Ahh, remember back to Inventor 2009…? Those were the days, right? Pull down menus, right click menus, updating panel bar, eh? No? Ok, I didn’t like it either, but I could get my work done, whip out a model in pretty decent time and all so it worked out well enough for me. I shouldn’t say I didn’t like it – I simply accepted it as what it was. Then the Ribbon with 2010, nowadays I feel like I’m modeling in a completely different package if I have to go back to ’09 – totally a fish out of water. (How often do you get to put in a nowadays, and make it work…?)

So what does that mean for my perception of the User Interface in Inventor 2010? It tells me I now have a stronger personal preference for the ribbon interface than I do for the previous. So seriously, is User Interface something that can be measured to be “better” than another one, or is it simply user preference? The product designers are going to kill me for this post, and I totally understand the logic behind fewer mouse clicks, less mouse travel, more intuitive. But I genuinely want to know what your gut tells you – is it simply user preference, or does User Interface matter to you guys?

How many people do you see that still have that ugly huge cursor going all the way across their screen in AutoCAD? We got rid of that thing in R14, but the first thing most people do is change the cursor size and the pickbox from 2 to 20…. What’s this object tracking thingy…eh, no matter I’ll just eyeball it with my huge cursor. Do people ignore what is possible with new user interface functionality, and turn it off so that they are initially more comfortable with the tool? 

Quality questions here folks – let the discussion begin….

-Rob

Ahh, remember back to Inventor 2009…? Those were the days, right? Pull down menus, right click menus, updating panel bar, eh? No? Ok, I didn’t like it either, but I could get my work done, whip out a model in pretty decent time and all so it worked out well enough for me. I shouldn’t say I didn’t like it – I simply accepted it as what it was. Then the Ribbon with 2010, nowadays I feel like I’m modeling in a completely different package if I have to go back to ’09 – totally a fish out of water. (How often do you get to put in a nowadays, and make it work…?)

So what does that mean for my perception of the User Interface in Inventor 2010? It tells me I now have a stronger personal preference for the ribbon interface than I do for the previous. So seriously, is User Interface something that can be measured to be “better” than another one, or is it simply user preference? The product designers are going to kill me for this post, and I totally understand the logic behind fewer mouse clicks, less mouse travel, more intuitive. But I genuinely want to know what your gut tells you – is it simply user preference, or does User Interface matter to you guys?

How many people do you see that still have that ugly huge cursor going all the way across their screen in AutoCAD? We got rid of that thing in R14, but the first thing most people do is change the cursor size and the pickbox from 2 to 20…. What’s this object tracking thingy…eh, no matter I’ll just eyeball it with my huge cursor. Do people ignore what is possible with new user interface functionality, and turn it off so that they are initially more comfortable with the tool? 

Quality questions here folks – let the discussion begin….

-Rob

So the talk on the Ellipsis blog is predominantly mechanisms and gears and all things metal. Nothing wrong with that – but I’m going to bring a few plastics into the mix. Starting with this post, we’ll discuss some of the basic design rules for plastic parts to make sure (1) they work and (2) you can actually make ‘em. And since this is the first in this series, it makes sense to start at the beginning, with the likely first question you need answered when modeling your part being, “how thick should it be?”
And the answer is … well … it depends. Which is pretty much the same answer you will get to any good engineering problem. So now it’s time to figure out what it depends on and general rules for success.
Golden Rule - The nominal wall thickness needs to be as uniform as possible. 
Why you ask? Warp.  And I’m not talking about sexy warp like the propulsion systems on the Starship Enterprise. I’m talking good ol’ differential shrinkage (i.e. one area shrinks way more than the other). If you have different thicknesses in your part, the thin regions cool fast and shrink just a little, but the thick regions cool slowly and shrink a lot. This builds up a lot of internal stress in the part and before you know it, Boom! You just got warped.
And, as with all good engineering problems, rules are meant to be broken. How much leeway do you have? You can probably get away with about 15% variation from the nominal wall as long as you smooth the transition gradually (length of transition should be 3x the nominal wall thickness).
Rule #2 – Make it as thin as possible.
Duh. Thinner parts cool faster and use less material. Shorter cycle times and fewer grams of polycarb mean more $$$ for you, the guy who saved all the money your CEO’s end-of-year bonus. 
But how do you figure out how thin you can possibly make it? Well, it depends. Sorry. Got to stop doing that. But it does. Here’s the short list:
·         Impact resistance – if it’s going to get hit with a baseball bat, you got to know up front. Might want to add a millimeter or two and run an FEA analysis.
·         Agency requirements – if the CIA is telling you it has to be 2mm, then it HAS to be 2mm. Don’t even think about changing it…they are listening. Usually requirements are not spec’d as a specific wall thickness – so your best bet again is to use some FEA analysis to ensure the part will meet the mechanical/electrical/thermal/etc. requirements and increase the wall thickness iteratively until you reach an acceptable safety factor.
·         Injection pressure – here we’re talking manufacturability. Melted plastic has the consistency of maple syrup, so as you can imagine it’s going to take a significant amount of pressure to push that through the mold and into the cavity. Typical molding presses have about 180MPa of pressure available – if your part requires anything more, the mold won’t fill all the way and you’ll be left with short shot. Using injection molding simulation software should tell you what you’ll need early on though.
Obviously this is just a start – we’ll dive into more details and strategies for reducing wall thickness like adding ribs and material selection, but we’ll save that for another day. We’ll also discuss molding defects – many of which can magically happen when some of the aforementioned rules are ignored.

So the talk on the Ellipsis blog is predominantly mechanisms and gears and all things metal. Nothing wrong with that – but I’m going to bring a few plastics into the mix. Starting with this post, we’ll discuss some of the basic design rules for plastic parts to make sure (1) they work and (2) you can actually make ‘em. And since this is the first in this series, it makes sense to start at the beginning, with the likely first question you need answered when modeling your part being, “how thick should it be?”
And the answer is … well … it depends. Which is pretty much the same answer you will get to any good engineering problem. So now it’s time to figure out what it depends on and general rules for success.
Golden Rule - The nominal wall thickness needs to be as uniform as possible. 
Why you ask? Warp.  And I’m not talking about sexy warp like the propulsion systems on the Starship Enterprise. I’m talking good ol’ differential shrinkage (i.e. one area shrinks way more than the other). If you have different thicknesses in your part, the thin regions cool fast and shrink just a little, but the thick regions cool slowly and shrink a lot. This builds up a lot of internal stress in the part and before you know it, Boom! You just got warped.
And, as with all good engineering problems, rules are meant to be broken. How much leeway do you have? You can probably get away with about 15% variation from the nominal wall as long as you smooth the transition gradually (length of transition should be 3x the nominal wall thickness).
Rule #2 – Make it as thin as possible.
Duh. Thinner parts cool faster and use less material. Shorter cycle times and fewer grams of polycarb mean more $$$ for you, the guy who saved all the money your CEO’s end-of-year bonus. 
But how do you figure out how thin you can possibly make it? Well, it depends. Sorry. Got to stop doing that. But it does. Here’s the short list:
·         Impact resistance – if it’s going to get hit with a baseball bat, you got to know up front. Might want to add a millimeter or two and run an FEA analysis.
·         Agency requirements – if the CIA is telling you it has to be 2mm, then it HAS to be 2mm. Don’t even think about changing it…they are listening. Usually requirements are not spec’d as a specific wall thickness – so your best bet again is to use some FEA analysis to ensure the part will meet the mechanical/electrical/thermal/etc. requirements and increase the wall thickness iteratively until you reach an acceptable safety factor.
·         Injection pressure – here we’re talking manufacturability. Melted plastic has the consistency of maple syrup, so as you can imagine it’s going to take a significant amount of pressure to push that through the mold and into the cavity. Typical molding presses have about 180MPa of pressure available – if your part requires anything more, the mold won’t fill all the way and you’ll be left with short shot. Using injection molding simulation software should tell you what you’ll need early on though.
Obviously this is just a start – we’ll dive into more details and strategies for reducing wall thickness like adding ribs and material selection, but we’ll save that for another day. We’ll also discuss molding defects – many of which can magically happen when some of the aforementioned rules are ignored.

True Story. Lake Oswego was 60 degrees and sunny all week long. That may not sound like a big deal, but it feels like I've been staring at snow for the last two years. Seriously, we didn't have a summer last year in New Hampshire. Anyway, I was able to get the guys to help out on a few tips. Add your own tips too, don't be shy - http://bit.ly/aDthQE 

Are your Inventor assemblies getting an Unsatisfactory when graded for "Shares well with others"? Use Pack and Go to gather up your files. P&G gathers your files into a user designated folder, include your styles, templates, and yes the Content Center files. P&G can be called up by a right click in Windows Explorer (always choose the drawing or assembly) or from Inventor's File Menu.

Large Assembly Management. Charles Bliss said at this year’s AU, that he was able to open up a (put pinky to mouth) One Million part assembly. That's cool and all, but....why? Use the Level of Detail feature to improve performance, file opening time, and your sanity whilst working with huge assemblies.

Frame Generator. Still some of the best functionality inside of Inventor IMO. Did you know that you can place frame members on surface edges as well as sketch elements? Sometimes it’s easier to extrude a surface than it is to sketch out a 3D Cube. Try it next time. Draw a rectangle and extrude it as a surface. Each edge of the surface can be used to place a frame member.

More Frame Generator goodness. I love the mitered corner feature. But what about when you want to miter say a sheet metal part? Publish your custom parts to the Content Center and use Frame Gen "techniques" to speed up your modeling. Check out this example, using frame generator to get the sheet metal parts to have a perfectly mitered corner. 

Sheet Metal. It's hard to say sheet metal without saying "holy sheet metal Batman"...but you will be saying that once you start playing with lofted flanges and roll / unroll. You can even edit the flat whilst it's flat for final clean up.

So as you can see, a few great tips from last week. A few great meals, a lot of laughs and even better content. Can't wait to roll it out you guys.

-Rob

True Story. Lake Oswego was 60 degrees and sunny all week long. That may not sound like a big deal, but it feels like I've been staring at snow for the last two years. Seriously, we didn't have a summer last year in New Hampshire. Anyway, I was able to get the guys to help out on a few tips. Add your own tips too, don't be shy - http://bit.ly/aDthQE 

Are your Inventor assemblies getting an Unsatisfactory when graded for "Shares well with others"? Use Pack and Go to gather up your files. P&G gathers your files into a user designated folder, include your styles, templates, and yes the Content Center files. P&G can be called up by a right click in Windows Explorer (always choose the drawing or assembly) or from Inventor's File Menu.

Large Assembly Management. Charles Bliss said at this year’s AU, that he was able to open up a (put pinky to mouth) One Million part assembly. That's cool and all, but....why? Use the Level of Detail feature to improve performance, file opening time, and your sanity whilst working with huge assemblies.

Frame Generator. Still some of the best functionality inside of Inventor IMO. Did you know that you can place frame members on surface edges as well as sketch elements? Sometimes it’s easier to extrude a surface than it is to sketch out a 3D Cube. Try it next time. Draw a rectangle and extrude it as a surface. Each edge of the surface can be used to place a frame member.

More Frame Generator goodness. I love the mitered corner feature. But what about when you want to miter say a sheet metal part? Publish your custom parts to the Content Center and use Frame Gen "techniques" to speed up your modeling. Check out this example, using frame generator to get the sheet metal parts to have a perfectly mitered corner. 

Sheet Metal. It's hard to say sheet metal without saying "holy sheet metal Batman"...but you will be saying that once you start playing with lofted flanges and roll / unroll. You can even edit the flat whilst it's flat for final clean up.

So as you can see, a few great tips from last week. A few great meals, a lot of laughs and even better content. Can't wait to roll it out you guys.

-Rob

Last week's tips were well discussed. Let's keep the conversation going on here too shall we?

• 
  Don't waste your time asking for someone to send you a SAT file. Have them send you their Pro/E, SolidWorks, or Catia files in the native format. Autodesk Inventor's native translators will open the native formats and allow you to work with the models so that you can integrate them into your designs, make 2D Native DWG files, assembly instructions, and so on.
  


• 
  Still flipping through your Machinist Handbook for the Axial Pitch of your Spur Gears? Use the Design Accelerators right inside of Inventor and have Inventor create the geometry based upon the functional application of these standard parts. In the Assembly environment, click the Design tab... (in your best Yoda voice) "A wonderful world of automation you will find young Jedi... "
  
  
  
  There are 12 ways to create a work plane in Inventor. You'll need to know how to make them at one time or another. If you need to know how to create a specific workplane, click the workplane button, right click your mouse in the graphics area and choose How To. Work features are as important to understand as modeling features. Word.
  


• 
  Do as much as you can to solve your design mathematically as possible. Especially when laying out assemblies with multiple dependencies, or using Muti-Bodies for your layouts. Sounds simple, but spending that extra time up front will pay off when you need to make changes. Unless of course all of your designs are right the first time...every time. [grin]
  
  
  
  Flatten your .SAT files. Again, just to show how well we play with others we can flatten sheet metal parts that were modeled in other CAD systems. Open the file, hit the "Convert to Sheet Metal" option > Change the thickness according to the thickness of the part > Hit Flat Pattern. Done.
  

Fan me if you're on Facebook here: http://bit.ly/aDthQE

-Rob

Last week's tips were well discussed. Let's keep the conversation going on here too shall we?

• 
  Don't waste your time asking for someone to send you a SAT file. Have them send you their Pro/E, SolidWorks, or Catia files in the native format. Autodesk Inventor's native translators will open the native formats and allow you to work with the models so that you can integrate them into your designs, make 2D Native DWG files, assembly instructions, and so on.
  


• 
  Still flipping through your Machinist Handbook for the Axial Pitch of your Spur Gears? Use the Design Accelerators right inside of Inventor and have Inventor create the geometry based upon the functional application of these standard parts. In the Assembly environment, click the Design tab... (in your best Yoda voice) "A wonderful world of automation you will find young Jedi... "
  
  
  
  There are 12 ways to create a work plane in Inventor. You'll need to know how to make them at one time or another. If you need to know how to create a specific workplane, click the workplane button, right click your mouse in the graphics area and choose How To. Work features are as important to understand as modeling features. Word.
  


• 
  Do as much as you can to solve your design mathematically as possible. Especially when laying out assemblies with multiple dependencies, or using Muti-Bodies for your layouts. Sounds simple, but spending that extra time up front will pay off when you need to make changes. Unless of course all of your designs are right the first time...every time. [grin]
  
  
  
  Flatten your .SAT files. Again, just to show how well we play with others we can flatten sheet metal parts that were modeled in other CAD systems. Open the file, hit the "Convert to Sheet Metal" option > Change the thickness according to the thickness of the part > Hit Flat Pattern. Done.
  

Fan me if you're on Facebook here: http://bit.ly/aDthQE

-Rob

I heard this Facebook thing might take of so last week I launched a Fan page on Facebook. I know what you’re thinking “jeez Rob - YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream – how do you do it?” In reality it’s probably more like “great, another thing you want me to follow you on…” [grin] Two parts – yes, fan me. Second, no it’s not necessary (although it would be cool), I’m going to post a summary of the highlights from Facebook here for you each and every Monday. Savvy?
Last week’s “Tips of the Day”:
·         When placing constraints in an assembly, if you don't want to mess with the constraint dialog box, hold down the Alt key and left mouse drag the part in place. When you select on a round edge of a part it will default to Insert, select a face and it will default to Mate. I've found it to be most useful with the Insert constraint, give it a shot.
·         All of your views in an Inventor DWG file can be repurposed in an AutoCAD DWG file as blocks. Drag and drop them from the Design Center into your AutoCAD facility layout drawing, or legacy DWG of a project that hasn't been fully migrated to 3D yet.
·         Tired of sounding like a telegraph machine while modeling (the person next to you is...) Eliminate mouse clicks by using shortcut keys, especially while navigating. I use F4 all the time. Hold F4 for rotate and you won't have to right click to exit the command. Shortcut keys are almost like toggles and will save you a ton of clicks. Your neighbor will thank you.
·         Unreal Iso's. Did you know you could create an Isometric view of a section view? Once you have your section view, right click on the view and choose Projected Views. Move the mouse in the direction you want to be projected and click. To get real detailed, find the parts in the browser that you don't want sectioned and right click, Section > None.
·         A well behaved sketch. A good way to keep your sketches from acting like spoiled children is to make sure that they are geometrically constrained as intended before you place dimensions on it. Equals, Tangents, Concentric constraints and the others are essential, especially when you need to make multiple sizes of the same part.
 

So if you’re on the Facebook and interested in your daily dose of Rob Unscripted, follow along here: http://bit.ly/aDthQE It’s all about choice and competition…. (that was for Tedeschi)

 
-Rob

I heard this Facebook thing might take of so last week I launched a Fan page on Facebook. I know what you’re thinking “jeez Rob - YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Ustream – how do you do it?” In reality it’s probably more like “great, another thing you want me to follow you on…” [grin] Two parts – yes, fan me. Second, no it’s not necessary (although it would be cool), I’m going to post a summary of the highlights from Facebook here for you each and every Monday. Savvy?
Last week’s “Tips of the Day”:
·         When placing constraints in an assembly, if you don't want to mess with the constraint dialog box, hold down the Alt key and left mouse drag the part in place. When you select on a round edge of a part it will default to Insert, select a face and it will default to Mate. I've found it to be most useful with the Insert constraint, give it a shot.
·         All of your views in an Inventor DWG file can be repurposed in an AutoCAD DWG file as blocks. Drag and drop them from the Design Center into your AutoCAD facility layout drawing, or legacy DWG of a project that hasn't been fully migrated to 3D yet.
·         Tired of sounding like a telegraph machine while modeling (the person next to you is...) Eliminate mouse clicks by using shortcut keys, especially while navigating. I use F4 all the time. Hold F4 for rotate and you won't have to right click to exit the command. Shortcut keys are almost like toggles and will save you a ton of clicks. Your neighbor will thank you.
·         Unreal Iso's. Did you know you could create an Isometric view of a section view? Once you have your section view, right click on the view and choose Projected Views. Move the mouse in the direction you want to be projected and click. To get real detailed, find the parts in the browser that you don't want sectioned and right click, Section > None.
·         A well behaved sketch. A good way to keep your sketches from acting like spoiled children is to make sure that they are geometrically constrained as intended before you place dimensions on it. Equals, Tangents, Concentric constraints and the others are essential, especially when you need to make multiple sizes of the same part.
 

So if you’re on the Facebook and interested in your daily dose of Rob Unscripted, follow along here: http://bit.ly/aDthQE It’s all about choice and competition…. (that was for Tedeschi)

 
-Rob

Hey AutoCAD users, want to get your sketch on?  Now available on Autodesk Labs http://bit.ly/6pbEaFis the Alias Sketch for AutoCAD technology Preview.  What is this technology preview?

Alias Sketch for AutoCAD adds fully integrated painting, illustration, and image manipulation capabilities known from SketchBook and Alias directly into the AutoCAD design workflow. This will provide AutoCAD users in all industries the ability to create effective and pervasive communication using digital imagery

·         Leverage freehand drawing techniques
·         Create artwork or import images to graphically express the context of designs, something previously requiring multiple applications to achieve
·         Manipulate and composite images to quickly create variations for design exploration
·         Free-hand markup (annotate) directly on top of AutoCAD  geometry

Get your very own  Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Technology Preview with a 30 day-license and let us know what you think on the labs forum page.

SO what should you do?  Go download this great technology preview extending the power and capabilities of AutoCAD as a broader creative tool. Where’s that 30-day trial?  http://bit.ly/6pbEaF

Hey AutoCAD users, want to get your sketch on?  Now available on Autodesk Labs http://bit.ly/6pbEaFis the Alias Sketch for AutoCAD technology Preview.  What is this technology preview?

Alias Sketch for AutoCAD adds fully integrated painting, illustration, and image manipulation capabilities known from SketchBook and Alias directly into the AutoCAD design workflow. This will provide AutoCAD users in all industries the ability to create effective and pervasive communication using digital imagery

·         Leverage freehand drawing techniques
·         Create artwork or import images to graphically express the context of designs, something previously requiring multiple applications to achieve
·         Manipulate and composite images to quickly create variations for design exploration
·         Free-hand markup (annotate) directly on top of AutoCAD  geometry

Get your very own  Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Technology Preview with a 30 day-license and let us know what you think on the labs forum page.

SO what should you do?  Go download this great technology preview extending the power and capabilities of AutoCAD as a broader creative tool. Where’s that 30-day trial?  http://bit.ly/6pbEaF

Hey AutoCAD users, want to get your sketch on?  Now available on Autodesk Labs http://bit.ly/6pbEaFis the Alias Sketch for AutoCAD technology Preview.  What is this technology preview?

Alias Sketch for AutoCAD adds fully integrated painting, illustration, and image manipulation capabilities known from SketchBook and Alias directly into the AutoCAD design workflow. This will provide AutoCAD users in all industries the ability to create effective and pervasive communication using digital imagery

·         Leverage freehand drawing techniques
·         Create artwork or import images to graphically express the context of designs, something previously requiring multiple applications to achieve
·         Manipulate and composite images to quickly create variations for design exploration
·         Free-hand markup (annotate) directly on top of AutoCAD  geometry

Get your very own  Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Technology Preview with a 30 day-license and let us know what you think on the labs forum page.

SO what should you do?  Go download this great technology preview extending the power and capabilities of AutoCAD as a broader creative tool. Where’s that 30-day trial?  http://bit.ly/6pbEaF

Hey AutoCAD users, want to get your sketch on?  Now available on Autodesk Labs http://bit.ly/6pbEaFis the Alias Sketch for AutoCAD technology Preview.  What is this technology preview?

Alias Sketch for AutoCAD adds fully integrated painting, illustration, and image manipulation capabilities known from SketchBook and Alias directly into the AutoCAD design workflow. This will provide AutoCAD users in all industries the ability to create effective and pervasive communication using digital imagery

·         Leverage freehand drawing techniques
·         Create artwork or import images to graphically express the context of designs, something previously requiring multiple applications to achieve
·         Manipulate and composite images to quickly create variations for design exploration
·         Free-hand markup (annotate) directly on top of AutoCAD  geometry

Get your very own  Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Technology Preview with a 30 day-license and let us know what you think on the labs forum page.

SO what should you do?  Go download this great technology preview extending the power and capabilities of AutoCAD as a broader creative tool. Where’s that 30-day trial?  http://bit.ly/6pbEaF

We recently extended the Autodesk Assistance Program to March 31, 2010 so I thought it would be good to share some of the benfits to being part of this program.

If you were working for years and never had the opportunity to learn something new this is definitely a answer to that.  If you want a new career in one of the many Industries we create software for this is also an answer to that.

When you sign up for the program here are some of the awesome things you get access to: 

• Free* Software License: Student licenses of 18 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology.


• Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (requires internet access)


• Reduced Cost Classroom Training:  Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Center (ATC®) partners are offering classroom  training at their facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee.  (Offerings will vary, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)


• Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)

Products eligible for a free* software license include:

General Design

AutoCAD®

Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC)

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Autodesk® Revit® Structure

Autodesk® Revit® MEP Suite

AutoCAD® Architecture

Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage

AutoCAD® P&ID

Manufacturing 

Autodesk® Inventor® Professional

Autodesk® Alias® Surface

Autodesk® Alias® Design

AutoCAD® Electrical

AutoCAD® Mechanical

Media & Entertainment

Autodesk® 3ds Max® 

Autodesk® Maya®

Geospatial

AutoCAD® Map 3D

"Seize the opportunity now. Don’t just survive, thrive!"

 * Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software. The license term varies by product from 90 days to 13 months.

We recently extended the Autodesk Assistance Program to March 31, 2010 so I thought it would be good to share some of the benfits to being part of this program.

If you were working for years and never had the opportunity to learn something new this is definitely a answer to that.  If you want a new career in one of the many Industries we create software for this is also an answer to that.

When you sign up for the program here are some of the awesome things you get access to: 

• Free* Software License: Student licenses of 18 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology.


• Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (requires internet access)


• Reduced Cost Classroom Training:  Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Center (ATC®) partners are offering classroom  training at their facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee.  (Offerings will vary, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)


• Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)

Products eligible for a free* software license include:

General Design

AutoCAD®

Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC)

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Autodesk® Revit® Structure

Autodesk® Revit® MEP Suite

AutoCAD® Architecture

Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage

AutoCAD® P&ID

Manufacturing 

Autodesk® Inventor® Professional

Autodesk® Alias® Surface

Autodesk® Alias® Design

AutoCAD® Electrical

AutoCAD® Mechanical

Media & Entertainment

Autodesk® 3ds Max® 

Autodesk® Maya®

Geospatial

AutoCAD® Map 3D

"Seize the opportunity now. Don’t just survive, thrive!"

 * Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software. The license term varies by product from 90 days to 13 months.

We recently extended the Autodesk Assistance Program to March 31, 2010 so I thought it would be good to share some of the benfits to being part of this program.

If you were working for years and never had the opportunity to learn something new this is definitely a answer to that.  If you want a new career in one of the many Industries we create software for this is also an answer to that.

When you sign up for the program here are some of the awesome things you get access to: 

• Free* Software License: Student licenses of 18 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology.


• Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (requires internet access)


• Reduced Cost Classroom Training:  Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Center (ATC®) partners are offering classroom  training at their facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee.  (Offerings will vary, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)


• Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)

Products eligible for a free* software license include:

General Design

AutoCAD®

Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC)

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Autodesk® Revit® Structure

Autodesk® Revit® MEP Suite

AutoCAD® Architecture

Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage

AutoCAD® P&ID

Manufacturing 

Autodesk® Inventor® Professional

Autodesk® Alias® Surface

Autodesk® Alias® Design

AutoCAD® Electrical

AutoCAD® Mechanical

Media & Entertainment

Autodesk® 3ds Max® 

Autodesk® Maya®

Geospatial

AutoCAD® Map 3D

"Seize the opportunity now. Don’t just survive, thrive!"

 * Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software. The license term varies by product from 90 days to 13 months.

We recently extended the Autodesk Assistance Program to March 31, 2010 so I thought it would be good to share some of the benfits to being part of this program.

If you were working for years and never had the opportunity to learn something new this is definitely a answer to that.  If you want a new career in one of the many Industries we create software for this is also an answer to that.

When you sign up for the program here are some of the awesome things you get access to: 

• Free* Software License: Student licenses of 18 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology.


• Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (requires internet access)


• Reduced Cost Classroom Training:  Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Center (ATC®) partners are offering classroom  training at their facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee.  (Offerings will vary, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)


• Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)

Products eligible for a free* software license include:

General Design

AutoCAD®

Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC)

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture

AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

Autodesk® Revit® Structure

Autodesk® Revit® MEP Suite

AutoCAD® Architecture

Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage

AutoCAD® P&ID

Manufacturing 

Autodesk® Inventor® Professional

Autodesk® Alias® Surface

Autodesk® Alias® Design

AutoCAD® Electrical

AutoCAD® Mechanical

Media & Entertainment

Autodesk® 3ds Max® 

Autodesk® Maya®

Geospatial

AutoCAD® Map 3D

"Seize the opportunity now. Don’t just survive, thrive!"

 * Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software. The license term varies by product from 90 days to 13 months.

What's the difference between a sketched based feature, a work feature, and a placed feature? Which feature is a hybrid of a placed and sketched based? Knowing the tools of your trade is as important as knowing your trade, the better you know how to make the tool work for you the more efficiently you are able to work. Now that you've had your daily dose of Rob "Confucius" Cohee, let’s get down to cases shall we...

My latest video dubbed Autodesk Inventor Tutorial Series: 3D Basics covers just that - the fundamentals. The blocking and tackling, free throw, running ladders, and up downs of CAD. New users, watch, learn take notes. Veteran Inventor users watch, critique, pass along any advice in the comments for the new users. Point out things I do that you would never do, or things that I do that you hadn't thought of. Remember Coffee Talk with Linda Richman? That SNL bit... where she gets all choked up and gives you a topic to discuss whilst she gathers herself....? Well this is your topic - fundamentals of 3D, now discuss.

 -Rob

www.twitter.com/robcohee

www.youtube.com/robcohee

What's the difference between a sketched based feature, a work feature, and a placed feature? Which feature is a hybrid of a placed and sketched based? Knowing the tools of your trade is as important as knowing your trade, the better you know how to make the tool work for you the more efficiently you are able to work. Now that you've had your daily dose of Rob "Confucius" Cohee, let’s get down to cases shall we...

My latest video dubbed Autodesk Inventor Tutorial Series: 3D Basics covers just that - the fundamentals. The blocking and tackling, free throw, running ladders, and up downs of CAD. New users, watch, learn take notes. Veteran Inventor users watch, critique, pass along any advice in the comments for the new users. Point out things I do that you would never do, or things that I do that you hadn't thought of. Remember Coffee Talk with Linda Richman? That SNL bit... where she gets all choked up and gives you a topic to discuss whilst she gathers herself....? Well this is your topic - fundamentals of 3D, now discuss.

 -Rob

www.twitter.com/robcohee

www.youtube.com/robcohee