Autodesk
Transforms Product Development Process With Manufacturing Solution Updates
Comprehensive Product
Portfolio Features Enhanced Usability and Productivity
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At
its World Press Day event today, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) unveiled the
latest versions of its manufacturing solutions, which help customers redefine
the product development process by experiencing their ideas before they are
real. With updates to Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD
Electrical, Autodesk AliasStudio, Autodesk Showcase and Autodesk Productstream
software products, the company is offering a complete approach to digital
prototyping that allows manufacturers to cost-effectively validate their ideas
and foster product innovation.
"As the largest and most trusted global supplier of
engineering software, Autodesk is committed to providing companies with the
world's most innovative 2D and 3D applications," said Robert
"Buzz" Kross, vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions.
"We have updated our products to help manufacturers leverage the power of
functional design to make it fast and easy to do more digital prototyping. This
allows them to bring new products to market faster, without the expense and
waste of multiple physical prototypes."
According to industry research firm Aberdeen Group,
best-in-class manufacturers build half the number of physical prototypes than
the average manufacturer does and get products to market 58 days faster with
nearly 50 percent lower prototyping costs.* Product development efforts can be
undermined by paper-based processes and departmental systems' incompatibility,
isolating insight and information at various stages and points in a
manufacturing organization.
The latest Autodesk manufacturing solutions redefine the
product design process by supporting and natively connecting all of the
disciplines involved in product development, from industrial design to
mechanical and electrical engineering and manufacturing. Autodesk manufacturing
applications' functionality and interoperability create an environment in which
industrial designers can create and share digital concept models with
engineers, who can use functional design to automatically generate 3D geometry
for a digital prototype that seamlessly incorporates mechanical and electrical
engineering data. With the help of a comprehensive data management system,
tightly integrated calculations, stress analysis and motion simulation,
engineers can test digital prototypes, optimize and validate their designs, and
give customers the opportunity to experience a product's performance before it
is built. Furthermore, files in the DWF file format deliver rich design data in
digital format to the shop floor.
Autodesk Inventor Software Brings 2D, 3D Together
The Inventor product line is the best choice for designers
who want to redefine their product development process and power their workflow
with digital prototyping.
Key updates
that aid digital prototyping include:
-- DWG
Interoperability -- Using DWG TrueConnect users can read and write DWG files
without translators while maintaining full associativity with the 3D Inventor
model and increasing reuse and sharing of 2D manufacturing data.
-- AliasStudio
Interoperability -- New capabilities for importing AutoCAD surface and solid
data -- combined with new DWG export from Autodesk AliasStudio -- provides a
quick and reliable way to transfer concept designs into Inventor.
-- Sheet Metal
Design Tools -- Upgrades improve productivity when designing sheet metal parts
and provide support for manufacturing information including flat pattern
modifications and punch tool data.
-- Ribbon
Cable Design Tools -- Full control over the shape and routing of ribbon cables
simplifies the design of electrical wiring and reduces manufacturing errors by
ensuring that all types of wiring can be included in the digital prototype and
subsequent documentation.
-- Sketch
Productivity Tools -- An updated 2D sketch environment reduces the learning
curve for new designers and improves productivity for existing designers with
clearer constraint status information and sketch geometry formatting tools.
"As a company with a large collection of 2D legacy
drawings, we find the new DWG TrueConnect feature simplifies our everyday tasks
and gives us more time to devote to innovation," said Warren Sweet,
engineering manager at H&T Battery Components. "We are able to take
advantage of the enhanced productivity that 3D brings, without sacrificing our
many years of existing AutoCAD expertise and designs."
A Comprehensive Manufacturing Solution
Along with Inventor, Autodesk is releasing fully enhanced
versions of complementary manufacturing products, including:
-- AliasStudio -- a complete set of tools for the conceptual
design process, helping companies create superior designs -- which drives
superior business. AliasStudio is now interoperable with Inventor.
-- Showcase --
an interactive tool that facilitates informed decision-making using realistic
imagery from 3D design data and an environment in which to present and review
designs.
-- AutoCAD
Electrical -- the leading application built specifically to design and document
electrical control systems.
-- AutoCAD
Mechanical -- the 2D mechanical design and drafting application that features
standards-based libraries of parts and content, automation tools, and
associative detailing of Autodesk Inventor models.
-- Autodesk
Productstream -- software that automates the release-management process by
managing engineering changes and bills of materials.
Autodesk Offers Options
Customers have options when it comes to purchasing and
implementing Autodesk manufacturing solutions. Autodesk Subscription provides
an alternative to individual upgrade purchases and delivers added benefits.
Subscription customers receive the latest versions of their licensed Autodesk
software, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a
broad range of other technology and business benefits for an annual fee.
Autodesk Consulting is available for customers who want to
maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk manufacturing solutions
through integrated consulting and training. Locally based classroom training is
also available through Autodesk's 1,200 Authorized Training Centers, with sites
in more than 75 countries around the world.
Availability
Product availability will vary by country. Details on
purchasing options will be available in the spring at:
http://www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions.
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 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 http://www.autodesk.com/.
*Aberdeen Group, "The Transition from 2D Drafting to 3D
Modeling Benchmark Report" (September, 2006).
NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, AliasStudio, Autodesk Inventor,
DWF, DWG, Inventor, Productstream and Showcase are registered trademarks or
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.
Contact: Carly Herrig 312.233.1356 Andrew Favreau
312.297.7587
Email: carly.herrig@edelman.com andrew.favreau@edelman.com
Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.
CONTACT: Carly Herrig, +1-312-233-1356, or
carly.herrig@edelman.com, or
Andrew Favreau, +1-312-297-7587, or
andrew.favreau@edelman.com, both for
Autodesk
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/
