It wasn’t too long ago that simulation was viewed as a complex technology, best left to so-called “experts” or analysts with extensive experience. Product manufacturers, however, are increasingly incorporating simulation into their product development cycles to speed the development of products and get them to market faster. Digitally simulating product designs speeds development time by […]
Autodesk Debuts CAM 360 Cloud-based CAM Solution
Las Vegas has always been a city where you’ll find plenty of action: bright lights, loud and lively casinos and tons of excitement. If you’re a CAD geek, Las Vegas is also the place to be for this year’s Autodesk University. Amid the disco lighting and dancing robots, several big announcements are taking place that […]
Autodesk Continues to Deliver Integrated CAM to SolidWorks Users
Autodesk, Inc. announced the availability of HSMWorks 2014, the integrated computer aided manufacturing (CAM) solution for SolidWorks users. The new release reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering solutions that appeal to a broad range of users – from designers and engineers to veteran CNC programmers – regardless of their CAD tool of choice. Autodesk’s goal […]
Autodesk Introduces Next Generation Integrated CAM for Inventor
After two months in public beta and collecting a wealth of invaluable user feedback, next generation integrated CAM for Inventor is here with the commercial availability of Autodesk Inventor HSM Express. Last October, Autodesk announced it was entering the CAM market with the acquisition of HSMWorks, a developer of integrated CAM solutions for SolidWorks software. […]
Autodesk Delivers More Flexible, Pay As You Go Access
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) customers will now be able to pay as they go for all of the companys latest Design and Creation Suites, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, and the new Autodesk Maya LT. For the first time, customers can purchase access to a range of Autodesk desktop software on a monthly, quarterly or […]
Simulating Fiber-Reinforced Composites. It’s a multiscale world.
Composite materials, and particularly fiber-reinforced composites, present an interesting challenge. They have superior properties, compared to homogeneous materials, and have the potential to help engineers and designers meet increasingly challenging product requirements. Yet, they can be maddeningly difficult to engineer properly. To understand why this is so, you need to look closely, at the structure…
Autodesk buys Tinkercad
Here’s a recent note from Kai Backman, Founder & CEO of Tinkercad. You may have heard that, briefly, Tinkercad was going to be discontinued as a CAD tool. …
Autodesk and MakerBot bring 3D Printing and Design to the home
Autodesk and MakerBot have partnered to market 3D design software and 3D printing hardware, making 3D printing at home more accessible to everyone. Autodesk and MakerBot previously announced…
Subtractive Rapid Prototyping, More Precise than ever before
There is no disputing the value of a great product prototype. Producing your design in 3-D, testing its functionality and ensuring that the required manufacturing processes will work…
The new Autodesk
I received an excited email from Autodesk last week, offering to share some news under embargo. What was the news? A new Autodesk logo. I wondered, why does this matter? What does it have to do with delivering value to customers. Here’s what Autodesk’s Chris Bradshaw has to say on the corporate blog: “The new Autodesk […]
Autodesk Fusion 360: The future of CAD, Pt. 2
Imagine, for a moment, that you worked at a major CAD developer, with massive technical resources, and more than a billion dollars in the bank. Next, imagine that you were given the task to develop a next-generation 3D mechanical CAD product. No need to generate short-term revenues. No requirement to build on the existing generation […]
Autodesk Fusion 360: The future of CAD, pt. 1
This week, at Autodesk University 2012, Autodesk unveiled Fusion 360, a new cloud-based mechanical CAD solution. What they didn’t do, however, was tell everyone the real significance of Fusion 360. They actually intentionally underplayed it. Here is the real story: Fusion 360 is a major generational change in CAD. It represents Autodesk’s best thinking on […]
Free CAD Software for Engineers and Designers
Free CAD software shouldn’t have to break the bank. There are thousands of kinds of free CAD software available. Possibly tens of thousands. But there are far fewer free programs in the CAD realm—if only because CAD software is incredibly difficult to create. Here are three free CAD software programs that offer something really special.…
Energy Created From Flow of Water Inside Pipes
Israel-based clean technology company HydroSpin used Autodesk Inventor software and other digital prototyping tools to develop a micro-generator solution that produces energy from the flow of water inside distribution pipes. Using the software saved hundreds of hours of development time and hundreds of thousands of development dollars. The generators power a wide range of “smart…
PLM Systems for Engineers
If you’re an engineer, you’re likely to be a lot more interested in CAD, CAM, and CAE software than in PLM software. That’s understandable. CAD, CAM, and CAE are used to create things. Creating things is fun: It’s the reason why most of us got into engineering in the first place. PLM software, however, is…
Cloud CAD is really difficult
If you believe the buzz in the blogosphere, there are a lot of engineers and designers who are not at all happy at the prospect of some day being forced to use cloud-based CAD. The public lashback on cloud CAD started building several years ago, and it’s hardly abated since. The conversation has taken on […]
Simulation Drives Monster Machines
Arktos Developments Ltd. (ADL), designer and manufacturer of an amphibious vehicle known as the Arktos Craft, uses Autodesk’s simulation software to prepare its products to operate in some of the world’s most environmentally demanding locations. Originally designed as an amphibious evacuation craft for Arctic offshore oil facilities, the Arktos Craft can move from -50° C…
CAD Practices On the Cloud
Although cloud computing is an emerging field of computer science, the idea has been around for a few years. Cloud computing is ideally suited for engineering departments because it provides immediate access to flexible, real-time, high-performance computing resources configured in a way designers, engineers, and analysts need it, when they need it on a pay-as-you-go…
CFD Best Practices & Key Features Webinar
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool to simulate, analyze, and optimize designs. The leading CFD providers will discuss software features and functionality such as flow features and benefits, solver technology, as well as describe an example of CFD use in the real world. Register below to view the webinar and/or the pdf of…
Fiberforge Uses High-tech Tools to Create Lightweight Products
Fiberforge is using software from Autodesk, Inc. to design its patented RELAY Station, which produces lighter, stronger, more resilient, recyclable materials for consumer products and industrial machinery. The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program, which provides software grants for emerging clean tech companies in North America and Europe, is helping Fiberforge explore numerous design alternatives for…
Autodesk 2011 Digital Prototyping Software Speeds up Designs
Autodesk, Inc. introduced its new 2D and 3D design and engineering software lineup for manufacturers that want to digitally design, visualize, and simulate their products before they are built. The tight technology integration offered by Autodesk Inventor 2011 software and the complete Autodesk Digital Prototyping software portfolio helps designers and engineers compete more effectively and…
Digital Engineering: How Autodesk is Helping Engineers Move Forward
Laura Carrabine speaks with Andrew Anagnost of Autodesk and discusses digital engineering, 3D modeling, and the advantages & benefits of Autodesk software.
Designing Small Fuel Cells for Homes
Fuel cells offer many advantages, like cheap electricity, heat, and environmental cleanliness. Here’s how one company designed them small enough to use in a home. A fuel cell is perhaps the ultimate green energy source. It delivers two important home energy needs, electricity and heat, from one system. It operates without burning fuel, cleanly extracting…