Beyond 3D
Autodesk’s 2011 product line up emphasizes complete ‘virtual prototyping’ process.
By Ralph Grabowski | July 15, 2010
Each year as Autodesk rolls out its annual software, it invites the media to tech days. The theme this year was “3D is not enough,” a phrase meant to emphasize that today’s design software has to go beyond 3D design to handle pre-design, analysis, simulation and documentation—everything that Autodesk formerly called “digital prototyping.” Indeed, Autodesk had so much software to talk about that its flagship Inventor software was relegated to a rather small slice of time, with the day dominated by presentations on analysis, sketching and even AutoCAD. Several times Autodesk speakers made the controversial point that you don’t need to purchase software from anyone else.
For mechanical designers, a workflow is now possible with all-Autodesk software:
1. Begin the design as concepts drawn with Alias Sketch. More than just an expensive paint program, it treats raster shapes like intelligent 2D vectors in that it can adjust their properties and shapes at any time. Versions of the software are now available on iPhone and iPad (named SketchBook), and as a $500 plug-in for AutoCAD, as well as stand-alone. I asked about the experimental 3D version we were shown last year, but Autodesk had nothing more to say about it.
2. Bring the Alias sketch into AutoCAD as an image underlay, and then construct a 3D model from it with AutoCAD 2011’s new NURBS splines and associative surfaces.
3. Import AutoCAD’s 3D DWG file into Inventor, where the 3D model is developed further, such as adding ribs and part lines, making it suitable for plastic injection molding. If the model has electrical connections, these can be designed by AutoCAD Electrical and then imported into Inventor as wiring harnesses. Autodesk calls the combination of mechanical and electrical design “mechatronics.”
4. Test the model’s strength with ANSYS finite element analysis, and check the model's compatibility with mold making equipment through MoldFlow.
5. Display the final product with Showcase. Coupled with MoldFlow, Showcase can now display the surface shrinkage marks caused by imperfectly designed molds.
6. Create assembly and maintenance documents with the company’s new Publisher software. The technical documents can be output as movies or as static PDF and Word documents.
Making Incompatible Data Compatible
One of the problems Autodesk faces is that much of its core software is incompatible. Revit, AutoCAD, AutoCAD add-ons, Inventor and Alias store their data in different formats, making data reuse difficult. The company is the midst of a multi-year process of getting these programs talk with one another.
For instance, in a demo that transferred an electrical schematic from AutoCAD Electrical to Inventor, I noticed that DWG wasn't used. Instead, AutoCAD exported the electrical data to an Excel spreadsheet file, which was then read by Inventor. On the other hand, Inventor can now store its data in DWG files that can be read by AutoCAD, and in ADSK exchange files for use by AutoCAD MEP, Architecture and Revit.
I asked Robert Kross, senior VP of the Manufacturing Solutions Division, how the tough job of data compatibility was coming along. In some cases, he noted, there is no need for exact compatibility. For instance, Revit building models need only know the overall size and some positioning details of mechanical products, like production lines. He mentioned that the ADSK format still needs more work.
Another solution to the data exchange problem is to build in technology from other programs. Each year, more parts of the ALGOR and MoldFlow analysis programs are integrated into Inventor. As of this year’s releases, all Autodesk software employs the same technology for defining materials and textures.
No Fear of FEA
Autodesk is working to make analysis easier, and so usable by more designers. Even AutoCAD 2011 now contains rudimentary analysis commands: AnalysisZebra (for visualizing continuity between multiple surfaces), AnalysisDraft (for checking draft angles of parts meant for plastic molds), and AnalysisCurvature (for coloring areas of positive and negative curvature). I see this as Autodesk’s attempt to head off competition from SpaceClaim, which has been successful in co-selling its concept of pre-design analysis with ANSYS.
For Inventor, the primary analysis tools are ALGOR for finite element analysis and MoldFlow for mold design and analysis. In addition to slowly integrating with Inventor, the company is also cutting prices on some analysis modules and adding more functions.
Autodesk really wants its customers to do both primary tasks, design and analyze. To make analysis more accessible, Autodesk added wizard-like step-by-step instructions to guide neophytes through the analysis process. There are explanations of terms and procedures, such as how to set up constraints, apply boundary conditions and test for different kinds of loads, such as stress and thermal.
As a former professional engineer, I am concerned, however, by Autodesk’s ease-of-access for analysis, a field that is deadly serious. It is no task for neophytes; as another editor put it, we don't want to see an “ALGOR for Dummies” book. When I asked about this danger, an Autodesk spokesman merely repeated the apparent ease-of-use benefits. Autodesk’s efforts in this area are a puzzle, for engineers with experience don't need the terms defined for them; engineers without experience shouldn’t be allowed to follow the hand-holding wizards.
Inventor 2010
While Inventor keeps getting new features, the most interesting of them is not part of the program. Fusion is Autodesk’s direct-modeling/editing response to CoCreate from PTC, V6 from Dassault Systemes, Synchronous Technology from Siemens, and SpaceClaim. I thought it would be integrated into Inventor 2011, but Fusion remains a technical preview, the long way of saying “beta.” When asked directly about it, Kross said Fusion’s shipping date is still unknown; I suspect this is because Fusion still only handles simple editing tasks.
At this tech day, we were shown an Inventor part being edited directly (no history, no parametrics) in Fusion; when the modeled part was brought into Inventor, the additions, changes and deletions were shown in green, yellow, and red. Once accepted, the changes were automatically merged into Inventor’s history tree.
While Inventor doesn’t do direct editing yet, Autodesk continues to move the user interface away from ribbon/dialog boxes and toward direct manipulation, known as “in-canvas display.” Inventor places tiny toolbars, selection tags, input boxes, dropdown menus and model manipulators near the cursor to maximize the drawing area and minimize the cursor travel time. Some of these are also found in AutoCAD 2011.
We each receive a copy of Inventor Professional Suite 2011, a fat plastic DVD case containing nine DVDs and very little printed information. Autodesk recommends a minimum of 100GB disk space for an Inventor installation with Vault. AutoCAD Mechanical is meant for 2D mechanical design, and is bundled with Inventor (at no extra cost) or available separately for US$4,500.
None of the day's presentations mentioned cloud computing, the topic that was so hot at SolidWorks World months earlier. Also not discussed was Autodesk’s previous hot topic of sustainable design. As for a Mac version, Kross would only tease, “Why would anyone want to run Inventor on a Mac? But seriously, a Mac version of Inventor would be interesting.”
With the wide expanse of software now available from Autodesk, its next logical step might be to expand to a broad range of operating systems.
www.autodesk.com/mcad
Ralph Grabowski is the author of more than 100 books about Computer Aided Design. He writes a daily blog on the industry at worldcadaccess.typepad.com
