IMAGINiT News

Dinner With Tom Hudson- The Father Of Autodesk 3d Studio

IMAGINiT Technologies M & E Applications Specialist Mark Gerhard, had the opportunity to meet with Tom Hudson where he reminisced the beginnings of Autodesk 3d Studio over dinner.

"I created Autodesk 3d Studio because I wanted to make cartoons," Tom told me over our salads. "Now it's 30 years later and that's just what I'm doing."

Click here to read the rest of Mark Gerhard's dinner with Tom Hudson to see how the vision of animation software was created.

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IMAGINiT Hosts AUGI Manufacturing Conferences

Join IMAGINiT Technologies as we host AUGI Manufacturing Conference in Phoenix and Orlando. During this half-day learning event you will:

• Receive targeted training from AUGI instructors
• Enhance product skills and learn about new trends and issues
• Explore best practices for transitioning to 3D with Autodesk Inventor
• Network and socialize with peers and colleagues

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Visit IMAGINiT Technologies at Autodesk University

Now in its 14th year, AU 2006 will be held in Las Vegas from November 28 - December 1. Come and visit IMAGINiT Technologies at booth 237 to find out what we have to offer and meet some of Application Specialists who will also be present and instructing classes.

Autodesk University 2006 offers:

• Nearly 500 expert-led classes in an ideal learning environment
• Information about our 2007 family of solutions
• End-to-end design, visualization, and collaboration solutions from Autodesk and industry partners
• Face-to-face meetings with leading developers and Autodesk staff and executives
• The collective wisdom of a community of peers and industry leaders
• And much more

To learn more about Autodesk University 2006 or to register visit:
www.autodeskevents.com/au2006/

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IMAGINiT Earns Top Revenue In USA For Autodesk's Q2

Congratulations to our offices across the United States for having the highest Autodesk Q2 Vertical Top Revenue sales for the building and infrastructure industry, as well as the 2nd highest in revenue for the manufacturing division. Our government authorized locations have also been working hard and were the Top US Government Value Added Reseller for Autodesk's Q2.

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Autodesk News

Check Out Autodesk Labs

Copying the success of Google Labs, Autodesk recently opened a new Web page named "Autodesk Labs." It provides early access to new Autodesk software, such as the following:

• Vault Mirror Beta -- create a read-only mirror of the files and directory structure in a Vault, as seen from Vault Explorer. Used with Task Scheduler, Vault Mirror can create remote copies of the up-to-date Vault file tree.
• DGNV8 Translator Beta -- imports Bentley MicroStation 2D V8 DGN files into AutoCAD® 2007, Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2007, Autodesk® Building Systems 2007, AutoCAD® Electrical 2007, or AutoCAD® Mechanical 2007.
• Google Earth Extension Beta -- uses a wizard-driven interface to publish 3D models from AutoCAD 2007-based products directly into Google Earth.
• Project Freewheel Technology Preview -- both a Web site for entering DWF URLs for interactive viewing, and a Web service for embedding interactive DWF viewers in your HTML pages.
• Feature Recognition for Inventor 11 -- can convert neutral 2D CAD (STEP, SAT or IGES Solids) models into fully featured Autodesk® Inventor ™ 11 models.

Visit Autodesk Labs at http://labs.autodesk.com

Although most of the software sold by Autodesk does 3D design work, the company considers only three packages in that category: Autodesk® Revit® , Autodesk® Inventor™, and Autodesk® Civil 3D®. During a recent conference call with financial analysts, Autodesk noted the following commercial shipments during May - July, 2006 were made:

• More than 15,000 shipments of Revit.
• Nearly 9,700 shipments of Inventor.
• Nearly 6,800 shipments of Civil 3D.

Total Inventor shipments (commercial and educational) were 592,600 as of the end of July.

Visit the Autodesk® Investors site at www.autodesk.com/investor

Autodesk has renamed its post-design rendering software "Impression". You must sign up to become a beta tester using the code Vespa01B currently available in beta at myfeedback.autodesk.com.

In a few weeks, Autodesk plans to make the software available to everyone through its new Autodesk Labs Web page.

Autodesk launched two online customer councils for its Revit Building and Architectural Desktop software. The English and German customer advisory panels help Autodesk better understand the needs of customers in architecture. Autodesk has similar councils for manufacturing and infrastructure.  

Customers joining the councils have direct communication with product development teams, and can provide product feedback earlier in the development cycle.

• Architectural Desktop Customer Council: www.adtcc.com  
• Revit Building Customer Council: www.revitcc.com

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Tips and Tricks

Map 3D 2007 Service Pack 2
(Applies to Map 3D 2007)  

Service Pack 2 fixes 35 fixes problems in Civil 3D 2007, including:

• Stability problems with Customer Error Reporting utility.
•  Memory consumption.
• Multiple publishing and plotting fixes, including DWF publishing and Publish to MapGuide.
• ESRI SHP file editing via Feature Data Objects.
• Improved performance for Oracle data stores accessed via FDO.

Download the 11.3MB patch from here

Commands Cause Crashes
(Applies to AutoCAD 2006, LT 2006, and verticals)

Core AutoCAD commands (such as Hatch or Line) stop working. When you tried to access other commands, such as Options, you received the following error message:  

Fatal Error
Unhandled Access Violation c0000005 exception at 5fb5fc80h

This issue can occur due to a limitation in AutoCAD 2006 and earlier products. This issue has been addressed in AutoCAD 2007 and newer releases

Click Here To Read More

Unsupported Graphics Boards In 2007
(Applies to AutoCAD 2007 and verticals)

When you looked at the 3D Tune Log in AutoCAD, your graphics card and/or driver is not listed as supported or certified. However, on the Graphics Hardware List, the graphics card or driver is listed as supported or certified.

The Graphics Hardware List is updated from time to time. To update the list on your system, you need to download the AdskHwCertificationDatabase.xml file. Click here to obtain that file.

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IMAGINiT Builder 3D

Tip Of The Month

Each issue we will feature a "Tip Of The Month" for IMAGINiT Builder 3D, the lightweight building design solution for the AEC market. Developed by Cadsoft Corporation, this product has state-of-the-art technology that integrates Home Design, 3D Modeling, Interior Design, Landscaping, Working Drawings, Rendering, Animation and Estimating.

Lighting Tips:

The lighting capabilities in IMAGINiT Builder 3D are surprisingly powerful given the simplicity of the controls, but some basic points should be considered when rendering to maximize the impact of a presentation drawing. There are five main lighting factors to consider when rendering.

Click Here To Find Out More On the Five Lighting Factors

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Feature

AutoCAD Electrical Cuts Design Time by 75%

For more than a hundred years, R. A. Jones & Co. has provided high-performance packaging equipment and services. The company recently deployed AutoCAD Electrical for fast and accurate design of industrial control systems.   

R. A. Jones' machines and packaging lines have set the standard for line speed and flexibility. Its machines are sold all around the world for packaging billions of cans of beer per year or millions of boxes of cereal and pharmaceutical products.

The company had been using AutoCAD, but wanted to reduce it product development time in order to extend its competitive advantage. The goal was to reduce development time by half.  "Typically it took us three to four weeks to get a set of drawings out to the assembly floor using AutoCAD, but with AutoCAD Electrical we've gone down to one week -- nearly 75% reduction," reports Darren Elliott, a chief engineer.

R. A. Jones selected AutoCAD Electrical because of its AutoCAD compatibility, which allowed the company to continue using its large library of parts. "AutoCAD Electrical features automated documentation tools that greatly benefit our company, such as point-to-point cable charts and bill of materials verification, enabling us to eliminate error-prone manual processes," he adds.

AutoCAD Electrical is a 2D application for electrical control designers. It is based on AutoCAD, and automates tasks, such as ladder and point-to-point drawings, tracks wire numbers and component tags, and cross references coil and contact information. The software generates bill-of-materials and from-to wire lists reports. It also links cable and harness information with Inventor drawings.

Click here to read more about this story

Click here to earn more about AutoCAD Electrical

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User Groups

Upcoming User Groups

Join a user group today for a great opportunity to build a strong community in your area where you can share ideas, ask questions, and network.

Webcasts & Test Drives

New Featured Webcasts & Test Drives

IMAGINiT Technologies continues to host webcasts featuring your favorite Autodesk family of products. Webcasts include AutoCAD® Electrical, AutoCAD® Mechanical, Autodesk Inventor®, Autodesk® Revit® Building, and Autodesk® Civil 3D®.  There will also be a featured Revit BIM Collaboration webcast on October 3, 2006.

Try your hands on your preferred Autodesk product during a test drive of your and see how you can get your designs created faster.

Click a product below to find a webcast* or test drive** near you:

• Manufacturing Webcasts
• Autodesk Revit Building
• Infrastructure Webcasts

* All webcasts begin at 2:00PM EDT (1:00PM CDT, 12:00PM MDT, 11:00AM PDT)
   (Arizona - 11:00PM MST)

**Test drives are recommended for non-adopters of the software products features

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Promotions

AutoCAD LT Users Save Up To 62% On Selected Autodesk Software

Take advantage of the AutoCAD LT crossgrade promotion to step up your productivity and design capabilities! Until January 19, you can crossgrade eligible AutoCAD LT 2004/2005/2006 software to AutoCAD® 2007 or to an industry-specific solution for $1,995 USD- a savings of $2000 USD.

You can crossgrade to the following products:

• AutoCAD® 2007
• Autodesk® Inventor™ Series 11
• AutoCAD® Mechanical 2007
• AutoCAD® Electrical 2007
• Autodesk® Architectural 2007
• Autodesk® Architectural Desktop
• Autodesk® Revit® Building 9
• Autodesk® Revit® Structure 3
• Autodesk® Building Systems 2007
• Autodesk Map® 3D

With this special offer you will benefit in several ways including boosting productivity, reducing repetitive tasks, and saving on new Autodesk software.

*AutoCAD LT 2007 not eligible for this offer

If you didn't  upgrade your AutoCAD R14-2002 software by the March 15th cutoff date, you can still upgrade at a discount:

• Between August 1 and January 19, 2007 -- save 40% with the purchase of a subscription (35% without).

Qualifying products include applications based on AutoCAD 14 through 2002, as well as VIZ and 3d Studio.

Click Here For More Information On The Legacy Promotions

As of March 15, 2007, Autodesk will be retiring AutoCAD 2004 based software and Autodesk Inventor Series 8. You can upgrade now to receive the following discounts:

• Between August 1 and October 31 -- save 15% with the purchase of a subscription (10% without).
• Until January 19, 2007 -- save 10% with the purchase of a subscription.

Click Here For More Information On The Retirement Promotions

Autodesk's Raster Design Awareness Campaign lets you purchase Raster Design 2007 at a 10% discount -- if you use AutoCAD, Map, or Civil 3D software on subscription. Offer expires October 31.

Contact Your IMAGINiT Technologies Office For More Information

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Academia

Autodesk Launches Global Community For University Students

The Student Engineering and Design Community for student engineers, architects, and designers was launched in early September. Members are able to download free Autodesk software products for architecture, industrial design, civil engineering and mechanical engineering, and soon resources for art and animation students will be available.

Features of this global community include:

Visit http://students.autodesk.com to join the Student Engineering & Design Community

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Technical Education Services

Fall 2006 Technical Training Course Catalog And Class Schedule Available Soon

The Fall 2006 training course catalog has been distributed. If you have not received yours, please contact your local IMAGINiT office. Course descriptions and registration are available online for your convenience. If our course calendar conflicts with yours, we are able to arrange alternative course scheduling. Please contact your local IMAGINiT office to make arrangements.

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In the World of 3D

New: Autodesk Revit Structure 4

Autodesk is shipping the new Revit Structure 4 software for structural engineering and documentation -- the 4th release in just 15 months. In addition, Revit Building 9.1 is updated for compatibility with the new version of Revit Structure.  

Revit Structure 4 integrates physical models with independently editable analytical models for analysis and design. The latest release more intuitively models physical and analytical structural elements and materials. New features include:

• Addition of precast concrete, castellated, and cellular steel framing families.
• Trusses and beams, braces and walls are easier to manipulate.
• You can generate layouts automatically based on existing beams or non-planar elements such as wall slope.
• Advanced analytical tools for modeling a structure's (or portions thereof) boundary conditions without needing to model supports.
• "Auto-detect" setting automatically adjusts the analytical model based on user- defined tolerances.
• New features for reinforced concrete modeling and documentation.
• Improved automation of joins and cleanups between elements.
• Easier reinforcement detailing.

Contact your IMAGINiT Technologies office for more information about Autodesk's new Revit Structure 4 and Building 9.1.

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