Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 28, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Designers working with plastic parts can now download a preview version of “Autodesk Inventor Plastic Features.” It makes designing plastic parts significantly easier and faster. Starting from the design’s functional requirements, it largely automates the modeling of thin-walled parts and typical plastic-part features such as grilles, snap hooks and bosses. The preview software is a standalone version of Autodesk Inventor and can be tested free of charge by anyone; an existing Autodesk Inventor installation is not required.
This marks another step by Autodesk toward giving designers who work with plastics the benefits of Digital Prototyping. Autodesk recently acquired Moldflow, a leading provider of plastic injection-molding simulation software. This allows designers to analyze, simulate and optimize plastic parts during the development process. Automotive suppliers and manufacturers of consumer goods such as toys particularly benefit from continuous digital product development for plastic components.
“Plastics and composite materials are the materials of the future. It is therefore in Autodesk’s interest to provide customers with scalable and cost-effective solutions that let them take advantage of Digital Prototyping. Everyone is invited to test the preview version and familiarize themselves with the software solution’s capabilities,” said Wolfgang Lynen, Industry Marketing Manager Manufacturing at Autodesk.
The preview software is available in English and can be downloaded together with user documentation at the following link: http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/inventor_plastic_features/