^*&^**: If you have AutoCAD and Inventor installed on your PC – You may already have the PDMC.
Keep reading for information on how to find out what you already have in the collection.

Now is the best time to be alive. Don’t just take my word for it, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet all agree.

“Humanity can address a lot of the suffering that occurs in the world and make things
a lot better. I think a lot of times people are quite sort of negative about the present
and about the future, but really if you are a student of history, when else would you
really want to be alive?”
– Elon Musk

This prosperous period of history also brings its challenges, and everything moves at light speed.
5 Star Wars movies between 2015 and 2019; iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were released September 22^nd, 2017; iPhone X was released November 3^rd, 2017; and I could go on and on.

To keep up, we rely on stimulants. We drink coffee, tea, energy drinks – anything to give us a jolt.

What if I told you, you could replace all your caffeinated beverages with Autodesk Inventor from the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection (aka PDMC).

Designing in Inventor > Designing, not in Inventor

There’s a good chance you have implemented Inventor as your primary design tool if you’re reading this, and that’s ideal. I’m sure you recognize Inventor superiority when it comes to parametric, direct edit, and freeform design capabilities.

You might also leverage AnyCAD by working with anyone, anywhere, no matter what CAD software they use, or you are creating 3D Inventor parts associated with the source 2D geometry created in AutoCAD.

Perhaps you are automating design processes with iLogic.

Similar to a double espresso, you are getting a kick out of Inventor.

If you are reading this because you are curious about Inventor, here’s a – small – list of features that could be hugely valuable:

• Automated frame design
• Tube and pipe design
• Sheet metal
• Shape Generator
• Model-based definition (MBD)
• BIM (Revit) interoperability

It’s hard to believe, but you can get more out of Inventor. A lot more.

“Large, 20-pump vanilla, 20-pump hazelnut, whole milk, 190 degrees, add whip and extra caramel drizzle, latte” more.

5 key ingredients to stimulate your design

1. Inventor Nastran delivers finite element analysis (FEA) tools for engineers and analysts.
   Simulation covers multiple analysis types, such as linear and nonlinear stress, fatigue, dynamics, and heat transfer.
2. Inventor Tolerance Analysis software is designed to help engineers make more informed decisions while specifying manufacturing tolerances.
3. Inventor Nesting is CAD-embedded, true-shape nesting software that helps you optimize yield from flat raw material.
4. Inventor CAM software simplifies the machining workflow with CAD-embedded 2.5-axis to 5-axis milling, turning, and mill-turn capabilities.
5. With Factory Design Utilities software, you can plan and validate factory layouts for efficient equipment placement that can improve production performance.

All these tools are integrated in Inventor and are only available from the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection.

Side treat

It’s always cool when we order our favorite coffee drink, and, out of the blue, they give you one of those sweet, sweet brownies on the house. You know that, because of it, your day will be unique.

Your products are unique. Your product development workflows are unique too.
Your ideas and refinement efforts should not be restricted by the tools you are using.
By now, you know that 2D and 3D will only take you so far.

Did you know that it is more expensive to subscribe to AutoCAD and Inventor than it is to subscribe to the Product Design & Manufacturing Collection?

In fact, it is about USD 1,000 more to get only 2D and 3D.

You can have a complete CAD, CAM, and CAE solution and save USD 1,000 – I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of ROI I can calculate easily!

If you are paying for a third-party CAM software and/or a third-party 3D modeling tool and/or a third-party simulation tool: you are paying way too much. That’s another easy ROI!

The carry-out tray (Conclusion)

If you felt inspired when using Inventor, you may get the jitters if you use the add-ons the Collection provides. It will allow you to do more and to expand on your designs, all from one familiar interface.

• Create complete product projects by taking your designs from concept to production with integrated, professional-grade CAD, CAM, and CAE technology.
• Explore every opportunity to improve performance, and create products that take full advantage of the latest innovations in manufacturing.
• Collaborate with everyone by integrating design data originating from any source and extending design reviews to internal and external contributors.
• Let your software handle the busywork with easy-to-code tools for automating product configuration and repetitive design tasks.

Feel free to use the ‘Comments’ section and, if you enjoyed it and you think it contains valuable information that could help a friend or a colleague, please share it with them.

Written by:

Marc B. Sauro
Product Marketing Manager

Marc joined Autodesk in 2014 as a Design & Manufacturing Technical Specialist. Recently he joined the Product Marketing team. He is responsible for product marketing for the design and manufacturing software that makes up the Product Design and Manufacturing Collection but, more specifically, the collaborative tools (i.e. Vault and Fusion Lifecycle).

Before that, Marc spent nine years at one of the largest SolidWorks VAR in Canada and one of the largest in the Northeast region. This experience has built a solid foundation for his understanding of sales and business development strategies.

Also, Marc worked in the Automotive Industry as a Project and CAD Manager where he gained an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the R&D and manufacturing process.

You can find Marc on Instagram, Twitter, Medium (@marcbsauro), and LinkedIn.