Between the Lines

Autodesk University 2016 Blogger and Social Media Meetup Sign Up Closing in Hours

The sign up will be closing at midnight tonight and then invitations sent starting this Friday November 4th. This years social media meetup will be held Tuesday November 15th from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. We have a nice venue, good drinks, and some fun and very special surprises in the works. If you blog or are active in social media about Autodesk products & attending AU 2016 please sign up for the annual Blogger & Social Media Meetup. Space is... Read more →

Happy Halloween

Today in the Autodesk Lake Oswego Oregon (aka Portland) office we have costumes, food, and a pumpkin contest. I think already found my current creative pumpkin “I'm Here for the Boos” complete with a tap and pours wine. Some cleverly costumed colleagues, including me. Do you see Scooby Doo? What else would you expect from a potluck lunch and costumes. Brains made from red velvet cake and frosting. Steam Punk’in One of the scariest things to be feared in an... Read more →

Throwback Thursday - AutoCAD 86

I received another great addition to my collection of old AutoCAD releases, a AutoCAD 86 version 1.40 manual circa February 1984 from Mike Boldrick. This was one of the first available releases of AutoCAD ever shipped to customers. I will publish more of this old manual in the future for nostalgic fun as we will soon celebrate the 35th year of AutoCAD. In AutoCAD 86 version 1.40 there was no UNDO command, just an OOPS command as well as only... Read more →

Get Your AutoCAD, Inventor, and Fusion 360 Answers Today

 It is another Autodesk Answer Day! Oct 27th from 6:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Time. http://autode.sk/2dSJFME If you have Autodesk product questions, we have answers. Join the big Autodesk answer day online and speak with people from several Autodesk product teams. You have questions, we’ve got answers! We’ll be answering questions in our AutoCAD, Inventor,and Fusion 360 English forums. How The Day will work: Come to the Autodesk Community and post your product questions! Engage in real time conversation with... Read more →

The Future of Making Things - Robotics

This is a really great video featuring my Autodesk colleague and team mate Maurice Conti, Director of Applied Research and Innovation providing a glimpse at how robots will augment and collaborate with humans in the future. A couple other team mates gave a cameo in the video like Evan “Robot Lover” Atherton, Heather “Robot Tamer” Kerrick, and David “Robot Whisperer” Thomas. Read more →

Hands-On CNC Training at Autodesk University

The very first Fusion 360 CNC full day hands on training will be held at Autodesk University for AU attendees to register to take. The training will be led by by John Saunders from NYC CNC. Learn how to create your custom CAM toolpath in Fusion 360 followed by hands on machining using the Tormach 440 machine. Read more →

AutoCAD Family Feud at Autodesk University 2016

Survey Says, Autodesk University 2016 will be a lot of Fun! I am really looking forward to this fun event at Autodesk University this year. I get to go against my good friend, colleague, and fellow Portlandia resident Lynn Allen which will be a lot of fun at my expense. Luckily I am not against Robert Green and his perfect hair. I hope you will register at booth 2449 and join my team. If you can’t make it to AU... Read more →

Autodesk University 2016 Survival Tips

After attending every Las Vegas based Autodesk University (AU), I have compiled a long list of tips for not only surviving but making the most of AU which will be held at the Venetian in Las Vegas. For many attendees Autodesk University is not just 12 hours a day as there are activities virtually around the clock. Pace yourself. Autodesk University is the premier Autodesk customer event held yearly where several thousand creative design and visualization experts descend on Las... Read more →

2016 AUGI Wish List – Time to Submit Your Requests

The Autodesk Users Group International (AUGI) each year collect wish list ideas for Autodesk products from fellow users of the products. The wish list is then voted on by members like you and the top 10 are presented to Autodesk product representatives at Autodesk University. We can’t make this happen without you. So visit the AUGI Wish List over the next week or two and contribute any new ideas you may have. After you put in your requests, check out... Read more →

No Autodesk Without AU

Autodesk University is in only 27 days! AU has become the event to be at to know what Autodesk is working on and learn how to best utilize our software and technologies from world class peers in your industry. We have so much packed into the 3 days that it can be a bit overwhelming, but the knowledge and connections you walk away from it are well worth the required super human stamina. I will be posting my updated annual... Read more →

Girls Generation Robotics Competition

This past Saturday local school Catlin Gabel hosted a robotics competition for PNW regional FIRST Robotics teams where only girls would be the robotics challenge team drivers and pit staff. Teams used their robots and a competition field from last seasons Stonghold competition. Despite the big storm outside, the gymnasium was packed with hundreds of team members, parents, and teachers, volunteer mentors, and FIRST Robotics regional personnel. What an awesome and inspiring event for not just girls, but everyone that... Read more →

Autodesk Answer Day - October 27th, 2016

 Another Autodesk Answer Day is coming! Join us on Thursday, Oct 27th from 6:00am to 6:00pm Pacific Time. http://autode.sk/2dSJFME If you have Autodesk product questions, we have answers. Join the big Autodesk answer day tomorrow online and speak with people from several Autodesk product teams. What: Autodesk Answer Day – You have questions, we’ve got answers! We’ll be answering questions in our AutoCAD, Inventor,and Fusion 360 English forums. Additionally we’ll be answering questions in two of our most popular... Read more →

AutoCAD 2017.1 Feature Update for Students

AutoCAD 2017.1 Update for subscription and maintenance customers was just released with some new features like 4k display support, text enhancements, and more. I received questions about educational license users such as students. I asked the AutoCAD Team and received the good news that students too will soon be able to get AutoCAD 2017.1 at first from their accounts page then later from the Autodesk Desktop App. Read more →

Autodesk University 2016 Blogger Social Meetup Sign Up

This annual Autodesk University social event is in its 13th year this year. This years social media meetup will be held Tuesday November 15th from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. We are working on a fun venue, good drinks, and some surprises. If you blog or are active in social media about Autodesk products & attending AU 2016 please sign up for the annual Blogger & Social Media Meetup. Space is limited so sign up and we will try to invite... Read more →

AutoCAD 2017.1 Fall Update is Live

If you are an AutoCAD subscription customer you may be noticing the alert in the Autodesk Desktop App that there is an feature enhancement update for AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017. There are some good updates requested by customers in this first subscription update: 4K display support Text enhancements Pumpkin spice flavored polylines (kidding) Performance improvements Some fixes for issues reported by customers and CER reporting. There is more detailed information covered by Heidi on the AutoCAD Blog AutoCAD... Read more →

Autodesk University Socks

I was thinking over the weekend what would be easy and super fun at Autodesk University 2016 with what you wear and it hit me. Crazy Socks! Yes, it would be fun to flash the craziest socks anywhere at AU2016. Here are the bigfoot socks I am wearing today. I get a lot of my stylin’ socks from local creative Portland Oregon sock company Sock it To Me as well as Internet site Sock Drawer Here are a few examples... Read more →

FIRST Robotics Team Event Girls Generation October 15

The events are starting for FIRST Robotics teams here in Oregon with a great event "Girls Generation” just over a week away on October 15th. My Catlin Gabel Team 1540 Flaming Chickens are hosting this event at their campus in Portland www.catlin.edu/map. Only girl team members may drive the robots and be in the pits.Teams will be playing using last years competition robots from Stronghold. I hope you will join us at the event and see how much fun it... Read more →

Four Legged Friends will be Relieved at the PDX Airport

On a received flight from Portland Oregon (PDX) I noticed while walking from terminal B to C there was now a restroom area for dogs named Pet Relief. How interesting, funny, thoughtful, and so Portland. At Autodesk we are still strong on our love of dogs and they are still allowed in many of our offices. My daughter when she was a little girl used to call Autodesk Doggiedesk. I politely knocked and growled before walking in to check out... Read more →

Fresh Air at Autodesk University 2016 Run Jog or Walk in the Morning

It is that time of the year and Autodesk University is barely a month away. Everyone has a very busy schedule at the big Las Vegas event, but sadly most of it is indoors and sitting down. I organized a couple runs down the Las Vegas strip the past two years and it went very well and grew to over 25 people each morning last year so why not do it again. This year I am adding a walk group... Read more →

AR, VR and MR - Oh My

Learn about AR, VR and MR and the impact it will make for all of us from Autodesk Brian Pene Director of Emerging Technology, Office of the CTO. Five Ways AR and VR Will Improve Our Current Reality http://autode.sk/28WjqhN In recent years, technological advances, coupled with a proliferation of affordable hardware and software, have made immersive technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) more commercially feasible than ever. A flood of investments into these new... Read more →