Autodesk Puts the Cost Saving
and Time-to-Market Benefits of Digital Prototyping within Reach of Mainstream Manufacturers
2009 Product Lineup Features Powerful Productivity Gains – Enabling Greater
Innovation, Larger Designs and Improved Interoperability
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., February
12, 2008 — Today Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) unveiled the latest versions of
its industry-leading design software for manufacturing, enhancing the ability of
manufacturers to implement the process of Digital Prototyping – giving them the
ability to virtually design a complete product and simulate how it will work under
real world conditions before it is built. With updates to Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD
Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, Autodesk AliasStudio, Autodesk Showcase and Autodesk
Productstream software products unveiled at the company’s annual World Press Days
event, users can further exploit Digital Prototyping by connecting the industrial
design, engineering and manufacturing teams through the use of a single digital
model. Digital Prototyping reduces a manufacturer’s reliance on physical prototypes,
which in turn helps reduce cost and speeds time to market in highly competitive
industries.
“Autodesk is changing the way companies think about their design processes, with
workflows more efficient and effective than ever before,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross,
senior vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions. “With the release of
our 2009 product line, we’re helping manufacturers address their business-critical
issues such as innovation, support for larger designs, and working with other people’s
data. By putting powerful Digital Prototyping technology within the reach of mainstream
manufacturers, they can experience the future results of their work with analysis,
simulation tools and detailed visualization.”
Digital Prototyping Improves Manufacturers Competitive Strengths
International Data Corporation (IDC) analyst Gisela Wilson, Director of
IDC’s Product, Project and Portfolio Management Solutions Program recently issued
a report on the competitive advantage that Digital Prototyping provides in today’s
manufacturing area. “Manufacturers are embracing Digital Prototyping as a way to
stay ahead of market trends, such as the growing demand for superior styling of
consumer goods and the need for accelerated time-to-market.” Wilson said, “Additionally,
designers can try a larger number of design choices
because designs can be executed
much more rapidly than with physical prototypes.”
The report emphasized Autodesk’s strong competitive position within the Digital
Prototyping marketplace, due to its comprehensive and ever-evolving product portfolio.
“Autodesk is poised to become the clear leader in Digital Prototyping – from industrial
design and high end visualization through to manufacturing – with its broad product
offering for new product design, development and data management,” said Wilson.
Inventor 2009: The Foundation of Digital Prototyping
Since its initial release in 1999, manufacturers in a variety of fields
– from automotive and consumer products, to industrial equipment and machinery –
have relied on Inventor software to streamline their workflows. As the foundation
of Digital Prototyping, the products in the Inventor product family produce 3D models
that validate the form, fit and function of a design before it is built. The Inventor
2009 product line makes enhancements to many of the core design tools within the
Inventor product line, offering significant increases in productivity. New features
include:
• Enhanced Sheet Metal Design – Inventor 2009 simplifies the design
of a large range of widely used sheet metal constructs by providing accurate digital
prototypes that faithfully represent the asmanufactured part.
• Enhanced Simulation – Numerous enhancements to the dynamic simulation
environment make the tools more accessible and easier to use, allowing users to
more efficiently validate their digital prototypes very early in the design process.
• Native 64 Bit Support – Inventor 2009 ships with 32 bit and 64
bit implementations so users can take full advantage of newer 64 bit computers.
Users can confidently approach even larger projects knowing that they will be able
to work with very large part counts and not have to worry about the memory barrier
of 32 bit systems.
• Large Assembly Capacity – Using assembly substitutes, users have
the advantages of lighter assemblies that still preserve accurate mass properties,
including center of gravity, assembly constraints and bill of materials data.
• Interoperability – Native translators support direct data exchange
between Autodesk Inventor and UGS, SolidWorks or Pro/ENGINEER by importing and exporting
Parasolid, importing UG-NX, importing SolidWorks, importing and exporting Granite
and importing Pro/E.
• Self Draining Pipe Runs – Inventor Routed Systems Suite 2009
allows users to define tube and pipe styles to support the design of self draining
lines. Users can also auto-route self draining lines by automatically generating
hygienic pipe routes with the correct runoff to eliminate horizontal segments.
• Enhanced Design Accelerators – Inventor 2009 reduces the learning
curve associated with rapidly designing, analyzing and creating commonly used machine
components such as bolted connections, gears and shafts by using real-world attributes,
such as speed, power and material properties.
• Frame Generator – In Inventor 2009, users can publish their profiles
to the Content Center for use in Frame Generator. A new Frame Shape Authoring tool
has been developed to facilitate the publishing operations.
“Digital Prototyping has changed the way we think about our design processes and
helped us create more productive workflows for the equipment we build,” said Jeff
Thompson, a CAD Manager and Design Drafter at Allied Systems. “The enhancements
in Inventor 2009 will make it faster for us to analyze and optimize our designs
before anything is built. In particular, the new Sheet Metal tools will provide
instant productivity, reducing the overall time of the design and manufacturing
process.” Leaders in the engineering and manufacturing of specialized heavy lift
and material handling equipment, Allied Systems originally served the wood products
industry, but now spans multiple product lines.
Digital Prototyping Solutions for Every Stage of Design
Along with Inventor, Autodesk is releasing new versions of its Digital
Prototyping (www.autodesk.com/digitalprototyping) applications which extend and
enhance the workflows of its customers, including:
• AutoCAD Mechanical 2009 – AutoCAD Mechanical is the AutoCAD software for manufacturing,
purpose-built to accelerate the mechanical design process with standards-based symbol
libraries, engineering calculators and a mechanical-specific workflow created to
significantly improve productivity for AutoCAD users in manufacturing. New features
such as support for the international GOST drafting standard and instant access
to a Favorites List of standard parts save countless hours of effort, allowing users
to spend more time innovating and less time drafting.
• AutoCAD Electrical 2009 – AutoCAD Electrical is the AutoCAD software for controls
designers, purpose-built to design electrical controls systems quickly and accurately
with automated tasks, comprehensive symbol libraries, and an electrical-specific
workflow designed to dramatically increase productivity in controls engineering.
The new release delivers the tools needed to develop designs faster and more accurately
than ever before, including a Circuit Builder that allows users to dynamically generate
circuits based upon functional requirements.
• AliasStudio 2009 – The Autodesk AliasStudio product line provides a set of tools
for the industrial design process, helping companies create superior designs in
less time. It enables designers to work and capture their ideas digitally, from
initial sketches to 3D concept models. From its unique integrated paint tools, to
its enhanced modeling and reverse engineering capabilities, the AliasStudio products
address the unique creative requirements of the entire industrial design workflow
in product and transportation design.
• Showcase 2009 – Autodesk Showcase software helps users create accurate, highly
realistic representations from 3D CAD data, enabling informed decision making on
digital prototypes. With updated ambient shadow features and an expanded library
of realistic materials, this latest release of Showcase makes it easier than ever
to present and review designs for important product decisions or presentations.
Showcase gathers data from various 3D sources now including reading in data from
Inventor.
• Productstream 2009 – Autodesk Productstream securely stores and manages engineering
design data and related documents. Powerful new search engine technology is incorporated
into the latest release, along with a multi-site replication module which allows
digital information to be shared easily between sites, thereby speeding up data
search, increasing design reuse and collaboration.
Availability
Product availability will vary by country. Details and purchasing options will be
accessible starting March 25, 2008, at: www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions. Information
and selected content from Autodesk World Press Days may be found at www.worldpressdays08.com.
Users of any of the AutoCAD 2009 family of products will also benefit from the availability
of free Autodesk Design Review 2009 software, which allows team members to participate
in the digital review process with tools to view, mark up and revise designs electronically.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing,
building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction
of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art
digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they
are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate
and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and
money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk,
visit www.autodesk.com.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical,
AliasStudio, Showcase, Productstream, Autodesk Inventor and Inventor are registered
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand
names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk
reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without
notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear
in this document.
© 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
IDC, “Autodesk Acquires Three Visualization Companies, Opening the Door for Broader
Use of Digital Prototyping in Manufacturing” (September 2007)
*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement
that accompanies download of the software