CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

21 January 2009

Company News

Autodesk Manufacturing Community to Select 2008 Inventor of the Year Award Winner

Autodesk announced the beginning of the official Inventor of the Year voting process.

The company is encouraging members of the manufacturing community to visit Autodesk community web site at http://mfgcommunity.autodesk.com and choose which of the 2008 Inventor of the Month recipients should be named Inventor of the Year.

The Inventor of the Month program recognizes the most innovative design and engineering advancements made by the extensive community using Autodesk Inventor software - the foundation of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping. A digital prototype allows users to design, visualize and simulate a product before it is built, reducing the reliance on constructing multiple physical prototypes.

The Inventor of the Year is chosen from the monthly award winners for 2008.

The monthly winner with the highest rating selected by community members will be awarded the title of Inventor of the Year. The voting begins January 20 and closes February 20 at 5 p.m. ET.

Inventor of the Month winners for 2008 included:

January 2008: Triple Eight Australia competes as Team Vodafone in Australia's V8 Supercars race competition. Triple Eight Australia designers use Autodesk Inventor software to experience and optimize the performance of the car before it reaches the track.

February 2008: OPEX Corporation is a recognized global technology leader in high-speed mailroom automation equipment. OPEX relied on the Autodesk Inventor product family to help design its innovative Mail Matrix, a mail sorting solution that redefines the capabilities, functionality and performance of the mailroom.

March 2008: ADEPT Airmotive is a manufacturer of general aviation engines for the light aircraft market. Leveraging Digital Prototyping capabilities within Inventor allowed ADEPT to produce accurate 3D models of the 320T engine before anything was actually built - reducing the number of physical prototypes that needed to be constructed.

April 2008: Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Inc. is a leading provider of agricultural equipment and machinery. Engineers at Unverferth were able to design specific tillage components, specify their ranges of motion, and use the kinematics built into Inventor to simulate components in action.

May 2008: Sound Devices, LLC is a manufacturer of professional audio recording and mixing equipment. Digital prototypes created with products from the Inventor family of products proved invaluable in helping Sound Devices check for interferences between various components and explore design variations before anything was actually built.

June 2008: 42 Surfboards is an Oregon-based manufacturer of classic surfboards. Autodesk Inventor software enabled 42 Surfboards to create a new generation of wooden surfboards by taking the strength of woods like spruce and poplar and giving it the lightness and performance of lighter materials like foam and balsa wood.

July 2008: Responsible for the United Kingdom's national scientific activities in Antarctica, the British Antarctic Survey uses Autodesk Inventor software to design crucial tools that allow the organization to more effectively carry out research and provide insight into key 21st century challenges such as climate change, ozone depletion and rising sea levels.

August 2008: Wipaire, a leading manufacturer of aircraft floats and pontoons, used Autodesk Inventor software to design the water-scooping pontoons of the FIRE BOSS, a fire-suppression plane that provides a versatile tool in the fight against wildfires.

September 2008: Genmar Yacht Group, which manufactures luxury yachts under the Carver and Marquis brand names, used Autodesk Inventor software to design its new Marquis 420 Sport Coupe, which was recognized as the best new yacht in its class at the 2008 Miami International Boat Show.

October 2008: ClearEdge Power, Inc. is a provider of ultraclean and efficient on-site energy generation systems for homes and small businesses. ClearEdge used Autodesk Inventor software to develop its first product, the CE5, a highly efficient energy system that converts clean natural gas into two important home and business energy needs: heat and power.

November 2008: Elmarco is a Czech-based manufacturer of industrial machines for the production of nanofiber. Elmarco relied on Autodesk Inventor software to develop its Nanospider line of machines, which make the production of nanofiber textiles possible on an industrial scale -- allowing the benefits of nanotechnology to more readily be applied to a wide range fields, from medicine to technology.

Autodesk selects each Inventor of the Month from the more than 800,000 users of Autodesk Inventor software, the foundation for Digital Prototyping.

Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and groundbreaking innovation.

For more information about Autodesk Inventor of the Month, contact us at IOM@autodesk.com.

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