Autodesk Emphasizes Digital Prototyping for Inventor 2009Autodesk Emphasizes Digital Prototyping for Inventor 2009

Emphasizing its digital prototyping story, Autodesk unveiled its 2009 product lineup with upgrades to the entire software suite that improve connections and integration between each of the different disciplines.

"The role of the engineer is expanding over time - it's not just about getting a design out the door," says Ed Martin, industry manager for Autodesk's Mfg. Solutions group. "This upgrade is about improving the connection between manufacturing processes and mechanical design processes, as well as with electrical design."

Among the highlights to Inventor 2009 are support for new, more powerful 64-bit computers and enhanced design accelerators to reduce the learning curve associated with creating commonly used machine components like bolted connections, gears and shafts. There are also numerous enhancements to the simulation environment to allow users to more efficiently validate their digital prototypes earlier in the design process. Other new capabilities include a large assembly capacity and new native translators to support direct data exchange between Inventor and other third-party CAD tools.

Each of the modules in the suite offer new capabilities, as well. AutoCAD Electrical 2009, for example, is the software used to design electrical control systems. The new release features tools for developing designs more accurately, including a Circuit Builder capability that allows users to dynamically generate circuits based on functional requirements.

AliasStudio 2009, the module aimed at industrial designers for doing everything from initial sketches to 3-D concept models, now offers tighter integration to the Inventor environment - a capability that was promised by Autodesk since its January 2006 acquisition of Alias. Another area of major improvement is Showcase 2009, Autodesk's photo realistic rendering package. The 2009 upgrade has improved abilities to gather data from various 3-D sources, including the ability to read in data from Inventor, Martin says. Prior to, engineers had to import data using intermediate formats and data could be lost in the translation. In addition, the module offers updated ambient shadow features and an expanded library of realistic materials, making it easier to present and review designs.

Finally, Productstream 2009 offers new search engine technology for more accurate and efficient retrieval of engineering data along with a multi-site replication module that allows digital information to be shared easily between sites.

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