New cloud service Autodesk ReCap Photo

Those who have tried the application Autodesk 123D Catch, formerly known as Photofly, will get it quickly. The new cloud tool "ReCap Photo", now included in the standard function set of the "Autodesk 360" cloud, uses similar technology. ReCap Photo can convert a series of photos - taken from different (random) angles around an object - to a textured 3D model of the object, which can be used for 3D prints or for loading into a CAD application, or to a point cloud. Unlike the "maker" application "Autodesk 123D", this is a professional cloud service, processing photos in full resolution for more accurate 3D models.

The cloud application ReCap Photo (don't confuse with the desktop application ReCap Studio for laser-scanned point clouds) is very easy to control. First take a series of photos of the object of interest and upload them (without any editing) to a new project folder in your Documents cloud storage on Autodesk 360. There are some simple rules about how to take the photos - see our older blog post about Photofly, and samples on the CADonline page.

An example of a scene for ReCap:

Select all uploaded JPG photos in the cloud folder (with the topmost checkbox) and launch conversion to the 3D model by right-clicking on one of the photos (the function "Create 3D model"). This will launch the "Photo-to-3D" dialog:

Name your project and select the requested quality (precision) for the 3D mesh. You can save the resulting 3D model to the formats RCS (ReCap), OBJ (Wavefront), FBX (Autodesk media), or IPM (mobile viewer). The option "Advanced tools" will activate tools for registering matching points and assigning textures (not needed for usual models). The icon "Submit project" (the rocket) will start the conversion process of your scene on Autodesk's cloud servers. After a couple of minutes (depending on the scene complexity and on the selected 3D mesh precision) you will receive an e-mail "Your photoscene:" with a web link to the generated 3D scene. You can view the textured 3D model directly in the cloud (in your web browser) using an interactive 3D viewer of RCP files. 3D models can be downloaded as ZIP files containing the model itself (3D mesh) and its accompanying textures and materials.

The resulting mesh viewer (currently, the 3D mesh cannot be cropped in ReCap):


Loading one of the conversion results - the point cloud - into AutoCAD or Inventor or Revit 2014 (point clouds can be used also in Civil 3D, Navisworks, 3ds Max or Factory Design Suite):

Point cloud in AutoCAD

Point cloud RCS of the doggie project "Pejsek" for download (130MB)
Information about ReCap Photo

Autodesk Exchange Apps in localized versions

Many users of Autodesk products add plug-in modules and utilities to their CAD software. These tools help to automate repeated wokflows and enhance the original software application with additional functionality. The Autodesk "appstore" is a rich source of such add-on applications -- "Autodesk Exchange Apps" was already fully functional for the 2013 family (now also for 2014), offering tens of plug-ins for AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, Vault, 3ds Max and other design tools by Autodesk. The plug-ins are developed both by Autodesk any by independent developers from all over the world (many plug-ins in Exchange Apps were developed also by CAD Studio). Exchange Apps contains free tools, trial versions of commercial tools, and commercial add-on applications in price range of tens of cents to tens of dollars. All these programs have trivial installation - by clicking a button you add new functions to the ribbon of your CAD.

The web pages of Autodesk Exchange Apps were now launched also in localized versions. So this appstore is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Find your new useful plug-ins and CAD tools on apps.exchange.autodesk.com.

My name is Design Suite. Autodesk Product Design Suite 2014.

The recently released design suite for digital prototyping - "Autodesk Product Design Suite 2014" - based on Autodesk Inventor, contains tools for part design, surfacing, parametric 3D parts and assemblies, electrical design, drawing documentation, photorealistic visualization and animation, simulations, digital mockup and technical document management.

Make yourself familiar with all these most important functions of the Product Design Suite version 2014 in a new series of videos by Autodesk.

1) 3D part creation - Inventor:



2) Automating design - iLogic:



3) Visualization and animation - 3ds Max:



4) Simulation and analysis:



5) Electrical circuits:



6) Surfacing and shapes - Alias:



7) Document management - Vault:



8) Documentation in AutoCAD:



9) Digital mockup - Navisworks:



10) Visualization of design alternatives - Showcase:



11) Intuitive assembly modelling - Inventor:



12) Automatic drawing documentation - Inventor:




Download your trial version of Product Design Suite 2014 and test it in your design environment.

See also Product Design Suite (in Czech)

Autodesk AutoCAD 2014 - first impressions

Today, Autodesk has released the new version of its flagship product - "Autodesk AutoCAD 2014" (note the newly extended name), together with other new products of the large "2014" family. The product graphics reflects the new Autodesk visual identity, with the new blue-green ribbon logo and a series of appealing 3D "daydream structures". Please note also a substantial change of the Autodesk.com website.

You can easily install the new AutoCAD 2014 either as a part of your Subscription fulfilment or as a free Trial version. Multiple European and Asian language localizations of AutoCAD 2014 are available immediately at the FCS date. Here are some steps from the ACAD2014 installation wizard:




You can install AutoCAD 2014 (32-bit or 64-bit) on Windows 7, old Windows XP or on new Windows 8, including touch-screen devices. You may notice that there is no Inventor Fusion installed as in version 2013 but there is a new additional tool - Autodesk ReCap (see below). Many users will probably get and use their AutoCAD 2014 as a part of an "Autodesk Design Suite". The most general Design Suite - AutoCAD Design Suite - adds raster functionaliy (AutoCAD Raster Design), SketchBook Designer, Autodesk Showcase, Mudbox and optionally also Autodesk 3ds Max.

What are the main new functions in AutoCAD 2014? There is the new Design Feed palette, where you can share online comments, posts and images for your drawing (the same collaboration as in AutoCAD WS). The comments feed is stored in the cloud. You will also notice the new File tabs with quick access to all opened drawings (can be switched off to preserve screen space). Even a plain AutoCAD now includes geolocation functions and coordinate systems (the same as in Map/Civil3D). You can easily georeference your project to a given place or address selected in the Live Map dialog (uses Microsoft Bing and Nokia maps) and insert the map (streets and/or aerials) to your drawing. You can even use your location-aware computer to display your location in the map.


The AutoCAD commandline was extended - you can recklessly type command names as AutoCAD now contains AutoCorrect (it will understand your CRCLE or TABEL input). The enhanced AutoComplete understands mid-string search; it is also possible to call commands by synonyms. You can also access symbols (hatches, layers, styles, blocks) directly from the commandline. So you can e.g. insert a block just by typing its name (imagine a "DOOR" or "APPLETREE" command). There are new security related commands protecting autloading and execution of add-on programs (some variables from AutoCAD 2013 SP1 were renamed). Layers are now sorted in a natural numerical order. Autodesk Exchange Apps (the "AppStore") can offer different/more applications for subscription users.

In terms of API, AutoCAD 2014 now supports also JavaScript and the VBA support was reincarnated with the VBA version 7.1 (includes native 64-bit VBA).

All new commands and variables introduced in AutoCAD version 2014 are listed in the CADforum database on CADforum.cz.

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An interesting new tool included in AutoCAD 2014 is Autodesk ReCap (an acquisition from Alice Labs). ReCap Studio is a desktop tool for management and processing of very large point clouds captured by 3D laser scanning (offers up to millimeter precision). This powerful application sports a modern Win8-like user interface and allows to import, combine and index point clouds from multiple data formats. The resulting compressed RCP/RCS files can be then imported into AutoCAD (adds to/replaces the former PCG point cloud format). Autodesk also plans a cloud service ReCap Photo (April) which will create high-resolution textured 3D models from photos (similar to 123D Catch but in full resolution).

World polygon maps - countries and continents

The Humanitarian Information Unit (HIU) of the U.S. Department of State publishes and updates vector data of international boundaries, coastlines and islands, including their sovereignty. This data is called "Large Scale International Boundaries" (LSIB).

The latest March 2013 update contains datasets of simplified world polygons (countries and continents worldwide) plus detailed boundaries by individual continents. These datasets contain also metadata with names of the countries, country codes by ISO 3166-1 and assigned internet domains. Data is published in the "Shape" (SHP) format and in the WGS84 coordinate system - so it can be directly read into AutoCAD Map, Civil 3D and other mapping and GIS applications.

You can publish this large scale data from AutoCAD Map to the DWF format. This format maintains both the georeference information and the attached metadata - you can make use of this efficient publishing format to view maps in the free viewer Autodesk Design Review, in your internet browser, or on a mobile device. For comparison - the simplified worldwide boundaries map is 131 MB in the "shape" format, the processed DWG file exported from Map, World.dwg is 58 MB, the published DWFx file - World-LSIB is a mere 4 MB.


You can use Autodesk Design Review to view and print maps, when you click on an object (country), it displays the attached metadata. If you run Design Review on a notebook or tablet equipped with GPS, you can display your current position on the map.

The DWFx output files of the individual continents processed in AutoCAD Map from the LSIB sources can be found in the Block library on CADforum.cz - see www.cadforum.cz/catalog_en/?q=US-DoS

via Disruptive Geo

Autodesk Project Pinocchio - wood carver in the cloud

Demanding, power hungry 3D applications can easily move to mobile devices and plain PCs today, thanks to web cloud. The proof is also in the newest multimedia application by Autodesk - Project Pinocchio. On the web site projectpinocchio.autodesk.com you can use your internet browser for detailed configuration and generation of fully rigged 3D characters of women, men and fantasy creatures. These can be then used in 3D computer games, visualizations and CAD scenes.

Characters can be created by crossbreeding from pre-defined body types, you can combine and adjust their body and facial proportions, hair-cut, skin and eye color, clothing, shoes, etc.







After you set and fine-tune all parameters you can publish the resulting model under a new name and download it including its textures in a given precision to a file in the .MB or .FBX format. The models contain also a skeleton and neccessary constraints for inverse kinematics (IK), so you can easily animate their realistic movements. You can directly read these models into the applications Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, Motionbuilder and to other 3D software.

Using the Pinocchio-generated character in Autodesk Maya:


An example of 3D model loaded via FBX into AutoCAD and saved to DWG - ZoeCS.dwg

The technology preview version of the Project Pinocchio expires September 30th 2013. You can find more information on Autodesk Labs Project Pinocchio.

As time goes by the Autodesk logo

With the recently unveiled new face of the Autodesk logo and brand, we searched the depths of our archives and reminisce nostalgically about the older shapes of this logo, as it accompanied us through the common history with CAD Studio.

In the very beginnings of CAD Studio and its ccoperation with Autodesk, we met the original Autodesk logo reflecting calipers - this logo was used in the 1980s and early 1990s. First in an uppercase version:


and later in a lowercase look:


In the late 1990s, Autodesk changed its logo to a then modern "internet" look written in all lowercase:


In the first decade of the new millennium, the logo has undergone first a font-uplift:


and later also a color change - back to a more trustworthy black color:


This logo is still valid today. In March 2013, the already announced change of the Autodesk logo (and not only the logo) will be executed. The new logo should nod to origami, combining (similarly to Autodesk products) art and mathematics, form and function: