Autodesk Manufacturing & Digital Prototyping Solutions

Is that a bottleneck in my process?

Have you ever had a debrief at the end of project or task within a project to determine where the bottlenecks\delays occurred? I've found myself on the end of questions like "why did we end up late?" and "where did the delay occur?" and had to respond with "leave it with me, I'll find out". And then the investigation begins.

For those of you who have had pleasure of seeing Autodesk PLM 360, you might well have seen the project management capabilities that allow you to track and manage your projects and data that is managed within PLM 360. But did you know you can also identify where delays occured?

The Project Management app provides you with a live view of where all the individual tasks\items within the project are up to, as they are moved along their process by the people managing that part of the project, the top level project automatically updates accordingly. You can also quickly and easily link through to view any of the data that is being tracked and managed within each of the project tasks (assuming you have the permissions to do so).

Each item\task within the Project Management Schedule is driven via Milestones which allow you to set the time frame and deadlines for each stage of the process. As a project manager you can set the date you need to reach each state within the workflow process. 

In the screen shot above, you can see that I've applied Milestones to a REACH Declaration to make sure that each stage of the process is reached (sorry, no pun intended) by a particular date. Each of the states listed relates to each of the states we have defined in the associated workflow process.

One of the key things for here is that even though we have successfully reached the first two milestones, they are still colour coded red and orange - the first one is red because we didn't reach the milestone before\on the date specified and the second one is orange because we were close to missing the milestone event.

So to get back to the question in the title of this post, you can use the colour coding within a projects milestones to determine where bottlenecks and delays occurred within a project item\task.

If you want to see the Project Management within Autodesk PLM 360 in action, have a watch of this video from our PLM 360 Wiki Help:

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/PLM_360/enu/community/Videos/Project_Management_Application_Tutorial

Enjoy your weekend

New App - Autodesk Sketchbook Ink

Autodesk launched SketchBook Ink yesterday, enabling artists to create stunning, high-resolution ink-style artwork, and export and print large, high-quality images right from the iPad. The SketchBook Ink addition to the SketchBook family increases the number of choices available to artists to express their creative visions in a digital environment.

SketchBook Ink is dedicated to pen-and-ink drawing. The inking behavior gives it a distinct feel but builds on the intuitive and familiar interface valued by SketchBook users worldwide. Unlike traditional vector drawing apps, SketchBook Ink enables users to produce very fine detail in their artwork, independent of resolution, building on the intuitive freehand-drawing Autodesk SketchBook Pro platform.

 You can download SketchBook Ink from the Apple App Store on your mobile device or use the link below:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-ink/id526422908?mt=8

Autodesk 123d Catch for iPad

This week Autodesk announced that 123D Catch is now available for iPad on the App Store. This new free* app lets users take images from their iPad camera and upload them to the Autodesk cloud service that transforms the images into a 3D model.

Complementing the desktop and newly released online versions, the Autodesk 123D Catch app allows users to capture the world around them in 3D while on the go. Imagine the potential for photos of vacation memories, family or other mementos brought to life in 3D. Captures made in 123D Catch can also be used as the foundation for further 3D modeling, 3D animation, or used to create a 3D printed object.

Part of the 123D family of products, 123D Catch users can take advantage of a connected group of Autodesk software, fabrication services for 3D printing and laser cutting, and a community of like-minded individuals focused on 3D design and personal fabrication. The Autodesk 123D family provides users with the ability to capture, design and make their ideas, and connect with others for support or inspiration. Anyone can try Autodesk apps, services, and communities to experiment and experience the creative process.

Autodesk also introduced a new feature for 123D products called My Corner, which provides cloud storage for all 123D design projects while connecting 123D product workflows. This feature will enable users to share files between products—123D, 123D Catch, 123D Make, and 123D Sculpt— to explore their creative ideas, or even use that model to create a physical object through fabrication services. Users can also share their projects and explore other people’s creations from an online gallery that supplies an abundance of ideas for creative projects.

“The Autodesk family of 123D products breaks down barriers between the physical and digital, empowering users to customize the world around them,” said Samir Hanna, vice president, Consumer Products, Autodesk. “The launch of 123D Catch for iPad allows anyone to capture, explore, experiment and experience the 3D design and personal fabrication process.”

Autodesk 123D Catch app is exclusively available through the App Store for iPad at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/123d-catch/id513913018?ls=1&mt=8

New AutoCAD WS 1.4 for Apple iOS & Android

The latest AutoCAD® WS update is now available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, as well as Android mobile devices. Extending the power of AutoCAD software beyond the desktop, AutoCAD WS 1.4 brings a host of highly requested new features to the popular mobile app, including the ability to view 3D drawings, and GPS integration for orienting yourself within a drawing and saving comments to geo locations. AutoCAD WS 1.4 also enables you to quickly send designs as PDF or DWF files to any email address right from your mobile device, and supports remote plotting using any web-connected HP ePrinter.

If you already have AutoCAD WS installed on your mobile device, visit the application area on your device to download the update.

If you don't yest have AutoCAD WS on your mobile device, visit the Apple App Store or Android Market or use the links below:

Apple Devices: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autocad-ws/id393149734?mt=8

Android Devices: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.autodesk.autocadws&hl=en

Have your say on Autodesk Inventor 2013

Autodesk is currently hosting Beta testing for the next release of Inventor, codenamed Goodyear. If you are interested in participating, it's quick and easy to sign up using the URL below to register your interest. You will be able to download a full version of the Inventor 2013 Beta, have access to discussion forums and be able to provide feedback on new and enhanced functionality. 

If you do not already have an Autodesk Beta account you will have the option to create a new one during the sign-up process. Please ensure to include your up-to-date company information so that we know exactly who has applied.

To sign up, get involved in testing and provide your feedback on the next release of Autodesk Inventor, please use this link:

https://beta.autodesk.com/callout/?callid=33AC527986884D53ACCF5940941AD8E6

This is your opportunity to have your say on the next release of Autodesk Inventor.

Autodesk Inventor User Spotlight: Mindaugas Petrikas

Sometime last year I started following an Autodesk Inventor user who was studying Automotive and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bradford and was posting on Twitter what he was using Autodesk Inventor for along with screen shots of the design he was working on. To cut a long story short I contacted 21 year old Mindaugas Petrikas to get some more information of what he was working on and how he came to be using Autodesk Inventor. Here’s his story….

“I love transportation – for as long as I can remember I have been interested in anything that can move a person from A to B, and about 4 years ago I found out about kit cars, I liked the idea that a person could build their own car in the garage and then drive it. This spurred me into finding out more about how I could design and manufacture my own kit car.

At the time my Cousin was a user of Autodesk 3ds Max and after talking to him about my ambition to design and build a kit car he showed what 3ds Max was capable of to see how this could help realise my dream. After reading through some tutorials and experimenting myself I managed to create some pretty good designs but realised that I needed more engineering focus.

This lead me to enrolling in the Automotive and Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Bradford. During one of our lectures we were learning about the different software available in the industry for automotive design and I also found out about the Autodesk Student Community and that as a student I could register and download Autodesk software to use on my course for free. I wasted no time, registered on the Autodesk Student Community and looked into what software was available, found Autodesk Inventor Professional so downloaded, installed and got to work.

My goal was to have all of the required drawings ready by the time I need them when I graduate so I can use them to create a new vehicle and a business as a kit car manufacturer. I started building the frame, refining the design as I went using the simulation tools with Inventor Professional. The second and the most important step was the suspension. It was the time I realised the full potential of Autodesk Inventor. By using assemblies, Inventors Design Accelerators and contact solver I could test almost everything I needed; all the qualities of the suspension that makes the car easy to handle and responsive. After that came the body panels and the other smaller parts of the design.

I now have everything I need to actually go and manufacture the car if the opportunity arose. But the thing is, I had so much fun and excitement modelling it, and managed to complete the design sooner than I thought I would, that whilst I have the time, I will continue to refine and develop the design. 
The ability to transfer ones thoughts into something visual on a computer and interact with the object still astonishes me. I have spent a lot of time on this project (sometimes it gained higher priority than sleeping) and I look forward to spend some more. 

All in all Autodesk Inventor satisfies both of my personality sides – the creative one and the engineering one.”

Here's the design Mindaugas has been working on in Autodesk Inventor - all of the design, engineering and visualisations were created using Inventor which was downloaded from the Autodesk Student Community:

All images are Copyright of Mindaugas Petrikas and should not be re-used without prior permission.

You can keep up to date with Midaugas's project via:

Blog - http://petrikas.blogspot.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/#!/MPetrikas

LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=127552964

 

Autodesk Inventor Interface - Give us your feedback

I received an email yesterday from one of our Autodesk Inventor Product Manager's who is looking for your thoughts and feedback on the changes made to the Autodesk Inventor user interface over the past 4 years.

We want to know what you think of the Ribbon Bar interface, Marking Menus, Mini-Toolbars and how you interact with the interface and how it helps you. This is your opportunity to tell the Product Managers and Developers of the product what you think and influence the future development of the Autodesk Inventor user interface.

To help collect your thoughts, the Autodesk Inventor team have put together this quick on-line survey for you to provide your thoughts and opinions. Click on the link below to provide your feedback and thoughts...

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/autodeskinventorUI

Thanks for your time.

Autodesk Alias Software Helps Volvo Car’s Vision of Luxury Design

Volvo Car's, one of the global car industry’s strongest brands, has revealed that Autodesk design and visualisation software was key to the successful design of its Concept You car. The fully-functional concept model was unveiled to great critical acclaim at the Frankfurt Motor Show last autumn.  

Following the earlier success of Volvo’s Concept Universe at the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2011, the Volvo design team was under extreme pressure to further refine its ideas and produce a working model with full interior in a matter of months, in time for Frankfurt. Both concepts were created to demonstrate Volvo’s vision for the future of luxury cars under its new ownership.

Using Autodesk Alias software, the concept modelling team was able to quickly create digital prototypes from the designer’s initial sketches. This enabled the team to quickly hone and test the design on screen, helping to save time and maintain the original design integrity behind the concept. As a result, designers were able to get to the best option with the technical surfacing and visualisation of the car as quickly as possible without having to start from scratch with every iteration.

Although the Volvo team was working under a particularly tight deadline, timescales such as this are becoming typical in such a competitive industry. Cars are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated with a high technical content, yet manufacturers are under pressure to design them faster, while incurring lower costs. Like Volvo, a growing number of manufacturers are using Autodesk Alias to accelerate the entire design process from concept to class A modelling. 

As part of the design workflow, Volvo also used Autodesk Showcase software for advanced visualisation of its ideas.  This enabled the concept to be quickly communicated to the design management team and board so that they could easily understand what was being created. Despite the punishing time-frame, Volvo’s new concept was ready in time to create a real talking point at the show. The automotive press was full of accolades, describing the car as, “beautifully done”, “a much-needed tonic” and simply “stunning”.

A long-term user of Autodesk software, Volvo has recently become a Platinum Support customer which gives it direct access to Autodesk experts, promoting a two-way dialogue to help influence future development of Alias and other products.

A List of Useful Resources

When I started this blog one of the things I did first was create a Blog Roll - a list of useful and informative websites, blogs, people, video sites etc that users of Inventor, Vault, Showcase etc could use to get more help and information. The Blog Roll is still available (accessible via the menu above) and is updated as and when I find new sites to add.

However, last weekend I stumbled across a new social media tool that allowed me to create a list similar to my Blog Roll, but allows viewers of the list to add new sites and rate the sites for others to see.

I have created a new Autodesk Digital Prototyping list using list.ly which contains a list of some of the most popular on-line resources for Inventor, Vault, Showcase etc that I know of. If you use any of the sites listed you can tell others that you use them, and also tell others if you like the site.

Have a look at the list, you can add sites and resources that you know of and would like to share with other users of the Autodesk Digital Prototyping Solutions so that we end up with a complete list of great resources.

You'll also notice that at the top of the list there are a number of filters so that you can filter the list to see the sites listed by specific filters such as Vault, Inventor, Blog etc

Have a look and let me know what you think, and if you know of any good sites, why not add them to the list...

http://list.ly/list/mY-autodesk-digital-prototyping

A List of Useful Resources

When I started this blog one of the things I did first was create a Blog Roll - a list of useful and informative websites, blogs, people, video sites etc that users of Inventor, Vault, Showcase etc could use to get more help and information. The Blog Roll is still available (accessible via the menu above) and is updated as and when I find new sites to add.

However, last weekend I stumbled across a new social media tool that allowed me to create a list similar to my Blog Roll, but allows viewers of the list to add new sites and rate the sites for others to see.

I have created a new Autodesk Digital Prototyping list using list.ly which contains a list of some of the most popular on-line resources for Inventor, Vault, Showcase etc that I know of. If you use any of the sites listed you can tell others that you use them, and also tell others if you like the site.

Have a look at the list, you can add sites and resources that you know of and would like to share with other users of the Autodesk Digital Prototyping Solutions so that we end up with a complete list of great resources.

You'll also notice that at the top of the list there are a number of filters so that you can filter the list to see the sites listed by specific filters such as Vault, Inventor, Blog etc

Have a look and let me know what you think, and if you know of any good sites, why not add them to the list...

http://list.ly/list/mY-autodesk-digital-prototyping