so the cut list is as exact as the design is. Automating the extraction of dimensions and quantities takes manual data entry out of the process, along with the transcription errors and the wasted material that come with it.

The last part is the layout. Cutlist Evolution nests the parts onto your stock sheets to keep offcut waste down, so the material bill for the job falls. Design and fabrication run as one sequence rather than two, with the OBJ file as the handover between them.

Before you commit a whole project to this route, run one component through it. Model a single carcass, export it, import it, and check that the parts come back with the dimensions you expect. Once you trust that, designing in rectangular components from the outset costs you nothing and saves breaking the geometry down afterwards.

A YouTube video explaining the Fusion 360 import for Cutlist Evolution