Autodesk Inventor Chases AutoCAD Users.(Product Announcement)

The latest release of Autodesk's mechanical design software, Inventor, has been tailored to lure 2D CAD users--especially AutoCAD users--to 3D. According to the company, Version 4's ease-of-use improvements, coupled with the new ability to import AutoCAD DWG-format files into Inventor, will make the 2D-to-3D transition easier than ever for mechanical designers ready to make the switch. Inventor users will also be able to export DWG files when necessary for communicating with suppliers and customers.

Inventor's ease-of-use improvements include a more intuitive workflow that allows users to capture design intent at earlier, conceptual stages, and sketching enhancements such as automatic dimensioning and a new tool called the Sketch Doctor that helps users with drawing recovery, especially when importing legacy data from other applications.

At Alpha Marathon Technologies, a plastics processing machine manufacturer in Woodridge, Ontario, Inventor 4 was the application that brought the former 2D shop solidly into a 3D environment. "For the past two or three years, we tried different 3D platforms," all of which proved, "big fiascoes," says president Alfredo Bentivoglio. But with Inventor 4, he says, his designers were up and running in ...