Comprehensive Product Portfolio Features Enhanced Usability and Productivity

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At its World Press Day event today, Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) unveiled the latest versions of its manufacturing solutions, which help customers redefine the product development process by experiencing their ideas before they are real. With updates to Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, Autodesk AliasStudio, Autodesk Showcase and Autodesk Productstream software products, the company is offering a complete approach to digital prototyping that allows manufacturers to cost-effectively validate their ideas and foster product innovation.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO )

"As the largest and most trusted global supplier of engineering software, Autodesk is committed to providing companies with the world's most innovative 2D and 3D applications," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, vice president of Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions. "We have updated our products to help manufacturers leverage the power of functional design to make it fast and easy to do more digital prototyping. This allows them to bring new products to market faster, without the expense and waste of multiple physical prototypes."

According to industry research firm Aberdeen Group, best-in-class manufacturers build half the number of physical prototypes than the average manufacturer does and get products to market 58 days faster with nearly 50 percent lower prototyping costs.* Product development efforts can be undermined by paper-based processes and departmental systems' incompatibility, isolating insight and information at various stages and points in a manufacturing organization.

The latest Autodesk manufacturing solutions redefine the product design process by supporting and natively connecting all of the disciplines involved in product development, from industrial design to mechanical and electrical engineering and manufacturing. Autodesk manufacturing applications' functionality and interoperability create an environment in which industrial designers can create and share digital concept models with engineers, who can use functional design to automatically generate 3D geometry for a digital prototype that seamlessly incorporates mechanical and electrical engineering data. With the help of a comprehensive data management system, tightly integrated calculations, stress analysis and motion simulation, engineers can test digital prototypes, optimize and validate their designs, and give customers the opportunity to experience a product's performance before it is built. Furthermore, files in the DWF file format deliver rich design data in digital format to the shop floor.

Autodesk Inventor Software Brings 2D, 3D Together

The Inventor product line is the best choice for designers who want to redefine their product development process and power their workflow with digital prototyping.

    Key updates that aid digital prototyping include:
    -- DWG Interoperability -- Using DWG TrueConnect users can read and write
       DWG files without translators while maintaining full associativity with
       the 3D Inventor model and increasing reuse and sharing of 2D
       manufacturing data.
    -- AliasStudio Interoperability -- New capabilities for importing AutoCAD
       surface and solid data -- combined with new DWG export from Autodesk
       AliasStudio -- provides a quick and reliable way to transfer concept
       designs into Inventor.
    -- Sheet Metal Design Tools -- Upgrades improve productivity when
       designing sheet metal parts and provide support for manufacturing
       information including flat pattern modifications and punch tool data.
    -- Ribbon Cable Design Tools -- Full control over the shape and routing of
       ribbon cables simplifies the design of electrical wiring and reduces
       manufacturing errors by ensuring that all types of wiring can be
       included in the digital prototype and subsequent documentation.
    -- Sketch Productivity Tools -- An updated 2D sketch environment reduces
       the learning curve for new designers and improves productivity for
       existing designers with clearer constraint status information and
       sketch geometry formatting tools.

"As a company with a large collection of 2D legacy drawings, we find the new DWG TrueConnect feature simplifies our everyday tasks and gives us more time to devote to innovation," said Warren Sweet, engineering manager at H&T Battery Components. "We are able to take advantage of the enhanced productivity that 3D brings, without sacrificing our many years of existing AutoCAD expertise and designs."

A Comprehensive Manufacturing Solution

Along with Inventor, Autodesk is releasing fully enhanced versions of complementary manufacturing products, including:

    -- AliasStudio -- a complete set of tools for the conceptual design
       process, helping companies create superior designs -- which drives
       superior business. AliasStudio is now interoperable with Inventor.
    -- Showcase -- an interactive tool that facilitates informed
       decision-making using realistic imagery from 3D design data and an
       environment in which to present and review designs.
    -- AutoCAD Electrical -- the leading application built specifically to
       design and document electrical control systems.
    -- AutoCAD Mechanical -- the 2D mechanical design and drafting application
       that features standards-based libraries of parts and content,
       automation tools, and associative detailing of Autodesk Inventor
       models.
    -- Autodesk Productstream -- software that automates the
       release-management process by managing engineering changes and bills of
       materials.

    Autodesk Offers Options

Customers have options when it comes to purchasing and implementing Autodesk manufacturing solutions. Autodesk Subscription provides an alternative to individual upgrade purchases and delivers added benefits. Subscription customers receive the latest versions of their licensed Autodesk software, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a broad range of other technology and business benefits for an annual fee.

Autodesk Consulting is available for customers who want to maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk manufacturing solutions through integrated consulting and training. Locally based classroom training is also available through Autodesk's 1,200 Authorized Training Centers, with sites in more than 75 countries around the world.

Availability

Product availability will vary by country. Details on purchasing options will be available in the spring at: www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

*Aberdeen Group, "The Transition from 2D Drafting to 3D Modeling Benchmark Report" (September, 2006).

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, AliasStudio, Autodesk Inventor, DWF, DWG, Inventor, Productstream and Showcase are 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. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

Contact: Carly Herrig 312.233.1356 Andrew Favreau 312.297.7587

Email: carly.herrig@edelman.com andrew.favreau@edelman.com

SOURCE  Autodesk, Inc.
    -0-                             02/12/2007
    /CONTACT:  Carly Herrig, +1-312-233-1356, or carly.herrig@edelman.com, or
Andrew Favreau, +1-312-297-7587, or andrew.favreau@edelman.com, both for
Autodesk/
    /Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.autodesk.com/
    (ADSK)

CO:  Autodesk, Inc.
ST:  California
IN:  CPR STW
SU:  PDT

JB
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5461 02/12/2007 16:30 EST http://www.prnewswire.com