Nastran not available in Inventor 2020?

[jsteffle]

Perhaps this is a dumb question. When I updated to Inventor 2020 my Nastran option in the environment tab has disappeared. I don't see any option available in downloads for Nastran In-CAD 2020, only 2019. Does this mean it's not available in 2020? Do I need to install something additional?

[Roelof.Feijen]

Nastran In-CAD is a separate install and is part of the Product Design and Manufacturing Collection. At this time Nastran In-CAD 2020 is not available for download yet.

[jsteffle]

When searching through Nastran information on the autodesk site I am finding quite a few tutorials etc ithat are documented and only available in 2020. An example is the exhaust manifold found here https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/nastran-cad/getting-started/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2020/ENU... 

I'm at a loss at this point. I need Nastran within Inventor. This means that I installed 2020 for no reason. Gah. To make it worse, I'm having a hard time finding a tutorial for thermal stress in 2019.

[Roelof.Feijen]

You have to be patient I think. I guess it will be released soon.

[AndrewWeighell7348 · Accepted solution]

After installing Inventor 2020 and then spending several hours of trying to revert back to 2019, my suggestion would be not to install Inventor 2020 until Nastran 2020 is available. 

I made the mistake of installing Inventor 2020.  I then tried to go back to 2019 when I realised Nastran In-CAD was not available in 2020.  Also, my Sim Mech 2018 would not work from Inventor 2020.

My Nastran In-CAD 2019 will not now work - or at least the screen freezes when I click the edit button.  The only way out is control-alt-delete.  I have done each of the repair install options.  The next option is to do a full delete everything reinstall. 

(Something I was intended to do anywary because the default Autodesk install puts the install files on C:\ without any option to change drive as is the case when doing an install after a file download.  c:\autodesk can knock a big chunk out of one's SSD.  I therefore never use the default install if I can remember).

Running Sim Mech 2018 as standalone after reverting to Inventor 2019 failed because it not able to register.  I assume that the failure was either fall out from the Inventor 2020 install or a coincidence.   A repair install seemed to fix it.

[jsteffle]

Thanks very much. I wish I had known this before installing it. It almost seems like the release of the 2020 products are a bit premature and haven't gone through thorough enough testing. I can't help if there was a mandated schedule that had to be met. The cost of this is usually quality out the door. I am a subscriber to the PDM collection. After this experience I thought I better read some initial reviews on the other software in the package. It seems that the 3DS Max 2020 has quite a few issues as well so I will be holding off on installing anything further on any 2020 releases. I am looking forward to the new updates once they are finally available, with all options and running smoothly.

[John_Holtz]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the length of time it is taking to get all of the accounts setup to access all of the new products. I have been told that the accounts for In-CAD should be updated by the end of April 9 (U.S. timzone).

In the meantime, you can use this link to download the installation file: Inventor Nastran installer. This link will expire on May 8. Of course, you also need your license information from the My Accounts page, so you may not be able to license it until the accounts are updated. But you can run Inventor Nastran as a trial for 30 days. Surely the accounts will be updated by then .

P.S. The name of the product changed from "Autodesk Nastran In-CAD" to "Autodesk Inventor Nastran" starting with the 2020 release. Some systems will change the product name for all versions from In-CAD to Inventor Nastran, such as described in this article Unable to find Nastran In-CAD for download in my Auodesk account. Other systems, such as this forum and us "old-timers", will probably refer to it as In-CAD for many years to come.