Join us on a journey through 30 years of AutoCAD history

AutoCAD celebrates 30 years of its existence. Come with us on a journey through its rich history in the attached infographic. From humble beginnings in a version that worked in a whopping 128kB of memory(!), through Rel.10 - the first version that supported 3D, and through the launch of "industrial" AutoCAD versions in 1995, up to the latest cloud and mobile AutoCAD WS.

Many of us went together with AutoCAD in our career path so we could certainly add several other, personal milestones and spots to this history map.

The first version of AutoCAD - 1.0 - was introduced at the Comdex show in December 1982. Here, in the former Czechoslovakia, most AutoCAD users first encountered it in the versions V2.6 and in the first Czech localized version Rel.10 (back in 1988). In 1994, the first real AutoCAD version of Windows was launched. Since version 2000, AutoCAD changed to a regular yearly release cycle. The current version of AutoCAD 2013 is already the 27th release of AutoCAD. Today, AutoCAD exists in more than 15 industrial versions (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil 3D ....) and in about 20 language localizations (software and/or documentation). Billions of drawings from various fields of design has been created in its DWG file format. For decades, AutoCAD is the undisputed standard in CAD.

AutoCAD with its very long history is quite a unique example in the the ​​software industry - and due to recent technological developments (cloud, mobile devices) it seems that even long future is waiting for it.

CAD Studio gives out CAD tools for Christmas

Get CAD applications given out by CAD Studio as traditional Christmas presents - this year for the tenth time already. Presents are available for all AutoCAD and Inventor users.

Play Minesweeper in Inventor, become a maker of an interesting mathematical 3D model, get a set of add-on tools, or pick one of productivity tools for your everyday work.

Read more at Christmas CAD utilities given out by CAD Studio

Autodesk Project Falcon - wind tunnel in Inventor 2013

Now you can test your 3D model (digital prototype) in a virtual wind tunnel, directly inside the CAD application Autodesk Inventor Professional. The add-on utility "Project Falcon" from Autodesk Labs, released in August 2011 for Autodesk Alias and in August 2012 as a standalone version for Windows and Mac, is now available alsi as a plug-in module for Inventor 2013. And as every app from Autodesk Labs, this "technology preview" is available for free.

Thanks to this simulation tool you can analyze air flow around vehicles, buildings, outdoor equipment, consumer products, or other 3D objects designed in Inventor or brought into Inventor as 3D CAD data. Simulation results update almost in real-time in response to changes in wind direction and speed. Visualization tools in Project Falcon include 2D and 3D flow lines, shaded result planes, vector plots, and surface pressure shading. Quantified outputs include velocity, pressure, drag force, and drag coefficient. The computation process is based on a transient, incompressible fluid flow solver and LES turbulence model and delivers quick results with very little setup on behalf of the user.

Video samples:





More information and download - Project Falcon