Autodesk Inventor 2017.4.7

Autodesk has announced the release of its Inventor 2017.4.7, the company’s flagship mechanical design platform. This release is primarily a quality improvement release, but there are some bug fixes.

Inventor 2017.4.7 Update – Release Date 6 Nov 2018:
INVGEN-17736: Shaded and break views now show correct color when exported to PDF.
INVGEN-14748: Improved performance when saving a presentation (.ipn) file after an edit.
INVGEN-18887: Hole command now correctly retains the set value.
INVGEN-20604: Improved stability when opening assembly and creating custom properties though the Inventor API.
INVGEN-21534: Improved security when using E-SSO flows that makes use of Integrated Windows Authentication.
About Autodesk Inventor 2017. With this version of Inventor, Autodesk is delivering new capabilities aimed at supporting all aspects of this expanding role.
To help define this expanded role, Inventor’s designers have tapped into a beta test group with 11,000-odd members to solicit software improvement suggestions and ensure launch day performance.

Here are some of the highlights:
One of the principle improvements of Inventor 2017 has been an emphasis on making designing faster. To do so, Inventor 2017 will include better selection tools, an improved UI to support more intuitive 3D sketching, expanded options for patterning and enhanced surfacing tools. Inventor 2017 also comes with new automatic sheet metal corner relief options.
Additionally, Inventor 2017 makes it easier to understand complicated mating constraints with a new parent/child relationship browser. With the new browser, users can quickly visualize inter-part relationships and untangle the complicated relationships built into large assemblies. Further enhancements to the assembly workflow feature a transparency option that can cycle the visibility of an object, making it easier to work with embedded parts.

Inventor’s designers have also made it a point to make interoperability simpler. In Inventor 2017, users will have an expanded toolset for working with non-native models. Inventor is capable of integrating imported models from other popular platforms like CATIA, NX, SOLIDWORKS, CREO, STEP and IGES without the need for translation.

Finally, Inventor’s latest release adds a streamlined workflow for publishing 3D PDFs that can help illustrate ideas and manufacturing instructions in ways that are impossible with 2D drawings. To further enhance communication between project stakeholders, Inventor now supports Design Shares, a method for making design reviews both interactive and instantaneous.

Needless to say, Inventor 2017 represents a massive release. With hundreds of new features and workflow enhancements one of the largest CAD packages (by user) is becoming even more competitive. Dassault Systèmes may want to watch out.