Digital prototyping strategy from Autodesk takes giant steps

PORTLAND, OR + TORONTO – Two events hosted this month by Autodesk (www.autodesk.com) revealed the latest progress the company is making in its "Digital Prototyping" strategy.

Providing end-to-end data interoperability between software products that range from industrial design (Alias) and design engineering (Inventor) to media entertainment (Showcase) and architecture (Revit), the Oregon-based company has had its hands full. But with the Autodesk 2010 suite, true progress has been made at every juncture.

Between Alias and Inventor, for example, a consumer product industrial designer can share his Class-A surface files from Alias with a design engineer in manufacturing, later update them and have the changes reflected in the Inventor model.

Machine designers using Inventor can also share their assembly designs with architects creating plant layouts by using Autodesk Navisworks. Interferences such as pillars and support beams, along with HVAC footprints, can all be predetermined in Navisworks. A new ".adsk" Inventor "Save As..." file format that permits 3D drawings to be shared by Revit architectural users (but not vice-versa) has been introduced.

Inventor 2010 also boasts enhancements such as multibody workflows, specialized plastic features, rule-based fillets and associative import of exterior or A-side geometry from the Autodesk Alias family of software give Inventor 2010 users the tools for designing complex molded parts (that update smoothly when changed) without requiring a lot of detailed geometry construction or intermediate steps.

The Inventor product line includes a new application, Autodesk Inventor Tooling (included in Autodesk Inventor Professional), for designing complex molded parts. It includes automated tools that use the digital prototype to quickly create and validate complete mold designs, helping to reduce errors and improve mold performance.
 
In the May issue of the magazine, DPN will feature one Canadian customer, Dynamic Structures (www.empireds.com), that is using multiple Autodesk products to create an observatory for a new 30 m telescope (click video below for a sneak peak).

Mike Edwards, Editor, DPN, medwards@clbmedia.ca
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        30 m telescope                       DIN rail wiring duct

Online product selectors. Thomson, A Danaher Motion Company, has available updated online Product Selectors, with new configurations and additional product sizes, for mechanical motion components.

Hydraulic components. MICO, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of hydraulic components, controls and brake systems, announces the launch of the MICO Store as part of the company’s website at www.mico.com/store.

Springs and screws. SolidComponents, a software platform for 3D CAD catalogs, has introduced downloads for springs from Ewes and high tensile screws from Colly.

Pumps. Armstrong Ltd. has announced web microsites for its Intelligent Variable Speed Pump (IVS) and Pump-in-a-Box (PiB) product offerings.

MORE NEWS...


 
Look for these stories in the DPN March/April digital edition:
  
• Bill Vance takes a look
at the EPA-inspired UPS hydraulic hybrid courier truck. More...

 
• Mark Sunderland on injection technology designed to replace hypodermics. More...
  
• Festo's retired president Chris Kalemba honored by Skills Canada. More...
  
• Engineers rethink a pivotal point in surgical scissors. More...
  
Please click on the button (right) for access to the digital edition of DPN.





 • Linear actuator from NB Corporation
  
• GGB self-aligning plain housing bearings
 




More Digital Edition coverage!
  
• Read about what steps the Federal Government is taking to deal with the economic crisis. More...

• Mold creation and collaborative product data management software in CAD Chronicle. More...

• Motion Control Product Spotlight. More...
 

May 5-7, 2009. Toronto. PACKEX Toronto 2009 exhibition presented by the Packaging Association of Canada (packextoronto.com).

May 12-14, 2009. Montreal. Plant Maintenance and Design Show presented by the SME (sme.org/events).

May 28-30, 2009. Niagara Falls, ON. The Canadian Conference of the Power Transmission Distributors Association (ptda.org/canadianconference).

May 7 + June 2, 2009. Vancouver + Calgary. Autodesk Imagine Tour presents seminars on Autodesk 2010 software products such as Inventor and AutoCAD (http://experience.autodesk.com).

June 16-18, 2009. Edmonton. Western Manufacturing Technology Show & Conference 2009 presented by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (www.sme.org/events).

September 1-7, 2009. Calgary. The 2009 WorldSkills Competition for ages 17-22 in 45 skill categories, including mechatronics & robotics (worldskills2009.com).



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Magnetic multi-turn encoders. The Posital business unit of FRABA Inc. has announced Magnetocode MCD high-resolution absolute magnetic encoders. Units are self-powered, using a patented technology – based on the ‘Wiegand effect’ – that generates a short burst of electric power whenever the shaft rotates.

Industrial Ethernet firewall/router. With the FL MGuard RS Firewall with VPN option, Phoenix Contact provides an industrial Ethernet firewall/router platform for individual protection of distributed automation systems.

4 to 20 mA isolator. Emphatec’s INSTALINK-GLF Ground Loop Filter is said to be an economical way to eliminate the effects of ground loops in 4 to 20 mA loops. It provides isolation against up to 120 V of ground differential.