In an effort to continue to improve the quality of our products we are releasing a free update that resolves compatibility issues that have been reported while using the software on the latest versions of Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8) and Mac OS X Lion. It also resolves problems reported by the Customer Error Reporting (CER) utility and other general problems.
If you want early access and input on Autodesk products and technologies there are a couple of great and free methods.
If you want to get early access and participate in the feedback process of a beta program for existing products such as AutoCAD, Revit, Autodesk Inventor, 3ds Max, Maya etc. then you should definitely get involved in the Autodesk Customer Feedback Programs https://beta.autodesk.com/.
If you want to test and provide feedback on early technology previews like the new Autodesk Inventor Fusion for Mac and PC or Project Vasari then Autodesk Labs is the place.
Both of these programs rely on your feedback and active participation so go ahead get involved and help shape the future of Autodesk products and technologies to be the best tools for you.
Cheers,
Shaan
When using the free Autodesk 123D Catch to convert photos taken with your digital camera to a 3D textured mesh there are some tips to getting the best resulting model.
Here is a great video explaining how to best capture a scene or objects in 3D.
Today is technically our birthday but we're celebrating throughout the year
. It was on April 26th 1982 when a group of innovative and hardworking entrepreneurs formally incorporated as Autodesk, Inc. Yes Autodesk was a startup company 30 years ago and has grown considerably from a handful of employees meeting in a founders living room to over 7500 employees today spread around the world and over 100 products and millions of customers.
Here's to the next 30 years!
It was only recently that the impending and anxiously awaited product Sketchbook Ink was shown live at the Apple main stage launch for the iPad 3. Now both Pixlr and AutoCAD WS are basking in the limelight glow of the Google Drive launch.
Upon installation of Google Drive from http://drive.google.com (getting 5Gig free space) I noticed AutoCAD WS was suggested to me as a “managed App” since apparently I had some DWG and DXF files in my Google Docs folder it migrated automatically or perhaps it was because AutoCAD WS was in my Chrome extensions but now a default native Drive app. Now AutoCAD WS will be my default viewer and editor within the Google Drive storage for DWG files.
For images it offered Autodesk’s Pixlr available natively in the Google Drive Apps. Now I can view and edit images from within my Google Drive on the web or desktop. http://autode.sk/JvDmJj
View of my Google Drive Folder with DWG files and then selecting one and it opens in AutoCAD WS ready for viewing mark up or editing.
And choosing the Pixlr Editor in Google Drive I get what looks like Photoshop with many powerful; features all without installing anything just accessing my Google Drive.
Pretty nice initial offering for cloud storage from Google that combines many apps to choose from including the Autodesk ones like AutoCAD WS and Pixlr.
Cheers,
Shaan
With the summer travel season rapidly approaching for those in the Northern hemisphere I wanted to point out a free and great place to visit if your travel plans bring you to San Francisco California. There are a wide variety of exhibits in the gallery as well as an amazing view out the windows looking towards the San Francisco Ferry Terminal Building and San Francisco Bay Bridge.
The Autodesk Gallery is open to the public every Wednesday from 12-5 p.m, with a guided tour from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
While there you can create a 3D textured model of your own head. With the very latest 123D Catch custom Photo Booth there are 24 DSLR cameras arranged in a booth with several large LED light units. You enter you email address then proceed to sit in the booth and align your head using the interactive feedback provided by a Kinect and then when your head ins in the right spot all the cameras fire at once. In a few minutes you are emailed links to download the model of your head. You can also just have someone take a series of digital photos of your head and submit them to 123D Catch to get your own head model without this fancy photo booth.
If you are on Twitter you can follow the Autodesk Gallery http://twitter.com/autodeskgallery
Cheers,
Shaan
Autodesk DWG TrueView 2013, the 100% Autodesk DWG viewer build on the same codebase as AutoCAD is now ready for download. Read DWG files from AutoCAD version 2.1 in the early 1980’s to the recent AutoCAD 2013 DWG format, plot drawings, measure, and more.
With the free Autodesk DWG TrueView 2013 you can:
Go get Autodesk DWG TrueView http://www.autodesk.com/dwgtrueview
Many have been waiting to get their hands on a Mac version of Autodesk Inventor Fusion since the news started circulating with MacRumors publishing an article from Macworld 2012 in January where Autodesk’s Inventor Fusion maestro Kevin Schneider discussed and showed that Autodesk Inventor Fusion was indeed coming to the Mac platform. Macworld 2012: Autodesk Inventor Fusion for Mac Coming
Autodesk Inventor Fusion is a 3D direct modeling solution that provides a full design modeling environment from 2D sketching with geometric constraints up to the creation and modifying of 3D solids. You can easily import many file formats such as DWG, SAT, STEP, as well as Autodesk Inventor parts and assembly files and modify the solids with simple press pull operations to explore different design options fast and easy. The Windows version of Autodesk Inventor Fusion is now included with several shipping Autodesk products including AutoCAD 2013 and several Autodesk Suites after going from technology preview and several iterations on Autodesk Labs and now the Inventor Fusion for Mac version starts the journey.
Check out the YouTube video of Autodesk Technical Evangelist Rob Cohee and Senior Product Line Manager Kevin Schneider discussing Inventor Fusion (aka “Sexy Technology”): Autodesk Digital Prototyping 2012 - Inventor Fusion
The time has come and you can now download your free technology preview of Inventor Fusion for Mac just make certain to review the system requirements and please provide us feedback on your experience to labs.iv.fusion@autodesk.com.
It is not only simple to use but simple to install with a single DMG file download then drag and drop to the apps icon and voilà you are ready to go.
There is a familiar Welcome Screen with essential skills video links.
Need more help, just check out the Inventor Fusion Technology for Mac – WikiHelp
You can the use simple 2D sketches using many of the familiar methods like circle rectangle trim etc. to build 3D geometry using extrude loft and other 3D methods with preview before committing.
And easily modify existing 3D parts and assemblies.
FYI: BOTH Windows and Mac versions of Inventor Fusion are available on the download page after completing the short and pain free Autodesk Labs web form.
For More Info:
Autodesk Labs Inventor Fusion Technology Preview
Autodesk Inventor Fusion Facebook
Keep Inventor Solids Simple (KISS) when exporting.
This new & free technology preview for Autodesk Inventor 2013 named Inventor Simplification has just been posted on Autodesk Labs allowing you to reduce models, include or exclude parts and remove IP before exporting for use in a Revit BIM model using the .adsk file format. In the past there has been the shrink wrap feature but that has now been expanded with more abilities to control what is exported.
For example you may have a large assembly of a elevator (a lift for my friends outside the US) and do not need to send the new elevator mechanical design to be used the in Revit model the architect is building. You could shrink-wrap, fill holes, and export only the minimum parts required of the elevator in the Revit model. You could also be exporting a crane or cooling tower design for use in a large Revit BIM model as seen below. For a BIM model all the gears, motors and other contents inside a crane.
If you are exporting your mechanical designs for use in BIM models you should definitely check this technology preview out.You can also export out the models as DWG or SAT for use in other applications.
Inventor Simplification for Autodesk Inventor 2013
http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_simplification/
Autodesk® ForceEffect Motion was just released free to the Apple App store.
This is a great mobile tool for anyone exploring early design concepts from students to professionals. Bring in a picture and then use that as the design concept to explore the mechanical design and simulation. It is a also really fun to explore how things work, yes I said engineering can be fun.
Developing mechanical systems with moving parts is now easier and ever with Autodesk® ForceEffect Motion™. ForceEffect Motion™ brings engineering to the point of the problem with a mobile engineering app for simulating design concepts in the field, in the office or in the classroom. This purpose built tool allows users to develop functional moving mechanical systems right on their mobile devices. Unlike the traditional approach of using paper, pencil, and a calculator to develop equations for design options, ForceEffect Motion™ does all the simulation and engineering calculations for you right on your mobile device, enabling you to quickly and easily simulate design options during the concept phase to determine the viability of a design.
The Autodesk ForceEffect Motion engineering app is perfect for developing mechanical systems with moving parts upfront in the in the design process, some of the features include:
- Create functional mechanical joints (welded, pinned, sliding, collar, crossing)
- Create supports (fixed pin, grounded, sliding collar)
- Mechanism animation and functional drag
- Analyze positional data by adding trace points (trace path, velocity vectors)
- Interactive graphing of trace points (velocity, displacement, acceleration)
- Create Actuators (motors, linear)
- Results reporting with picture, animation, graph and graph data table
- and more…
Official Press Release: Freedom to Test Impact of Motion Behavior on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
Have an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad, check this free app out today.
http://bit.ly/IDeDP2
Autodesk University 2012 is now only 229 days away but if you want to be considered as a Autodesk University 2012 presenter/speaker you better get busy. The official call for submissions for has been made and those submissions are set to be submitted starting in 2 weeks and the deadline is May 22, 2012.
Being a speaker/presenter at Autodesk University is an amazing experience and opportunity to show and share your knowledge and get recognition from your peers at the largest Autodesk event in the world. Thousands of class proposals will be submitted but only a portion can be selected so be sure to put effort into your proposals including a catchy title and fresh powerful topics that will appeal to fellow Autodesk customers.
Dates for submitting your AU 2012 Class Proposals:
Resources for AU Class Submissions:
Hope to see you at AU 2012!
-Shaan
I wanted to share a link to a nice blog post by Kate Morrical on the benefits of Autodesk 360 to customization with AutoCAD 2013. Your customization can follow you to different machines and locations.
Some great news (as usual) was found in the April Edition of Autodesk Labs Innovation Edge newsletter. http://labs.blogs.com/apr2012/innovation_edge.htm
You can try the brand spanking new AutoCAD LT 2013 Online Trial without having to download or installing anything. No, this is not a late April Fools joke. The AutoCAD LT 2013 is running on our servers allowing you a fast, free, and effortless way to check out the new release. You may only see the download trial option if the online trial is too popular or your connection is not fast enough.
You should Subscribe to Innovation Edge and stay on top of all the latest in technology from Autodesk Labs.
Cheers,
Shaan
This week I spent the beginning in San Francisco getting some formal training to be a safe and skilled Octo-Copter pilot. I am a designated tandem pilot for the Octo-Copter for some research projects and need to have my skills and training near levels of our veteran pilot Gonzalo Martinez.
The Octo-Copter is a large 8 rotor unmanned aerial drone from which we can mount a 2kg payload of cameras to capture video and photos to create 3D terrain using 123D Catch (Aerial Capture of 3D Geometry) and other methods. After testing many copters we found this one to be the most stable and powerful to carry payloads of equipment and not worry about them being destroyed or the video being unstable.
We have some pretty existing research project's going on this year with aerial capture of imagery in remote places where a telescopic camera boom or manned aerial aircraft are impossible logistically or cost prohibitive. We can be on scene with a small case of equipment and be in the air in a couple hours and fly up to 3500 meters capturing photo and video imagery in very high resolution. The possibilities are really quite endless from capturing terrain and objects in 3D textured models to searching for things on the ground that might not be seen from the ground.
Some images from the air above Autodesk San Rafael HQ.
Here are photos from the flight training which also includes a realistic simulator I need to drill on daily now.
The batteries for the Octo-Copter are big lithium batteries and not allowed to be in checked luggage, But I am not too keen on how these will look in my carry-on luggage to a inspector especially overseas. They would look even worse if I carried them in my travel jacket vest pockets. I will need plenty of documentation showing what they are before I get thrown in a security room.
Cheers,
Shaan
Guest posting by AutoCAD QA Team member Rohit Arora on the AutoCAD 2013 Content Explorer and Autodesk 360, a pact made in heavens (Cloud actually)!
In this “Tips and Tricks” write-up, I’m going to show the self-professed ‘Hackers and Tinkerers’ out there, the benefits of the newly released Autodesk 360 Sync service in AutoCAD 2013, when used in conjunction with the ‘Content Explorer’. Although the ‘Content Explorer’ was released last year, some people may not have taken a serious look at it. Well, after reading this tip, you may want to leverage these two features for your workflow.
1. In order to use this tip, please ensure you have an Autodesk login. Then sign in (or register) by clicking on the ‘Sign In’ button, on the top right corner in AutoCAD.
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2. Now open ‘Content Explorer’ by clicking on Explore button under Plugin Ribbon tab or type CONTENTEXPLORER at command prompt. By default you should see two local folders listed under ‘Content Service (Localhost)’: Downloaded Content & Sample. Here, you could also search for content on the Autodesk’s Seek service.
3. Type ONLINEFOLDER in the Command line. If you are successfully logged to Autodesk 360, you should get result as a folder path:
· C:\Users\<user login id>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Autodesk Sync\Cloud\<login.name>
4. Copy-clip this path, shown within quotes, from the Command line editor.
5. In the Content Explorer palette, click on “Add Watched Folder…” button at the bottom.
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6. Under ‘Select Watched Folder’, click on any of the presented folders, say Documents, click OK.
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7. In the next window ‘Edit Watched Folder’, you can edit the Local Path and paste the Autodesk Sync folder you had copied in Step 4. Add a Description and click OK to exit.
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8. Now in Content Explorer palette, you should see a new folder named as your login for Autodesk 360 service. (e.g. ‘john.doe’). Done!
9. Now you have access to all the goodness of Drawings and Entities inside the drawings from within Content Explorer, all indexed and searchable!! Whoa!
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10. Doing this allows you to drop Blocks/Layers/Dim-Styles, etc. from your Autodesk 360 drawings into your current drawing. Since all your content is synced to the Autodesk 360 documents, it’s always ready for sharing and collaboration. Off course, if you log out, then you lose this ability, so don’t!
11. So here are a few pointers: Store your office’s CAD standards, Block library or drawing templates in Autodesk 360, and use them anywhere, anytime; all indexed and searchable. If you explore further, Autodesk 360 allows you to access all (drawing) files via the web, and mobile devices using AutoCAD WS.
About the author: An architect turned technology professional; Rohit brings in 15 plus years of experience as an AutoCAD user, and the expertise of a CAD and IT Manager to Autodesk, while currently working as the AutoCAD Software QA Engineer.
Thank you for the guest post Rohit.
Last week while working in the San Francisco Autodesk offices I ran across an interesting research project that is being conducted by a special team of combined operations and a 3D printing team.
In the past Autodesk had physical media for delivery of software like floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD, and USB media. Then we had the instantly gratifying electronic downloads of the software, but that was electronic and nothing you could place on your shelf unless you waited a week or more to receive the physical shipment from your friendly delivery person.
Many wanted instant software in a physical form and that customer request is at the core of this research.
Now with the more accessibility to 3D printers people can download the STL file of a product DVD and 3D print it and have a physical copy of the product media. A side benefit is that the STL image is smaller in the downloaded file size than the entire electronic download of the product in bits and bytes. From what I know about the technology is that it is similar to the heat pressed DVD which is a master negative mold pressed into polycarbonate not the burned DVD you create from your laptop. So they take a base DVD and add the digital copy of the data as it is used for DVD media masters but instead of pressing them print them on a 3D printer to ABS material. If the research goes well this could be another option for Autodesk customers.
Here is a preview of the STL format DVD media before 3D printing.
Pretty interesting, and might satisfy everyone that have requested instant software delivery as well as those that want the physical media. You could even 3D print a DVD case if you wanted the entire package.
Here is the new Autodesk Product Design Suite 2013 in an STL file as a 30 day trial version. Download ADSK-ProdDesSuite-DVD-DigiDelivery
I will keep everyone posted on the progress of this research, but would you 3D print your DVD?
UPDATE:
Happy April Fools Day Everyone! This was only a fun post and not a real research project. –Shaan
I have been in the Autodesk San Francisco office this week and got to attend the Autodesk Media Summit 2012 where press and bloggers from around the world came to see what Autodesk was launching in our 2013 products and solutions.
It was a very busy event with Autodesk executives and product managers presenting and taking questions. I am sure many articles and blog posts from attendees will start to appear when they get back to their offices and their heads stop spinning. The Autodesk PR team did an amazing job on the event. As always it was great seeing so many familiar faces and meeting new ones.
You can now view some of the presentations on YouTube:
The event concluded yesterday with a one-two awesome punch tour of the new Bay Bridge span construction and then topping off the with a visit to movie special effects masters Industrial Light & Magic.
Some of the current articles and tweets:
Articles:
The Autodesk big picture is a rose colored paint-by-number - Graphic Speak
” When we parse the numbers, the picture emerges of a company happily running as fast as it can to transform digital art and design.“Autodesk Introduces Engineering Software, Cloud Platform – Bloomberg Businessweek
”The largest seller of engineering and design software is shifting more of its product development toward applications that can be delivered over the Web, in addition to being installed on users’ personal computers.”
From the Twitter-verse:joshmings Thank you Autodesk for the multi-course gatling gun of info that was the Autodesk press summit. Out.
#adsk_sf2012olegshilovitsky Autodesk strategy in two words: cohesive and cloud. How product can help users without users doing anything?
#adsk_sf2012
David Light
#adsk_sf2012 media event finished! Great event,#ilm was icing on the cake, thank you so much! Now off to#hok Sf
My day ended with two unauthorized feathered visitors to the Autodesk SF office making a bit of noise.
Cheers,
Shaan
This AutoCAD 2013 Preview Guide document covers many of the new features and enhancements of the new release of AutoCAD.
A few years ago I posted AutoCAD Free Bonus Tool Drawing Tabs "MDITabs" which when loaded in AutoCAD 2010-2012 provided a horizontal drawing tab for each open drawing file. This AutoCAD Bonus Tool was very popular among AutoCAD users working with multiple drawings open. Now with the launch of the new AutoCAD 2013 and the new Autodesk Exchange App Store there is a new version of the Drawing Tabs app compatible with AutoCAD 2013, and yes it is still FREE.
The new Drawing Tabs App for AutoCAD 2013 in the Autodesk Exchange App Store
Here you see the new AutoCAD 2013 with the Drawing Tabs App loaded and showing tabs for open drawings.
When you right-click context menu on the drawing tab you get options:
There will be a growing selection of apps for Autodesk products and I would encourage you to explore the Autodesk Exchange App Store.
Cheers,
Shaan
Randy Young is an Lead Engineer for Autodesk Hardware Certification and today he sent me some great information on the new Autodesk Recommended Hardware website. In the past we have provided test results and guidance on graphics cards or recommended system level requirements such as memory and CPU but never really to the model and manufacture of a computer system but that is changing.
Have you ever wondered what systems work with your Autodesk Product or Suite? Or better yet what has been tested and designed for use with your Autodesk product? Look no further than www.autodesk.com/hardware. Most Autodesk products test hardware but have not posted results for recommended hardware until now. Autodesk now has a unified hardware site which displays both recommended computer systems and the certified graphics support.
One of the most common customer frustrations is how to pick a system that will work best with your software. Choose incorrectly and product stability problems will arise. Since Autodesk products are highly hardware dependent and are commonly used in tandem to solve design problems it is important to choose the correct system before installing any software. This can be done by; visiting www.autodesk.com/hardware, selecting System hardware, selecting your product(s) or suite, year, operating system, and clicking the Find button.
Now you can see all the systems that have been tested with your selected products. This site also allows you to see all tested vendors and form factors (Laptop & Desktop) together in one list. Now if you click on a system name, for example Dell Precision M4500, it will show you the test results and give you a link to jump directly to dell.com to order the system. If your system is adequate but you need to update your driver you can click on the graphics card name to go directly to the latest tested driver for this card where it can then be downloaded and installed.
This updated site should help you choose a system for your current Autodesk product, pick a system when upgrading your product, and configure your existing system to work with your current product. By choosing the correct system and keeping your existing system up to date with the latest driver you will avoid productivity losses due to slow performance and instability.
If you have any questions, see the FAQ site and if you have any issues not on the FAQ, please feel free to send us a message through the feedback link.
Good luck on your next project,
Randy Young
Autodesk Lead Engineer
Autodesk Hardware Certification
<Thank you Randy>
The AutoCAD 2013 products for both Windows and Mac have been announced and now available as a free full version 30 day trial download, free to students on the Student Community and to Autodesk Subscription customers. There are many people wanting to test and kick the tires of the new release of AutoCAD so the downloads might be quite busy initially.
Download AutoCAD 2013 for Windows http://www.autodesk.com/autocad/ selecting the trial link option http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad/trial/
Download AutoCAD 2013 for Mac http://www.autodesk.com/AutoCADforMac
Students & Faculty Get it at the Autodesk Education Community http://students.autodesk.com/
Autodesk Subscription customers get it at the Autodesk Subscription site http://subscription.autodesk.com/
For those looking for AutoCAD LT 2013: www.autodesk.com/acadlt & http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad-lt/trial/
Cheers,
Shaan