Autodesk Inventor

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Autodesk Inventor
Developer(s) Autodesk
Initial release September 1999
Stable release 2010 / April 16, 2009
Operating system Windows
Type CAD
License Proprietary
Website autodesk.com/inventor

Autodesk Inventor is a CAD (Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting) software application for 3D mechanical design, product simulation, tooling creation, and design communication, developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. Initially released in late 1999, Inventor filled a need for a CAD program specifically designed for easy of use, ease of learning, and communication of mechanical 3D design. In doing so, Inventor entered the CAD space primarily occupied by Solid Works.

Inventor currently runs exclusively on Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. Inventor LT, a less expensive and lighter version, is also available. Autodesk has also packaged Inventor with AutoCAD. These versions are available in a number of different formats including the following, in order of increasing price: AutoCAD Inventor Suite 2010, AutoCAD Inventor Routed System Suite 2010, AutoCAD Inventor Tooling Suite 2010, AutoCAD Inventor Simulation Suite 2010, and AutoCAD Inventor Professional Suite 2010.

Inventor is available for English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Russian, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Vietnamese. The extent of localization varies from full translation of the product to documentation only.

Contents

[edit] Licensing

Inventor can be licensed commercially in three ways. The first way is standalone. Standalone licensing allows for one seat per serial number and does not allow for license borrowing. License borrowing offers the advantage of installing on many machines if they are not using inventor simultaneously. The second way is multi seat standalone. Multi seat stand alone allows for multiple seats per serial number but also does not allow for license borrowing. The third way is network. Network licensing allows for multiple seats per serial number and allows for license borrowing. License borrowing does require additional license server software hardware as well as additional IT support.

Inventor is licensed at a significant discount over commercial retail pricing to qualifying students and teachers. The Autodesk Education Suites are available with either 13-month term licensing or perpetual licensing.

The Autodesk student community provides registered students with free access to different Autodesk applications including Inventor.


[edit] File formats

Inventor has a number of separate file formats used in conjunction to create complex designs. The most basic is the part file, .ipt, used to create single pieces of a design which do not move. Part files are combined to create complex designs in assembly files .iam. Both part fields and assembly files can be described in a schematic drawing file .idw. Complex demonstrations showing complex designs in motion as well as complex explosions of designs can be created in Inventor as a presentation file .ipn.

[edit] Version history

Official name version date of release
Inventor 1 1999, November
Inventor 2 2000, March
Inventor 3 2000, August
Inventor 4 2000, December
Inventor 5 2001, September
Inventor 5.3 2002, January
Inventor 6 2002, October
Inventor 7 2003, April
Inventor 8 2003, October
Inventor 9 2004, July
Inventor 10 2005, April
Inventor 11 2006, April
Inventor 2008 2007, April
Inventor 2009 2008, April
Inventor 2010 2009, April

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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