Hear a phone interview with Mike Loftus, supervisor of the mechanical design group for the NSLS-II project at Brookhaven Lab discuss the history of the Brookhaven National Lab, and the goals for the creation of a new light source facility. Brookhaven National Laboratory a national research laboratory overseen by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy has been named the Autodesk Inventor of the Month for July in recognition of its innovative nanotechnology equipment being designed for a new light source facility slated to open in 2014. In the interview Mike Loftus explains how Autodesk Inventor software, along with other Autodesk software including Autodesk Navisworks, helped his team design the new nanotechnology equipment. Brookhaven Lab is the current home of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), one of the world’s most widely used scientific user research facilities. Each year, thousands of researchers use the facility’s bright beams of X-ray, ultraviolet and infrared light while conducting research in such diverse fields as biology, medicine, chemistry, environmental sciences, physics and materials science.

In the previous post, we came across basics of 3D Annotation for Autodesk Inventor. Here in this post we will see how to work with 3D Annotation.

3D Annotation is a beta tool from Autodesk Labs, that will migrate (graduate) from labs after feedback from users like you on how you want the tool to look like or work like, so if you are working on this tool on a frequent basis, I would recommend you to write a mail to the Labs Team - labs.iv.3da@autodesk.com

So, let’s move ahead with the tool.

I would recommend you to see the list of countries where you can download this tool Here, this tool would expand to other geographies in the future, say something similar to Inventor Technology Fusion.

3D Annotation after installation would appear as shown below in the Ribbon

3D Annotation Tool Bar

Again something very important is, make sure you have enabled the Tool Bar (3D Annotation) from the Add-In (Options Panel) of the Tools (Tab)

Add-In Loader

Now, lets the options from the 3DA Tab

• Activate 3DA

This activates the 3DA command options in Inventor, see below

Activate 3DA

• Dimension

This tool helps in inserting Dimensions with tolerance settings. The dimensions include Linear, Aligned, Radius etc., see a video below. In case you need to edit the dimensions all you need to do is just right click and select the edit dimensions.

3DA Dimension

• Hole & Thread

This helps us in knowing more about the hole type and its relevant details, dimensions related to counter bore, countersink, spot face,  drilled holes can be obtained, see the video below

Hole and Thread

• 3DA Fillet and Chamfer

This command supports in dimensioning the chamfer / fillet in a 3D Model, some loop fillets are dimensioned as (No of fillet entities) X Radius X Description, while Chamfer as No of Chamfer X Distance (D1 / D2 / Angle) X Description. See a video below for more details.

Please not in case you need to modify the dimensions or values in Fillet or Chamfer, you need to press the space bar to enable the edit window.

Fillet and Chamfer

In Part three we will see little more about GD&T with 3D Annotation.  In case you did not read Part – I

Learning new technology and releases for Autodesk Inventor is easy only at CAD Professor

Spread the word about your participation in Autodesk University 2010. This set of AU 2010 e-badges can be added to your website, blog, or email blasts to colleagues and customers, then linked to the AU 2010 Conference or Exhibition page. Badges are available in three sizes.

You can download any image by right-clicking on it and then selecting “Save Picture As…”. If you prefer, you can skip the download and use the HTML code below each image.

Small 170×155

Code:

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_attending_170_155.jpg" width="170" height="155" alt="I'm attending AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=become_an_exhibitor_home"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_exhibiting_170_155.jpg" width="170" height="155" alt="We're exhibiting at AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_speaker_170_155.jpg" width="170" height="155" alt="I'm a speaker at AU2010!" title=""></a>

Medium 225×205

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_attending_225_205.jpg" width="225" height="205" alt="I'm attending AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=become_an_exhibitor_home"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_exhibiting_225_205.jpg" width="225" height="205" alt="We're exhibiting at AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_speaker_225_205.jpg" width="225" height="205" alt="I'm a speaker at AU2010!" title=""></a>

Large 275×250

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_attending_275_250.jpg" width="275" height="250" alt="I'm attending AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=become_an_exhibitor_home"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_exhibiting_275_250.jpg" width="275" height="250" alt="We're exhibiting at AU2010!" title=""></a>

<a href="http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=event2010"><img border="0" src="http://au.autodesk.com/ama/orig/au2010/ebadges/AU10_speaker_275_250.jpg" width="275" height="250" alt="I'm a speaker at AU2010!" title=""></a>

Important Links for AU 2010

• Autodesk University Conference and Exhibition
• Autodesk University Virtual 2010
• Autodesk University Extension 2010
• Contact Autodesk University Team 2010
• Autodesk University FAQ

What’s more, CADProfessor has lots of surprise before AU2010 on Autodesk Inventor 2011. Stay tuned for more information . . .

Autodesk way back in May / June 2010 announced a rebate offer of $300 on AutoCAD LT 2011. People have made use of this offer to a greater extent and sales of AutoCAD LT has gone up

What’s more : With just another 2 days left for this offer to end Amazon has some thing more to offer

Get AutoCAD LT 2011 off market price $1200 to $899.99 from Amazon and $ 300 Off from Autodesk with effective price costing only $599.99

Now if you purchase AutoCAD LT 2011 from Amazon you get a Free Book Mastering AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011 by George Omura

Autodesk and Amazon. Two more days

Getting Correct information and generating savings is easy @CADProfessor

News Break

Autodesk Innovative Car Design Challenge Winner

Winning design – KRUCE2 by NUS Urban Concept team (National University of Singapore, Singapore)

Autodesk, Inc. – opens in new window official sponsor of the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia, today announced the winners of the Autodesk Innovative Car Design Challenge 2010 at the Sepang International Circuit Marque.

Leveraging Autodesk’s leading 2D and 3D design – opens in new window, engineering and entertainment software, the team from the National University of Singapore (NUS) emerged champions amongst a highly competitive group of student teams from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, and Thailand.

The quality of the submissions we received for the Autodesk Innovative Car Design Challenge is a testament to the potential of the next generation of designers in Asia,” said Tom Joseph, Director, Education Programs, Autodesk Asia Pacific. “With access to powerful 2D and 3D design software, innovative programs, resources and curriculum from Autodesk, we can truly inspire students to make a profound impact on the world through innovation, creativity and sustainable design.

Autodesk India, is organizing a one day Design Innovation Conference for users from users from Educational Institutions which includes faculty, staff and students on 28th July 2010 between 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM at Bangalore, India

This program is open for Educational Institutions from Bangalore, India only

I’ll be there in the conference, let’s meet there

The major advantage of using Autodesk Inventor is working with large assembly files. Well, that’s excellent, having read this any user must go ahead and purchase Autodesk Inventor, but the fact that he or she should not forget to look forward at the system specification that is essential for working with large assembly.

All fine, so what should I look at when I go ahead and purchase my Desktop / Laptop or Workstation ?

• CPU Processor ( Say Corei7)
• Number of Cores
• Graphics Card
• Operating System
• Physical Memory
• Rating for all the above ( If these companies or their new products are certified by Autodesk and specific for Autodesk Inventor 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Also don’t forget to look for users feed back in the forums, discussion board of Autodesk etc.,

So, I tried to look at my system configuration to see if I was using a certified graphics card and recommended hardware to run my AIP. When I migrated to Autodesk Inventor 2011, it was very much essential to see I matched all the system requirements to run my software.

First look at my workstation configuration

• Intel Core i7  CPU  Q 720@ 1.60GHz
• 6MB L2 Cache
• 6144MB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• NVIDIA GeForce GTS 360M
• 1TB HDD
• Win 7 Pro 64-bit

I now looked at the website “ http://www.inventor-certified.com ” to see if I had a certified hardware to support my work. Yes, indeed all are certified including the Graphics Card. But what about YOU ?

The following are system test results for Autodesk Inventor® running on various Workstations.

Testing done with the “System Verification” test This test has three main parts:

The data used represents a general cross-section of Autodesk Inventor® applications.

What to look for when configuring a workstation:

Links to Autodesk Inventor® 2011 Workstation Certifications:

By System Vendor

By Total Time

Historical Certifications

Inventor 2010

Inventor 2009

Inventor 2008

AutoCAD has been since 1982, and imagine those of you who have used AutoCAD to make your drawings in the field of Manufacturing, Architecture, Engineering and Construction. Since the 3D revolution, there has been a craze to move ahead in the Z Direction and I’m sure there are many companies willing or forced to move forward to the 3D world.

Many questions come to the mind of the engineers and various companies who have made their designs in 2D

• Do I need to redesign / draw those 100′s of drawings done in 2D ?
• Will I lose my digital design data during migration ?
• During migration will my settings be retained ?
• Will customers accept the 3D data that are migrated from 2D ?

There are many more questions that pop up in the crunching time like can I migrate from 2D to 3D and will there be benefits.

But trust me 2D can never be replaced in a manufacturing company but these companies can add 3D to their workflow to aid the manufacturing, like for example CNC machining process simulation developed from the 3D model, can help the shop floor engineer think better and yield better productivity.

So, if you are a company using AutoCAD for a long time, then if you are forced to move to 3D. Then I would just recommend you to migrate to Autodesk Inventor.

Another question may pop up in your mind as to why only Autodesk Inventor ? The answer is very simple – Data migration from AutoCAD to Autodesk Inventor is as easy as say moving a folder from one hard “E” to another hard drive “F” within a computer.

So let’s go technical

You can directly open AutoCAD DWG (.dwg) files in Autodesk Inventor using the open command and then view, plot, and measure the file contents. The AutoCAD objects remain as AutoCAD objects in Autodesk Inventor, and display exactly as they do in AutoCAD. In addition, all the AutoCAD data is selectable for copy and paste. You can open an AutoCAD DWG file in Autodesk Inventor, and then copy and paste AutoCAD entities into any Autodesk Inventor sketch.

While Autodesk Inventor drawing data and AutoCAD data can coexist in the same file, some data is shared between both applications. Blocks, layers, and sheets/layouts are editable by both AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. Dimension and text styles, while not equal, are synchronized such that supported changes made in one application are duplicated in the other application

DWG interoperability is the key for the successful migration from AutoCAD to Autodesk Inventor

Can I open and save DWG files in Autodesk Inventor if yes what scenario can I think ?

• Copy AutoCAD data directly into an Autodesk Inventor sketch without opening AutoCAD. You can choose to import AutoCAD blocks as Inventor sketch blocks (see Sketch blocks) when you create an Inventor part file.
• View, plot, and measure AutoCAD data in Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Inventor data in AutoCAD.
• Add Autodesk Inventor drawing data to existing AutoCAD files or AutoCAD data to Autodesk Inventor drawing files to make a single file containing assembly drawings, schematic diagrams, and details.
• Add Autodesk Inventor drawing data to existing AutoCAD files or AutoCAD data to Autodesk Inventor drawing files to make a single file containing schematic diagrams and details.
• If you have customers using AutoCAD, supply them with drawings containing Autodesk Inventor data containing the appropriate layers, blocks, title blocks, and borders by creating a DWG template in Autodesk Inventor.
  Note Creating a DWG template in Autodesk Inventor streamlines the translation workflow.
• Reuse Autodesk Inventor data in AutoCAD:
  • Create associative drawing views in architectural drawings for plant layouts, and so on. Deliver views of finished 3D design created in Autodesk Inventor for reuse in architectural drawings (AutoCAD).For example, place views of equipment designed in Autodesk Inventor into an architectural drawing for plant layouts.
  • Create associative drawing views of redesigned subassemblies and place them in large, legacy 2D assembly drawings.For example, if you have legacy AutoCAD files that require updating with 3D models, you can open the file in Autodesk Inventor. Create the 3D solid, and then create a drawing of the 3D model. Open the file in AutoCAD, and create an instance of the block definition of the view. Your legacy drawing is updated with the new content.

What can happen if I open by AutoCAD Data in Autodesk Inventor ?

3D the future to stay and Of course will grow to a higher extent

Start enjoying the benefits of designing in 3D today. By delivering AutoCAD LT® and Inventor LT™ software together at a remarkable value, the AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite offers a cost effective and practical way to introduce 3D mechanical design into your AutoCAD workflow —at the pace that’s right for you.

With the part-level capabilities of Autodesk Inventor, Inventor LT lets you start adding the power of 3D and participate in Digital Prototyping workflows with the rest of the manufacturing world. The result – you can compete more effectively today while putting your organization on a scalable path to the full power of Inventor and Digital Prototyping in the future.

Let’s see those TOP FIVE REASONS

• Design parts faster and better using 3D.

Designing complex geometry in 2D can be difficult and error-prone. When you model your part designs in 3D instead of drafting them in 2D, you can increase your productivity and reduce design errors. With Inventor LT, you can easily visualize even the most complex of part designs, eliminating the guesswork of interpreting 2D drawings. And because the 3D model you create in Inventor LT is an accurate digital prototype, you can validate your designs before you cut metal, saving hours of expensive rework and scrap.

• Create and update production DWG™ drawings faster

Modeling your parts in 3D with Inventor LT enables you to create production-ready drawings faster than manually drafting them in 2D. The automated view creation and dimensioning tools in Autodesk Inventor LT let you quickly produce a full set of detailed DWG™ drawings. With Inventor LT, maintaining an accurate set of drawings is easy, because all of your drawing views update automatically whenever you change the 3D part model.

• Work with 3D data from customers and suppliers

In today’s competitive marketplace, 3D is a necessity. Manufacturers need to accept and provide 3D models as well as 2D drawings. Inventor LT gives you the ability to import and export 3D part models in common file formats without relying on expensive file translation software. With Inventor LT, you can easily share 3D design data with customers and suppliers, improving communication with your extended supply chain

• Reuse your AutoCAD LT data to start designing in 3D.

AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite lets you choose the right tool for the job. Seamless DWG interoperability lets you simply copy and paste your existing 2D design data into Inventor LT as an accurate starting point for your new 3D designs. Inventor LT software allows you to leverage your AutoCAD expertise and your investments in 2D design data.

• Boost your 2D productivity with the latest version of AutoCAD LT

The AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite is the most cost-effective way to maintain and improve your current 2D productivity while introducing the benefits of 3D gradually. AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite includes the latest release of AutoCAD LT that you already depend on, plus Inventor LT – all at a remarkable value. So, you can start adding the power of 3D at a risk-free pace that’s right for you and your organization.

Move from AutoCAD LT to AutoCAD Inventor LT and shape your world in a 3D environment