topic Re: Future of Inventor in Inventor Forum

Future of Inventor

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:33:57 GMT

Hello,

I am wondering you opinion on the future of inventor. I am contemplating moving over from solidworks.

I was told by someone that autodesk was planning on phasing out inventor to focus on fusion360. Is this true?

Thanks

Re: Future of Inventor

Curtis_W — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:38:15 GMT

Hi gloviatest,

I would not expect to see an answer from anyone at Autodesk concerning this question, but I'm sure you'll get some of the following from the user base here:

Informed opinions
Uninformed opinions
Wild Speculation
Rumors
Conspiracy theories

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

Re: Future of Inventor

mdavis22569 — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:40:24 GMT

I heard they were going to get rid of AutoCad years ago too.. didn't happen

I don't think anyone on here would openly come out and say yes or no if they did know the truth.

They just came out with the new Collections ... I would agree they are doing a lot more with Fusion 360 and other cloud based products...but they are new and have ways to go to be close to Inventor.

Example .. Tube and pipe. Sheetmetal ..

Re: Future of Inventor

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:40:47 GMT

Why wont autodesk comment?

What is your opinion on the subject.... will Inventor be around in 3 years? Will fusion reach the full capability of Inventor in 3 years?

Re: Future of Inventor

Mark.Lancaster — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:46:17 GMT

@Curtis_W is correct.. There's really no way of knowing until it happens. Yes you will hear a lot of stuff here regarding your question or elsewhere but I can tell you they will all fall under the categories that Curtis_Waguespack listed in his reply. However you can request to join the Inventor beta team and see what may be part of the next release.

If you thinking of moving to another product is there a reason why? If you're moving because someone told you this then it's not a viable reason to leave. If you're actually having issues and its causing your business headaches I could see that. But you could post your troubles/issues here and someone can help you through them. Also if you have a reseller you should be talking to them as well.

Also don't believe what everybody tells you (except for us)..

Re: Future of Inventor

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:48:42 GMT

Actually I am contemplating a move TO inventor....not from.

My only reluctance is I am wondering if I would be attaching my wagon to an old mule that is soon to be put out to pasture and replaced with the new shiny fusion360.

Re: Future of Inventor

Curtis_W — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:53:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Why wont autodesk comment?

What is your opinion on the subject.... will Inventor be around in 3 years? Will fusion reach the full capability of Inventor in 3 years?

Why wont autodesk comment?

I'm not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but my understanding is that no publically traded company should comment on the future of products without creating a commitment that can then be used in later litigation if things don't work out the way that they had said it would previously.

What is your opinion on the subject.... will Inventor be around in 3 years? Will fusion reach the full capability of Inventor in 3 years?

Idon't have an opinion on the subject, but I can likely point you to some fuel for wild speculation and conspiracy theories, etc.

Re: Future of Inventor

JDMather — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 17:05:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

1. Why won't autodesk comment?

2. What is your opinion on the subject.... will Inventor be around in 3 years?

3. Will fusion reach the full capability of Inventor in 3 years?

1. As a publicly traded company - they can't (without taking on significant risk). Actually - they will say Inventor isn't going anywhere (soon). (my clarification added)

2. Yes.

3. If the past 3 yrs can be used to gauge the next 3 yrs - not even close.

4. In my opinion their focus is sharply on Fusion 360 as the future. And I don't have a clue why (looking at the infant, their new baby). We'll see what it grows up to be....

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-general-discussion/answer-day-inventor-vs-fusion-360/m-p/6334860#M596023

@JDMather wrote, "Sounds to me like Inventor is the new (old) MDT in Autodesk plans for the next 20 yrs."

@ADSKDJW4 wrote, "Just wanted to say Thank You to @JDMather for that clarification on my vague statement."

Re: Future of Inventor

Curtis_W — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 17:00:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Actually I am contemplating a move TO inventor....not from.

Hi gloviatest,

Moving from what?

Others can speak from a more informed point of view than I can on this, but as for comparing Fusion and Inventor today, I think that Fusion is not really ready for use as your primary production use software. There are some serious limitations in the area of creating detailed drawings, etc.

I do commend you for being forward thinking on this. But I think you might have started this discussion off asking the wrong question.

Explaining where you are coming from (AutoCAD ?) and where are wanting to go, what you're expectations and needs for the software are, and where you intend to be with the software in 3 years, will likely do a lot more to getting you the answers you're after.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

Re: Future of Inventor

lhixon — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 17:52:33 GMT

Somebody from Autodesk needs to respond quickly on this subject of Inventor being replaced by Fusion and control their sales reps. We recently had someone in our facility selling Fusion and touting that Inventor would soon be replaced because of the community cloud and rendering speed. What Autodesk continues to forget is that design firms such as ours has invested years in time and energy drawing in this program every day and are not eager to hear it going the way of Mechanical Desktop!

Re: Future of Inventor

mcgyvr — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:26:29 GMT

@Mark.Lancaster wrote:

Also don't believe what everybody tells you (except for us)..

@Mark.Lancaster Look what you started... Jeesh.. stay out of that guys ^^ facility with your rumors and lies and desire to sell the lower cost software option.. What have we told you about this before..

Don't make me call your mama again...

Re: Future of Inventor

dgorsman — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 19:12:27 GMT

@lhixon wrote:

Somebody from Autodesk needs to respond quickly on this subject of Inventor being replaced by Fusion and control their sales reps. We recently had someone in our facility selling Fusion and touting that Inventor would soon be replaced because of the community cloud and rendering speed. What Autodesk continues to forget is that design firms such as ours has invested years in time and energy drawing in this program every day and are not eager to hear it going the way of Mechanical Desktop!

The salesperson isn't entirely wrong. There are those who will replace Inventor with Fusion on the basis that it better suits their needs and budget. It shouldn't be dismissed out of hand; at worst, you'll have a better idea of where Fusion might fit into your companies future. Who knows, you might end up collaborating on a project which requires its use.

And at some point Inventor *will* be replaced - it's a simple fact of life with software, any software, and not just Autodesk. That will happen regardless of who puts in how much effort into the existing program. All businesses should have a plan for updating their software. It doesn't have to be detailed to the nth degree (the information just isn't there for that), and doesn't have to be built around changing EVERYTHING TOMORROW!!! But it's still possible to be prepared, rather than expecting that everything will be the same 10 (or 5, or even 3) years from now and getting caught short when change does happen.

Re: Future of Inventor

johnsonshiue — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 19:54:24 GMT

Hi! Although the topic is totally legitimate, this is not the type of posting I enjoy replying, to be perfectly honest. First, the discussion is non-technical. Second, there is no supporting fact. Since there isn't a reply from an Autodesk employee, I figure I would give it a try. Please note, I don't represent the whole company. This is simply my personal perspective.

The sales representative made such claim does not represent Autodesk. We do not have any control over what he says. But, when you make a purchase decision, particularly about a long term commitment, do you rely on a 3rd party opinion? I personally would not. Neither should you. Instead, I would list all my requirements and then test them against each candidate and I would make my own decision. In terms of Inventor and F360, please try it out yourself. Here is an article describing the difference between Inventor and F360.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor-products/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Difference-between-Inventor-and-Fusion-360.html

If F360 works better for you, there is no way and no point you should stick with Inventor. You will save significant money by moving. Likewise, if it doesn't work better for you, at least you still have Inventor. Certainly, any of your patronage to Autodesk product helps the company which helps me also. This is why so many Autodesk employees including me actively help our users in any shape or form possible. It is because we care.

I don't have a crystal ball to tell the future. But, I don't believe Inventor is MDT. It was a different era in a different circumstance. 20 years ago, there was a trend of massive 2D -> 3D migration in mechanical CAD users. The globalized supply chain and highly competitive manufacturing environment produce undeniable demand for 3D models. 2D as a primary design tool just does not cut it any more. MDT was built on top of AutoCAD offering a 2D+3D hybrid approach. It was successful but it could not differentiate itself clearly with 2D. Then came Inventor, a brand new 3D mechanical CAD system built from ground up targeting the same customer base. Gradually, Inventor picked up and surpassed MDT and there was no point keeping two products for the same customer base.

I don't work for F360. Nor do I claim I know F360 well. As far as I can tell, it is for a different customer base. It is targeting startup, non-traditional manufacturing need. They prefer having an all-in-one and access-as-you-go design environment, which Inventor could not offer.

I am not sure if you are aware of the recent announcement about Product Design and Manufacturing collection. NASTRAN In-CAD and Inventor HSM are added to the collection without raising the price. If this does not show the company's long term commitment to Inventor, I am not sure what else will.

https://www.autodesk.com/collections/product-design-manufacturing/overview

Many thanks!

Re: Future of Inventor

johnsonshiue — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:00:56 GMT

Hi! I am not sure who laid out the software retirement timeline. It seems to contradict to fact. Two of the oldest CAD systems on the market: one is now called NX by Siemens and the other is called Catia by Dassault Systemes. They are followed by another veteran called AutoCAD by Autodesk. I am not saying Inventor would enjoy the same longevity (I certainly hope so). But, there is no such thing called 3, 5, or 10 years plan. If you have any document proving me wrong, please show me.

Many thanks!

Re: Future of Inventor

lhixon — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:03:53 GMT

Agreed. We are not opposed to switching to a new program tomorrow but we still have to support our industrial automation equipment 5,10, or 15 years after it has been built and shipped which means we are still having to open old Mechanical Desktop files to support our customers. Will that be the same with Inventor? Who knows? Maybe we have to jump to a different platform completely? Personally, we are hoping Autodesk can develop the software so that it can import a Inventor file or assembly and allow edits and not be a non editable solid file as with exporting mechanical desktop files into Inventor?

Re: Future of Inventor

karthur1 — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 20:09:02 GMT

@lhixon wrote:

Somebody from Autodesk needs to respond quickly on this subject of Inventor being replaced by Fusion and control their sales reps. We recently had someone in our facility selling Fusion and touting that Inventor would soon be replaced because of the community cloud and rendering speed. What Autodesk continues to forget is that design firms such as ours has invested years in time and energy drawing in this program every day and are not eager to hear it going the way of Mechanical Desktop!

The more deeply we become seated in a product, the harder it is to change. I would hate to see Inventor go away and be replaced by Fusion. They have their similarities, but Fusion360 has a long way to go to be even close. Heck, I am still pissed over the move away from the subscription model to the new "Desktop" model. We are still on subscription b/c of our long contract, but at the end of this year, we will have to decide.

I think Inventor will easily still be here 3 years from now... or I would hope not at least.