The Autodesk Labs process is:
So when a technology preview ends, it can graduate to the next step, retire for now, and undergo another round of feedback collection.
Inventor Simplification was our technology preview of a new and easy way to simplify parts and assemblies for downstream consumption. The shrinkwrap feature was added to Autodesk Inventor several releases ago. Since that time the Inventor team collected feedback on various ways to improve the workflow. They proposed a much better way to simplify models and shared it to collect feedback. The preview has ended. The technology has graduated from Autodesk Labs and is available in Inventor 2014 and Inventor 2015. Thanks to everyone who participated in the project.
The functionality you find in Inventor 2014 and Inventor 2015 was honed by our Inventor 2013 technology preview participants. The Autodesk Labs process is a win-win. Customers know that the functionality found in Inventor 2014 and 2015 works for their specific data because they tested it when they tried it as part of the Inventor 2013 technology preview. Autodesk gets its technology put through real world paces that, based on its sheer variety, would be difficult to create via our own QA processes. Thanks for helping shape the future of our technology.
Graduation ceremonies are alive in the lab.