Autodesk Labs: Let us know what you think

The other day I mentioned how thrilled we were that the amount of feedback we got last fiscal year doubled from the previous fiscal year. Perhaps you are someone who has visited one of our services or downloaded one of our utilities but don't know exactly what type of feedback to supply. We accept all kinds.

1. Some people write just to tell us how much they like something. Obviously we love that.

2. Some report problems they have encountered. We like that feedback just fine. That feedback helps us iron out the wrinkles with a technology while it is in its preview stage. Sooner is better than later.

3. Still others just ask questions. We are happy to supply the answers.

January was great a month for feedback. Here are some excerpts from some of the feedback we received:

• Project Draw has been very helpful, letting me lay basic things out on my Apple without having to use one of our PCs with AutoCAD.

• Hi, I'm an Italian architect. I want to ask you in which kind of coordinates Google Earth works, because when I use Gauss-Boaga the polygons are placed far from the real site.

• I am now exploring the possibilities in the Advanced Simulation Technology Preview (ASTP). It’s a great improvement next to the current FEA-module in Inventor Simulation Suite. I hope that the ASTP will be integrated completely in the simulation suite in the next version. There is just one issue I discovered: I can review the constraint reactions but see only forces; no moments. I have modeled a simple beam with a fixed constraint one side and a moment applied at the other side. Of course I am convinced that the reaction-moments are part of the calculation, but it seems that it cannot be displayed as an output value. I hope that the final version gives all the constraint reactions.

• I think you've done a great job, developing the Inventor feature recognition! It works fine for all' Part Files I'm interested in. But there’s one big thing that definitely would help migrating from old Step Data to new Ipt-Files: Is it possible to automate the process of "Automatic Feature Recognition" in terms of Visual Basic? Would it be possible to call the Add-in via the Automation Interface and convert (for example) 300 Files in a Loop, instead of choosing each File via the User Interface? Automation of the Recognition would be a very interesting Feature!

• Our company is creating a Substation Design Solution (SDS). We use Inventor to create the 3D models. We are finding that the models and assemblies are getting very large, in fact so large they are overloading the desktops. I have been testing the shrinkwrap feature. It reduces an assembly down to a much more manageable part. We use some of the holes and planes to a joint assemblies together. Is there a way to keep some of the holes from being deleted?

• Can you please advise what the expected computing power is expected to be to run Project Newport? I am concerned that new technologies just keep getting outrageously more power demanding such that only corporate entities are able to access things like Project Newport because they will have resources to buy bigger machines quickly. In the world, the must be significant numbers of your customers who are single or small operators. However, while I agree that visualization tools are critically important to everyone including small and sole operators, we cannot necessarily afford to meet the target costs of another technology even if we think it is important to invest.

• Until the development of the MCOR 3D paper printer, civil engineers have been left out of the main stream of rapid prototyping of terrain and mass structures. AutoCAD Civil 3D should have 3D printer drivers because of the ability to check the model created for terrain supporting Revit Structures.

• I’m a consultant in the Netherlands. We build some modules into the Data Management software to publish Product Information & Structure based on Autodesk DWF. I'm sure that the ‘Wiimote’ feature of the Autodesk Labs could be a great tool for clarifying 3D engineering designs in the release process to different type of decision makers and customers.

• I have just stumbled across the Labs while looking for any updates for the DWF viewer for 3DSMax and I must say how impressed I am. This really is where the design community are heading and I have speculated about the technologies that you have actualized within your pages for the past decade - well done!

Each technology or utility on Autodesk Labs has a section with links to our email, discussion forum, and blog category pages. For example, Project Showroom looks like:

Using any one of these methods to provide feedback is just fine with us. We evaluate the feedback quantitatively and qualitatively.

Encouraging those on the fence about providing feedback is alive in the lab.