In its latest release, ProtoTech has made a point of adding export support for a number of essential CAD features like surfaces and mirrored objects.
Additionally, 3D PDF Exporter has also been enhanced to convert models to 3D docs in less time and with greater accuracy regardless of the size of the model.
The process of using 3D PDF Exporter couldn’t be more simple. Once a model is ready to be converted, users just have to navigate to the 3D PDF Exporter tab on the Inventor ribbon and click the “Preferences” button.
Within seconds, a few settings like “Precision,” “Facet Tolerance,” “PDF Encryption” and others can be tailored to each export. Once those options have been selected, a simple click of the “Export” key begins packaging the model into a 3D PDF document.
Simple and efficient.
Today, Autodesk’s Inventor has the luxury of owning a large share of the CAD marketplace. However, that might not be the case in the near future. Although Autodesk spokespersons and product leads will tell you that Inventor and Fusion are two different products that do two different things, it’s becoming more difficult to believe that story. If Fusion is to be the one-stop product development platform that ushers in the “Future of Making Things,” then one has to wonder, what’s the future for Inventor?
Maybe this is just insider information, but I am curious if companies like ProtoTech are developing software legacies that might run aground in the coming years. Hopefully, Autodesk’s API for Inventor and Fusion are compatible and porting Inventor add-ons like 3D PDF Exporter to Fusion will be simple. If not, the value proposition of having third-party developers for the Fusion platform may be diminished significantly.