Autodesk Inventor

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What Does Autodesk Inventor Mean?

Autodesk Inventor is a 3D mechanical solid modeling design software developed by Autodesk to create 3D digital prototypes. It is used for 3D mechanical design, design communication, tooling creation and product simulation. This software enables users to produce accurate 3D models to aid in designing, visualizing and simulating products before they are built.

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Techopedia Explains Autodesk Inventor

This software incorporates integrated motion simulation and assembly stress analysis, whereby users are given options to input driving loads, dynamic components, friction loads and further run the dynamic simulation to test how the product will function in a real-world scenario. These simulation tools enable users designing cars or automotive parts, for example, to optimize the strength and weight of a product, identify high-stress areas, identify and reduce unwanted vibrations, and even size motors to reduce their overall energy consumption.

Autodesk Inventor’s finite element analysis feature allows users to validate the component design through testing part performance under loads. The optimization technology and parametric studies permit users to design parameters within assembly stress areas and compare the design options. Then, the 3D model is updated based on these optimized parameters.

Autodesk Inventor also uses special file formats for parts, assemblies and drawing views. The files are imported or exported in a DWG (drawing) format. However, the 2D and 3D data interchange and review format that Autodesk Inventor uses most frequently is design web format (DWF).

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.