Friday, April 16, 2010

Autodesk Expands Power of AutoCAD 2011

Al Bawaba

Autodesk, Inc. announced the availability of the 2011 AutoCAD software products, including AutoCAD 2011 software, a leading 2D and 3D design and documentation platform, and AutoCAD LT 2011 software for professional 2D drafting and detailing. The latest releases of AutoCAD deliver powerful new features — such as new tools for surface modeling and transparency for objects and layers — that can help designers explore their ideas and maximize productivity.  The 2011 AutoCAD products are Microsoft Windows 7 certified and are compatible with and supported on Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate as well as Windows Vista and Windows XP operating systems.

“In the 2011 releases we have continued to invest in increasing drafting productivity and have added a strong set of new 3D modeling features for conceptual design that will help millions of AutoCAD users worldwide take their designs further,” said Guri Stark, vice president, AutoCAD and Platform Products. “We have also implemented many of the top features requested by Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) members and focused on providing new tools that are quick to learn but can have a big impact in everyday work.”
AutoCAD 2011 gives designers more advanced conceptual design tools as well as increased flexibility and control when designing in 3D:

• New surface modeling tools enable users to easily create smooth surfaces and surface transitions, while associativity maintains relationships between all of the objects.
• Point cloud support for up to two billion points enables users to quickly visualize scanned objects directly within the modeling workspace.
• Inferred constraints enable designers to define constraints as they draw.
• Hatch command enhancements bring improved drafting efficiency, while new gradient hatch patterns enable users to add more colors and shading to drawings
• TimeSaver tools, previously available only to customers on Autodesk Subscription, are now available to all AutoCAD users.

AutoCAD LT 2011 builds on its reputation for productivity with new commands that make everyday tasks more efficient.  In addition to the hatch command enhancements and TimeSaver Tools found in AutoCAD 2011, AutoCAD LT 2011 adds new tools that give users additional options for controlling the appearance of drawings:

• Transparency for objects and layers provides new options for managing the appearance of drawings and communicating AutoCAD general design intent.
• New multifunctional polyline grips make editing polylines significantly faster and easier.
• The ability to create or select similar objects based on the properties of existing objects helps users save time when drawing and editing geometry.