Top 10 Reasons Why Autodesk Subscription is a Smart Investment

Get the benefits of increased productivity, predictable budgeting, and simplified license management with Autodesk® Subscription.

1. Cost-Effectiveness
If you typically upgrade your Autodesk products, you can save money with Autodesk Subscription. It does not matter when you upgrade; every year, every two years, or every three years. Subscription is a cost-effective way to keep Autodesk software up-to-date, and represents great value over time.

2. Predictable Budgeting
Autodesk Subscription offers a way to make software costs predictable. Whether you opt for a one-year subscription or a multi-year subscription contract, your costs are known for the entire term of the subscription contract. This means improved cash forecasting, and the possibility to include subscription fees in project estimates and billing.

3. Technology Upgrades
Autodesk Subscription helps make sure that you always have fast access to the latest release of the software made available during the term of your contract; this includes major releases and feature extensions. Features extensions, exclusive to subscription members, can provide new functionality and/or feature enhancements between major releases.

4. Web Support
Web support, direct from Autodesk, provides fast, complete answers to technical questions to help you get more from your investment in Autodesk software. Direct, one-on-one interaction with Autodesk support technicians right at the desktop can improve productivity and help avoid expensive downtime. You also have the option to keep your reseller automatically informed of your support requests and resolutions that were provided to you by Autodesk.

5. e-Learning
e-Learning consists of self-paced, interactive lessons for many Autodesk products. Each lesson is 15–30 minutes in length, and lessons are organized into product catalogs. The lessons feature hands-on exercises, with an option to use a simulation instead of the software application. You can also use the built-in assessments to identify skills gaps and the lessons that will help you the most.

6. Technical Knowledgebase
The Autodesk Knowledgebase is a comprehensive online resource that enables Subscription members to search at any time for crucial information and learning materials that can help them get the most out of their production environments. Advanced search filters and personalized search capabilities give you fast access to the most relevant solutions in the knowledgebase—making it easier to find the information you want.

7. Flexible Licensing Terms
Never miss a beat in your production! Only subscription members are entitled to use previous versions of the software concurrently with the upgrades, in order to access new functionality in the upgrade (for evaluation or production use) without disrupting ongoing projects. In addition, you have the flexibility to use Autodesk software license in the office or at home.

8. Autodesk Subscription Center
The password-protected Autodesk Subscription Center, gives members an online portal, where you can quickly access the many features of Autodesk Subscription, up-to-date software, learning resources, extensive knowledgebase, as well as administer your subscription contract and view and manage your software licenses

9. Simplified License Management Tools
Autodesk Subscription makes managing your software licenses and your subscription contract easy with administration tools via the Autodesk Subscription Center. You can view coverage and renewal reports, provide users access to included services, update your contact information and learn about exclusive members –only offers.

10. Exclusive Community Access
Autodesk Subscription members get access to a wealth of community resources and exclusive, subscriber-only privileges designed to keep you connected to Autodesk executives, technical experts, and developers. From early access to new technology to invitation-only webcasts to preferred subscriber status at Autodesk events, Autodesk Subscription members receive the red carpet treatment.

www.autodesk.com/subscription

Autodesk Inventor 2010 Tips and Tricks

Autodesk Inventor 2010 Code Named : Hopper, has several enhancements. The features and tools are developed in order to increase productivity for every design engineer. This post features a tip to easily access the Application Menu, Quick Access toolbar, and ribbon bar. Lets see this with an example.,

Example: Using Key Board access the Application Options :

With the sketch window open in Inventor 2010

Press the Alt key or F10 to display shortcut keys for common tools in the application window. Keytips allow you to perform tasks without using your mouse.

When you select a keytip, more keytips are displayed for that tool. Keytips appear as underlined characters to indicate which key or combination of keys on the keyboard must be pressed to activate a command.
Keytips allow you to navigate in the Application Menu and in the ribbon using only the keyboard. Use the keyboard arrows to navigate to commands on the ribbon and Application Menu
Now, press T to activate tools

Now press L to access the application options

Linking Excel and AutoCAD with Data Links

The introduction of OLE objects, and more recently AutoCAD Tables were noble attempts to synchronize AutoCAD with Excel, but still fell short for many real-world needs. What engineers wanted and needed was bidirectional synchronization between AutoCAD and Excel. Among the new features packed within AutoCAD 2008 is just that capability through use of Data Links.

To Setup Data Links

1. Launch the TABLE command.
2. Click “From a data link“, and launch the “Data Link Manager” by clicking the button (illustrated).

3. Click “Create a new Excel Data Link”

4. Name the Data Link – something intuitive.

5. Browse for your Excel Table

6. The “New Excel Data Link” dialogue can be expanded by clicking the button in the bottom right corner.

7. Under “Cell Contents”, uncheck “Convert data types to text”, and check both “Retain Formulas” and “Allow writing to source file”. Checking those options will make it so your Excel formulas will be preserved, and that you will be able to make edits to the table in AutoCAD, and they be populated to the origional Excel file.

8. Press the [Ok] button 3 times to get out of the command, and insert your linked table.

9. Assuming you checked the “Retain Formulas” option when setting up the Data Link, you’ll notice fields (text with a grey background) for any calculated value.

After inserting your Excel table, any updates made in the source Excel file will be updated in AutoCAD. By default however you will not be able to update data from AutoCAD, and have it update in the source Excel document. To modify a table value in AutoCAD, select a cell, right-click, and navigate down to “Locking”, and select “Unlock”.
After unlocking a cell, you can click into a cell, change a value. As a deliberate checks and balances, to update the Excel file, you must right-click once again, and select “Write Data Links to External Source“.
So there you have it, a quick run-through on how to harness the new Data Links in AutoCAD 2008. Stay tuned for more in AutoCAD 2008.

AutoCAD 2010 - It's Parametric

Parametric* Constraints are not new in CAD but are in AutoCAD 2010. I think their arrival, along with free form modelling, reflects a real change in attitude from Autodesk towards the application that started it all.

AutoCAD is now termed as "the platform which democratises design" and feature sets previously only seen in verticals, or even other platforms, are starting to appear in AutoCAD. It also goes the other way as the Ribbon UX pioneered in AutoCAD is appearing in other Autodesk applications. I'll be writing more on these topics in future posts but it sets the scene for the arrival of a feature I thought "plain" AutoCAD would never have. Before the question is asked: AutoCAD LT 2010 will honour parametric features in existing files (you can view, edit or delete) but not create them.

Currently AutoCAD parametrics apply to 2D objects, although you can fudge limited manipulation of 3D objects. There are Geometric Constraints which control object spatial relationships and Dimensional Constraints to control size. If you are familiar with Inventor the parametric tools in AutoCAD will seem similar. If not, learning AutoCAD Parametrics should make transition easier should you require it in the future.

Parametric Interface:
Parametrics have a dedicated Ribbon Tab which groups the tools and their visibility controls in a logical arrangement. A new Parametrics Manager Palette, launched from the ribbon, allows tabular editing of names, formulas and values once dimensional parameters are applied

Why Parametric?
The applications of Parametrics are limitless but one simple example shows how they can change the behaviour of an AutoCAD object. Below you see two objects created with the veteran Rectangle tool. It's always been a bit of a fib as just creates a simple 4 node closed Polyline in the shape of a rectangle. Move a corner grip, as seen on the left, and you find your "rectangle" rapidly becomes rather un-rectangular! On the right, the same geometry has constraints applied to keep it rectangular as the corners are grip edited.
The combination of parallel, perpendicular and horizontal constraints is indicated by control icons you can toggle on/off or use to edit the constraint. As sharing files with parametrics becomes more common a good first step will be to toggle on the display of these indicators to check the configuration.

Applying Parametric Constraints:
The combination of constraints on the "rectangle" above was added with a simple click of the Auto Constrain Tool. It applies geometric constraints to a selection set of objects based on their relative orientation.
Some, most?, parametric applications require an object to be fully constrained but AutoCAD does not. Below I've added a perpendicular constraint to two lines without any dimensional constraints. These lines remain perpendicular as their length or location changes. This is a very flexible approach to parametrics but one which will require some thought in it's application

Geometric constraints:
These include controls for Coincident (with other object points), Lock (to an absolute location), force Horizontal/Vertical, Parallel/Perpendicular/Colinear, Concentric/Tangent for arcs/circles. Others include Equal to have geometry follow its master (e.g circle diameters which match), Smooth will join splines and Symmetric matches characteristics about an axis. When adding these the first object selected becomes the master,subsequent elections follow it..

Dimensional constraints:
Dimensional constraints allow direct entry distance/angle to alter object geometry or formulas referencing other parameters.

The rectangle below has a direct entered length parameter, d1=7, and a formula, d1/2, for the height. Alter d1 and the height will adjust to follow. The process of adding constraints is very similar to adding the dimensions they resemble. Names d1,2...etc are assigned automatically but can be edited afterwards if you wish. If constrained objects are copied new parameters are created for the new object. A copy of this rectangle would have d3=7 and d4=d3/2.

You can edit dimensional constraints in the Parametrics Palette or drawing editor. This can be done by entering a value or formula into the "control dimension" or by selecting the dimension and using the grip controls to drag.


You can also "relax", temporarily over-ride, constraints by cycling Control while editing. AutoCAD will advise of possible impacts/conflicts with other constraints and options to resolve them before completing the edit.

Top 10 Reasons to go for AutoCAD Electrical from AutoCAD

1. Comprehensive Symbol Libraries
AutoCAD® Electrical software ships with more than 2,000 standards-based schematic symbols. A simple, menu-driven system for inserting electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) devices enables you to quickly build standards-based controls designs by selecting frequently used devices from a menu. Symbol libraries include support for the AS, GB, IEC, JIC, and JIS standards. The comprehensive symbol library includes devices such as the following:

2. Automatic Wire Numbering and Component Tagging

Automatically assign unique wire numbers and component tags in your drawings and reduce the time you spend tracking design changes—resulting in fewer errors. AutoCAD Electrical automatically places sequential or reference-based numbers on all wires and components based on the chosen configuration. AutoCAD Electrical can determine if an inserted wire number will "bump into" anything and automatically searches laterally along the wire for a clear spot to place the wire number. If no clear spot is found, AutoCAD Electrical continues to search for a clear spot away from the wire and, when found, automatically draws a leader back to the wire.

3. Automatic Project Reports
Drastically reduce the time required to manually generate and update reports, while removing associated errors. Report generation in AutoCAD Electrical is simple with a variety of automatic reports, including bills of materials (BOMs), cable lists, terminal reports, from/to wire lists, and many more. The report function gives you the option of generating multiple reports with a single command and includes flexible export options.

4. Real-Time Error Checking
Avoid costly errors before the build phase begins by catching and removing errors during design. AutoCAD Electrical monitors and alerts users to potential design errors as they occur by constantly comparing the requested changes with the current project.

5. Real-Time Coil and Contact Cross-Referencing
Reduce the risk of assigning too many contacts to any relay, and minimize time spent manually tracking assignments. AutoCAD Electrical sets up parent/child relationships between coils and contacts, keeping track of how many contacts are assigned to any coil or multi-contact device, and alerting users when they have exceeded the limit.

6. Create Smart Panel Layout Drawings
Easily create panel layout drawings and help reduce errors with automatic tracking and updating of all part placements. Once the schematic creation phase is complete, AutoCAD Electrical extracts a list of schematic components for placement into panel layout drawings. Users choose the panel location and a physical "footprint" representation of each device to be inserted into the layout, and a link is automatically created between the device and its representation. Any changes to the schematic or panel representation automatically update the other. Non-schematic items, such as wire duct and mounting hardware, can be added to the layout and automatically combined to create a "smart" panel BOM report.

7. Electrical-Specific Drafting Features
Slash design time by using commands purpose-built for electrical controls designers. AutoCAD Electrical includes all the functionality of AutoCAD plus a comprehensive set of functions developed specifically for designing electrical control systems. Specialized features such as trim wire, copy and delete component or circuit, and scoot and align components make it much easier to create drawings quickly. AutoCAD Electrical offers productivity gains of up to 80 percent over AutoCAD.*

8. Automatically Create PLC I/O Drawings from Spreadsheets
Automatically create PLC I/O drawings from the design data stored in a spreadsheet. AutoCAD Electrical gives users the ability to generate a comprehensive set of PLC I/O drawings by simply defining the project’s I/O assignments in a spreadsheet. AutoCAD Electrical then automatically creates drawings, complete with ladders per the drawing configuration, I/O modules, addresses and description text, and component and terminal symbols connected to each I/O point. Once the drawings have been created, the I/O address and description report can be exported to the PLC program.

9. Share Drawings with Customers and Suppliers and Track Their Changes
Easily exchange data with customers or suppliers in native DWG format. Edit and view AutoCAD Electrical drawings in any DWG™-compatible program, such as AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT® software. When designs are edited by outside sources, AutoCAD Electrical can create a report of any modifications made to the drawings by others. Also, when you are ready to issue a new revision to your design process, AutoCAD Electrical can create a report of changes made to the drawings since the last revision update.

10. Reuse Existing Drawings
Get a head start on your design projects by reusing drawings from another project. Make a copy of a specific part, or reuse an entire drawing set when starting a new design. Save frequently used circuits for reuse in future designs. AutoCAD Electrical automatically renumbers the wires and devices to match the configuration of the current drawing or project in which they are placed. You can also reduce design time and errors by retagging all components in a project with a single command.

Open an AutoCAD Drawing in Named View

When you save and close a drawing,AutoCADremembers the last displayed view and opens it to that view. That's convenient for continuing where you left off.

But what if other people are also working on the drawing and they change the display? Or if you know you want to go to another part of the drawing?

You can open a drawing to any named view, controlling what you see when you open the drawing. First you save a named view. Here's how:

1. Display the view that you want to be able to display.
2. Choose View > Named Views (inAutoCADClassic workspace) or View tab> Viewports panel> Named (in 2D Drafting & Annotation workspace inAutoCAD2009) .
3. Click New.
4. Name your view and click OK twice to return to your drawing.
5. Save and exit your drawing.

When you are ready to open the drawing next time, here's what you do to ensure that you see the view you want:

When you are ready to open the drawing next time, here's what you do to ensure that you see the view you want:

1. Click Opento display the Select File dialog box.
2. Check the Select Initial View check box, as you see here.

3. In the Select Initial View dialog box, choose your view and click OK.

Moving to 3D with Autodesk Inventor Increases Efficiency and Collaboration Worldwide - Voith

Every third sheet of paper is made on Voith Paper (Voith) machines. A giant in the worldwide paper industry, Voith employs 10,000 people, generates $19 billion a year in revenue, and develops solutions that cover the entire paper production process—from fiber to wrapped paper. Previously dependent on 2D design tools, the company is now meeting its goal of improving the speed and quality of design creation by transitioning to 3D design with Autodesk® Inventor® software.

To gain additional efficiencies, Voith has partnered with Autodesk Consulting for guidance on the Autodesk Inventor implementation. Voith is also integrating its Autodesk manufacturing solution with its SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, product data management (PDM) system, and PARTsolutions from CADENAS GmbH, an Autodesk Inventor Certified Application that manages parts and components, adding intelligence and information to the items.

Voith is communicating easier with its customers worldwide for design reviews using Autodesk standards such as DWF. By implementing an integrated manufacturing solution, Voith’s globally-dispersed engineers now work from a single source of data to produce 3D designs, speeding up—and streamlining—the company’s design, manufacturing, and procurement processes.

Customer Testimonial Video

Top 10 reasons to go for Autodesk Inventor

by Autodesk

1. DWG™ TrueConnect

With DWG™ TrueConnect, Inventor software provides read and write of DWG files without translators. Users can leverage their valuable DWG™ data to build accurate 3D part models, and produce new documentation in the DWG format that is fully associative to the 3D design.
Experience the benefits of Digital Prototyping with rapid access to native DWG data. Update old 2D drawings by inserting views of new 3D designs to reduce the cost of upgrading existing plants and equipment. And because engineers can save drawings in DWG format, they can easily share insights gained from the digital prototype with partners and suppliers who rely on AutoCAD. Views generated from 3D parts and assembly designs can also be combined with AutoCAD data such as schematics and plant layouts.

2.Functional Design

Focus on the functional requirements of a design before committing to creating the model geometry that supports the design intent. Autodesk Inventor products capture the functional requirements of a design to drive the creation of 3D models, enabling engineers to build parts and assemblies based on real-world design input such as load, speed, and power. With a workflow driven by Functional Design, engineers can rapidly build digital prototypes that validate design functions and catch errors before they reach the manufacturing floor. The result: accelerated design cycles and higher-quality designs.

3.AutoCAD Compatibility

Reduce the time and training required for AutoCAD software users to become proficient in Digital Prototyping workflows by offering a familiar design environment with recognizable icons, AutoCAD-compatible shortcuts, cursor-based prompts, and command redo. User profiles enable engineers to configure Inventor to match the way they work, with out-of-the-box profiles for AutoCAD and Inventor experts. In addition, users can transfer their settings among different computers by exporting the profile to XML.

4. Automatic Drawing Views

Improve drafting productivity by automatically creating front, side, ISO, detail, section, and auxiliary views of parts and assemblies from the model. Quickly annotate drawings by retrieving the dimension information directly from the design. Generate item numbers and parts lists automatically, and complete the drawing using a robust set of dimension, annotation, and 2D symbols with full support for technical drawing standards, including ANSI, BSI, DIN, GB, GOST, ISO, and JIS.

5. Automatic Drawing Updates

Change it once, change it everywhere. Autodesk Inventor associates drawing views to the original components, so a change made to any part or assembly is automatically reflected in all associated drawing sheets. For example, with the intuitive 3D grips functionality, designers can quickly make changes to a model and all related drawing views update automatically.

6. Bill of Materials

Create automated and associative parts lists and bills of materials (BOMs) that are developed specifically for manufacturing and that automatically update as the design changes. Support is included for multiple parts lists per drawing, collapsible assemblies, automatic recognition of standard parts, and customizable options so features can be revised to match current company practices. Change a design once, and the updates ripple through the entire drawing to keep everyone on schedule, reducing costly stops in production from incorrect parts counting, identification, and ordering. Export or link BOM data to manufacturing resource planning (MRP), enterprise resource planning (ERP), or data-management systems such as Autodesk® Productstream® software.

7. Technical Documentation

Quickly create assembly drawings and exploded assembly views for use in training manuals and manufacturing instructions. In the Inventor presentation environment, designers can easily create compelling animated sequences for use in training videos, assembly instructions, and sales presentations, helping them visually communicate their design intent.

8. State-of-the-Art Rendering

Quickly and easily create high-quality photorealistic renderings, animations, and presentations that improve communication with customers and other decision makers. Autodesk® Inventor™ Studio software provides state-of-the-art rendering, illustration, and animation tools in the Inventor design environment.

9. Integrated Stress Analysis and Simulation

Create better-quality parts and avoid field failures by using the finite element analysis (FEA) functionality in Autodesk® Inventor™ Professional software to determine stresses and deflections under load. Use FEA to optimize parts strength and reduce material costs without compromising performance.
The dynamic simulation functionality in Autodesk Inventor Professional extends the benefit of the digital prototype, enabling engineers to predict the forces and accelerations experienced by each part in the assembly under real-world conditions with time-varying loads, different friction characteristics, and dynamic components such as springs and dampers.

10. Pipe and Cable Routing

Autodesk Inventor Professional software provides the power to quickly and accurately add routed systems, tube and pipe runs, or cables and wiring harnesses to 3D designs. Routed designs automatically comply with user-defined design rules to reduce errors and save time. As with all Inventor files, the assembly drawings automatically update whenever the routing model is modified.

Retrieving Sheet Metal Extents in Partlist

By Mark Flayler, IMAGINiT

One documentation challenge in recent Inventor releases has been the availability to obtain sheet metal extents for length and width in a parts list or Bill of Material. This is a beneficial process for some users that need the values shown here whether it is company convention, ease of accessibility or for purchasing requirements.

I must have answered this question once every other month over the last year and a half. The truth of the matter is that currently there are a couple ways to do it, but only one actually uses information directly from the programming and the other use a series of tricks of reference dimensions and parameters.

Here is the best method without need for custom programming, add-ins or dimension and parameter tomfoolery:

Inside your sheet metal template or any sheet metal part, access the iProperties Custom tab.Create 3 new iProperties here in the following format for Length, Width, and Area (if desired):

Notice that the units of measure are in cm. This is the native unit of measure for Inventor and how the programming likes it. We will fix this in a bit.

Click Apply and the Properties will populate if the flat pattern already exists. If you have not yet created a flat pattern of the current sheet metal piece the properties will appear as just the units behind them.

Create a Parts List as normal and RMB on it to Edit the Parts List. Use the column chooser to locate your user properties from the list and position them in your parts list heiarchy.

Now to fix that nasty cm unit. In your new column in your parts list, RMB on the column title and choose Format Column. Apply a unit formatting to your liking close the dialog. This will work only for Length and Width since there is no unit overide for Area at this time.

www.rand.com/imaginit

Better Building with BIM

By John Myers, Connect Press Editor

In a recent webcast John Boehms, Autodesk technical representative and certified LEED AP gave a presentation titled “Bridging Environmental and Architectural Design to Nurture Renewability.” He used the webcast to discuss the potential for bringing environmental and architectural design techniques together.

To understand what building information modeling (BIM) is and what it can do… (View more)

Who's got that bloody drawing open!!

Most of our company a range of people have access to our dwg files and a lot of the time we will try to open a drawing and it says "read only", this tells us someone in the office has the drawing open - but who?

Type the word "whohas" in the command line and browse to that file and its tells you the user who has opened the file!

Short Cut Keys in AutoCAD

Hyperlink... CTRL+K
Toggle Ortho CTRL+L
Select All CTRL+A
Copy CTRL+C
New... CTRL+N
Open... CTRL+O
Plot... CTRL+P
Save CTRL+S
Save As... CTRL+SHIFT+S
Exit CTRL+Q
Paste CTRL+V
Copy with Base Point CTRL+SHIFT+C
Paste as Block CTRL+SHIFT+V
Cut CTRL+X
Redo CTRL+Y
Undo CTRL+Z
Group Selection On/Off CTRL+H
Properties CTRL+1
Clean Screen CTRL+0
DesignCenter CTRL+2
Markup Set Manager CTRL+7
Tool Palettes Window CTRL+3
Info Palette CTRL+5
QuickCalc CTRL+8
Command Line CTRL+9
Toggles Object Snap Mode F3
Toggles Orthogonal Mode F8
Toggles Snap Mode F9
Toggles Polar Mode F10
Toggles Object Snap Tracking Mode F11
Suppress Dynamic Input F12

AutoCAD Tips & Tricks

Metric to imperial conversion (vice versa)

If you ever need to convert a metric drawing into imperial (ie. meters to feet)... instead of using the traditional scale command,

A neat trick is to insert the drawing to be converted as a block into an imperial template. all units will then be converted... when you explode the inserted block, even the dimensions will follow.just make sure the your source drawing is in the proper units before inserting it to the template you want it to be converted into...this works best in working with large drawings since it will take lesser time for your computer to process the command and dimensions are also adjusted...