Autodesk’s new Inventor Series software aids users’ productivity

San Rafael, CA—To help users manage design data for greater productivity, Autodesk Inc. has announced the upcoming release of its Inventor Series 3-D mechanical design software.

By Control Engineering Staff June 1, 2004

San Rafael, CA— To help users manage design data for greater productivity, Autodesk Inc. has announced the upcoming release of its Inventor Series 3-D mechanical design software. The company’s latest release includes its Autodesk Inventor Series 9, which includes new releases of its Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical and Autodesk Vaulting customers.

Autodesk reports that its manufacturing solutions help manufacturers create, manage, and share valuable design data to accelerate product development cycles and optimize existing data investments. This enables users to deliver better quality products, drive design reuse and collaborate more efficiently with manufacturing partners.

Inventor Series 9 allows designers to develop drawings more quickly with fewer mistakes. Autodesk states that Inventor Series enables users to work with existing 2-D designs, and move to 3-D at their own pace. Autodesk Vault, now fully integrated into all Autodesk manufacturing design software, provides data management capabilities to store, manage, and organize design data; synchronize design-related efforts across teams; and protect against inadvertent changes.

“We’re committed to providing a complete solution for manufacturers, from the most innovative 2-D and 3-D design tools to the only practical data management solution on the market,” says Robert Kross, VP of Autodesk’s Manufacturing Solutions division. “Our customers need to produce quality products quickly and efficiently, and get them to market before their competitors. Autodesk is helping manufacturers streamline their design processes, which will ultimately result in their ability to deliver better quality products at a lower cost of development.”

Based on feedback from manufacturing customers, Inventor Series 9 provides an environment for designers and engineers to focus on solving complex design problems, while accelerating product development. The software introduces critical new functionality for 3-D users, as well as for AutoCAD users moving to 3-D. Its latest enhancements include:

Autodesk Inventor Series’ enhanced performance, powerful new drawing capabilities, such as styles and layers and advanced DWG support;

Autodesk Inventor Professional’s FEA functionality, powered by ANSYS technology to enable users execute stress and strain analysis directly in Autodesk Inventor;

AutoCAD Mechanical, developed on the AutoCAD 2005 platform, includes enhanced features for 2-D mechanical design;

AutoCAD Electrical allows customers to create and modify electrical control designs that are seamlessly integrated with their AutoCAD design environment;

Autodesk Vault, which is now integrated with all manufacturing design software, helps customers securely manage work-in-process design data; and

Autodesk Streamline and DWF functionality, which provide maximum project visibility and collaboration with suppliers and customers.

Customer, partner endorsements BJ Pipeline Inspection Services reports that Inventor Series 9 will streamline its workflow. “In our industry, we still depend on DWGs, and with the new DWG export functionality, the team can spend more time designing, cutting administration time to a minimum,” says Corey McConnell, BJ’s mechanical designer. “The enhanced features will give me more flexibility and the ability to control sectioning of parts by default on a per part basis which is helpful in detailing large assemblies.” BJ provides pressure pumping and other oilfield services to the petroleum industry.

UVP uses Autodesk Vault, integrated directly into Autodesk Inventor Series, to manage work-in-progress design changes automatically. “We use Autodesk Vault to securely control documentation, such as drawings, certification documentation, and CNC programs. By adopting this software and a paperless system, we can ensure that the designs used in manufacturing are always the latest versions,” states UVP, which manufactures ultraviolet products, and life-science instrumentation.

Jim Cashman, president and CEO of Ansys Inc., adds that, “We’re pleased to enhance our partnership with Autodesk by integrating our proven FEA capabilities with Inventor 3-D design software. Engineering simulation is vital to the design and development of quality products. Autodesk has always delivered innovative software solutions, and by integrating our tools, manufacturers can further optimize their design processes.”

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com