Between the Lines

View the Zika Virus in the the Autodesk Research Molecule Viewer

This may be news to many if not most people, but Autodesk’s expertise and impact extends far beyond the traditional realm of design and into the life sciences research on computational & synthetic biology. The Bio/Nanotechnology Team has performed a great deal of research, and in the past year released a technology preview of the Autodesk Research Molecule Viewer. This cloud based 3D viewing tool is intended for scientist and researchers to use and extend to assist in the development... Read more →

FRC 2016 PNW District 8

Over 30 teams of high school students with robots have descended on Oregon City, Oregon. The event is the FIRST Robotics PNW district 8 playoffs. I have worked with Team 1540 the Flaming Chickens from Catlin Gabel who will be competing this week. You can watch the competition live: Http://Www.Ustream.Tv/Channel/Firstwa-Red Schedule: Friday April 1, 2016 10:30 AM Opening Ceremonies 10:45AM-1:00PM Qualification Matches 1:00PM-1:30PM Lunch 1:30PM-6:45PM Qualification Matches Saturday April 2, 2016 8:30AM-9:00AM Opening Ceremonies 9:00AM-10:30AM Qualification Matches 10:30AM-11:00AM Alliance Selections... Read more →

2016 Autodesk Summer Internship in Lake Oswego Oregon

Are you an ambitious high school student located in the Portland Oregon area that has participated in FRC and looking for some Summer paid internship with a super cool company? Apply for a 2016 Autodesk Summer Internship with Autodesk. Paid Internship Eligibility Requirements: Must be turning 16 years old by June 1st, 2016 Must be entering into Junior or Senior year of high school Able to work 30+ hours/week, June – August Must have been a member of a FIRST... Read more →

Made In Space Additive Manufacturing Facility

Made In Space is developing manufacturing technologies that are enabling people to live and work in space. The Made In Space Additive Manufacturing Facility was launched on March 22nd, 2016 and arrived at the International Space Station on March 26th, 2016. This is a first step toward putting manufacturing systems on the Moon, Mars, and on deep space missions. Read more →

Best of Autodesk Labs

Autodesk Labs has been a long passion of mine here at Autodesk since starting it in 2006. Scott Sheppard has made Autodesk Labs the polished success it has grown into over the years launching many of Autodesk products you know and love today. Engineering.com wrote a nice online article highlighting some of the past technology previews that have come out of Autodesk Labs such as Autodesk Fusion 360. Autodesk Labs is not just about free early access to technology to... Read more →

Autodesk ReCap 360 on an iPad

The Autodesk ReCap team is looking for iPad users who want to actively participate in the ReCap 360 Mobile preview project using reality computing tools on a mobile device. The projects pre-release iOS application will be delivered to participants using Apple's TestFlight platform. The team has a limited number of TestFlight slots available so if you want to participate please sign up soon. ReCap 360 on an iPad with the free technology preview of ReCap 360 Mobile via Autodesk labs Read more →

Autodesk Inventor 2017

Autodesk Inventor 2017 was just released today and those who provided feedback and tested it during beta testing it are free to discuss the product publicly. Autodesk Inventor 2017 Arms Customers with Enhanced Design, Interoperability, and Communication Capabilities Ketiv posted a nice video of the new enhancement for working with files from many major mechanical design product formats. http://blog.ketiv.com/whats-new-in-autodesk-inventor-2017-part-1 Read more →

Ember 3D Printer 24X Faster

Some recent software optimizations were updated on the Autodesk Ember 3D Printer resulting in it 3D printing 24 times faster and because it is open source it could be used on a host of other 3D printers. “True to the open-source nature of their 3D printer, Autodesk reveals exactly how that 24x speed improvement has been achieved in a highly detailed guide published on their Instructables DIY platform. That way, other Ember users or even owners of other 3D printers... Read more →

Wonderful Weekend in the Columbia Gorge

I hope you enjoyed your weekend, I certainly did enjoy mine. It has been almost a year since I moved back to Oregon. I am certainly enjoying the outdoors and being back here after 18 long years away. Yesterday I spent the day hiking up Eagle Creek just past the picturesque Punch Bowl Falls. There were even two guys in helmets and wetsuits attempting to swim down the rain fuelled creek over the falls. The day ended in Hood River... Read more →

Bring your Autodesk Fusion 360 Questions April 6th

Mark your calendar now, the next Autodesk Answer Day is coming up on April 6th, 2016, from 6am to 6pm Pacific Time and will be on Autodesk Fusion 360. This is a live Questions & Answers online event where you can get all those burning questions answered by the teams that support and develop the product. Fusion 360 Answer Day Read more →

DEVELOP3D LIVE

The fine folks over a DEVELOP3D have their annual conference coming up on March 31, 2016. They will be broadcasting live the main stage presentations including Autodesk’s own Scott Reese VP of Cloud Platform. Scott will present on the main stage as well as in a panel discussion where his focus will be the powerful cloud based future including the Forge platform and Fusion 360. Register free for the US video feeds: http://develop3dlive.com/usa-video-feed/ Talk synopsis and titles: http://develop3dlive.com/conference-program/ Speaker bios:... Read more →

AMF in Orbit

The Atlas V launch vehicle lifts off from Cape Canaveral. Credit: NASA Congratulations to NASA, Orbital ATK, and Made in Space for launching the new 3D Printer Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) into orbit last night. It will soon arrive and be installed on the International Space Station and provide an upgraded 3D printing capability for use by the astronauts - and possibly you. Contained within the AMF is Autodesk Memento software. I have always thought our Autodesk products were out... Read more →

AutoCAD 2017 System Requirements

So the new AutoCAD 2017 version has been released this week and you want to know if your current computer is up to the task? The published system requirements will help you determine this. One thing to be aware of is something's like the Operating System are set in stone but graphics and memory recommended amounts could vary depending on the size and complexity of the drawings you work with. One of the most common comments from participants during the... Read more →

AutoCAD 2017 is Release 32 or 31

I am in the process of updating my AutoCAD History page after we just released the new AutoCAD 2017 Monday March 21, 2016. AutoCAD 2017 was codenamed Nautilus in alpha and beta testing prior to being officially released publicly. Update: My good friend Vladimir Michl of http://www.cadforum.cz spotted the error in my accounting he said AutoCAD 2017 should be 31 not 32 because I copy pasted an error and 2016 should have been release 30. While he is absolutely correct,... Read more →

AutoCAD 2017 File Format

AutoCAD 2017 was just released today. One of the most common questions I get is “did Autodesk change the DWG file format version?” Answer: No, AutoCAD 2017 uses the same AutoCAD 2013 (AC1027) DWG format so you will not have any front and backwards compatibility issues. Never before has AutoCAD kept the same DWG file format for over four releases. So with AutoCAD 2017 you can open all valid DWG files from the early1980’s AutoCAD version 2.x and up and... Read more →

Download AutoCAD 2017 Free Today

Kick the tires of the newly released AutoCAD 2017 with new PDF abilities, greater performance enhancements, crisper 2D, and better 3D graphics. You can download the 30 day time limited trial right now without entering a credit card. Check out some of the AutoCAD 2017 new features and enhancements: http://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/features/all Download AutoCAD 2017 Read more →

What's New in AutoCAD 2017 – AutoCAD 2017 Preview Guide

Heidi Hewett has over the years done a great job detailing the highlights of each new release including with this newly released AutoCAD 2017. Read through as there is certain to be something that interests you in this new release like the seriously increased performance and graphics enhancements. AutoCAD 2017 Preview Guide - PDF Read more →

AutoCAD 2017- What's New

Michael Mizuno, Autodesk Senior Product Manager, introduces AutoCAD 2017 – the world's leading design and drafting software! Enjoy the powerful tools and improved performance to simplify and personalize your AutoCAD 2017 experience. Check out the AutoCAD Desktop App with enhanced stability of 2D and 3D graphics as well as new share design views. For more information visit: http://autodesk.com/autocad https://youtu.be/ap-YDhhT6Xs Read more →

Beta – When Can I Talk About it?

Just a friendly reminder as some products are nearing completion of lengthy beta testing with excited customers wanting to spread the word publicly. Autodesk keeps your information confidential and expects you to also keep things confidential until you are specifically released by an authorized Autodesk employee. Once you are emailed a beta release, you are free to discuss the new product features but keep in mind that one beta release does not indicate the same date and release for another... Read more →

A New 3D Printer Heading to the International Space Station

Autodesk partner, friends, and Fusion 360 users Made in Space sent the first 3D printer designed for space 2011 is again sending a new updated 3D printer up to the International Space Station this Tuesday, March 22nd at 11:05 pm EST. Keeping with the long tradition of crazy NASA acronyms the 3D printer is named the “AMF” for Additive Manufacturing Facility. Made in Space is the cutting edge on additive manufacturing in space and it opens up many possibilities to... Read more →

Happy Equinox

In the Northern hemisphere spring started at 12:30 a.m. this morning and the sun is directly overhead at the equator in the spring equinox. To my friends in the Southern hemisphere, I wish you a nice Fall celebrating your autumnal equinox. The sun does rise exactly in the east and set in the west on the equinox. I spent the last week of Winter on vacation with my son Jake and his girlfriend visiting me in Portland Oregon. Read more →

St Paddy's Day Fusion 360 Shamrock

Being part Irish, St Patrick's Day is a fun holiday for me whether chasing snakes from a village or emptying a pint. Our awesome Autodesk Portland area office intern Grant Holmberg-Baugher from the University of Oregon recorded a Screencast recording of him creating the 3D model in Autodesk Fusion 360. You can watch all the steps or simply download the Fusion file. Top of the Day to You, Shaan O’Hurley The source F3D file: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2668262/Lucky.f3d Screencast of how the Lucky... Read more →

FIRST Robotics Competitions PNW Wilsonville District

The high school FIRST Robotics team I have been working with this year participated in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) Wilsonville District competition this past weekend in Wilsonville Oregon. Team 1540 Catlin Gabel got into the later rounds with their robot Zuko (designed in 3D using Autodesk Inventor) making it to the elimination rounds and ultimately winning the 2016 Wilsonville District Chairman's Award. Wilsonville District Competition Results http://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2016/ORWIL What a great event packed with energy and gracious professionalism. Congratulations to all... Read more →

REAL 2016 is a Wrap

Yesterday was the final of two days of the REAL 2016 conference ending with a great reception and stunning sunset with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. There were many great exhibits as well as presentations. Here are a few photos from some of the sessions and things I experienced. The Autodesk Memento booth was packed the entire time and I have it on good word that Autodesk Memento is going into space. Stay tuned. Airbus presented on the... Read more →

Great First Day of REAL 2016

Yesterday was the fist of two days for the REAL 2016 conference in it’s second year. Being held at scenic Fort Mason there are about 900 attendees networking, attending presentations, and looking at exhibits and vendors.Autodesk was periscoping several of the presentations yesterday (https://www.periscope.tv/autodesk) and I was tweeting @shaanhurley and posting to Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shaanhurley/ live from the event. The night ended late with my good friends the Laser Cowboys of the Smithsonian Institution at a local In n Out Burger.... Read more →