Macworld 2012: Autodesk Inventor Fusion for Mac Coming

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Autodesk was at Macworld showing off a new product for the Mac called Autodesk Inventor Fusion. Autodesk Inventor Fusion is an existing 3D mechanical design software on Windows, but will soon become available for the Mac for the first time.

Autodesk made headlines back in 2010 when they returned to the Mac platform after a two decade hiatus. Due to the success they've seen with their existing Mac products, the company will be bringing Inventor Fusion to the Mac.

In the next few weeks, Autodesk will be releasing a free Technology Preview for the program which will allow Mac users to download an early version and provide feedback. The final release will come at some point later. Inventor Fusion is meant to be an easier to use tool focused on mechanical design which incorporates physical properties of objects.

Autodesk® Inventor® Fusion is 3D modeling software that showcases intuitive direct manipulation capabilities for unrivaled ease of use. By uniting direct modeling and parametric workflows, Inventor Fusion offers the best of both worlds. Designers can freely explore complex shapes and forms while maintaining the underlying parametric history. Inventor Fusion makes it easy to open and edit 3D models from almost any source and incorporate them into your design, enabling rapid design changes without limitations.


The software will include seamless cloud access for storage, collaboration and web viewing. Autodesk has a Facebook page set up for Inventor Fusion and will be announcing the Mac download in the near future.

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Top Rated Comments

jamswirl Avatar
173 months ago
Revit! Revit! Revit! Seriously, about 8 of 10 students at my architecture school use macs. Then they all have to switch to windows for revit and 3ds for rendering. Surely autodesk must be aware that so many students are using a different platform than there software is made for, and won't that follow through into the industry?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Renzatic Avatar
173 months ago
3dsMax + Revit would guarantee Autodesk monopoly :) and make me happy.

Not me. The 3DSMax interface makes me want to pull out my teeth in frustration. It's kinda obvious that it's the result of 20+ years of tucking new features into whatever corner they can fit in into.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Comeagain? Avatar
173 months ago
Where's the normal Inventor Professional for Mac? That's what I want. This appears to be something different for windows and Mac.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wizard Avatar
173 months ago
Solid works on the Mac would be very nice indeed.

hummm i wounder if this will force other CAD software like Solidworks or Siemens NX to consider the Mac platform so that Autodesk does not end up having total monopoly.

As far as 2D ( CAD as opposed to solid modeling) I'm a bit frustrated with the high cost of AutoCAD which at this point is legacy software. AutoCAD has been riding that gravy train to long.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aduteau Avatar
173 months ago
hummm i wounder if this will force other CAD software like Solidworks or Siemens NX to consider the Mac platform so that Autodesk does not end up having total monopoly.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Yvan256 Avatar
173 months ago
AFAIK the only thing missing from Google Sketchup is the ability to have pivot points when attaching objects together. Of course it's not in the same league as Autodesk but for things like personal projects, Sketchup is hard to beat especially with its price tag of free.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)