[AndyB]

Autodesk is a major sponsor and Inventor is supposed to be their program for 3-D based modeling and designing.

A lot of other companies use SolidWorks and ProE, but its not like its a bad thing for FIRST. I mean, it is rather good way for modeling. I often do find myself wishing that Inventor used CAD's system of drawing (dimensioning before you draw), but then again, so much of our work we do in robotics is dependant, hence you don't know the dimensions.

Inventor is solid, and Inventor Studio is a great way to take modeling and engineering and turn it into marketing and presenting with its rendering capabilities and animating process.

It is a branch between CAD and 3dsMAX. That is why. CAD and 3dsMAX are probably Autodesk's two largest programs used in the industry (as of my knowledge, i could be wrong). And by using inventor, you get a taste of the concepts of both.