What's New in Autodesk Factory Design Suite 2015?

Autodesk® Factory Design Suite includes design, analysis, and presentation software to help you discover and communicate the most efficient layout solution by creating a digital model of your factory. Part of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping, Factory Design Suite offers unique factory-specific functionality in AutoCAD® and Autodesk® Inventor® software combined with powerful visualization and analysis tools to help improve collaboration and innovation earlier in the design process.
The Autodesk Factory Design Suite comes in three editions:  Standard, Premium, and Ultimate.  Since one builds off the previous, let’s go through each.

Standard Edition

Autodesk Factory Utilities

The key to the suite is the Factory Design Utilities that makes the suite ideal for factory managers for planning changes to the factory floor.
See this video to see how the Factory Design Utility makes your design process work with ease.

Autodesk® AutoCAD® 2015

AutoCAD has many new features this year.  To see the details of the new features, see our post “What’s New in Autodesk AutoCAD 2015?”  There, we also list videos for the new features to see them in action.  Here are just a few updates to give you the idea:

• New Tab Page
• New Ribbon Galleries
• New Help Tools and Search
• New Interface
• Connect your workflows across integrated desktop, cloud, and mobile AutoCAD solutions.
• Reality Capture
• Darker theme to reduce eyestrain and make lines and text stand out

Autodesk® AutoCAD® Architecture 2015

Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture software is the version of Autodesk® AutoCAD® software for architects. Architectural drafting and documentation is more efficient with the software’s intuitive environment and tools built specifically for architects. Experience greater productivity gains while learning new features at your own pace. More easily share and communicate designs with TrustedDWG™ technology.
Some of the enhancements include:

• Color-coded version differentiation
• Easier style import
• Easier style searching
• Preview Architectural Objects styles
• Movable Style Viewer
• Real-time Fillet/Chamfer changes
• Dynamic wall moves

See the Autodesk site for all features labeled new.

Autodesk® AutoCAD® Mechanical 2015

AutoCAD Mechanical software enhancements for 2015 include:

• Bill of Materials (BOM) enhancements
• Balloon Commands
• Welding Symbol
• Surface texture symbol
• Datum identifier symbol
• Datum target symbol
• Feature control frame symbol
• Content Manager live update

To learn more how AutoCAD Mechanical fits into your workflow, see this productivity study between AutoCAD and AutoCAD Mechanical.

Autodesk® AutoCAD® Raster Design 2015:

Convert raster to vector with powerful tools that help you create higher-quality drawings while using standard AutoCAD commands. AutoCAD Raster Design 2015 helps you to:

• Save time using image display features that help you embed, insert and export images, and display image subsets with a polygonal mask boundary.
• Improve image quality with editing and cleanup tools that help you despeckle, bias, mirror, and touchup scanned design information.
• Easily erase raster images, lines, arcs, and circles using standard AutoCAD commands on raster regions and primitives with raster entity manipulation (REM).
• Create lines and polylines from raster images with vectorization tools.
• Incorporate geospatial raster data with image transformation functionality. Display and analyse geo-referenced images when the software is used with AutoCAD®, Civil 3D® and AutoCAD® Map 3D software.

For more information, contact us or go to the Autodesk Raster Design page.

Autodesk® ReCap™

Capture and integrate reality directly into your design process with ReCap reality capture software. ReCap point cloud and image-based 3D modeling software and services work seamlessly with Autodesk design and creation suites, so you can start your design with accurate dimensions and full photo-quality context rather than a blank screen.

Autodesk® Showcase® 2015

Showcase 3D visualization and 3D presentation software provides easy-to-use presentation and design exploration tools for architects, designers, engineers, and marketing professionals. Quickly transform 3D CAD models into interactive walk-throughs and presentations, so that you can evaluate aesthetic and design alternatives in real time with peers, constituents, and customers.
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Autodesk® Vault® Basic

Autodesk® Vault data management software helps design and engineering workgroups to securely organize, manage, and track their data. Enjoy more control over design data with change and revision management capabilities. With Autodesk Vault, users can quickly find and reuse design data and more easily manage design and engineering information.
See our post on Autodesk Vault.

Premium Edition

The Premium edition has all the tools the Standard edition has, plus:

Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2015:

This year 3ds Max Design has so many additions to the features, we just want to name a few:

• Scripting to Python tools
• Modeling tools: Placement Tool, Quad Chamfer, Point Cloud
• Character animation tool to populate
• ShaderFX Editor
• ActiveShade Improvements

To see all the details, read the details in “What’s  New in Autodesk 3ds Max?” posted by the AREA, the site for Autodesk visualization and animation.

Autodesk® Navisworks® Simulate 2015

The new features for Navisworks® Simulate include tools to enable project tracking, coordination, construction simulation, model review, and whole-project analysis.  To read more, see our post specific to Autodesk Navisworks solutions.

Ultimate Edition

The Ultimate edition builds on the Premium design suite and adds tools to make you even more productive and complete your design process.  Note that Inventor has been replaced with Inventor Professional and Navisworks Manage replaces Navisworks Simulate.

Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage 2015

The new features for Navisworks® Manage include tools to enable project tracking, coordination, construction simulation, model review, and whole-project analysis.  To read more, see our post specific to Autodesk Navisworks solutions.

Autodesk® Inventor® Professional 2015

Inventor Professional adds additional toolsets to Inventor to help designers add electrical systems with tube and pipe runs, features mold, tool, and die tools, and adds additional validation with simulation and FEA.  To see how Inventor has matured in 2015, see our post on ‘What’s New in Inventor 2015?‘

Factory Design Mobile

New cloud application enabling 2D factory design on your iPad® using factory assets to quickly create designs.  The mobile device syncs with Autodesk Factory Design Suite to show 3D layout of your factory.
See the video below too learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiBZo4MZK5s
Find the app at the Apple Store.

Autodesk Subscription Value

Autodesk is increasing the value of the Subscription by offering three types of offerings: Desktop Subscription, Maintenance Subscription, and Cloud Services Subscription. Read more about the changes in Autodesk Subscription in our post, “What’s New in Autodesk Subscription 2015?”
Do you have questions about the Factory Design Suite changes or how you can download your copy if you are on Autodesk Subscription?  Contact us by phone (800.836.5440) email.
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