Design Faster With AutoCAD 2019

AutoCAD is the flagship product of Autodesk. It is a fundamental tool for designing for engineers, architects and graphic designers. AutoCAD is an industry leader in digitising design and documentation. Whether it is 2D documentation or 3D design, AutoCAD can do it all.

Further, AutoCAD 2019 has been launched and to understand more about it we had a conversation with Arun Dsouza, Country Manager, Platform Solutions and Emerging Business, India & SAARC - ‎Autodesk.

A brief overview of AutoCAD products.

AutoCAD is the flagship product of Autodesk and has been in the market for over 30 years now. It is an essential tool for the design stage for engineers, architects and graphic designers. It allows designers to design and visualize virtually any concept with 3D free-form tools and build custom workflows by configuring the AutoCAD settings and extending the software capabilities.

From mechanical design aids to architecture tools to model-based GIS and mapping features, to designing plants.  AutoCAD offers access to industry-specific toolsets also on the web and mobile apps. AutoCAD was the industry’s first mainstream CAD product and Autodesk’s leadership position in the 3D Design industry has been earned through many “firsts”.

AutoCAD undergoes timely upgrades and the latest version was released in March. Prior to this, users could choose to subscribe individually to seven AutoCAD variants/functionalities, namely Architecture, Mechanical, Electrical, Map 3D, MEP, Raster Design, and Plant 3D.

With the latest release of AutoCAD 2019 including specialized toolsets, there is now only “One AutoCAD.” To provide more value to subscribers and to simplify the AutoCAD product line, AutoCAD subscription now includes access to all AutoCAD vertical product functionality and libraries as specialized toolsets.

What makes AutoCAD 2019 unique?

AutoCAD 2019 including specialized toolsets enables faster work by providing customers with the access to the capabilities of multiple AutoCAD vertical toolsets in one AutoCAD to everything in one product offering including vertical functionality. In addition, the latest version allows access to the new AutoCAD web app and mobile app.

The AutoCAD web app enables users to access original AutoCAD directly from their web browser, as well as their rich DWG files – not just PDF files – and core 2D drafting and editing tools. With the AutoCAD mobile app, users can view, edit, create and share CAD drawings in real time from any device.

Available across Windows, Android, and iOS phones and tablets, the AutoCAD mobile app is also optimized for the iPhone X, iPad Pro, and Windows Surface ensuring the best mobile experience. Users can also access their DWG files without a Wi-Fi or data signal by downloading them locally to their mobile device. This eliminates the need to carry bulky blueprints in the field and enables users to easily make edits on-the-go or present projects to clients.

 What future innovation in design software application, we can look forward to?

The traditional designing methodology is heavily iterative which involves multiple simulations and consumes the huge amount of time. Any undesirable result requires the designer to start from scratch and after multiple corrections, the software may arrive at a desirable design, but not necessarily an optimal one. Such a model is not scalable.

Today, we’re on the verge of a revolution called infinite computing which can address this problem. With the power of the cloud, it is now possible to mesh and extrapolate many design variations and retain only the best options. This is the innovation called Generative design- a software technology which mimics nature’s evolutionary approach to design, letting designers create highly optimized designs that meet predetermined goals and constraints.

Using shape synthesis algorithms and Multiphysics performance analysis in the cloud, the software generates thousands of design options from a single idea. Generative Design’s methodology requires the designer to define just the goals which could range from cost, materials, weight to any criteria that describes the problem.

Then, using cloud computing, the software explores all the possible permutations of a solution, quickly generating design alternatives. It tests and learns from each iteration what works and what doesn’t. With generative design, there is no single solution; instead, there are potentially thousands of great solutions which are impossible for a designer alone to think of.

What kind of alterations has been made in the licensing of the product?

With the release of AutoCAD 2019 including specialized toolsets, new individual subscriptions of AutoCAD vertical products will no longer be available. Customers who want access to AutoCAD vertical product capabilities may subscribe to the new AutoCAD including specialized toolsets to get access to this functionality.

However, an existing AutoCAD vertical customer can choose to continue renewing their existing AutoCAD and/or AutoCAD vertical subscription. Existing subscription customers can also migrate from their AutoCAD or AutoCAD vertical to one AutoCAD at zero migration fee. AutoCAD 2019 including specialized toolsets will be available as single-user and multi-user access.

Can AI/Machine learning make any difference in CAD applications?

Today, innovations in design software are being driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and yes, they can make the immense difference to CAD applications. As mentioned above, the Generative Design methodology- it is based on AI-based algorithms and the results in solutions are such that a human designer might never think of — and far more of them.

The spectrum of the impact of AI and machine learning (ML) on design and construction is vast: it can open new paradigms for design, engineering, and construction. The common thread between various types of new tools is that they will be data-driven, they will be task and context-aware and will translate the raw data into invaluable insights.

We see this journey as a transformation of our relationship with the tools we use from one that is directive – where we, the users, give the tools explicit instructions based on calculations and recipes – to being collaborative and symbiotic.