Autodesk 123D. Pt 4: Autodesk is Taking on Google
SAN MATEO, CA (Maker Faire) May 21, 2011 – Autodesk chose Maker Faire – the annual gathering of inventor, hobbyists and craftspeople – for the public debut of 123D, its consumer design software. I didn’t know what to expect at Maker faire. Maybe Autodesk did not know either. The consumer market is fairly new territory. Google SketchUp at Maker Faire.... Read More
Autodesk SIM Squad – Serious About CAE
BOSTON, MA, May 25, 2011 (NAFEMS World Congress) – You have to have mad analysis skill to get your paper accepted at NWC, the annual gathering of uber-analysts from all over the world. Organized by UK’s NAFEMS, it takes place along Boston’s waterfront, last year it was in Greece. It alternates between US and Europe. A look at the program guide confirms the esotoric... Read More
Autodesk Hints of a CAE Office
A $500 million shopping spree has left the biggest CAD vendor in the world with a wealth of CAE tools. Autodesk, known for design software such as AutoCAD and assorted vertical apps (Inventor, Revit, Civil3D and the like) now also has to figure out what to do with Algor (general purpose FEA), Moldflow (mold flow analysis) PlassoTech (FEA, again), Solid Dynamics (kinematics)... Read More
123D, Pt 3: First Look
By the time you read this, Autodesk will have lifted the veil off its 123D consumer design product. Targeted towards the hobbyist, craftsman, tinkerer, inventor…it will be available for a very popualr price: $0. Here is an early look. Graphics and descriptions are preliminary and were supplied in advance of the product release. (click for bigger picture)The interface. With... Read More
RhinoFabLabs Help Rhino Users Fabricate
The University of New Mexico became the latest RhinoFabLab last week (see announcement). With recent coverage of TechShop (some of it right here), I was reminded that RhinoFabLab concept has been around for quite some time. When did RhinoFabLabs get started? And how are they different from TechShops? From FabLabs? I sought out Robert McNeel, CEO of the company by the same... Read More
Solid Edge Coming Out From the Shadows
HUNTSVILLE, AL (Solid Edge ST4 Launch) – The enhancements are coming fast and furious at the Solid Edge ST 4 Launch event. I cannot keep up.* I’m catching a few highlights, especially the ones that are applauded by the attendees. Like Range Offset Value, no more picking on empty space, prevention of assembly relationship loops, shadows that appear correctly even on photo... Read More
Keep it in Your Pants – Pet Peeve #1
I’ve probably sat through hundreds of presentations given by excited CAD executives. So many times has one of them pulled out his iPhone to make a point that I am sick of it. I can see it coming as they reach in. Then they pull it out. It’s followed by something clever, like: “10 years ago, it took a roomful of computers to do what this little thing does.” “I... Read More
SmartGeometry: What Exactly is It?
After seeing wondrous projects at Smart Geometry 2011 in Copenhagen, I wanted to know more about how GenerativeComponents worked so I tracked down Huw Roberts, Bentley’s Global Marketing Director, to answer a few questions. As you might guess from Huw’s title, GenerativeComponents is just a small piece of Huw’s world “but an important one.” Bentley’s Huw... Read More
PTC’s Heppelmann Makes A Gutsy Move with Creo
LAS VEGAS, NV (PlanetPTC 2011), June 14, 2011 – A chance to address your top customers is not an opportunity to be missed. CEO Jim Heppelmann has taken the main stage during the annual PTC user group meeting. He wastes no time. He talks fast. “I’m an engineer,” Heppelmann tells us. He has already been introduced as a tinkerer, someone with a “big workshop” who “loves... Read More
Up-Front CAE – Autodesk Scores
Under three teeny icons lies a whopper of an idea – one that promises to bring simulation into the early stages of the product cycle. BOSTON, MA, May 25, 2011 (NAFEMS World Congress) – By now, we’ve all heard that we should be analyzing earlier in the product development cycle, about how the majority of lifecycle costs are determined during concept and early design phases.... Read More
