What's the best 3D mechanical design software package? It's in the way that you use it...

I read an article a few days ago that blew my mind. It turns out that Microsoft's "Bing" search engine has fallen to 5th place among internet search engines - which begged the question, "who's in the top 5?" Predictably, Google was first, followed by China's Baidu (volume, of course), then Yahoo, and in 4th place? Drum roll, please.....

Yandex. Ponder that for a moment, as the tumbleweeds silently blow across your mind. Granted, I'd never heard of Baidu either, but the reason that Russia's Yandex search engine has surpassed Bing isn't necessarily because it's better, or because there are more Russian speaking people than English. It's quite the opposite - to the casual observer (me in this case) Yandex doesn't "pop", or provide better information than Bing. To test my theory, I did a simple search on both engines using keywords "Atlanta Braves", and Bing was far superior in content, style, and the general layout.

While reading the article, I started thinking, "poor Microsoft - first the Zune, now Bing". Remember the Zune? Microsoft's answer to the iPod? By all comparisons (sales, functionality, style) it's been a colossal failure. However, they're still being made, and those who've chosen Zunes and (most importantly) mastered the features absolutely love them.

So what do search engines and mp3 players have to do with 3D mechanical design software? As Eric Clapton once said, "it's in the way that you use it". A trusted colleague at Autodesk once told me that when comparing software packages for 3D design, the best design package is the one that you've received training on - plain and simple.

The Yandex users, just like those who swear by their Zunes, certainly could choose Bing or iPods, but took on the task of learning how to use the tools, and now, they swear by them. And in fairness to Solidworks, Pro-E and other 3D tools that I believe (shocking) are inferior to Autodesk Inventor, with the proper introductory AND ongoing new feature training, any 3D mechanical design software is better than another WITHOUT proper training. Features in a software package are nice, but without knowing how to use them, they can't become benefits.

So I took a long route to get around to the main point here. But the next time you see someone who thinks that their Zune is better than the tricked out Gen5 32gb iPod you just bought, just remember - it's in the way that you use it....

Where do you go for Autodesk related news and support?

I continue to be amazed at the speed and quality of information that is out there in relation to Autodesk. Whether it's a new release from Autodesk Labs, a YouTube video on using Inventor's Frame Generator, or a podcasted Autodesk University class (complete with downloadable PDF syllabi), you can learn so much, yet feel so overwhelmed.

Lately, Twitter has proven to be the most accessible (and controllable) stream of data I've found for tracking new technology and trends within the Autodesk family. You pick and choose who you subscribe to, and as a hybrid Autodesk Manufacturing and Plant news junkie, here are a few Tweeters I'd recommend following -

Autodesk Labs Scott (@scottsh115 ) - Scott Sheppard is the Program Manager for Autodesk Labs, and when new technology is hatched in the lab, he's the first to announce it.

Autodesk Inventor (@InventorTips) - chock full of tips, tricks and news related to Inventor.

AutoCAD Exchange (@ACADExchange) - features an "AutoCAD Expert of The Week" and requests questions for them to answer. There's also an AutoCADPlantExchange (@PlantExchange) twitter page with Plant related news too.

And of course, if you follow me (@TFiteASTI), you can get a smattering of (what I see) as the "greatest hits" from each of these and many more in the tweetsphere.

If you prefer interactive blogs hosted or moderated by Autodesk experts, take a look at all of the Autodesk Blogs that are available (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=4805213&siteID=123112) - this is a great point of entry into the Autodesk blogosphere. I've often found content there that has proven useful for answering tech support questions for my clients.

And when comes down to digging in to the software for "how do I do ____" questions, or confirming functionality within Autodesk products, try the Autodesk Wiki site, located at http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/enu.

Autodesk apps – business and pleasure?

Autodesk has introduced several new apps over the past months, and will likely continue to do so. This blog has shared and explained those apps with you like Design Review and ForceEffect.

Here is a quick breakdown in no particular order, of the other Autodesk ipad, iphone and android apps, some of them for business and others for pleasure…

Pixlr-o-matic – A fun tool for editing pictures, adding effects, flares, tints, and that vintage look.
Fluid FX – Special effect for your pictures. Pinch, pull, and distort
Inventor Publisher Mobile – Interact with 3d assemblies from Inventor
AutoCAD WS – DWGs on the go. Open, revise, measure, and notate. You dont have to be an AutoCAD expert to pick up on this little app.
SketchBook Express – Access project documents and designs securely from anywhere. View DWF files – 2d and 3d. Upload photos and files to the Buzzsaw cloud. Sketch a design onsite, upload it to the cloud to share and collaborate with others.

123dSculpt - Digital clay model sculpting. Create unique designs by shaping and molding objects in the computer.

Learn more about these apps, and others on the Autodesks app website: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=16953811

Design Review Mobile App

There was a time when I can remember preparing for a meeting or even going to the plant to discuss design and engineering issues with multiple detailed drawings in my hands and needing someone to aid me in opening doors. However, with today's technology, the burden of lugging around loads of documentation is becoming a thing of the past. With more and more people starting to make the move to mobile devices and discovering the vast world of apps available, I would like to point out one specifically which allows you to view, markup, and annotate 2D and 3D DWF files from your Autodesk Cloud account. It is the Design Review mobile app by Autodesk, Inc. and it is available for the following devices: iPhone 3GS or higher, iPad 1 or 2, iPod Touch 3rd generation or higher, with a minimum operating system of the Apple iOS 3.2.

Links for Referenced Material:

iTunes Store Design Review Mobile App

Autodesk Cloud

Design Review Mobile Support

Design Review Mobile App System Requirements

 

-Jason Miles

3D Design and 3D Printing - The Future is Now

For years Autodesk has used catch phrases like "Digital Prototyping" and "Experience Your Ideas Before They're Real" to convey the concept that earlier validation and sign-off on designs can reduce errors, increase throughput, and shorten development cycles.

Early adopters of this concept realized that expressing a design through a 3D model provided the opportunity for differentiation in competitive markets from those who merely provided a pretty picture, or 2D drawings replete with layers of uninterpretable linework. The BIG benefits for companies using 3D (after winning a project) could also include higher margins on projects, shorter time to market, and a reduction in the "gotchas" of unforeseen interferences/clashes within assemblies and field failures later.

So when going about the process of creating new, previously unproven designs, seeing it in 3D is nice, but to the consumer, machinist or builder, the 3D proof is in the printed pudding. The big hurdles in generating a conceptual model have always been the tying up of expensive machinery, manpower and material costs, when in reality, the end user may simply need to get the idea of how a product would look and feel.

As with most developing technologies, cost has been the driving force preventing widespread adoption. While SLA (Stereolithography) 3D printing has been around for over 25 years, it has traditionally been so expensive that companies would outsource 3D parts and generate scaled physical models only when requested by a customer or if necessary to win work. However, 3D printing has finally reached a point where quality and affordability have converged - we're now in the age of desktop 3D printing....

A desktop unit such as the 3DTouch from 3D Systems (link below), uses thermoplastics to heat the material through the extruder (or print head). The extruder then pushes out a very fine plastic thread which is applied layer by layer according to x and y coordinates, building a solid, 3D object, right before your eyes. And with the low cost of these systems, when coupled with 3D modeling software (like Inventor or Solidworks), the point of entry into conceiving, designing, testing and digitally/physically prototyping a design is now achievable for under $10,000.


Still think 3D printing isn't ready for prime time? A recent article on CNET.com (link below) suggests that 2012 could be the year that a "company like FedEx Kinko's will start offering 3D printing as a consumer-level service."

Imagine that - coming up with a design, uploading it to the Kinko's website, then picking up the part a few hours later. It seems that the harmonic convergence of mainstream 3D Design and 3D Printing has now been achieved.

Links:

CNET article - http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-57345836-52/culture-five-predictions-for-2012/

3D Systems printers - http://www.asti.com/Products/Item.asp?Mkt=Com&ProductID=3D_systems&SolutionID=All

May the "ForceEffect" be with you

Autodesk seems to be pushing out new (and FREE) tools every week or so, many of which are mobile apps for iPhone and iPad users. While catching up on emails in the manufacturing lounge at Autodesk University this year, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Andrew Sears (Solutions Engineer, Autodesk) who provided me with an inpromptu demo of ForceEffect, a free app that allows engineers to draw, constrain and simulate concepts using free body diagrams by simply tapping objects to select, move, rotate and scale.

It's very easy to create free-body diagrams and generate dimensionally correct elements - you use familiar iPhone/iPad motions to sketch and snap to other elements on the sketch. In addition, you can also bring in a photo as a background for either modifying existing designs or creating new ones. Once you've placed your elements, you apply forces, unknown forces or moments and then add supports such as sliding pins, fixed pins, grounded, fixed or welded.

Sketch geometry can be moved, re-sized, deleted and dimensions can be edited simply by tapping the dimension value and entering the size you require. Autodesk ForceEffect also generates a report that can be printed, emailed or viewed using any Web browser. In addition, export capabilities enable easy workflow continuation in any CAD application by emailing and exporting the sketch to a DXF file that can be reused in tools like AutoCAD Mechanical and Autodesk Inventor.

You can download ForceEffect from the Appled iTunes store here - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autodesk-forceeffect/id476321600?ls=1&mt=8

Express Tools for the 21st century - it's all about the Apps

Remember the good old days when we tricked out our AutoCAD by

• adding LSP routines embedded in toolbar buttons


• building menus with our favorite "Express Tools"


• customizing our digitizers (pucks) with commonly used commands


• loading up the old "Screen Menu" with our favorite macros

Aside from merging in some popular AUGI wish list requests into future builds of AutoCAD (obsoleting many of these tools or replacing them with superior functionality), Autodesk is now providing direct access to "apps" within the AutoCAD 2012 interface.

Called "Autodesk Exchange Apps", it's an inventive and modern approach to allowing us commoners to participate in making AutoCAD (and other AutoCAD based products in the Autodesk family) more customized and productive. While many of the tools are free, others cost anywhere from 99 cents up to $500. The tools are categorized for General, AEC and Manufacturing applications, and are searchable with keywords to match specific needs. And to make the acquisition process nice and easy, once selecting an app, if it's not free, a PayPal window will appear letting you enter your PayPal or credit card information to purchase. Please note that most apps are built for use in 2012 versions of Autodesk software, so if you're not current, you can't access the "Autodesk Exchange" or run the programs listed.

PLM for the masses, courtesy of Autodesk 360 Nexus

Every company, whether manufacturing a product, designing a building or providing a service (IT, consulting, etc.) has a concept, a plan, process or design reviews, and procedures related to the startup, production, management and pass-off or completion of their product, building or service. And all aspects of that lifecycle ideally should be documented and accessible (at various permission levels) throughout the entire organization.

Some of the traditional objections to implementing PLM have been the massive infrastructure and investment in costly programming needed to link disparate and non-communicative technologies. Try connecting Vaulted Inventor assembly data to an ERP system based on a "home grown" AS400 platform for example...it works about as well as Monty Python's Hungarian at the Tobacconist using an English phrase book. And if you don't know how that sketch ended, look it up on YouTube - not pretty!
This is where Autodesk 360 Nexus appears to have an ingenious way of clearing the hurdle mentioned above - by keeping the data inside the firewall and providing a Cloud based, zero infrastructure investment model whereby anyone collaborating or doing business with a company can view data about various stages of the lifecycle, from virtually anywhere.

When considering Autodesk’s diversification and continued gains in the markets as a software provider to the AEC, manufacturing and M&E (media and entertainment) segments, tight integration of Nexus 360 with their mature Vault and Buzzsaw product lines is a given.

So when you start hearing the term PLM, don't think that it's limited to manufacturing companies, or only Product Lifecycle Management. It is about to become whatever you need it to be...

Learn more at http://usa.autodesk.com/360-lifecycle-management-software/plm/, and sign up at the top right of the page for information as this exciting new offering from Autodesk takes shape.

Project Dasher

I just ran across this while looking at some Project Vasari videos for a Green BIM presentation I'm working on.  Autodesk Research is dipping its toe into some really cool next generation BIM stuff that really ties the model (and data) to real world use. Between this and some of the  other stuff going on over there, I think we're going to see some fantastic innovation in the coming years.  Take a look at this video and then go visit Autodesk Research.  I can't wait for some of this stuff to show up in Autodesk Labs.



From Autodesk:

"Project Dasher is a web-based application that helps to augment existing Autodesk® Revit® design models with real-time building submeter and sensor data on electricity and occupancy. Using meter and sensor data, Autodesk Project Dasher aims to demonstrate the value of integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and building instrumentation to provide building owners more insight into how existing buildings perform in real time and throughout the lifecycle of the building."

PS - Check out the Analytic Drawing project too!  Get ready to really start having fun with 3D models.

Cloud - Documents

In a continuation from a previous blog post on the Cloud... There is also something in the Autodesk Cloud called “Documents”.

This, as the name might simply imply, is a place in the cloud to store files, documents, images, etc. and be able to manage and share them with team members, colleagues and clients. Folders and categories can be created; files can be edited via AutoCAD WS, along with mobile app. to view on iPad or iPhone devices.

Within Documents the files can be shared to other users with rights assigned to the files controlling the access. Also recent activity can be tracked along with comments that can be left by users about the files. There are even Versions of the file that can be tracked. See image below for document details.

One other comment to add is that Autodesk was offering potential, non-subscription, users to signup and get 1 gig for free!