Autodesk Opens Voting for 2010 "Inventor of the Year"

By DE Editors

Autodesk, Inc. has kicked off the company’s official “Inventor of the Year” voting process. Autodesk is encouraging interested members of the manufacturing community to visit the community website and vote one of the 2010 Autodesk Inventor of the Month recipients as “Inventor of the Year.”

The Inventor of the Month program recognizes innovative design and engineering advancements made among users of Autodesk Inventor software.

The Inventor of the Year is chosen from the monthly award winners for 2010. The monthly winner with the highest rating from community members will be named Inventor of the Year. Voting is under way and closes Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. eastern time.

Inventor of the Month Winners for 2010:

January 2010: ideas*, an Australian engineering services firm, used Autodesk Inventor to design and develop the world’s most advanced construction recycling facility. The facility in Victoria, Australia, is capable of recycling 1 million tons of demolition materials a year.

February 2010: StructureCraft, a custom design-builder based in British Columbia, Canada, used Autodesk Inventor to design and develop the WoodWave roof for the Richmond Olympic Oval long-track speed-skating venue.

March 2010: RND Automation, a manufacturer of custom factory automation, robotic work cell, packaging and material-handling equipment, uses Autodesk Inventor to design customized automation solutions for a wide range of customers, including manufacturers of hydraulic valves, contact lenses and insulated beverage containers.

April 2010: Vindby, a Danish supplier of renewable energy solutions,  used Autodesk Inventor to develop the Vindby 1A, which the company says is the first wind turbine approved for home use in Denmark.

May 2010: Preciosa, a Czech-based producer of cut crystal chandeliers and lighting fixtures, uses Autodesk Inventor, in conjunction with AutoCAD Mechanical and Autodesk Vault Professional software, to design, visualize and simulate its products in 3D and easily share digital prototypes with customers,  reportedly helping them design their wares in half the time and with 70 percent fewer mistakes.

June 2010: West Hills Construction uses Autodesk Inventor to deliver energy efficiency, management, storage and distributed generation solutions. Using a combination of technologies, West Hills Construction helps customers not only reduce their energy use, but also generate energy on-site from renewable resources. The result has both environmental and economic benefits for all involved.

July 2010: Brookhaven National Laboratory, a national research laboratory overseen by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy,  relied on Autodesk Inventor to design nanotechnology equipment in National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) II facility, one of the world’s most widely used scientific user research facilities.

August 2010: Mark Richey Woodworking, a high-end architectural woodworking firm, used Autodesk Inventor in developing and installing the millwork required for a new performing arts center. Without Inventor software,  fabricating and installing the woodwork in Helzberg Hall would have taken two to three times longer — and cost three times as much, according to the company.

September 2010: Joy Mining Machinery, a global supplier of underground mining systems, used Autodesk Inventor Digital Prototyping software to develop its JOY 14ED25 continuous miner-bolter machine that helps promote zero harm in the underground mining environment.

October 2010: A Stanford University team of graduate students used Autodesk Inventor to develop a prototype of the recyclable Bloom laptop. Creating 3D digital prototypes of the hardware components in the laptop aided in creating a readily accessible laptop design that is also easy to disassemble.

November 2010: Ritter Sport, Germany’s producer of the square chocolate bar of the same name, uses Autodesk Inventor software to more quickly change its candy bar designs. While the company’s 100-gram chocolate square remains an unchanging staple of its product lineup, Autodesk Inventor helps the company create new designs 30% faster than previously to more quickly respond to market trends.

December 2010: Pi Mobility used Autodesk Inventor to more efficiently design the Pi Cycle, a new generation of sturdy, long-lasting electric bicycles. Producing a 3D digital prototype of the Pi Cycle showed that by increasing the diameter of the bike’s tube by a half an inch, the company could immediately save a significant amount of money.

For more information, visit Autodesk.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.