CADzette - Volume IV Issue 15
$Account.OrganizationName
September 8, 2006 CAD News... Large and Small
CADzette
in this issue
 
Format Change in Autodesk 2007 Products

The file format ain't the only the thing that has been changed in Autodesk's 2007 product line....if you order an upgrade or buy new product, you will get the usual box, promo material....and a DVD with the software.

The assumption that all office computers are equipped with a DVD\CD drive is faulty. Most companies are not expecting their worker bees to be watching movies at work. I understand that this is certainly a cost-cutting move...after all, you can put all four of the Inventor series CDs on a single DVD. However, most users are forced to go to the Autodesk website www.autodeskmediacenter.com and order a CD set to replace the DVD.

So, Autodesk ends up shipping out the CDs they should have sent out in the first place, plus pay double shipping (once for the DVD the customer can't use and once for the CDs the customer wants and needs.)

It would be more cost-effective if the reseller (!) asked the customer what format he prefers (i.e. do you have a DVD drive available or should we ship you CDs?) The reseller could then order the appropriate media and that would save everybody some hassle.

So, what did I do? Well, I ordered the CDs from the Autodesk media center, but I wasn't going to wait for the shipment...instead, I hauled out my laptop, hooked it up to the network and copied the DVD over to the network and installed from that. Annoying, you bet! But, more annoying would be trying to work without my Autodesk software.

Quick Links...



Join our mailing list!
Dear Elise,
A Reader Chimes In

Peter Barker, from the UK, wanted to clarify the article written in Cazette Volume IV, Issue 2 regarding the new option in Inventor R11 to auto- consume reference features....

"I'm not normally one to complain but felt I must pick up on a point that you made in your last CADette.
You wrote about Inventor the 11 'Auto-consume Workfeature and Surface Features' Application Option
"If it is enabled, work and surface features are automatically deleted when they are used. You would be unable to roll-back to see the features once they are "consumed"."
The features are not actually "Deleted" merely Consumed, if you expand the browser tree you will see that they are still there. You can also right click on the feature and turn OFF the "Consume Inputs" option which would unconsume the inputs and allow you to roll-back through them - better still - you could then right click and re-consume the inputs again after you had finished that.
I hope you'll agree - a really nice new feature of Inventor 11
Keep up the sterling work."

As I wrote Peter, I struggled with how to describe Inventor's behavior in a way users could understand. It is important to know about this new capability...and I agree with Peter, it is a nice new feature, that I suspect, some marketing guys at Autodesk will probably overlook in favor of touting some of the more flashy improvements...those of us in the trenches appreciate this type of improvement all the more knowing that Autodesk's software developers probably didn't get big kudos for this one...so from Inventor users on R11 to the Autodesk Inventor team, Major Thumbs Up for this one!


SolidWorks Tip

When editing text, instead of hitting ESCape when you are done, left mouse pick outside of the edit box to end the edit mode. Saves time!


Isolate Components in an Assembly

Inventor R11 introduces a new feature in assembly mode. Switch to a modeling view using the pull- down on the title of the panel bar.

Then, select the constraint you want to look at. Right click and select Isolate Components.

The two components that are constrained together will be displayed and all the other components in the assembly model will become invisible. Makes it alot easier to figure out constraint and assembly issues.

To restore the visibility of the components, right click in the graphics window and select Undo Isolate.


phone: 408-395-0855