The Civil 3D AutoCAD Foundation Eases Migration to Model-Based Design

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced Autodesk(R) Civil 3D(TM) 2005 software, its next generation civil engineering design solution. With civil engineers under tremendous pressure to deliver increasingly complex projects on time and under budget, the Civil 3D ease of use and intuitive, model-based design features can help customers increase profitability and efficiency through all stages of a project. Autodesk Civil 3D automates key design engineering tasks and presents complex concepts in lifelike 3D to help civil engineers create, manage and share accurate, high quality designs.

Civil 3D is a powerful civil engineering tool for land planning, subdivision design, parcel layout, road design, and grading. Because the software creates intelligent relationships between objects, design changes are now dynamically updated; when an engineer changes one element of a design, all related elements respond accordingly.

"Autodesk Civil 3D is not only a new software application but it is creates a paradigm shift in the engineering process," said Mike Carris, Design Systems Specialist of Timmons Group. "Software applications currently being used require hours of work to adjust everything affected by a minor design revision, but with Civil 3D it takes only minutes to accomplish the same design change. Autodesk Civil 3D 2005 offers a dramatic difference in the process which will provide a tremendous effect on the bottom line."

Because Civil 3D is built on AutoCAD(R) software, the industry's leading design tool, civil engineers can immediately leverage their AutoCAD skills. Additionally, with round-trip data exchange from Autodesk(R) Land Desktop, they can seamlessly transition projects -- and realize the benefits of 3D visualization and design by gradually building Civil 3D into their workflow.

Solid User Interface

Civil 3D offers standard AutoCAD menu interaction, design, and layout toolbars for use with alignments, profiles, parcels, and grading, and direct interaction of graphical objects.

Flexible Object Styles

Civil 3D enables engineers to control object and label appearance via style settings, maintain drafting standards, and simplify the process of sharing drawings with non-Autodesk Civil 3D users.

Points and Surfaces

Civil 3D can create points using a variety of creation methods and collect points in logical groups based on advanced criteria. Point appearance and labeling is controlled from the Point Group feature. Civil 3D is equipped with a robust description key mechanism and can import or export including custom formats, MDB, and LandXML. Users can store and retrieve points from a project for collaborative engineering.

Alignments, Profiles, and Sections

Civil 3D can extract existing ground profiles from multiple surfaces and design proposed vertical alignments such as graphical layout, tabular input, and dynamic editing. Civil 3D allows engineers the ability to select sections at specific stations or at intervals along the alignment. Engineers can create section plots (single station, full section sheets) and finished drafting with dynamic annotation, control drafting standards, station offset, and grade labels.

Complex Corridor Modeling

Civil 3D corridor modeling is used to design model lanes, grading, side slopes, ditches, medians, and barriers to model complex roadway corridor designs. Changes made to the model-based design are dynamically updated and seen in the model, which improves design iteration time and directly affects the billable hours the engineers spend on the design. The corridor model also generates geometry, terrain models, site volumes, and visualization, which allows engineers to get crucial data from designs quickly and easily. The corridor model takes advantage of the Civil 3D style-based functionality, allowing the drafting and annotation of the design to adhere to company standards.

"Autodesk understands the needs of civil engineers and we have developed an intuitive, dynamic civil engineering tool to meet these needs," said Chris Bradshaw, vice president of Autodesk's Infrastructure Solutions Division. "Civil 3D will help our customers increase profitability, and provide better services to their customers by offering dramatic efficiencies through the planning, design, and documentation phases of engineering projects."

Availability

Autodesk Civil 3D 2005 will be available in the United States later in the quarter. It is also planned to be available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, and Korea at a later date.

Autodesk Subscription and Consulting Add Value to Software Investment

When combined with Autodesk(R) Subscription, Autodesk solutions deliver the easiest way to keep design tools and learning up to date. For an annual fee, users get the latest version of Autodesk solutions, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a broad range of other technology and business benefits. For more information, contact your Autodesk Authorized Reseller or visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.

Additionally, Autodesk Consulting offers services that can help streamline business processes and help customers get the best possible return on their investment in Autodesk technology. Autodesk Civil 3D 2005 Quick Start package is an Autodesk Consulting offering that provides customers with initial Autodesk Civil 3D implementation services. This entry level package of services will get customers up and running with a basic system that will deliver key benefits. For more information about Autodesk Consulting, including integrated consulting and training, see www.autodesk.com/consulting.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

During the course of this communication, we may make forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are discussed in documents we file from time to time with the SEC and specifically in our Annual Report and 10-K filed for the year ended January 31, 2004. These documents contain and identify important factors that may cause the actual results to differ from those contained in our forward-looking statements.

Additionally, we may make statements regarding planned or future development efforts for our existing or new products and services. These statements are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services or features but merely reflect our current plans, which may change. Purchasing decisions should not be made based upon reliance on these statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist or change after the date on which they were made.

CONTACT:
Tim O'Keefe
415-318-4166
okeeffet@fleishman.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
09/07/2004
CONTACT: Tim O'Keefe, +1-415-318-4166, or okeeffet@fleishman.com, for Autodesk, Inc.
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com