Between the Lines

FIRST FRC Mentor Day

Today is mentor day celebrating volunteer mentors for FIRST Robotics teams. I can speak as having been mentoring a FIRST FRC Team 1540 Flaming Chickens of Catlin Gabel in Portland Oregon for the past few years on why YOU should also get involved. The high school students tell me I help, but I'm not sure they are getting the better end of this volunteering deal as I get so much from being continually inspired by these students I could never... Read more →

BunnyBots 2018

If you are in Portland Oregon tomorrow Saturday December 22nd, and have kids or like robots or both, then there is a perfect inspiring event happening and free. The BunnyBot is a bunch of FIRST FRC Teams competing in a pre season events involving stuffed cute bunnies. Its action packed and a competition where the robot design, build, and programming is all by the high school students. The game also takes cooperation and strategy as well as being gracious professionals.... Read more →

LEAP Design Competition in Portland

This weekend the final judging of the Linking Engineering and Philanthropy (LEAP) design contest for local FIRST Robotic FRC Teams was held at Mercy Corp in Portland Oregon. The high school FRC Team 1540 Flaming Chickens from Catlin Gabel that I have worked with for a few years founded LEAP and run it. Autodesk was again a proud sponsor with the prize money and Mercy Corp was the non profit recipient, awesome host, and defined the challenge and need for... Read more →

Puppies, Kitties, Beer, Gifts, Bad Sweaters and Gingerbread all for a Good Cause

Yesterday in the Autodesk Portland Oregon office, we held a fun event in the afternoon. Two volunteer employer groups Ministry of Mischief and Impact Team partnered to have fun and support some good local causes. The Impact Team supported making the holidays better for a local family and gathering things they needed for their family. The Ministry of Mischief organized the donation to the Oregon Humane Society and they brought puppies and kittens into the office. Also for fun by... Read more →

Pi Day for PIE

If you are located in beautiful and innovative Portland Oregon and love new technology from startups then you should absolutely RSVP and mark your calendars for Pi Day 2019 and the PIE Demo Day 2019. PIE is the Portland Incubator Experiment and all about nurturing startups and their founders. We believe in PIE so much we provide space in our Autodesk Portland office for the PIE Shop incubator currently with 7 startup companies and also PDX Women in Technology (PDXWIT)... Read more →

Post Autodesk University Monday– Now What?

Maybe you were one of the over 11,000 attendees in Las Vegas last week attending Autodesk University 2018 and have traveled home and perhaps getting back to normal after catching up on sleep and getting my voice back over the weekend like me. But now what? If you are like me, you have a lot of great memories, photos, business cards, people to follow up with, a few new found pounds from the food to get rid of, many emails... Read more →

Are you an Autodesk Inventor User in Portland – Join Us

We would like to invite you to the next Autodesk Inventor User Group meeting on this Thursday November 8th from 5:30-7pm. This month we will have two presenters. Paul Normand from Autodesk and Kelly Shuman of General Design. Paul will start by talking about Inventor Tolerance Analysis, the state of the industry regarding going paperless, and showing a bit of both the Autodesk MBD/PMI solution, and the new add-in being provided with 2019 collections - Inventor Tolerance Analysis (compatible with... Read more →

Autodesk University 2018 Tips

We are now less than two weeks from Autodesk University! Autodesk University is the premier Autodesk customer event held yearly where several thousand creative design and visualization experts descend on Las Vegas. They arrive wide eyed, craving knowledge from the best in the industry. They leave tired and full of valuable knowledge to make them more productive back at work. After attending every Las Vegas based Autodesk University, I have compiled a long list of tips over the years for... Read more →

AU2018 Blogger and Social Media Meetup Sign Up

We are now less than two weeks from Autodesk University 2018! Every year at AU we invite active bloggers, social media participants and other “friends” to join us for a little food and drink at AU – a chance for us to meet some of these people face to face and to thank them personally for their (typically unpaid) work that helps promote Autodesk products or by assisting our Autodesk customers. This year LinkedIn Learning has graciously partnered with us... Read more →

Fusion 360 Meetup in Portland 11.01.18

We are excited to be reintroducing the Fusion 360 Meetup in our new Portland Autodesk office located in the Central Eastside Industrial District. When: Thursday November 1 5:00 PM ‐ 8:00 PM Where: Autodesk Portland 221 SE Ankeny St, Portland, Oregon Agenda: 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Arrive, socialize, eat and drink, check out the space including the PIE Shop - ask questions 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm Welcome, Meetup going forward, Fusion updates, and Portland Autodesk Space Mike Aubry... Read more →

Thank You Seattle Startup Week

Last Thursday I spoke on a panel How Technology is changing the $10 trillion construction industry at Seattle Startup Week with: Greg Howes - Cofounder, CutMyTimber, AEC Hackathon, Seattle Proptech Amy Hutchins - Founder, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Unearth Technologies Salla Palos - Director of Emerging Technology & Innovation, Sellen Construction Greg Howes opened the panel discussion with a quote on a slide from Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost about AEC and Manufacturing are merging. He then asked the panel... Read more →

Sleepless in Seattle

I am working remote from Seattle this week for several reasons. Tuesday I had my FAA Part 107 renewal exam for commercial SUAS pilot – and passed. I did a lot of studying and practice tests. I can’t recommend RemotePilot101.com enough and first learned of them in our corporate training program and now use them for all my SUAS training and certification needs. Thursday I am speaking at Seattle Startup Week. How Technology is changing the $10 trillion construction industry... Read more →

The First Portland Media & Entertainment Showcase

Last evening in the new Autodesk Portland office, about 150 local 3D creatives and some Autodesk employees gathered for the first ever M&E (Media & Entertainment) Showcase event put on by two local Portland Autodesk employees Jordan Giboney and Hagen Deloss. There were several top local 3D talent presenting and some VR demos, and a really good food and beverages. The event was free and solely held to showcase the amazing talent in Portland's creative artist community. Roland Gauthier, Executive... Read more →

THE FACTORY Powered by Fusion 360 Back at AU 2018

Do you remember the awesome speakers many made at Autodesk University 2017, and how popular this was? We're bringing the crowd favorite back to AU2018! This year a new project where attendees will have the chance to roll up their sleeves in a unique hands-on factory setting to design and manufacture their own air quality sensing lamp. THE FACTORY powered by Fusion 360 will be front-and-center in the Expo Hall and is open to a limited number of participants on... Read more →

Digitally Designing the Physical World – XR for Architecture and Construction

A week ago, last Monday evening I presented at a local meetup group Design Reality that was for an AEC focused XR event. My goal was to expand the awareness of AR/VR beyond the 3D rendered images commonly used in pre-construction design reviews and into what I see as a sweet spot in AEC construction. XR is the new term for eXtended Reality which combined AR/MR/VR and is a nice high level since it appears that all three will be... Read more →

Linking Engineering and Philanthropy (LEAP) 2018

The LEAP 2018 competition challenges FIRST FRC teams to develop new technologies to engage and assist resource-poor youth in farming and agriculture, while working alongside Mercy Corps. Autodesk has proudly partnered with Mercy Corps and Team 1540 to support FIRST Robotics Teams designing a solution to a global challenge. LEAP was started by students of Catlin Gabel here in Portland as FIRST FRC Team 1540 Flaming Chickens. It is such a good way to connect engineering design and philanthropy and... Read more →

Calling All Portland 3D Creatives

Are you located in or near Portland Oregon and work with 3D such as animation, design visualization, and vfx using 3ds max and Maya? We are holding a great event with awesome local Portland talent, Autodesk employees, along with some beverages and snack foods. This event is free and being held in our new sweet Autodesk Portland office. The Autodesk M&E Showcase is an event for folks in the 3D creative industry to network and learn, hosted at Autodesks' new... Read more →

Generative Design Workshop in Portland October 4th

What: Join us at Autodesk Portland office to explore what is possible through generative design. This 1-day Workshop will gather engineers and designers for an exclusive hands-on look at Autodesk's generative design technology. This in person event is FREE so register soon as available seats go fast. When: Thursday, October 04, 2018 from 10 AM to 4 PM. Lunch is included. Where: Autodesk Portland at 2212 SE Ankeny By the end of the session, attendees will: Understand how to save... Read more →

Autodesk Accelerate 2018 is a Wrap

What a truly amazing event Autodesk’s Accelerate 2018 was, and I will be attending again next year for sure. The attendees in attendance, the presentations, the deep quality conversations, the networking, the Autodesk Toronto office in MaRS District were all top notch. Amazing Location. Thank you Autodesk Canada and all the Autodesk employees that made this a reality and great event like Jamie Eckmier, Denese Gordon, Stephen Hooper, Paul Sohi and many others including staff that provided great tours like... Read more →

See You this Week in MaRS Toronto

The Accelerate with Autodesk event is this week in beautiful Toronto for those interested in the future of design and manufacturing. The location is the MaRS Discovery District which is the world’s largest urban innovation hub and also where the new Autodesk Technology Center is located. We can say with all honestly that we are going to MaRS this week. Explore the future of design and manufacturing This year's event will focus on the convergence of design and manufacturing technology,... Read more →

Calling 3D Creatives In or Near Portland Oregon

We are holding a Media & Entertainment Showcase event in Portland Oregon October 4th complete with great speakers, snacks, and beverages in our new Portland office in the renovated and historic Towne Storage building located on the Central Eastside Industrial District. Come see a great presentation, eat, drink, and see the new office. Several of our staff from 3ds Max and Maya product teams will be there as will I be there to show you around and make introductions. Its... Read more →

Want to Learn More About Blockchain Technology?

Autodesk is hosting an annual meeting of blockchain experts at our Portland office Friday September 12th. “Join us for the premier gathering of tech industry professionals. Learn about blockchain from businesses built on the distributed ledger platform, potential applications and innovations, and how Coinbase and new blockchain-based businesses will impact Portland’s technology landscape.” Interested, Learn more and RSVP http://bit.ly/2MVHMRx Read more →

Hip Hop Architecture Video

Several Autodesk employees including myself participated in the 2018 Hip Hop Architecture Camp in Portland at Benson Polytechnic High School this past June. The Hip Hop Architecture Camp uses hip hop culture as a catalyst to introduce underrepresented youth to architecture, urban planning and design. Here is the blog post I made that week, as they finished their week designing their architecture project using LEGOs and Tinkercad. Hip Hop Architecture Camp in Portland this Week. The week culminated in the... Read more →

Generative Design Makes a Great Design Assistant

You can use Autodesk’s generative design technology in Fusion 360 today to assist you in the design process. You will be assisted in finding design options beyond just shape and material optimization as you can consider strength, cost, and materials. We looked at a design inspired by the famous Elbo chair using generative design. Generative design came up with a design that resulted in 18% less material and 78% stress reduction as well as looking amazing in Fusion 360- and... Read more →

Project Impossible

For those in the US that have access to a TV with the History Channel, there is a television series named Project Impossible that Autodesk helped sponsor showing our customers as well as some Autodesk employees on some large projects. The series celebrates the engineers, builders and construction professionals that are transforming our world. Project Impossible is an original 10-part series that follows a new generation of epic engineering projects that were considered unthinkable just a few years ago. In... Read more →