(BUSINESS WIRE)–Autodesk announces the availability of Project Photofly, a technology preview of a web service that allows users to easily create 3D models from photographs using the cloud. Project Photofly is currently available for free* on Autodesk Labs.

The Autodesk Project Photofly technology preview enables architecture, design, media & entertainment and manufacturing firms to easily create 3D models from a series of photographs.

Photofly breaks the barrier to entry to image-based modeling because of its automatic calibration process. The manual calibration of photographs enabled by other technologies is complex and requires a strong expertise to get a good result. Project Photofly utilizes an automatic calibration engine, called “Camera Factory,” which is made available as a web service through a Windows-based client called “Photo Scene Editor.” Customers connect to the Camera Factory through the Photo Scene Editor, and then use their favorite Autodesk 3D modeling software (AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk 3ds Max, etc.) to consume the data in DWG format to model on top of the images.

“Reality capture gives designers and engineers the ability to better measure, analyze, document and plan for projects.”

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The features that I’ll model in this post are those that comprise the front hatch group. The group consists of a rectangular hatch with wire U-handles on either side, and a round grille in the center.

In reality, the drain on the right hand side would be the only thing that I would need at this point, but I’m committed to making this poo composter pretty(er).  If you had a lot stuff in close proximity to the unit in your digital prototype, you may need some of the handles, etc. to check clearances as well.

To begin the hatch, I created a sketch on the angled front face. I immediately window selected the projected geometry and turned it into construction geometry. In the original drawing, the hatch appeared to extend from fillet to fillet vertically, so I created a rectangle to reflect that. I know the width to be 11” from the tracing, so I added that dimension for the width.  I then used the Offset tool from the Modify panel to step in the rectangle .125”. I centered a circle in the rectangle and sized it to 8”, giving me what you can see below…
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Inventor used to be the hardest program to install….with the possible exception of any flavor of MS Windows on a raid setup…but that all went away. Until today.

Apparently the LT version of inventor either can’t be installed side-by-side with the big fat versions of same ……or there is a glitch in the install program that isn’t in the full version. I’ve installed those recently without a hitch. Whatever the case may be, the trial version of Inventor LT would not install. So…I’m stuck with the brochure from their website.

The official brochure states “With powerful part-level parametric modeling, Autodesk Inventor LT delivers the capabilities you need to design mechanical parts in 3D.”….…information that is about as useless as teats on a bull. Are they the new multi solid body parts, or the old-school single bodied parts? Huge difference.

The Top 5 Reasons to Move from AutoCAD LT® to AutoCAD® Inventor LT™ Suite is pretty much the same as the official brochure, except now with an awesome numbering system to delineate the information.

Oh well. Back to designing the Archive Gizmotron. If you have any information on what I may be doing wrong to get this program to install, or can just answer a few questions, just add a comment to this article.

With Inventor 2011’s dramatic improvements in graphics, the line between Inventor’s intended purpose and its potential use has been blurred considerably.

Although Inventor can’t do everything by itself —and likely never will, the 2011 version can definitely be used as an integral part of a small suite of programs  for those graphic designers wishing to create a realistic three dimensional graphics. The image to the right (what will be the new archives widget to replace the hopelessly ugly one there now) was modeled in Inventor in less than two minutes….. throw in another minute for adjusting the shadows, and voila!, a new archives thingamagadget is born!

From there I just took a screen shot to get the image into PaintShop Pro where the text and drop shadows were added. I could have done almost everything in Inventor, but it would have taken too long to match the drop shadows to the existing ones on this site. A rendered version from Inventor Studio would have been higher quality, but to what extent I cannot say as I felt there was no need to waste the time. For all intents and purposes, the real-time version right there on screen was plenty good.

Finally a Purpose for Inventor LT?

This could be the elusive purpose for Inventor LT, which has always seemed like a car sold without an engine to cut costs. Sure, the price is attractive….but you can’t go anywhere with it. We tried hard to figure out a use for LT at the shipyard I used to work for, but it was quite the anemic little sucker, and was found to be of no real use.

 If the 2011 version is equipped with the new graphics, has multi solid bodies, and still costs about a grand,  it may have crossed over into the useful column. I am downloading the trial version as I write this, and will post an update after I take a look-see.

As a final thought, if they were to strip away the drawing environment, AEC Exchange, and the rest of the engineering stuff and sell a graphics modeling version at sub $250.00, they may have a hot product on their hands. This new product would also act as a learning tool for eventual up-graders to the design products. At the very least, they would pull in money while gaining name recognition for Inventor –without having to resort to calling Inventor the pathetic ‘AutoCAD Inventor’. Read the rest of this entry →