Autodesk Releases Newest Version of Its Award-Winning Autodesk Inventor 3D Mechanical Design Software.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 14, 2002

New Version Delivers More Than 200 Innovative Enhancements

Helping Customers Achieve Increased Productivity and

Decreased Time to Market

Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today shipped the newest version of its award-winning Autodesk Inventor(R) 3D software. Autodesk Inventor 6 software delivers significant new features and improvements based on customer feedback, giving manufacturers worldwide the most advanced mechanical CAD system in the mid-priced market. Autodesk Inventor 6 has more than 200 major productivity and drawing enhancements, adding industry-specific solutions such as routing tools and weldments to meet customers' specific industrial machinery and electro-mechanical design needs. This release also includes new innovative shape description tools driven by the Autodesk ShapeManager kernel that lets the user seamlessly mix solids and surfaces to create stylized, complex, and sculpted parts. To further extend the value of Autodesk Inventor software, more than 50 certified applications are currently available to help customers complete their design-through-manufacturing processes. Autodesk Inventor software is at the heart of the Autodesk Inventor(R) Series, a unique combination of 2D and 3D technology that offers customers the easiest transition to Autodesk Inventor software. The Autodesk Inventor Series is one component of a total manufacturing solution from Autodesk that comprises the Autodesk Inventor Certified Application Program, the Autodesk Streamline(TM) online project collaboration service, and Autodesk Professional Services.

Customers Applaud Autodesk Inventor

Customers who previewed Autodesk Inventor 6 this summer continue to applaud the impact Autodesk Inventor software has had on their bottom line.

Jeff Thompson, mechanical designer and drafter, Allied Systems in Sherwood, Oregon, said, "Autodesk Inventor has increased the productivity of our engineering staff at least 25 percent. Additional productivity increases are occurring in the manufacturing shop because of the improved accuracy of our parts and assembly."

Another customer, Craig Nunn, R&D design engineer for Powell Electrical Manufacturing Company in Houston, Texas, said, "With Autodesk Inventor we obtained a direct cost savings by eliminating errors due to the data being seamlessly and dynamically linked from model to drawing to output to manufacturing. With our previous system the transfer of this data to each one of those steps was producing errors and scrap metal waste, even though the initial design was correct. Autodesk Inventor eliminates the need for the user to have to transfer that data, because the software manages it for you."

According to Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Division at Autodesk, "Autodesk Inventor 6 delivers the functionality customers need to develop more innovative products faster and realize increased margins on sales due to lower development, production, field maintenance, and warranty costs. Customers looking to move from 2D to 3D design will find Autodesk Inventor software offers unparalleled ease of use and superior productivity over other CAD systems on the market today."

Drawing Enhancements

Autodesk continues its tradition of delivering the world's best drawing tools with Autodesk Inventor 6 and its leading drawing production environment. The ease of use and flexibility of formatting are key to ensuring that companies using Autodesk Inventor software can produce drawings to their particular drafting standards faster than they could with other 2D or 3D systems. Following are some new features and improvements:

-- A complete set of layout drawing tools such as breakout views, perspective views, weldment views, visibility of model sketches in drawing views, visibility of work geometry in views, and improved update control for drawings and bill of materials (BOM).

-- Powerful and flexible annotation tools -- such as custom hole notes, automatic centerlines, nested BOM, revision block, cosmetic weld annotations, improved balloons, improved hole tables, improved dimension styles, improved dual dimensioning, and improved user symbols for scale and rotate -- help customers complete the entire drawing and annotation process.

Productivity Enhancements

To help customers improve productivity and get their jobs done faster, this latest release of Autodesk Inventor software offers:

-- Improved constraints to give the designer more information

about the 3D design. This information allows faster decisions

to be made about the design and helps speed the editing of

complex large assemblies commonly built with Autodesk

Inventor.

-- New model tolerances let the user capture tolerances at the

time of design. This capability means less information is lost

between design and drawing documentation, and time is saved by

avoiding the time-consuming task of capturing tolerances at

different levels in the drawing process.

-- Several enhancements in the Autodesk(R) Mechanical Desktop(R)

translator expand the quantity and capability of features

imported into the Autodesk Inventor program.

-- An improved 3D content library supports more than 18

international standards. The library features standard parts

that customers use most -- screws and bolts, nuts, washers,

adjusting rings, bearings, pins, rivets, shaft seals. Up to 80

percent of an industrial machine might be designed with

standard and purchased parts, and with this comprehensive

library, Autodesk Inventor users can quickly and easily find

the standard parts they need most. Users will find that

"favorites" designation, searching, and history views make

working with the library even faster and easier.

Industry-Specific Improvements

To meet the demands of the industrial machinery and electro-mechanical markets, Autodesk Inventor 6 software delivers significant improvements in the areas of weldments and routing. A new task-based environment in Autodesk Inventor 6 accelerates design of weldment assemblies. The weldment environment encompasses the whole design process for the weldment assembly, and captures the weld bead specification, weld edge preparation, and post-weld machining. The Autodesk Inventor 6 drawing manager enables creation of drawings to document the entire weldment manufacturing process, from component drawings, to pre-weld drawing views, and post-machining views. Special 2D symbols allow for both automatic and manual creation of standards-based welding drawings. This complete workflow of 3D design to 2D documentation ensures that design information captured in 3D makes it to the 2D drawing automatically.

For routing, Autodesk Inventor 6 software adds enhanced capabilities to help solve the complicated problem of creating 3D paths. Using a new dynamic 3D routing tool, designers can position critical points through which the 3D path must pass. The ability to graphically drag these routing points using both dynamic dragging and precision X,Y, and Z placement greatly helps the designer quickly define a 3D path through which a pipe, tube, or wire may be swept.

Drag-and-Drop Part Library

A comprehensive online mechanical part library for Autodesk Inventor 6 and Autodesk Inventor 5.3 users is now available from Autodesk and CADalog, Inc. to give users quick access to millions of manufacturer-specific or standard components from Web links within Autodesk Inventor software. Dramatically reducing design time and increasing accuracy, the Autodesk/CADalog Part Library is unique in the industry because it is i-drop(R)-enabled, meaning users gain true drag-and-drop functionality to transfer parts from a Web browser directly into Autodesk Inventor files. This contrasts with the multi-step process required by other vendors, and gives a significant advantage to Autodesk Inventor 6 users. The growing list of native Autodesk Inventor ready-made parts currently features 52 manufacturer catalogs with a strong focus on machinery design, electronic hardware, and motion control components. This online resource is available free for a limited time via http://inventoruser.autodesk.com/parts.

Availability and Pricing

Autodesk Inventor 6 is available worldwide through authorized resellers. It is also available through the Autodesk Subscription Program in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The Autodesk Subscription Program is a distinctive software delivery model that offers a convenient way for users to protect their software investments and stay up-to-date on the latest Autodesk technology. For new products, like Autodesk Inventor 6, the program provides a rapid cycle of releases rich with new content as it becomes available. The program also provides downloadable e-Learning courses and offers direct online support as an option. For further information on the Autodesk Subscription Program, visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.

About Autodesk

Founded in 1982, Autodesk, Inc. is the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. The company serves a diverse portfolio of markets, including building design, geographic information systems, manufacturing, digital media, and wireless data services. By delivering tools that foster innovation and creativity, Autodesk helps customers throughout the value chain use digital design data to work better, faster, and smarter. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Note to Editors: Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Streamline, i-drop, and Mechanical Desktop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.