Between the Lines

Autodesk Providing Free Software and Curriculum to Students

It is that time of the year that students and educators are going back to the campus and classrooms for another year of education. Autodesk loves and supports students and provides many free resources for students. Over 30 of Autodesk’s professional design and visualization software are available for students and educators for a free 3 year license at the Autodesk Education Community http://students.autodesk.com. This includes not only AutoCAD, but Revit, 3ds Max, Autodesk Inventor and many more including some Autodesk 360 storage. Also check out the Autodesk Digital STEAM Workshop The Autodesk Digital STEAM Workshop science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) provides highly visual curriculum that delivers an engaging project-based learning experience for students while enabling teachers to focus on teaching rather than software expertise. Each project is accompanied by comprehensive resources such as videos, lesson plans, data sets, and real time 3D interactive viewers of completed projects. Read more →

Autodesk University 2013 in 100 Days

AU 2013 is only 100 days away! Read more →

123D Design Challenge – Enter Now

The Autodesk 123D Design Challenge has started and you have 50 days to submit your entry and gain fame and fortune, ok maybe just some 3D street cred. This is open for all ages and most countries worldwide. You can see the entries as they are entered to get inspiration or to cause you to amp up your entries awesomeness levels. You could even win a 3D printer. Go create your 3D project and show others how you created it using Instructables before October 12th 2013. http://bit.ly/178GzXP Read more →

10 Years Between the Lines

It is hard to believe but this blog has just turned ten years old. I want to simply say thank you for all the millions of unique readers, thousands of commenters, several guest authors, fellow bloggers, and Autodesk employees that contributed to this blogs success and reaching this rare blogging milestone. I would especially like to thank Autodesk management for allowing and encouraging Autodesk employees to be engaged, transparent, and actively participate in social media like blogs (http://blogs.autodesk.com) and twitter. It takes a great deal of confidence for a company to place the trust in its employees to do the right thing and Autodesk has always has. I want to also thank the two Autodesk employees that opened my eyes to what a blog was and got me started back in 2003, thank you Bill Johnston and Eric Wright. Thank you Bill Adams for the annual birthday cakes, cup cakes, and this years digital birthday wishes to Between the Lines. http://blads.blogspot.com/2013/08/happy-birthday-between-lines.html Read more →

Autodesk ReCap Photo Updated & Spiral Tooth Shark 3D Model

An updated Autodesk ReCap Photo is now available. Create high quality professional grade 3D models from photos including high resolution TIFF images. http://bit.ly/12j2Zph. This is the product that is the professional higher resolution version of the extremely popular consumer focused Autodesk Photofly which then became the current Autodesk 123D Catch which is free. Recently I visited with my friend Brock down at Fossilogic and captured some of his rare fossils in 3D using only my digital camera and then processing the photos using Autodesk ReCap Photo. One was of a Woolly Mammoth and the other a spiral tooth shark. Both of these as well as many others Brock works on for museums are the original fossils. The Spiral Tooth Shark (Helicoprion) was found stuck in a coal seam in a Utah coal mine and I am told many fossils are found in these coal mines after all coal is remnants of ancient plant material. Spiral Tooth Shark Fossil 3D Model Created by Photos Processed in Autodesk ReCap PhotoSpiral Tooth Shark Fossil TIFF Photos to be Processed in Autodesk ReCap Photo Using only 38 high resolution TIFF photos to automatically create a highly detailed 3D model and export the 3D geometry with textures to OBJ format and open in 3ds Max in minutes is amazing. There is no way I could accurately model some objects in 3D and texture them in the short time it takes to photograph and process them in Autodesk online image based modeling service Autodesk ReCap Photo. Read more →

AutoCAD Customer Council

AutoCAD Customer Council On the AutoCAD team, we have created a Customer Council program as a way to partner with customers throughout the development of our key features. Building Trust: AutoCAD Customer Councils http://autode.sk/166UYoD The Customer Councils go hand in hand with Autodesk Feedback Community projects like early alpha and beta programs as we want our customers involved in shaping the products they use. Read more →

Keep Calm and…

One of the finest features to ever be added to software including AutoCAD back in the mid 1980’s in AutoCAD Release 2.5 because apparently users prior to that never ever made a mistake. Funny history tidbit: Before the UNDO command was added into AutoCAD you had to close the drawing without saving to be able to undo what you last did. Read more →

Point Cloud Support in Upcoming 3ds Max 2014 Extension

Designers and artists can now create more precise models from real-world references, with the new ability to import and visualize massive datasets captured from reality as point clouds. Point Cloud support is part of the upcoming 3ds Max 2014 Extension release (expected on or after September 30th) for active Subscription customers. Read more →

Autodesk Mockup 360 Trial Now Available

Autodesk Mockup 360 provides a simple way to pull together large scale project data from many CAD sources in a real-time cloud based collaboration and visualization tool. You can share among teams as well as look for interferences aka clashes of objects in the design before the project is built saving time and money. Read more →

A Blog is Like Having a Baby

I have been blogging continuously for 10 years as of next week August 21st, 2013. I get asked by internal Autodesk employees as well as external people about starting a blog. I usually ask them what is motivating them to blog and what do they know about blogging. You really don’t want to start a blog on a whim or just to satisfy some short term goal as starting a blog is like having a baby. It really is as you have to give it life and feed it regularly even when you don’t feel like writing a blog post, and occasionally change its diapers. I have seen far too many blogs start and then go silent for multiple reasons and that is why I ask people to think long and hard about the long term goals and plans before launching a blog. Remember that if your blog goes silent it lives pretty much for ever on the Internet and people will see the stagnant blog and you will have some subscribers and regular readers that feel jilted. One suggestion is to guest author articles on existing blogs like this one (email me) and get your feet wet before jumping in with both feet for the long commitment. Read more →

Got Aereo Internet Streamed Live Local TV

Last night I attended the Utah launch of Aereo where the is the founder and CEO Chet Kanojia showed how Aereo worked and talked very candidly with attendees invited to the event. Aereo has been in the middle of many legal fights due to their innovative method of co-locating miniature antennas in arrays of 10,000 that people can subscribe to and get the over the air broadcasts of their local TV on their PC, Roku, Apple TV and mobile devices like iPad and iPhone with an Android version rolling out next month. You get a guide in an HTML5 compatible browser or Flash format on the PC and can schedule cloud based DVR recordings or watch live local TV but only when you are located in the broadcast area due to legal red tape currently. Read more →

Inventor HSM Express Beta 5 is Available

The Autodesk CAM Team are happy to announce that we have a new Beta build that is ready for you to download and test. We received a great deal of feedback from the previous Beta builds. If you are not a participant in the beta currently, or signed up to be considered for other Autodesk product betas please sign up now at the Autodesk Feedback Community http://beta.autodesk.com Read more →

Maya 2014 LeapMotion Plugin

Explore 3D scenes with your bare hands with the new Autodesk Maya 2014 plug-in, free at LeapMotion Airspace. Read more →

Autodesk Feedback Community Maintenance Notice August 13th, 2013 at 16:00 PST

There will be about an hour downtime for maintenance tomorrow Tuesday August 13th, 2013 at 16:00 PST (4pm) for the Autodesk Feedback Community. Cheers, Shaan Read more →

Trying a New Blog Writing Software on the iPad

After relying years relied on Live Writer the free blog writing utility from Microsoft even after trying several other I am trying a new one for Tablets. Live Writer was so easy to draft blog posts with fie attachments, complex formatting and media, as well as options for keywords in SEO, but I am not always on my laptop running Windows. Read more →

Tarmac Anesthesia

I have traveled a great deal in my lifetime, and when I first started I always had to sit in a window seat and stayed awake the entire flight even the 10+ hour international flights watching rolling landscapes or clouds go by. Maybe it was travel nerves and watching the world fly by was not only interesting but comforting. I don't know what has changed but I now prefer the aisle seat most likely so I can easily escape to the restroom, easily get to the overhead storage, or get off the flight faster. The other oddity besides being able to identify a make of the jet engine whether it is the hum of a GE, the whir of a Rolls Royce, or the heavy metal whine of the Pratt & Whitney engines is that I now sleep most of a flight. Even with the best of intentions of working the flight, reading, or watching a movie I go unconscious even before the flight takes off. Yes before and during the takeoff. Maybe it is the droning people talking and babies crying that has conditioned me to shut off my brain or the planes rocking lullaby down the tarmac to the runway but I go out like a light. Not even a free upgrade to first class or business with fancy food and never ending drinks will be enough to tempt me to stay awake. Yes the airport tarmac is like anesthesia to me...and like magic I go to sleep on taxiway in Salt Lake City and wake up in far away places. Read more →

It’s Friday - Engineers Guide to Drinks in AutoCAD DWG

imageI first found this drawing years ago when it was a test DWG file for a plotter company. A couple years back Florian Römhild re-drew the guide in DWG format and a few others have also modified the popular drawing like the Whisky Drinks version. I figured I would place the drawing for all to have fun viewing in AutoCAD 360 on the web. Engineers Guide to Drinks DWG on AutoCAD 360 Whiskey Drinks DWG on AutoCAD 360 I have seen many funny drawing files in my days and some I can’t show, but this is a classic to enjoy plotted, not stirred. What funny drawings have you seen? Cheers, Shaan Read more →

Autodesk Feedback Community - Let There Be Light!

We have been working this Summer on many updates and improvements to the Autodesk Feedback Community where most Autodesk product betas and future research goes on. I was placed in charge of this 65,000+ member community again this Spring and had a list of things to do from the fellow admins and the participants in the community. We have some major upgrades coming and making the community easier to login and participate in but the most visual will be to switch from a dark theme to a light and bright theme like other Autodesk communities switches to a recently in addition to the new logo. In response to participant feedback we also moved the logout to the upper right and extended the community timeout to 90 minutes. I will talk more about the exciting feature upgrades in the future, but here is a look at the new Autodesk Feedback Community Light theme mockup that goes live today at 1PM PST. Read more →

Project Memento Launched on Autodesk Labs

Project Memento is a new and technologically advanced application to visualize large 3D meshes in the hundreds of millions of polygons from laser scans, photos, or models like a FBX or OBJ file. It was designed to be fast and analyzes the mesh for errors and allows you to fix issues so that you can go from a messy perhaps problem laden model to a healthy one for use in any downstream application. Project Memento makes it a breeze to work with and fix large data sets that with other tools takes a great deal of knowledge and multiple tools to fix complex topology issues, splitting meshes into smaller parts, or solving texture problems. This technology preview is a first attempt at a solution to a long standing problem people face when working with 3D data. Read more →

Autodesk Remote Released for Subscription Customers

I showed this technology for the first time publicly in June when it was called Project Blink running Autodesk Inventor from an iPad but you can also use a PC to access another workstation. The one big benefit I noticed is the lower latency than any other remote solution I have used. So if you are an Autodesk Subscription customer go to the Autodesk Exchange and give Autodesk Remote a try. From the Autodesk Digital Prototyping Blog: http://autodeskmfg.typepad.com/blog/2013/07/autodesk-remote-launched-for-subscription-customers.html “Anyone that pays close attention to the Autodesk® Exchanges Apps may have noticed a new addition in the last week. This new application is called Autodesk® Remote, and is available to download as a subscription only benefit, and is aimed at users who need to access their workstation and associated applications from a remote location without the traditional interface performance issues associated with it. Click here to go to the Autodesk Exchange Apps store.” Read more →

AutoCAD Tip - UCS Command Default

If you use an AutoCAD based product for 3D work you will have to consider using the UCS to change views to work on the model. A common question from AutoCAD users when using the UCS is: ”Is there a method to have the UCS command always default to either TOP or WORLD regardless of what view is selected from VIEW TAB?” Read more →

Autodesk ReCap Pro Trial Now Available

Download Free Trial of ReCap Pro. Create intelligent 3D data from photos and scans Autodesk® ReCap™ delivers powerful and easy to use workflow on the desktop and in the cloud to create intelligent 3D models from laser scans and captured photos. Rather than beginning with a blank sheet, Autodesk ReCap now enables any designer, architect or engineer to add, modify, validate and document their design process in context from existing environments. Autodesk ReCap Pro Cut project time in half with ReCap Pro by eliminating the need for registration targets. Accurately and reliably register scans by simply snapping them together using visible features that overlap. Targets are still supported but not required. ReCap Pro also makes it easy to clean, organize and visualize massive point cloud datasets directly on the desktop. Autodesk ReCap Photo Create high-resolution textured 3D models from photos using the power of cloud computing with ReCap Photo, which is available as a Photo-to-3D service in Autodesk 360. Read more →

Last Beam Placed on 2nd Largest Building in the World

Workers just placed the last beam on the second tallest building on Earth the Shanghai Tower. The Shanghai Tower is over 121 stories and will 2,073 feet tall when complete. It is designed to be a self-contained city with open air parks and gardens designed by the architecture firm Gensler. Read more →

Toronto Meetup

I will be working in the beautiful city of Toronto Ontario Canada half of this week, and as I have often done in the past around the world hold a casual meetup. I love chatting about Autodesk, Autodesk’s products, design, industry, technology such as reality capture, blogging and social media, or just casual conversational topics and what you are doing with Autodesk products or looking for solutions to. If you will be available Wednesday Morning for a morning coffee or tea meetup chat or Friday night email me. Read more →

3D Printing Coming to Your Neighborhood UPS Store

I have been waiting this announcement since 3D Printing started going mainstream and the Maker movement grew to more than a few people tinkering with 3D prints in garages, basements and dorms. I wrote over a year ago that someday you would be able to 3D design or print a pre designed 3D part from your home to a local brick and mortar store and pick up the 3D printed part. Now you don’t have to buy that expensive 3D printer for occasional use or use a online print service and wait on UPS to deliver your 3D print. Soon you will be able to get it when it is done at the local UPS Store. It could be a replacement part for something in your house like that always breaking plastic dryer door clip, the worlds next big invention prototype, or perhaps you made a 3D model of your head using 123D Catch and made it into a 3D door knob using 123D Design to add that unique style to your home. With so many 3D software out there I am assuming all UPS will require is a STL file. UPS Stores will be proving a 3D print service using professional Stratasys uPrint SE Plus 3D printers. No details on pricing per cubic inch just yet. It will be interesting to see how many stores expand this service and how many people prototype their next great inventions using them. Read more →