2002 Animation Software

[Jay Lundy]

I'm not sure when this happened, but Autodesk has announced the software it will be giving out for the 2002 season:

• Inventor 5
• 3D Studio MAX 4
• Character Studio 3
• Reactor
• Compilation video of EVERY entry from last year

AutoDesk will begin shipping the packages to teams who have payed their registration fees starting November 1st. For more information goto http://www.usfirst.org/2002comp/Autodesk.html.

This is very exciting. Thank you AutoDesk!

Now if we can just get them to include AutoCad...

[Dave_222]

Yeah it would be nice to get autocadd but we alredy get so much they would probobly go bankrupt if we got autocadd to!

[Nate Smith]

They actually used to give it to us('98 & '99 at least), but they switched over to giving out Inventor instead...

[Jay Lundy]

Originally posted by Nate Smith
They actually used to give it to us('98 & '99 at least), but they switched over to giving out Inventor instead...

Yeah, when I joined the team last year I saw a box of AutoCAD R14 lying around so I installed it on my computer. I guess it was from '99.

[Madison]

Are there any advantages to using Inventor over AutoCAD?

I've never touched Inventor, so I have no idea of what it can do, and I'm pretty comfortable with AutoCAD nowadays, so I don't see myself switching unless Inventor can do some incredible things.

Anyone have any experience with it?

[Dave_222]

I so agree on this one even our cadd and drafting instuctor has never even seen the inerface on inventor!! we get it and install it but in the end we use good old reliable auto cadd!

[Jay Lundy]

This is what I think...

Inventor is like a stepping stone into CAD drawing. It is full of nice graphics and help files and is really good for someone who wants to learn what things like extrude, lathe, or loft mean. Our team has just started getting into CAD and so far no one knows AutoCAD, only Inventor. We havn't really needed to use AutoCAD for anything, though those who plan on getting into a carrer that uses CAD should definately learn AutoCAD.

I'm more of a 3dsmax person myself. We modeled our entire robot last year in 3dsmax and not a CAD program. As far as I'm concerned, if it looks right, it's fine (of course, precise measurements would be neccessary if you wanted to show someone how to build your bot).

[Madison]

Originally posted by Jay Lundy
This is what I think...

Inventor is like a stepping stone into CAD drawing. It is full of nice graphics and help files and is really good for someone who wants to learn what things like extrude, lathe, or loft mean

So, it doesn't offer any really useful features that AutoCAD might not? In particular, I'd like something that can be dynamic, while still maintaining the precision of AutoCAD.

I've designed much of our practice robot and it's drive train in AutoCAD 2000, in complete 3D, and we can probably use that for everything we need. But, AutoCAD lacks the ability to easily work with moving parts, like hinges or pistons and things. Or, maybe I just lack the knowledge of how to accomplish something like that.

[Dave_222]

Yeah autocadd lacks the ineresting and graphical interface but it is basic and easy to use I am much more proficient in auto cadd than 3dsmax.

They teach inventor at our school for some Intro to Engineering design class...but the animation instructor that we have from Ivy Tech State College says that Inventor is some program to mess with once you learn autocad....if i were to vote between autocad and inventor id say autocad

[Dave_222]

I couldnt imagine that autocadd carried so much weight with so many people I would agree that autocadd is much easier than inventor

[Madison]

Okay, a few things -

First, did everyone receive their copies of the software already??? We've yet to receive ours, and we aren't sure if that's unusual.

Second -

I've finally had the chance to play with a copy of Inventor kindly provided by the nice folks at FESTO. I have something of a love/hate relationship with it.

First, why I dislike it:

I'm used to AutoCAD - so, Inventor is backwards and upsidedown to me.

I'm used to AutoCAD - I can't stress enough how differently the two software packages work.

Making every bit as a separate part, and then placing them into an assembly is a little unusual.

Why I like it:

It's disgustingly clever. It really does work like I do, starting with a rough sketch and taking that initial idea all the way through to finished product.

It has the ability to make changes on the fly, more or less, by adjusting dimensions rather than redrawing an entire part as you might do in AutoCAD. That saves a lot of time.

The assemblies are great for seeing how something will move and what it will bump into and stuff like that.

Overall, I think it'll take some getting used to for an experienced AutoCAD user. But, for our students, I think it's a really easy, intuitive tool, and they should pick it up pretty quickly.

[Dave_222]

We do have our software even though it took quight awhile to get. just finally got it a few days ago. I agree on the points made above, however i am a little old fassioned and still prefer autocadd.

[Kyle Gilbert]

I personally think that Inventor is much easier to use the AutoCAD but maybe thats because i use it every-other day at school for a class and i have had it at home for about 1 year now.... Another CAD program i have that i like a lot if Solid Edge. I havent used it for awhile now but i expect to once we have our training on the new verison for technokats.

I have never seriously sat down and learned Inventor, but it seems like it is a waste of time, colleges dont use inventor in their classes (as far as I know) and most companies use AutoCAD, Unigraphics Solutions, or whatever...but i dont see what people see in Inventor