NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Per our discussion at this month's User's Group, I've provided several links to sites that offer downloadable CAD files and Catalogs:

https://reidecom.reidtool.com/xephr/qbe/homepage
http://www.thomasnet.com/
http://www.dodge-reliance.com/html_pages/Part_Server_Instructions.html
http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/3DContentCentral/Default.aspx
http://www.partserver.com/
http://www.gates.com/designView/form.cfm?location_id=866&display=1
https://sdp-si.com/eStore/

Lots of content here. Good luck!

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

While Autodesk has not announced any support for any previously shipped products on Windows Vista at the time of this writing, Avatech has found a method that may allow users to run in an unsupported mode.

Avatech's National Support Center recently had a support call were the client was trying to install Inventor 11 onto Windows Vista (32-bit). The problem was that they were receiving an “Unsupported Operating System…” error.

By browsing to x:\bin\acadfeui\inventor\ {where x: is the DVD-ROM Drive} and right-clicking the setup.exe file, they were able to select ‘Run as Administrator’ and it installed fine. The same thing was needed to install Mechanical Desktop 2007, but applied to the x:\bin\acadfeui\mdt\setup.exe file.

This seemed to work for both installs. The machine was rebooted and when they double-clicked the icons, both applications launched fine.

Hope This Helps!

Eric

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

For those of you who have been busy getting billable work out the door, you may not have had the time to check out what is coming in the next release of Inventor 2008. Under the title of Inventor 2008 Countdown, Amy & Gavin have been providing snapshots of the coming functionality on their "In the Machine" blog since 2/23. I think you will be please with a lot of the new or improved functionality.

Please check it out if you have a chance and let us know what you think.

In the Machine

Colorado Inventor Users Group

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007
6:30PM – 9:00PM

Please join us this month at one of Denver’s fine academic institutions: the Community College of Denver. We’re proud to be partnering with one of the area’s best Drafting programs led by ex-Lockheed engineer Rick Glesner, whom some of you already know. Bring your thinking caps, and some quarters for the Auraria metered-parking, as we will be presenting a challenge problem with a prize for one lucky person who can provide the correct solution – along with:

Re-visit Inventor’s Parametric & Adaptive Design

• Adaptive part associations that recognize how parts fit together in the assembly
• Parts “Adapt” to fit
• No parameters or variables required
• No ordered relationships
• Associate by parameters tables, formulas, master sketch, or part

AEC Exchange

• Publish Native ABS models that include 3D geometry and intelligent connection data
• Export Inventor Assembly models as 3D DWG files for use with ADT, Revit, and AutoCAD

Inventor Q&A

As always, food and soft drinks will be provided for those who bring questions and experiences to share!

Come to discuss ideas, increase knowledge and get advice from Avatech’s experts and other Colorado Inventor users.

Please RSVP or to get directions:
Call us at: 303.796.0204 or email us
Rob Johnston: rob.johnston@avatech.com
Jared Drennen: jared.drennen@avatech.com

Autodesk has managed to repair the problems that the Microsoft Hotfix KB918118 was breaking. This hotfix applies to multiple versions, so make sure you download and apply the right one.

Autodesk Hotfix DL9229921

We are sorry for an inconveniences this has caused and appreciate your patience.

Hope this helps.

M$ came out with an update last night that hoses Inventor's text editing. Here's the reply from ADSK I received this AM:

Dear Gregory,

I've got new information on an MS update today: If you've applied Microsoft Hotfix KB918118 you will notice that you can’t create or edit texts in Inventor .IDW’s. The workaround is to uninstall this hotfix. Please uninstall this from Add/remove programs and spread the word. Let me know if I may close this case. Thank you.

Best Regards, Daren Lawrence Autodesk Support Team

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk has announced the next release of their Manufacturing Suite of Products.

Please follow the link below to the press release.

Autodesk's FY2008 Mfg Products

Design Review is now available as a FREE download!

Here's the deal: the download is free, but Autodesk has not broadcast that fact. Go to Design Review. There is no mention on this page that it is free; however, there is a link near the bottom of the page which says download.

When you reach the download screen, there is a small note at the bottom (in italics) which says it is free. The instructions when you start the download give you a serial number to use to activate it. This won't work and isn't required.

There are two downloads, one for the product and a separate one for SP 1. According to another user, it works once you do all these things.

Good Luck and Good Design Reviewing!

Eric's Take...

...on a HUGELY revitalized Colorado Inventor Users Blog.

For those of you who have been wondering what has been up with this since May, I've been slacking, honestly. I just wasn't making the effort to post information that we all would find useful. That being said, I have made a New Year's Resolution to keep it much better updated than I have in the past. Let's hope it last much longer than most Resolutions!

Now to some of the changes. Blogger updated the capabilities of the Blog engine, so you will notice a little different look. We now have Labels, which will take you to the specfic topic you are seaching for information on. We also have a slightly different Archive listing, as well. The Disclaimer has been moved to the very bottom for everyone to see?!? Finally, Blogger has integrated it's login with Google accounts. If you already have a Google account, you can link your login to this with it and simplify the process. If you don't have a Google account, or would like to keep this one separate from your personal one, we can invite you to join through Gmail. You can email us at COInvUsers@gmail.com or you can pick on the Request Invitation Label at the top of the Sidebar on the left.

If you dig into the Labels area a bit, you can see I added a lot of content I should have been adding all along and I did some filing. I broke everything up into the most logical catagories I could come up with; so we now have: Eric's Take, News You Can Use, Service Packs, & Users Group Meetings. More can be added if needed, based on YOUR feedback.

One of the bigger reasons this fell to the wayside, was I felt like I was the only one out here... and I still do. I am not doing this for me guys, I know I like to talk and all, but I am doing this for you. If you have a comment on something I posted; or an issue you haven't been able to resolve on your own; or a solution you were able to come up with that you think others would benefit from...
Post It!

I have protected the blog from random blog spammers, so you have to be invited to be linked to this blog, but after that you have free-rein to speak your mind and I expect you to. Some of you may have forgotten how to logon to post, if so, let me know and we will set you back up.

Here's to a great 2007!

Let's hear it, folks! Comments are welcome.

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk has signifcantly expanded the Blogs that it hosts about the various products that fall under the Manufacturing division. No longer is Amy's "In The Machine" the only one in town.

Check them out at:

Autodesk's Mfg Blogs

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk Products: Compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista

Until Autodesk reports their findings in regards to software compatibility with Microsoft Windows Vista, we do not recommend installing and/or using any current or past version of any Autodesk product on Windows Vista in production. When Autodesk announces an official position on compatibility, the information is generally posted on their website. Autodesk typically announces compatibility with currently-sold software only. Products not currently being sold or retired products are typically not tested and therefore will remain unsupported.

To check to see if Autodesk has changed its position on Vista, pick here:

Autodesk Search

Then type Windows Vista

We hope this helps clarify any questions regarding Microsoft Windows Vista.

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk Labs has recently posted a utility to make converting 2D sketches to 3D Solids much easier in Inventor 11. As with anything at Autodesk Labs, this utility is not supported by Autodesk and should be seen as a "Use At Your Own Risk" utility.

Check it out at:
Autodesk Labs

Colorado Inventor Users Group

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
6:30PM – 9:00PM

Please join us for our first Users group of the New Year at Avatech’s DTC Office. Due to the poor weather recently, we’ve decided to stay close to home to kick of the first meeting of 2007. Mark your calendars now to participate in an open discussion of ideas and technology. We’re planning to share a short presentation before we open the floor to fellow Inventor Users, and allow access to our own technical experts for questions of their own.

Introduction to Avatech’s Professional Services

• Custom Programming & Automation
• Data Management & ERP/MRP Integration
• Custom Training, Implementation, and resource auditing & optimization

Leverage Inventor 11’s Enhanced Surfacing Tools for Solid Modeling

• Surface Tools for Solid Modeling
• Loft to a point
• Two rail sweep w/ XY scaling

Inventor Q&A

As always, food and soft drinks will be provided for those who bring questions and experiences to share!

Come to discuss ideas, increase knowledge and get advice from Avatech’s experts and other Colorado Inventor users.

Please RSVP or get directions:
Call us at: 800-487-8729 or email us
Rob Johnston: rob.johnston@avatech.com
Jared Drennen: jared.drennen@avatech.com

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

If you have not yet installed the Assembly Tools for Inventor 11, follow these steps:

1. Close Inventor, if necessary.
2. Browse to the \SDK\Tools\Users\AssemblyTools folder that is located in your Inventor installation path.
3. Double-click the Setup.exe file.
4. Follow the instructions to complete the installation.

There will now be an Assembly Tools toolbar in the Assembly environment.

For an example of why you would want them loaded, check out:

Grounding Component to Origin of Assembly

Colorado Inventor Users Group

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006
6:30PM – 9:00PM

We apologize for the late notice, but we think you’ll be pleased with this month’s topic. Join us once again at SVI Trucks in Loveland, CO for this month’s Users Group. Mark your calendars now to participate in an open discussion of ideas and technology. We’ve prepared two short presentations before we open the floor to fellow Inventor Users to share their experiences from the field.

Utilize Inventor 11’s adaptive Content to increase your productivity

• Streamlined selection and placement workflow
• Advanced AutoDrop capability
• Automatic resizing as mouse moves over target geometry
• Interactive adjustment of component lengths

Publish your own approved parts to the Content Center

• Enhanced tools for editing and publishing content
• Unified content library
• Fully integrated with Design Accelerators

Inventor Q&A

As always, food and soft drinks will be provided for those who bring questions and experiences to share!

Come to discuss ideas, increase knowledge and get advice from Avatech’s experts and other Colorado Inventor users.

Please RSVP or get directions:
Call us at: 800-487-8729 or email us
Rob Johnston: rob.johnston@avatech.com
Jared Drennen: jared.drennen@avatech.com

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk Labs has recently posted updates to a couple of utilities that I think you should check out.

Project Freewheel allows the posting of DWF files to an Autodesk website and allows you to send a link to a client or other party you would like to have view the DWF file, without requiring them to download and install the DWF Viewer. Be careful, we don't know how well protected this site is and proprietary information may be vulnerable!

Vault Mirror will allow users of Vault 5 or Productstream 5 to create a read-only mirror of the files and directory structure in an ADMS Vault, as seen from Vault Explorer. Used with Task Scheduler, Vault Mirror can create remote copies of the up-to-date Vault file tree. An example where this would be useful is when you have CAM programmers who need access to the Inventor models, but do not have an Autodesk product (nor Vault) installed on their machines.

As with anything at Autodesk Labs, these utilities is not supported by Autodesk and should be seen as "Use At Your Own Risk" utilities.

Check them out at:
Autodesk Labs

LATEST SERVICE PACKS:

Autodesk® Design Review 2007 – Service Pack 1
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=8269645&linkID=4083878

For those of you who weren't aware, Autodesk rebranded DWF Composer to Design Review 2007. Design Review 2007, like DWF Composer before it, allows for the Redlining / Markup of DWF files to capture change information electronically.

Colorado Inventor Users Group

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
6:30PM – 9:00PM

Please join us at Avatech’s DTC Office for this month’s Users Group. Mark your calendars now to participate in an open discussion of ideas and technology. We’re planning to share one short presentation before we open the floor to fellow Inventor Users to address our technical experts with questions of their own.

Utilize Inventor 11’s adaptive Content to increase your productivity

• Streamlined selection and placement workflow
• Advanced AutoDrop capability
• Automatic resizing as mouse moves over target geometry
• Interactive adjustment of component lengths

Publish your own approved parts to the Content Center

• Enhanced tools for editing and publishing content
• Unified content library
• Fully integrated with Design Accelerators

Inventor Q&A

As always, food and soft drinks will be provided for those who bring questions and experiences to share!

Come to discuss ideas, increase knowledge and get advice from Avatech’s experts and other Colorado Inventor users.

Please RSVP or get directions:
Call us at: 800-487-8729 or email us
Rob Johnston: rob.johnston@avatech.com
Jared Drennen: jared.drennen@avatech.com

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

Autodesk has recently posted a Technical Document outlining the proper method of modifying the Content Center in Inventor 11. Please download and review the Content Center Stand Alone User Guide before attempting to manipulate your Content Center files.

This document provides guidance for tuning the Autodesk Inventor Content Center to meet your company's specific needs. While initially focusing on the stand-alone designer and expanding to larger workgroups, it will be followed by a second document to address more detailed advice on large centralized server installations. When that is released, we will post it here.

Check it out at:
Content Center Stand Alone User Guide

Colorado Inventor Users Group

Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
6:30PM – 9:00PM

Please join us once again at US Filter (now Siemens Water Technology) in Colorado Springs, CO for this month’s Users Group. Mark your calendars now to participate in an open discussion of ideas and technology. We’ve prepared two short presentations before we open the floor to fellow Inventor Users to share their experiences from the field.

Explore Inventor 11’s Frame Generator to quickly create structural frames with custom or standard parts.

• Library of standard structural shapes
• Works with 2D/3D wireframe or solid model edges
• Automatic placement on frame outline
• Quickly and easily add welds and define end conditions

Autodesk University

• More industry professionals than ever are discovering that an annual trip to AU pays dividends all year long.
• Plan now to join your peers at the Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas—one of the world's most celebrated venues for meetings and conventions - for the 14th annual AU.
• Nov. 28 – Dec. 1, 2006.

Inventor Q&A

As always, food and soft drinks will be provided for those who bring questions and experiences to share!

Come to discuss ideas, increase knowledge and get advice from Avatech’s experts and other Colorado Inventor users.

Please RSVP or get directions:
Call us at: 800-487-8729 or email us
Rob Johnston: rob.johnston@avatech.com
Jared Drennen: jared.drennen@avatech.com