Basic Explanation of Autodesk Programs

[thkoutsidthebox]

Hi folks,

Quick question....I have access to Autodesk Inventor 2009 and was thinking it might be nice to try and learn if I get some time.....get away from Sketchup for my next machine build. Was thinking Inventor could let me put all sort of fancy parts together and get a really accurate construction picture, and also be useful for designing cabinets, projects etc but now not so sure! Looked at the price on tinternet and for 5k it must be good but again not so sure.....I notice that there is Inventor, Design Review, Data Management Server Console, AutoCAD Mechanical, and DWG TrueView here.

What is the purpose of each?

AutoCAD is 2D (& 3D?) design?
Inventor....not sure....it doesn't seem to do much...?
Design Review....dont know?
DMSC....dont know?
DWG TrueView....dont know?

Thanks for any explanations.

[ger21]

AutoCAD does 2D and 3D.

Inventor is a parametric 3D modeler. 2D drawings are automatically created from the 3D model.

Don't know what the other ones are.

[thkoutsidthebox]

Thanks ger. Long time no post! Hope your keeping well and good to see your still about.

[tlharris]

AUTOCAD is a CAD program. Computer aided DRAFTING. Yes, it can do 3-D solids, and even has some relatively powerful mesh-editing abilities. It's gotten parametric (to a degree). And yes, Mechanical Desktop (which is one of the many industry-specific flavors of AutoCAD) can do some mechanical calculations. But at it's core, it's basically a drawing program. (I'm not ACAD-bashing here, please don't take it as such)

INVENTOR is a 3D parametric modeler. OK, it works in 2D as well. But it's intended to be parametric (meaning parameters drive all the part and assembly dimensions and constraints between parts). Depending on the flavor you have (Standard, Routed Systems, Dynamic Simulation, Pro) it can do some nifty piping, wiring, fairly advanced mechanical simulation, etc. All versions will let you do some decent rendering, basic animations, generate drawings, etc.

Don't underestimate the learning curve on either of these. If you 'pick them up in your spare time' then there will be a *significant* (I'll go so far as to say TEDIOUS) learning curve. Years. You'll get basic parts out, yes - but the first time you revise an assembly design, you will wish you had done 101 things differently. Professional training/education is money WELL spent.

DESIGN REVIEW is essentially a package used to facilitate review & markup of Autodesk design files. The designer sends it out to the team, who uses DR to add markups and annotations, and then sends this back to the designer, who can track the changes as they're made. I'd suggest the general response it 'yep, it sounds good in theory, and it's almost useful. Sortof.' It also serves as a viewer for DWF files, which are lightweight versions of ADesk design files. (Think PDF of AutoCAD/Inventor files. And, yes, that's pretty much exactly what ADesk would like DWFs to be, only they've never quite caught on)

DATA MANAGEMENT SERVER is a database backend for design file storage. No, you don't need to use it, but it serves as the platform for 2 different things : 1) Content Center parts. This is a library of fasteners, steel shapes, pipe components, valves, etc. They're stored as template files, and then the parameters are stored as database rows. When you need a part (i.e. a 1/4-20
x 1.5" hex head cap screw) then Inventor loads the template file, looks up the parameters, and creates the part on the fly. Next time you need it, it's already available. This way, you don't have to store the several-hundred-thousand parts all on your disk... just the ones you actually use. 2) DMS serves as the back end for Autodesk Vault, which is the design file repository. Check files in & out. Control versions, etc. Some people only use it in a workgroup setting, but others (including me) won't work without it.
DMS is built on MS SQL Server.

TRUEVIEW is..... not worth mentioning Frankly, it was positioned to be a converter/viewer/plotting interface to let people access ACAD files, but I don't remember ever hearing anyone actually use it.

Hope that helps.
Todd
Formerly....
.... CAD Department Chair, Holyoke Community College
.... CAD manager for a large industrial mechanical design/build firm
AutoCAD user since r2
Inventor convert since IV2008