IN THIS ISSUE

Community

- Join The AutoCAD® Exchange

Focus On

- Autodesk® Beefs Up Digital Prototyping Efforts with Introduction of 2010 Manufacturing Software
- Engineering's Role in Surviving a Down Economy
- Digital Prototyping: Design For Success

Tips & Techniques

- AutoCAD® Electrical Tips from Nate Holt - AutoLISP Utility
- The Creative Inventor: Simplifying Content Center
- Autodesk® Inventor® Skill Builders

Subscription News

- Get Trained At Your Own Pace With e-Learning

Customer Success

- David Laurent: Designing Complex Plant Structures up to 30 Percent Faster with Autodesk
- Superior Sound Amplifies Quality of Life for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Autodesk shows Behringer the way to a sound investment

It all starts here  

Quick Links to Website

- Previous Issues
- Manufacturing Solutions
- Product List
- Support (US Web site)
- Locate a Reseller
- Locate a Training Centre
- Autodesk Loyalty Program
- Customer Stories

Welcome to the April 2009 issue of Manufacturing News, the newsletter designed especially for professionals in mechanical engineering, engineering design, process engineering and electrical engineering.

In this issue, you’ll get to find out more about the newly launched AutoCAD Exchange community portal, latest Autodesk Digital Prototyping 2010 solution, and learn how engineering and design innovation can help you win in a down economy, and learn how you are designed for success through digital prototyping. As always, we’ll share our bi-monthly dose of tips and tricks as well as showcase some wonderful success stories on how our customers use our solutions to design, visualise, simulate, and analyse their projects to an amazing degree of sophistication.

If you would like to share your comments on how we can improve this newsletter, please send them to keepintouch@autodesk.com.

Happy Reading!

The Manufacturing News Editorial Team

Join The AutoCAD Exchange

We just launched AutoCAD Exchange, a centralised location for CAD Managers and end users to gather and share information, network and have some fun. This is an interactive portal that will be constantly updated with fresh, relevant information just for them. In a single, customisable information hub, it presents our users with the best tips and tricks for AutoCAD software, eLearning courses, blog posts, and more from across Autodesk - and beyond. Learn more.

Autodesk Beefs Up Digital Prototyping Efforts with Introduction of 2010 Manufacturing Software

Autodesk digital prototyping software gives manufacturers the ability to digitally design, visualise, and simulate how a product will work under real-world conditions before it is built, aiming to reduce reliance on physical prototypes, which helps reduce cost and accelerate time to market in competitive industries. Read more here.

Engineering's Role in Surviving a Down Economy

Today, survival requires a combination of strategies and enabling technologies to help manufacturers keep the business alive during the downturn, and ensure that it is in decent - if not very good - shape to take advantage of the eventual market turnaround. Engineering software solutions, including "digital prototyping" solutions, are proving to be an enabler for all of these strategies. In this paper, Tech-Clarity reviews the experiences of several companies that have leveraged their engineering software solutions to help survive hard times and capitalise on recoveries. The paper also provides guidance and insight to Engineers and Engineering Management as they develop their strategies for surviving the economic winter and preparing for the economic spring that will surely follow. Read more here.

Digital Prototyping: Design For Success

Global manufacturing SMBs, through digital prototyping, may have an answer for their product development needs. Read the article from Industrial Automation Asia.

Tip 1:  AutoCAD Electrical Tips from Nate Holt - AutoLISP Utility

This collection pulls together three of Nate's quick, helpful tips for using the AutoLISP utility to help you get the most from AutoCAD Electrical. Find out how.
Posted by Posted by Dennis Jeffrey, an Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert and Autodesk Implementation Certified Expert, in the Creative Inventor column in Augi.

Tip 2: The Creative Inventor: Simplifying Content Center

Many users of Autodesk Inventor have used the Content Center feature with varying degrees of success. Some users complain of slow access times, others complain that certain categories contain way too many choices, making it difficult to find and select the correct component, while others need to add new custom content. Assuming that your computer meets Autodesk standards for memory, video, and performance, these concerns can be addressed with success. Find out more here.

Tip 3: Autodesk Inventor Skill Builders

Autodesk publishes Skill Builders to help you continue learning about Autodesk Inventor software in between our annual releases. Many Inventor Skill Builders include a data set and step-by-step instructions similar to Inventor tutorials. Others include animations and images that demonstrate a feature or workflow. Learn more.

Get Trained At Your Own Pace With e-Learning

Only for subscription customers. The online training catalogue provides a variety of learning experiences. Featuring self-paced lessons that are a quick and convenient way to learn the Autodesk suite of Manufacturing solutions. Each lesson usually takes 15 to 30 minutes to complete and includes hands-on exercises so you can practise what you've learned.

To get access to the training catalogue, please visit the Subscription Center www.autodesk.com/subscriptionlogin.

Don’t have a login? Please email us at ap.subscriptions@autodesk.com for your login.

David Laurent: Designing Complex Plant Structures up to 30 Percent Faster with Autodesk

David Laurent, an engineering services and consulting firm based in France, specialises in the design of large structures with extensive piping networks such as offshore drilling and production platforms and biotechnology process equipment. A small company with large applications, David Laurent finds that Autodesk Inventor Professional, Autodesk Vault®, and Autodesk® DWF™ 3D viewer give the firm the power and flexibility it needs to design even the most complex structures. Read the full story.

Superior Sound Amplifies Quality of Life for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Autodesk names Cochlear, creator of the Baha Hearing System, as Inventor of the Month for February 2009. Read on to learn more.

Autodesk shows Behringer the way to a sound investment

Behringer uses Autodesk Inventor to up the ante on the audio industry. Read more.