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December 22, 2011

Inventor of the Month–December 2011

Green Structures uses Autodesk Digital Prototyping software to transform the way the built environment's energy systems are planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated. (Photo: Business Wire)Autodesk has named UK-based Green Structures as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for December 2011. Their use of Autodesk Inventor software and a range of other Autodesk Digital Prototyping technology in transforming the way energy systems are planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated within the built environment.

As a member of the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program - an initiative that provides Autodesk Digital Prototyping software to emerging and established clean tech companies for a small fee - Green Structures has rapidly created award-winning energy efficiency systems, particularly in the areas known as passive heat recovery ventilation and thermal energy storage.
 
The firm’s latest innovation, a heat recovery ventilation system called Ventive, works with existing chimneys to channel air and heat. This system contrasts with current mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems, which require that complex ductwork be installed throughout an entire building. Ventive can be installed in less than 30 minutes, providing a far faster and less expensive alternative for retrofitting buildings with the latest green technologies.

Image for With help from the Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program, Green Structures was able to upgrade its design capabilities to include Autodesk Inventor, as well as Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software, Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics software and Autodesk Revit Architecture software. Access to Autodesk Digital Prototyping technology provided a more controlled environment to test designs, helping to make the design process less costly, faster and with less guesswork.



Green Structures

Inventor of the Month – December 2011 Official Press Release

Autodesk Acquires T-Splines Modeling Technology Assets

Autodesk has acquired certain technology-related assets from T-Splines Inc., a privately-held surface modeling software company, based in Utah.

“The technology acquisition will strengthen our Digital Prototyping portfolio with more flexible free-form modeling and will help achieve even closer integration between industrial design and engineering workflows,” said Buzz Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry at Autodesk. “T-Splines technology will benefit designers and engineers that require watertight surfaces for downstream analysis and manufacturing.”

The capabilities that this software can do is awesome. I can’t wait to see what they integrate it into to, hopefully Inventor gets an upgrade to their surfacing capabilities.

Here is the Official Press Release

T-Splines

December 1, 2011

3Dconnexion Announces New Product


At Autodesk University 2011, 3Dconnexion has announced a new product in their lineup. SpaceMouse Pro is the latest addition to 3Dconnexion’s line of professional 3D mice. It features a full size, soft coated hand rest and 15 large, fully programmable function keys for access to application commands, standard views and keyboard modifiers while a convenient On-screen Display provides visual support.

It is currently available at a suggested retail price of $299.

Listed below are the key points of the new SpaceMouse Pro:

Intuitive 3D Navigation
Like all 3Dconnexion 3D mice, SpaceMouse Pro features the patented 3Dconnexion 6-Degrees-of-Freedom (6DoF) sensor that enables you to easily navigate digital models or camera positions in 3D space. Simply push, pull, twist or tilt the 3Dconnexion controller cap to pan, zoom and rotate your model or camera precisely and intuitively.



QuickView Keys
SpaceMouse Pro’s QuickView Keys provide fingertip access to 12 views, making it easier to detect errors, explore alternatives and present your work more effectively for review.
The rotation toggle key disables the rotation axes, providing simultaneous pan-and-zoom navigation in work modes such as sketching.







Advanced Ergonomic Design
The full size, soft-coated hand rest ensures maximum comfort by positioning the hand perfectly for the 3Dconnexion controller cap.
Every one of SpaceMouse Pro’s 15 tactile, fully programmable buttons are conveniently positioned, allowing you to access frequently used commands and work more efficiently.


Intelligent Function Keys
SpaceMouse Pro automatically recognizes your application environment and assigns appropriate commands to four large, soft touch Intelligent Function Keys.




On-Screen Display
The On-screen Display provides a convenient visual reminder of the commands assigned to the Intelligent Function Keys, on your computer screen, enabling you to stay focused.




Keyboard Modifiers
SpaceMouse Pro Keyboard Modifiers provide easy access to Control, Shift, Alt, Esc functions, saving you time by reducing the need to move your hand to the keyboard.








Virtual NumPad
Save time and maintain focus by using SpaceMouse Pro’s Virtual NumPad to input numerical data in to your application using the standard mouse instead of your keyboard.



Inventor of the Month - November 2011

A-dec uses Autodesk Inventor to more effectively design and develop popular dentistry products. (Photo: Business Wire)Autodesk has named  A-dec, Inc. as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for November 2011. A-dec, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of dental chairs and equipment is recognized for its use of Autodesk software to more effectively design and develop products and generate technical documentation, such as user manuals and service guides, for its popular dentistry products.

To design new products and help ensure all parts operate smoothly within a dental system, A-dec relies on Autodesk Inventor Digital Prototyping software that allows the company to validate product designs prior to physical prototyping, integrate system components easily with the use of assembly simulations and cut time to market significantly.

Using Inventor software, A-dec engineers can bring innovative ideas to life in a 3D model. And given the complex and integrative nature of A-dec’s dental equipment, Inventor helps engineers quickly determine whether and how one component will work within the greater equipment system. For example, before a single part is manufactured, engineers can look at digital prototypes of entire assemblies and systems to help ensure all parts connect and move smoothly.

A-dec, Inc.

Inventor of the Month - November 2011 Official Press Release

November 30, 2011

Autodesk Manufacturing Community Achievement Award Winner

At Autodesk University 2011 they awarded the Autodesk Manufacturing Community Achievement Award Winner to Sean Dotson. Sean is the President and co-owner of RND Automation & Engineering, he is also the man behind the scenes at mCADForums.com. His company also received the award as being the Inventor of the Month for March of 2010 and then received the Inventor of the Year for 2010. His continued dedication and hard work to the Inventor community is much appreciated. I have learned many things from him over the years.

Congratulation Sean.

Inventor Fusion Coming to the Mac

Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2012: 3D modeling software for rapid design changesAutodesk just released information yesterday at Autodesk University 2011 about the next product to be redesigned for the Mac, Inventor Fusion. This is not a Windows application that is just ported through parrallels or Bootcamp, this is a full blown Native Mac application.

Autodesk Inventor Fusion is 3D modeling software that showcases intuitive direct manipulation capabilities for unrivaled ease of use. By uniting direct modeling and parametric workflows, Inventor Fusion offers the best of both worlds. Designers can freely explore complex shapes and forms while maintaining the underlying parametric history. Inventor Fusion makes it easy to open and edit 3D models from almost any source and incorporate them into your design, enabling rapid design changes without limitations.





Here is a teaser video for Inventor Fusion for Mac.

November 14, 2011

Inventor Fusion 2012 SP3

Autodesk released Service Pack 3 for Inventor Fusion 2012. So, if you are having issues with Inventor Fusion 2012, go and download Service Pack 3 and see if it helps things a little bit.

 
Inventor Fusion Service Pack 3 32-bit

 
Inventor Fusion Service Pack 3 64-bit

 
Here are some of the issues addressed by the Service Pack 3:

November 9, 2011

Updated Autodesk Labs - Launchpad for Autodesk Product Design Suite

The Autodesk Labs project called Launchpad for Autodesk Product Design Suite has been updated.
Here is the original post that I did on LaunchPad Technology Preview.

It can be download from here. LaunchPad Technology Preview

Also, here is another write-up about the update from Steve Bedder:
Autodesk Manufacturing Blog

Following are the updates:

Inventor Template Options: Users can set the default part, assembly, and drawing templates that are used for Inventor-related workflows.
Inventor Project Support: Users can set the Inventor Project file when they start an Inventor-related workflow.
Scalable Desktop Icon: The LaunchPad desktop icon is now scalable to accommodate different screen configurations.
New One-click Workflows: With this update, the LaunchPad offers two sets of one-click workflows, each supporting different industry design tasks.
  • Machine Design: For users who typically work with a variety of 2D and 3D data to design, engineer, analyze, and simulate machines.
  • Plastic Part Design: For users who need to transform concept designs and styled surface models of molded plastic parts into engineered, manufacture-ready solid models.
The following NEW Plastic Part Design workflows are available in this technology preview update:


Concept
Sketching

Capture your product and graphic concepts using Sketchbook Designer. Sketchbook combines vector and raster workflows to provide an effective way to communicate design ideas. Start a blank sketch or import raster or AutoCAD DWG data.

Styling

Import an Inventor model or other 3D model into Alisa Design to use as reference data for technical surfaces. The selected model is loaded into Alias Design where you can use it to build your surface data.

Design
Engineering

Import Alias wire data into Inventor to transform your technical surface data into manufacture-ready solid models. Associativity is maintained so that changes to the Alias .wire file are consumed by Inventor.

Materials
Selection
Analysis

The selected 3D model is loaded into Inventor with the ECO Materials Adviser active. The ECO Materials Adviser evaluates environmental impact of you material selections allowing you to make informed decisions.

Stress
Analysis

The Inventor Stress Analysis environment simulates the structural behavior of your 3D model under specified loads and conditions. The selected Inventor part or assembly is loaded into the Stress Analysis environment where you can add loads and conditions to define the simulation.

Technical
Drawings

Create 2D documentation of your 3D models in Inventor. The selected part, assembly, or presentation file is used to automatically create the first view of the drawing. You can customize the scale, orientation, line options, or other settings before committing the view.

Explore
Design
Alternatives

Transform your 3D model into highly realistic imagery or perform an interactive presentation using Showcase. The selected part or assembly is loaded into Showcase. You can create design alternatives, configure lights and materials, then render the environment or use Showcase as a presentation environment.

Photorealistic
Rendering

Create a photorealistic rendering or animation of your 3D model in 3ds Max Design. The selected Inventor part or assembly is loaded into 3ds Max Design. You can then configure lights, materials, cameras, and other environment settings for your rendering or animation.

November 3, 2011

Inventor 2012 Subscription Advantage Pack, aka - Inventor Optimization

The Subscription Advantage Pack for Inventor 2012 was released but it doesn't actually say it is the Subscription Advantage Pack. It is labeled as Inventor Optimization. So if you are on subscription go to the Subscription website and get your update today.

Autodesk Inventor Optimization extends the power of Inventor simulation beyond the desktop, helping users create optimal designs that maximize product quality and generate more sustainable designs while reducing material, transportation, and energy costs. Unlike other CAD offerings, optimization in Autodesk Cloud provides virtually infinite computing power, enabling users to extend the Digital Prototyping functionality of the Inventor desktop application with high-performance design optimization tools, bypassing the need to invest in expensive, specialized hardware.

System RequirementsFor application of this hotfix, your system must have one of the following products installed:
  • Autodesk Product Design Suite Premium 2012
  • Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2012
Installer NotesThis patch contains both 32bit and 64bit versions (downloaded together as one bundle) and is applicable to Autodesk Product Design Suite Premium 2012 and Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate 2012. It contains Inventor 2012 Service Pack 1 as part of the installer.

October 28, 2011

Inventor of the Month - October 2011

Autodesk has named Australia-based racing team, Kelly Racing as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for October 2011 for its innovative use of software from Autodesk to precisely design and validate new car components that give the team a racing edge - all without hitting the track for physical testing.

Given that the period between races is often a window of less than three weeks, Autodesk Inventor Professional, Autodesk Simulation CFD, Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics and Autodesk Vault Professional software are crucial to enabling Kelly Racing to turn around new components in a timely manner and secure wins in half the time of most racing teams.
Following a race weekend, the drivers brief Kelly Racing’s in-house design and engineering team on what precisely went right and wrong during the race. The designers then set to work with Inventor Professional software to make modifications to the existing car parts that can enhance performance and save the team time. For example, improvements to the front end of the car, in particular the suspension assembly, has increased traction and grip by 8 percent, leading to faster lap times or shaving 1 percent of total car weight through design and material optimization. Even the most minor modifications play a vital role in a sport where a fraction of a second can be the difference between first and twenty-first place.
Engineers then test revised designs with Autodesk Simulation CFD to optimize aerodynamic performance and ensure the components are able to perform at speeds of up to 300 kilometers (188 miles) per hour. Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics software is also used to predict and validate the mechanical performance of the new components.

October 3, 2011

Inventor of the Month - September 2011

Autodesk has named PMB Facade as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for September 2011 for using Autodesk Inventor to develop architectural facades for some of the world’s most astonishing and eye-catching buildings.

The ability to digitally simulate and predict real-world performance before construction has provided PMB Facade with some important competitive advantages. The company reduced material cost and waste by as much as 15 percent and delivered projects in up to 30 percent less time, helping the company to secure more business.

Digital Prototyping Means Competitive Advantage
As part of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping, Autodesk Inventor has played a key role in helping PMB Facade tackle some extremely demanding projects.

PMB Facade

Inventor of the Month - September 2011, PMB Facade

September 30, 2011

Autodesk Labs – Plugin of the Month

Autodesk Labs released the latest Plugin of the Month for October.

Inventor LinkParameters
The LinkParameters add-in allows Inventor users to easily create dependencies between parameters of various parts and sub-assemblies in the context of the top-level assembly in which they reside. Users are able to select visually a parameter from a source component and affect its value to a specific parameter in a target component. The add-in is based on the iLogic functionality introduced in Inventor 2011. It automatically generates the iLogic code required to link the values of the parameters, without the need for the user to write any iLogic instructions.
It is supported by the following releases: Inventor 2012, 2011.


























Download Now

Also, if you want to look back at older Plugins of the Month, here is the link.

September 28, 2011

Autodesk Labs - Launchpad for Autodesk Product Design Suite

Autodesk Labs has just released a new Technology Preview called LaunchPad for Autodesk Product Design Suite. The LaunchPad Technology Preview accelerates design efforts by providing a single portal into Product Design Suite applications, project data, and workflows. The LaunchPad’s one-click workflows prepare your design data in the Suite environment that is most appropriate to your task so you can quickly start designing, engineering, simulating, and visualizing your design. The LaunchPad is intended for users who already have Product Design Suite installed. It can be download from here. LaunchPad Technology Preview


The following workflows are available in this technology preview:

Reuse 2D Data
Use 2D AutoCAD DWG data to start an Inventor 3D model. Select the DWG file to import and the layers to include. The 2D data is imported into a sketch in a new Inventor part file. The 2D data is now ready to be extruded, revolved or otherwise turned into a 3D model.

Modify 3D Geometry
Open and edit a 3D model from any CAD application in Inventor Fusion. The selected model is loaded in Inventor Fusion for fast and easy geometry modification. Fusion supports many native CAD formats and neutral file formats such as STEP, IGES, and SAT.

3D Parametric Design
Use Inventor to open and modify an existing 3D model or create a new 3D model. You can create a single part or an assembly.

Stress Analysis
The Inventor Stress Analysis environment simulates the structural behavior of your 3D model under specified loads and conditions. The selected Inventor part or assembly is loaded into the Stress Analysis environment where you can add loads and conditions to define the simulation.

Dynamic Simulation
Use the Inventor Dynamic Simulation environment to study the kinematic properties of your Inventor assembly. The selected assembly is loaded into the Dynamic Simulation environment and is ready to have loads and conditions applied.

Technical Drawings
Create 2D documentation of your 3D models in Inventor. The selected part, assembly, or presentation file is used to automatically create the first view of the drawing. You can customize the scale, orientation, line options, or other settings before committing the view.

Interactive Design Review
Transform your 3D model into highly realistic imagery or perform an interactive presentation using Showcase. The selected part or assembly is loaded into Showcase. You can create design alternatives, configure lights and materials, then render the environment or use Showcase as a presentation environment.

Photorealistic Rendering

Create a photorealistic rendering or animation of your 3D model in 3ds Max Design. The selected Inventor part or assembly is loaded into 3ds Max Design. You can then configure lights, materials, cameras, and other environment settings for your rendering or animation.


Here is a list of the supported applications:
  • Autodesk Inventor Professional 2012
  • Autodesk Alias Design 2012
  • Autodesk 3ds Max Design
  • AutoCAD Mechanical 2012
  • Autodesk Showcase 2012
  • Autodesk Sketchbook Designer 2012
  • Autodesk Vault 2012
  • Autodesk Mudbox 2012

September 27, 2011

Autodesk Cloud

Autodesk has just announced Autodesk Cloud. Autodesk Cloud is a collection of more than a dozen web-based capabilities, products and services that enable customers to extend their desktops with greater mobility, new viewing and sharing capabilities, and more computing power, helping them better design, visualize and simulate their ideas. In addition, Autodesk Subscription customers will now have exclusive access to cloud-based, high-performance rendering and design optimization, and enhanced collaboration capabilities. Autodesk Subscription now provides 3 GB of online storage for each seat of software on Subscription for greater access to design and engineering documents, anywhere, anytime.
Autodesk Cloud provides a powerful foundation to enable all Autodesk customers to begin using the cloud to access and store their work from anywhere; to view their work through web browsers or mobile devices; and to share their work with other users, even users without Autodesk software. Cloud applications such as Autodesk Cloud documents, AutoCAD WS and the Autodesk Design Review mobile app provide users with the freedom to work where they can be most effective, and to view, edit and share designs anywhere and with almost anyone.
Additional cloud services exclusive to Autodesk Subscription customers give designers, engineers and digital artists sophisticated new capabilities, such as high-performance 3D visual communication, simulation and collaboration that were once limited to organizations with privileged access to expensive, high-end supercomputing centers.

These exclusive services include:
  • Autodesk Cloud rendering - Customers with an Autodesk Subscription to the Premium or Ultimate editions of Autodesk Design Suite or Autodesk Building Design Suite will have access to powerful rendering capabilities, helping them better visualize designs, increase the number of renderings they can create and reduce hardware investments.
  • Autodesk Inventor optimization - Customers with Subscription to the Premium or Ultimate editions of Autodesk Product Design Suites will gain an intuitive cloud-based simulation tool, enabling them to test multiple design options in the cloud, and to create more sustainable designs and higher-quality products while reducing material, transportation and energy costs.
  • Autodesk Revit Conceptual Energy Analysis - Customers with Subscription to Autodesk Revit Architecture or Autodesk Revit MEP software, or select suites containing these products, can extend design beyond the desktop with powerful cloud-based energy analysis capabilities, helping them to quickly gain insight into the energy consumption and building energy costs of early design concepts from within the design application.
  • Autodesk Green Building Studio web-based energy analysis software - Customers with Subscription to Autodesk Building Design Suite and other select products have access to this cloud-based service that can help designers, architects, engineers and building energy analysts perform faster, more accurate energy analysis of multiple building design iterations, optimize energy efficiency and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process.
  • Autodesk Buzzsaw software as a service (SaaS) - Customers with Subscription to Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC software now have access to cloud-based document, data and design management solutions for architecture, engineering and construction firms and owner-operators, helping them centralize and securely exchange project information and enhance team collaboration.
Availability
Autodesk Cloud services are available worldwide starting today in English, and will be available soon in other languages including Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Traditional Chinese. Some Autodesk Cloud services are available to all customers, such as Autodesk Cloud documents and the Autodesk Design Review mobile app, while other services are exclusive to Autodesk Subscription customers. All customers should contact their local reseller or visit www.autodesk.com/cloud to learn more.

September 23, 2011

Autodesk Labs - Inventor Publisher Goes Social

Autodesk Inventor Publisher 2012: Product & technical documentation softwareAutodesk Labs has released a new Technology Preview for Inventor Publisher. It is called Publish to Social. This new Technology Preview allows you to share your Inventor Publisher models on Facebook and YouTube. Also, new in the Publish to Social technology preview is a new publish wizard that gives you step by step control for publishing print, movie and interactive formats from Inventor Publisher. Additionally it gives you the ability to create and use different Custom Presets to publish following your corporate standards.
 
Here are some of the key features that are included in the Publish to Social Technology Preview:
  • Capability to publish animated technical documentation directly to your personal or company YouTube and Facebook sites from within Inventor Publisher.
  • A new Publish Wizard that allows you to:
    • Control the settings in different video formats that you would like to publish to Facebook or YouTube or to your desktop.
    • Use default presets or create custom presets with your preferred settings, so that you can quickly publish in your most commonly used formats, including:
      • 3D Interactive mobile
      • 2D or 3D PDF
      • 3D DWF
      • Animated video
      • Image
      • Vector
      • Word
      • PPT
    • Dynamically explore different formats between Print, Movie and Interactive groups to Publish from the same source document. Author once and publish many different types of formats from that authored file.
    • Save time by leveraging recently used Publish Presets, and retaining YouTube and Facebook logins destinations for publishing multiple instruction documents.
To run the Publish to Social Technology Preview you will need to have the following versions of software installed:
  • Autodesk Inventor Publisher 2012 with SP1/SP2 software
Inventor Publisher - Publish to Social Technology Preview

September 14, 2011

Autodesk Labs - 2D to 3D Tool for Inventor - Updated

A great Autodesk Labs technology has been updated to support the latest release of Inventor. 2D to 3D Tool for Inventor now supports Autodesk Inventor R11, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, it also supports Inventor LT 2010, 2011, and 2012. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are supported.

The 2D to 3D Tool for Inventor allows the Inventor user to quickly create 3D models of 2D designed parts. The 2D to 3D Tool automatically transforms drawing views into orthogonal sketches, significantly streamlining the preparation of 2D views for 3D uses.

Download Here
Here is a YouTube video made by Steve Bedder from Autodesk Manufacturing Northern Europe.

August 26, 2011

Autodesk Inventor 2012 SP1 Available

Autodesk just released Service Pack 1 for all applications of Inventor 2012 software.

Here is a link for the Readme file, Click Here…

Here is the link to download Inventor 2012 SP1 32-bit, Click Here...
Here is the link to download Inventor 2012 SP1 64-bit, Click Here...


August 25, 2011

Inventor of the Month - August 2011

Autodesk has named IPT, Illini Prosthetic Technologies, a nonprofit organization, as the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for August 2011 for the company’s use of Autodesk Inventor 3D mechanical design software in developing a more affordable and more easily fitted prosthetic arm for below-elbow amputees, particularly those living in developing nations.

By creating digital prototypes of its prosthetic arm with Inventor, IPT has been able to streamline its product design process and create working physical prototypes that successfully incorporate and balance affordability, durability and flexibility - all important factors for users in developing countries.

IPT, Illini Prosthetic Technologies

Inventor of the Month - August 2011 Official Press Release

Here is the YouTube video about IPT, Illini Prosthetic Technologies.

August 22, 2011

Center Point Rectangle V3

Here is an add-in for Autodesk Inventor that should be built into the core of Inventor from the beginning. Thanks to Brian Hall, aka: @QubeIt we now have this functionality. Center Point Rectangle is now on Version 3.

Center Point Rectangle has four rectangle drawing commands that are used inside the sketch environment. The four commands are listed below:
Center Point Rectangle: This command draws a rectangle about the origin of where the user picks. It constrains the rectangle by adding a vertical and horizontal alignment constraint to
one of the vertical and horizontal lines respectively as well as a coincident constraint to the geometry that the user selects.
Diagonal Center Point Rectangle: This command draws a rectangle about the origin of where the user picks and adds a diagonal construction line that goes from one corner to the opposite corner with a sketch point constrained to the mid-point of the diagonal line.
Horizontal Mid-Point Rectangle: This command draws a rectangle that starts from the mid-point of one of the horizontal lines of the rectangle. A sketch point is then added and constrained to that line’s mid-point.
Vertical Mid-Point Rectangle: This command draws a rectangle that starts from the mid-point of one of the vertical lines of the rectangle. A sketch point is then added and constrained to that line’s mid-point.

Version 3 now supports Autodesk Inventor 2010, 2011, & 2012. You can download this Add-In at mCADForums.com. He has also included the source code for this Add-In if you want to do some tweaking on it yourself. Hope you enjoy.

Here are some videos showing the functionality of the Center Point Rectangle Add-In.
Here is a video showing the basics of the Center Point Rectangle Add-In.


Here is a video showing the changes that were made in Version 2.


Here is a video showing the changes that were made for Version 3.

August 17, 2011

AutoCAD WS for Iphone, Ipod Touch, Ipad & Android Updated to Version 1.3

AutoCAD WS for the Iphone, Ipod Touch, Ipad & Android has been updated to Version 1.3.

You can go to the Apple Website to get it downloaded - AutoCAD WS Apple, also the Android Market. You can go to the AutoCAD WS website to learn more about it - AutoCAD WS. You can also check it out on their YouTube channel at Autodesk AutoCAD WS YouTube.

Here is What's New in Version 1.3:
  • Units typing - Draw and edit accurately by entering exact units and measurements
  • Layer management - Toggle layers on/off or toggle layer visibility
  • Area measurement – accurately measure an area on your drawing
  • File management – rename, duplicate, and delete files from your mobile device

Here also is a YouTube video showing What's New in Version 1.3.

AU 2011 Class Catalog is Live


The preview version of the Autodesk University 2011 class catalog is now live. View it now and begin planning out your AU schedule.

Class space at AU is limited so plan to sign up when AU registration goes live for AU members on August 30.

Highlights for AU 2011 include:
  New! Classes on: 
  • Advanced features and workflows
  • Cloud, mobile technologies, and visualization
  • Autodesk Certification preparation
New! Innovation Forums
New! AU Leadership Forum
New! Media & Entertainment Developer Network Conference

View the Catalog - Click Here

Remember, early registration for AU members starts one week before general registration. Plan to register starting August 30, 2011.

My First Inventor Plug-In Training

While working inside of Inventor, have you ever wondered, why isn't there a function for this. If there was an add-in tool it would make my life so much easier. Well, here is you chance to learn something new. With this self-paced tutorial guide you can have a smooth introduction into the programming world.

“My First Plug-in” is a “one-stop shop” learning path for users who know Autodesk products but are absolutely new to programming and are thinking about taking the plunge. In this guide, you will be working with the Autodesk Inventor COM API and the Visual Basic programming language.
My First Inventor Plug-in Overview

Here is what is covered in the learning path:

Lesson 1: The Basic Plug-in
Lesson 2: Programming Overview
Lesson 3: A First Look at Code
Lesson 4: UI’s and Coding Logic
Lesson 5: Adding Attributes
Lesson 6: My Final Plug-in
Lesson 7: Learning More

The only software you need to have installed is:
Autodesk Inventor
Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Express

August 3, 2011

Autodesk Inventor 2012 Books

Now that Autodesk Inventor 2012 has been out for a while, the authors have had the time to get their books updated with all the latest features. Here is a breakdown of all of the books available in Paperback and on the Kindle E-Book Reader. Alot of good selections out there.

Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2012 and Autodesk Inventor LT 2012, By: Curtis Waguespack

Paperback, Price: $49.17
 Kindle E-Book, Price: $44.25




Autodesk Inventor 2012 and Inventor LT 2012 Essentials, By: Thom Tremblay

Paperback, Price: $30.73
Kindle E-Book, Price: $27.49




Up and Running with Autodesk Inventor Professional 2012: Part 1 and Part 2, By: Wasim Younis

Part 1, Price: $39.20
Part 2, Price: $43.02




Autodesk Inventor 2012 Essentials Plus, By: Daniel T. Banach, Travis Jones, Alan J. Kalameja

Paperback, Price: $67.26





Parametric Modeling with Autodesk Inventor 2012, By: Randy Shih

Paperback, Price: $47.25



All of these selections are available in my Inventor Topix Store.