Autodesk Manufacturing & Digital Prototyping Solutions

AutoCAD WS becomes AutoCAD 360

Over the past couple of years, the AutoCAD WS team has been collecting great feedback about how AutoCAD WS has been used in the office and in the field. The team has taken that feedback into our labs, and today are excited to emerge with the next evolution of AutoCAD WS, now AutoCAD 360. Here’s a quick summary of the top 5 changes to the platform:

1. A new name: AutoCAD 360.
2. A new website: www.autocad360.com.
3. A new mobile app update available; download it in the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
4. New AutoCAD 360 Pro mobile app plans. Here are the top 12 reasons to get a Pro plan. And here, you can compare the AutoCAD 360 Pro mobile app plans.
5. A new, free AutoCAD 360 web app beta. It’s a ground-up redesign of our AutoCAD WS web app, offering easier operation and better collaboration capabilities.

Check out the new Welcome to AutoCAD 360 video, too.....

 

Autodesk 2014 suites - So what's changed?

As you can see from the infrequency of the posts on this blog, it's been a busy few months.

At the end of March we announced the 2014 release of products, with most applications being available to download to subscription customers soon after.

In the run up to and subsequently since the launch, most of us at Autodesk have been busy running around presenting at customer launch events and partner launch / training sessions. Although there are still a few to support, hopefully we can start to breathe again and spend at least a few nights at home!

Anyway, over the course of the last couple of months a few common questions have arisen, which I thought it prudent to highlight to the wider audience.

Apart from what’s new in the individual applications, those of you on subscription with a product suite will notice that you now have access to a wider toolset.

New applications for Design Suite customers

For example, inside standard design suites such as Autodesk Product Design Suite Standard you will notice within the installer that you have now have AutoCAD Raster Design and Autodesk Recap.

AutoCAD Raster Design has been available to purchase for a number of years, however with this now being included in the standard suites, if you do receive or still have a need to convert raster based drawings into vector then you now have a tool to help achieve this included in the box.

See here for an overview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Wg6BOOS2c

Autodesk Recap is a new application that gives the user the flexibility to combine, filter, navigate and annotate point cloud data.

If you’ve already used point cloud information within 2013 versions of Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit and Autodesk AutoCAD you will notice in the 2014 that we no longer directly read in the native point cloud data such as those generated from Faro, Lieca or any of the other scanner vendors. The reason for this is, you can now process these point clouds via Autodesk Recap, which will allow a user to combine multiple files, filter noise, remove unwanted points, set units and co-ordinate systems, visualise and analyse (such as elevation or intensity) and a whole host more.

See here for an overview with Factory Design Suite.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyrhXux5YCE

A significant change for users of Autodesk Product Design Suite Premium is that it now includes Autodesk Inventor Professional. All the simulation tools such as FEA and Dynamic Simulation plus mold tool design and plastic fill analysis are now available to these users.

Autodesk Product Design Suite Ultimate now includes Autodesk Navisworks Manage, giving you the capability to run clash detections with aggregated data from a variety of sources including point cloud information.

Autodesk Inventor Fusion

That’s all well and good but something that has popped up is, “Where has Inventor Fusion disappeared too?”

Well this product is no longer being included in the Suite installations, and although it is available to download from Autodesk Labs, you can expect to see its replacement Autodesk Fusion 360 coming to market soon.

To download Inventor Fusion, use this link http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/fusion

For customers using our simulations tools such as Autodesk Simulation Mechanical and Autodesk Simulation CFD, a supported version of Autodesk Inventor Fusion is still included in the media.

Autodesk Simulation 360 Pro

Talking about simulation tools, if you are currently using Autodesk Sim360 Pro, for 2014 in addition to cloud based Simulation Mechanical and Simulation CFD, this toolset also now includes Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis which gives users the power to be able to simulate full structural analysis including code checking.

Autodesk Inventor Publisher

If you are currently a user of Autodesk Inventor Publisher 2013 on subscription you will have noticed that there has been no 2014 flavour released. To confirm the state of play, 2013 R1 was made available on subscription center a couple of weeks back, this version give users compatibility with 2014 file formats.

Autodesk Vault

One of the big changes for this product line is that Autodesk Vault Collaboration has been discontinued. Although there is no need to panic, as all customers with 2013 versions of this product on subscription will be auto fulfilled with Autodesk Vault Professional. Customers that have Autodesk Vault Workgroup will see the 2014 version ship in the not too distant future.

Well what else is new?

I’ve only highlighted a few of the overall changes to some of our offerings, for FY14 you can expect to see a whole host of new technologies being made available to customers, so we’re not finished yet.

 

 

Request the features you want with Ideastation

Since joining Autodesk I've been asked a number of times, "When are we going to get this feature....why hasn't that been put into this product.." and the common response I give is "Well have you asked for it?" and usually the answer is no. Although in all fairness it's never really been that obvious how it can be done.

My answer used to be "Please log your request using the product feedback page" (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1109794). This is one area that Autodesk Product Managers keep tabs but in all fairness wasn't the easiest page to find.

If you 're a user of the Autodesk forums you may of noticed a change of late, which is the addition of IdeaStations. So you now have a relatively interactive way to log new feature requests. If an idea gets picked up for scoping then you'll see the status change from New Idea to Under Review, Accepted and so more depending on how succesful the request is.

IdeaStations are currently setup for the following applications, click on the links below to view:

• Autodesk Factory Design Suite
• Autodesk Inventor
• Autodesk Inventor ETO (Engineer-to-Order)
• Autodesk Product Design Suite
• Autodesk PLM 360
• Autodesk Vault

Now they're not available for all spplications as you can see, but for the ones listed above it's more straightforward to find...I just need to think of new excuses.

BIM 360 Glue On The Go

Accessing models and BIM project data in the field has been a high priority for our construction customers for some time now, and requested more times than I can remember. Around 10 months ago I was asked to product manage a team to build an app that could handle large BIM datasets - to say I was thrilled (and honored) is an understatement, as although I've worked on Navisworks for many years, this was the first product I'd be the lead for. No pressure.

Read more about this great new app for the iPad on beyonddesign.typepad.com

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

Autodesk ForceEffect v2.0 now available

In November last year, Autodesk released a new simulation app for the iPad called ForceEffect, you might remember reading my blog post about it.

Last week, ForceEffect v2.0 was released to the Apple iTunes store for download and update with a number of new features added to the app. The new features include:

• iPod Touch\iPhone Support
• On-line Tutorials
• Distributed Load
• Set Weight
• Construction Line
• Autodesk Cloud Support
• Break Element

The #1 customer request was for the addition to add a distributed load evenly across an existing element and the #2 request was support on the iPhone and iPod Touch devices. ForceEffect v2.0 adds both of the #1 and #2 customer requests!!

The on-line tutorials can be accessed directly from within ForceEffect v2.0 and include videos of how to use the app directly within the app itself - so no need to leave the app watch the videos and learn about it.

Having access to Autodesk Cloud documents directly from within ForceEffect v2.0 means you can save your studies to Autodesk Cloud and access them from your laptop or desktop and re-use the data in your design development using tools like Autodesk Inventor or AutoCAD Mechanical. Alternativley, you can open documents you have saved to Autodesk Could into ForceEffect v2.0 to carry out a structural study.

If you've not yet downloaded Autodesk ForceEffect, it's free and downloadable from the Apple iTunes Store:

Click here to get Autodesk ForceEffect....

If already have ForceEffect installed on your iOS device make sure you update from the App Store.

Accessing Autodesk Vault Data via Webclient & iPad

This is the third part in a series of videos all about creating and sharing eco impact data such as end of life, CO2 footprint, energy usage etc that was created within Autodesk Inventor 2012 and then managed using Autodesk Vault Professional 2012.

In part one of the series, we looked at how we could create the eco impact data within Autodesk Inventor.

In part two, we looked at how the eco impact data we created in part one can be added to Autodesk Vault Professional and then managed with the documents and Bill of Materials of the product so that non-engineers can access and work with the data.

This final part shows how we can access all of the same eco impact data that is managed within Autodesk Vault Professional via the webclient and also a mobile device such as an Apple iPad (other mobile devices can also access the data):

So whats the point of this I hear you cry.....

As designers and engineers, we have a responsibility to think about material choices and regulatory compliance. We need to make sure that the products and solutions we design, engineer & manufacture are taking advantage of materials that can be recycled and to do this that we don't need our own personal power station to manufacture.

But more importantly, buyers, distributors and consumers are asking more questions about the products they buy, is it sustainable? is it recyclable? whats the CO2 footprint? what materials have been used? does it comply with regulations? - and all these need to be answered!

Using Eco Materials Advisor within Autodesk Inventor will give design engineers the ability to start the process of thinking about the eco impact of their designs much earlier. Once they have made decisions about the materials, manufacturing processes and finishes all of that eco impact data can then be shared and re-used by non-engineers without the need for them to do time consuming research.

The information is there for them, they can find exactly what they are looking for quickly and easily and then when asked those questions by distributors, consumers etc they have the data to hand, driven directly from the Digital Prototype.

Imagine Design Create for iPad

In March of this year Autodesk announced the release of a new book called Imagine Design Create, the book shows how people are using fresh design approaches and new capabilities to solve problems, create opportunities, and improve the way we live and work.

Last week we released a free of charge iPad version of the book which give users a full-length interactive book which brings to life more than 20 compelling stories of design, from the creation of Avatar to pioneering works of architecture to the subtle art of creating video game experiences. With hundreds of stunning photos, more than 30 minutes of video and interviews, and interactive features, Imagine Design Create presents a deep, new look at the creative intersection of design and technology. Here's some shots I took of the app on my iPad...

To get hold of this new iPad app, just go to the app store on your iPad and search for 'autodesk' or 'imagine design create'. Alternatively you could use the link below....

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autodesk-imagine-design-create/id479894743?mt=8