It’s Launch Day for Autodesk. Unfortunately the event is not physically covered by the press in the west coast offices, and we do not have the ability to get the goods first hand, right up front. Even so, we have some pre-launch information to share with you, as the company unveils more specifics this morning.
Autodesk Simulation
Autodesk has stated that the Simulation 2014 platforms will include:
Mechanical
- Better interoperability
- Drop test process automation
- access to parametric design study functionality
Moldflow
- New conformal cooling functionality allows for efficient cooling path designs
- Compression molding allows for the simulation of large, light weight components with high quality surface finish needs
Simulation CFD
- Overall product performance up to 13 percent faster
- Simulate free surface liquids – sloshing, pouring, open channel flow and solid/liquid interaction
I was wise to the drop test automation being implemented, but have not seen the fruits of their labors. While the enhancement list does not suggest the punch that the 2013 launch delivered, I am looking forward to every single item on that list. This should prove to be a good year for simulation, especially with the recent purchase of Firehole Composites.
Inventor
As for Inventor, we have a lot more information about the product enhancements for 2014. We’ll give you a lot more on that very soon, but some improvements include:
- Joints – motion constraints that replicate the application of motion in a similar manner as the simulation environment
- BIM ready Revit Model creation
- Revit data import – Don’t know if this includes all the Revit Family data yet of not
- Layer and annotation enhancements
- New point cloud engine handled by Autodesk ReCap
- Much much more
Autodesk 360
The Autodesk 360 arena has been planned as the playground for all the new cloud based products. Some shared services have been available for awhile:
- Cloud Rendering – which is restricted to the AEC Revit bunch, as well as a small segment of AutoCAD users
- Inventor Optomization – my personal favorite, offering the ability to play ‘what if’ with a host of selected parameters, all on the cloud without stopping your progress or modifying your design.
There is a lot of smoke coming from behind closed doors about what will be added and how. Fusion 360 file storage is predicted to be implemented there. Another notable item is Cloud Credits for Autodesk Product Design Suite customers, who will receive 100 credits per year along with their subscription. The company is quite tight lipped about anything further.
Autodesk ReCap
Autodesk ReCap is a group of software and services designed to help users create intelligent 3D models using photogrammetry and laser measurement.
The ReCap service will be included in the following products:
- Inventor
- AutoCAD
- AutoCAD Civil 3D & Map 3D
- Plant 3D
- Revit
- Navisworks
- InfraWorks
- 3ds Max
Factory Design Suite improvements
- FDU is separately installable
- FAW – New assets and Autodesk 360 integration
PI-VR… Where are you???
There is one product that we are looking for that has not quite surfaced.
PI-VR
PI-VR is a German company specializing in sophisticated real time visualization technology. The VRED technology is said to deliver substantially faster, real-time ray tracing and was reported to have a much higher quality rendering output than that of Showcase.
Autodesk purchased the company in January of 2013, but as of yet has not said how it will be implemented. 2014 Suites? I hear the rumble, but still waiting to see what’s on the horizon. Perhaps we’ll hear about it today.
Stay tuned – Scott and I will be covering more details of the launch on Twitter and Facebook, as well as product specifics as time goes on.
