Autodesk released Inventor (gasp)! A New Beginning… Autodesk InventorĪutodesk passed on the opportunity to purchase SOLIDWORKS as they were secretly working on their own “modern” system. The next versions of Mechanical Desktop, based on AutoCAD R, brought along significant new features, functionality, and workflows.īut then something happened….(dramatic pause)…. well, at least for existing Autodesk customers. I might even argue that there is no system today that provides the same level of flexibility to detail, as well as MDT could.Īdd it all up and selling MDT was as much of a slam dunk as you could have…. Since it was based on AutoCAD, MDT’s detailing and annotation tools were easily the best in the market. We would show existing customers that they could continue to use their AutoCAD templates, borders, title blocks, layer schemes, block (symbol) libraries, and the icing-on-the-cake easily move their 2D drawings to 3D parametric models. In addition to costing less, as it was based on AutoCAD. It was an Autodesk product and existing AutoCAD customers could upgrade to MDT for a significantly less amount than buying SOLIDWORKS or SolidEdge.

When I entered the workforce in 1998 it was for an Autodesk reseller. MDT was based on AutoCAD, acquired technology, and internally developed features.

For most organizations, you could be very proficient spending just between $5000 and $10,000.Īs already mentioned, the main 3D mechanical modeling system for Autodesk at the time was Mechanical Desktop (MDT). No longer did you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do 3D modeling. No longer were the old-boys club of ProEngineer, Catia, and Unigraphics ruling the roost.

Autodesk’s Mechanical Desktop, the new-to-the-market SOLIDWORKS, SolidEdge, and others were really changing the playing field. It is 1999 and the so-called midrange modelers are now the dominate players in the 3D modeling market. Is Inventor’s death a real possibility? How could Autodesk kill a product that is a market leader, is used by thousands of people, and has a strong (loyal) community of users? They definitely can and have done so before.

Fusion 360 inventor