About a year ago, I had some pretty intense simplification talk with a very large Autodesk client. It got to the point where I felt I had to reach out to some Autodesk Product Managers. We had an hour or so long discussion with multiple parties at Autodesk showcasing the productivity pitfalls, innaccuracy, and general lack of control of the current Shrinkwrap simplification tools. Mostly around the idea of Intellectual Property removal, but also in regards to large capital assets for BIM models into Revit. In general simplification has been anything but simple.
A couple weeks ago, I heard this was coming out and I am happy to say that today the new preview technology for Inventor Simplification has been released from Autodesk Labs for Inventor 2013 only. It is available in Part or Assemlby mode.
Really glad I made that phone call. Two thumbs up for Autodesk for listening to the clients and those that represent them in a larger scale. This is something that a lot of users can benefit from and I am sure others have had it on their wishlist for some time.
http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_simplification/
From the Labs website:
Inventor Simplification is a free technology preview of a new and easy way to simplify parts and assemblies for downstream consumption. The shrinkwrap feature was added to Autodesk® Inventor® software several releases ago. Since that time we’ve collected feedback on various ways to improve the workflow. We think we have a much better way to simplify models and wanted to share it with you as soon as possible.
Whether you need to simplify a fully detailed model to import into Revit or remove intellectual property (IP), Inventor Simplification can help. Inventor Simplification is intended to be very interactive with greater flexibility than current tools.
- Visual selection of components to keep/remove
- Replace fully detailed components with resizable primitive shapes
- Fill holes with greater control
Availability
This new Inventor Simplification Technology Preview is now available as a free download and trial so please download it and let us know what you think. The technology preview will operate until July 1, 2014.
