Previous month:
March 2010
Next month:
May 2010

17 posts from April 2010

I created a quick video showing how you can now use the new AutoCAD 2011 commands SURFTRIM, SURFFILLET, and SURFPATCH. I created the surfaces for a toy car based on the car designed by Carl Frischmuth in solids and AutoCAD 2007. In addition to all the cool 2D feature enhancements we added to AutoCAD 2011 we also added a great deal of 3D feature enhancements especially in surfacing. You can now perform complex surface operations effortlessly that were not possible or tedious in the past. So below is the quick 3 new command taste of some AutoCAD 2011 surfacing enhancements. Read more →


With the release of AutoCAD 2011 we replaced the CHM (compiled HTML) based Help system with an online browser based HTML based Help system which you can set to default to online or offline mode and also select your browser of choice. Based on customer feedback, the search performance is not equal to that of the old Help system at this time so we are providing the CHM files for download. It is a 172MB download and currently will not work on 64bit Windows 7. Read more →


The product was previously known as Project Cooper on Autodesk Labs, has now graduated as a full fledged Autodesk product now known as AutoCAD Freestyle. You can read all about the new product as well as try the product for 30 days at www.autodesk.com/autocadfreestyle The new low cost product based on AutoCAD yet designed for hobbyist and the DIY (Do It Yourself) crowd is available for purchase at the Autodesk eStore for $49 in the US and Canada at this time. AutoCAD Freestyle It’s easy-to-use, low-cost 2D drawing software ideal for creating professional-looking drawings, layouts, and plans that you can share. Read more →


You should visit the Autodesk Sustainable Design Center to get up to speed on emerging sustainability trends for your company to succeed in this new “green economy.” Autodesk Sustainable Design Center (www.autodesk.com/sustainabledesign) Other green related pages: Autodesk Carbon Footprint Green... Read more →


Weekend of Fun in the Sun

I will be out of the office from Thursday afternoon (April 8th, 2010) until next Tuesday. I am headed down to Tucson Arizona and points South for some hiking in the beautiful Sonoran desert. This is the time of the year when many wildflowers and cactus are blooming and the temperatures are not too hot. It is sadly also the last month that many Arizona parks will be open as many of the nicest parks in Arizona will be closing due to state budget shortfalls. Read more →


For a longtime the SKETCH command has been in AutoCAD. While the SKETCH command was good for some limited uses like digitizer tracings, the problem was it created tons of small polyline segments that were unjoined to each other. These polyline segments were ok unless you intended to use the geometry for other than a reference. Now with AutoCAD 2011 the default object created by the SKETCH is the spline. Read more →


AutoCAD 2011 Feature Tips Tricks ~ 10 New Hatch Tips

We certainly added many new abilities to the AutoCAD 2011 Hatch object including live preview, the new Hatch ribbon, transparency, hatch background color, and much much more. Here are ten great tips on AutoCAD 2011 for the new Hatch enhancements from my Autodesk colleagues Cliff Young and Nigma Liu who are AutoCAD QA Engineers here at Autodesk. Read more →