Autodesk Education Community - Free Software

Hey All,

I wasn't sure if all the "students" out there knew of this, but if you are an eligible student, you can register on the Autodesk Education Community site and receive free, licensed, and unrestricted access to the majority of Autodesk's software suites.

Personally, I have capitalized on Autodesk Inventor Professional 2012 which has the ability to directly export STL files.

Anyone else out there using the Autodesk Education Community?!

Cheers,

Josh.

Yep im in the student program and use the software nearly everyday! Inventor seems to beat everything else i have tried.

I have a copy of solidworks coming.
but i for now am fumbling with the open source software.
meh

Ahh i have played with solidworks before and eghhh its just so difficult to use i would say check out autodesk 123D its free and pretty powerful.

quiero conocer los programas gratis

-----------------------------------------------------
>

I am an a retired 71 year old mechanical design engineer who has been using various client versions of AutoCad since 1993.
I was gainfully employed by Fluor Corporation South Africa as a lead design engineer at a local oil refinery until my contract was terminated in January 2006, when my contract was terminated due to my having developed peripheral neurology a debilitating nerve and muscular disease and have remained permanently unemployed since this time.
As a result I am now home bound and due to circumstances not in a position to afford AutoCad which due to past experience and enjoyment, would now enjoy using in my private capacity.

My other interest and hobby is computes where I have recently gained good exam results in “Computer Architecture”a course run by a local university which equips one to qualify for A+ certification in both hardware and operating systems.
I recently built my own PC according to the knowledge gained on this course.

I have today read that due to my previous experience and present circumstances, I could qualify for a free “student” copy by applying to Autodesk Education Community .
Should this is the case please advise how I should proceed?

Brian,

Go to Autodesk Assistance Program
and click on the "download free software" picture with construction workers on the right hand side of the page to register.

Good luck


Brian Wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am an a retired 71 year old mechanical design
> engineer who has been using various client
> versions of AutoCad since 1993.
> I was gainfully employed by Fluor Corporation
> South Africa as a lead design engineer at a local
> oil refinery until my contract was terminated in
> January 2006, when my contract was terminated due
> to my having developed peripheral neurology a
> debilitating nerve and muscular disease and have
> remained permanently unemployed since this time.
> As a result I am now home bound and due to
> circumstances not in a position to afford AutoCad
> which due to past experience and enjoyment, would
> now enjoy using in my private capacity.
>
> My other interest and hobby is computes where I
> have recently gained good exam results in
> “Computer Architecture”a course run by a local
> university which equips one to qualify for A+
> certification in both hardware and operating
> systems.
> I recently built my own PC according to the
> knowledge gained on this course.
>
> I have today read that due to my previous
> experience and present circumstances, I could
> qualify for a free “student” copy by
> applying to Autodesk Education Community .
> Should this is the case please advise how I should
> proceed?

One alternative is the totally free Autodesk 123D, although it is still a Beta release.

http://www.123dapp.com/123d

It looks like a simplified version of Inventor, their 3D CAD program.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2012 12:19AM by John Q.

Only issue with Autodesk 123D is that it's Windows only... shame as it looks pretty nice.

I'm an avid AutoCAD user... the STLs it exports have been nothing but perfect for me. they are in the correct orientation and position relative to 0,0,0 of world UCS. can't say the same for a lot of the STLs downloaded from thingiverse or even the files for mendel parts from the reprap wiki

Autodesk 123D is pretty good, but its limitations kill it as a useable tool.

I gave up on it. It runs like a very old dog when you get even a simple part designed. And don't try to make too many copies of an object or it will take 10 minutes for the program to render a simple command.

It is probably too closely tied to an internet connection, as it is always complaining when my WIFI connection is lost.

And many of the extended commands - like 'save in STL format' are not available unless you have a live internet connection.

I think that call this SAAS (software as a service) and it is very dependent upon a server connection.

Checkers, I think you have something wrong with your setup. I'm running a 6 mo old win7 lower priced laptop and see no delays at all. It does take some time to open. I've used it completely off line (not connected to the intranet) with the same performance.

However I just checked beta 9 and it won't allow you to save in any other format then .123d when off line. That must have been a change in this version. I don't think thats an issue but I didn't realize that.

so.... how do you export an stl?............

because im currently working with 123dbeta9 and when you click print
it says it can create an stl, but it wont.

pretty much like all the other 3dstuff around here its all been pretty useless imo.

Upper right is says log in.
It will only allow you to save the model in the 123D format until you log in.
Must also be on line (new to beta 9), just click on save as and you will see a bunch of formats.

The STL models are great quality except for the fact that its not easy to orient the model to 0,0. Maybe someone else knows the trick.
I always import the STL out of 123D into netFabb and rotate and zero the model before slicing it.
netFabb is a solid package with an excellent STL output, but you can't really design like in 123D. They have a pro package at a decent price.

man.... i cant even log in.
not sure if im not doing it right or their server is just really busy.

i did manage to rotate a stl today in netfab, thanks dean.

I mentor my local high school's FIRST Robotics team, and through that program qualify for a free totally unrestricted full version of the entire autodesk suite.

You don't want to introduce your fellow pupils to closed source software, do you? There's plenty of open source CAD and robotics software out there.

---

Generation 7 Electronics	Teacup Firmware	RepRap DIY

I don't disagree with you. Problem is that I'm a volunteer, not a decision maker. The school is already teaching using autodesk, so I'm just along for the ride.

I did take advantage of the offer, and have played around with it a bit, but will probably end up using freecad for my purposes, mainly because I prefer to work in Linux

Traumflug Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You don't want to introduce your fellow pupils to
> closed source software, do you? There's plenty of
> open source CAD and robotics software out there.

There are some good open source alternatives these days. However if the students are going to need those skills to enter the workforce at some point they need to learn Autocad and probably Solidworks as a practical exercise. It's a big asset to be familiar with those two packages but the open source programs are a great way to learn how to design and manipulate objects.