The presenters include:

Dan Banach, 3D Mechanical CAD Consultant

Dan Banach is a recognized expert, author and educator in the Mechanical CAD field and author of twelve design processing books. Banach has been teaching classes at Autodesk University for 13 years and this year will be leading the Autodesk Inventor 2010 Certified Associate and Professional Exam Preparation Class as well as a session titled 20 Tips in 20 Minutes for Autodesk Inventor 2010.

Mark Hechel, Professional Services Manager, Manufacturing

Mark Hechel possesses more than 19 years of experience in CAD implementation and project management. This will be Hechel's 3rd year teaching at Autodesk University with a session on The Mechanics of Project Management: Successfully "Herding Cats."

Stephen Gabriel, Senior Application Engineer - Media & Entertainment

Stephen Gabriel specializes in the field of media and entertainment digital content creation. At Autodesk University 2009, Gabriel will present a class titled Re-Inventor-ing in Autodesk 3ds Max Design and a lab in which attendees will learn to Showcase Your Design.

Thomas Fitzgerald, Application Engineer - Manufacturing

Fitzgerald possess more than 10 years of mechanical and structural design experience and will be co-presenting a course on Autodesk Inventor iLogic extension titled The iLogical Course: They'll be Calling You a Radical!

About MasterGraphics Inc.

MasterGraphics is an Autodesk Premier Solutions Provider (PSP) for the manufacturing, architecture and education communities and is headquartered in Madison, Wis., with offices in Milwaukee, Appleton, Chicago and Minneapolis. Serving as a trusted advisor to its clients, MasterGraphics helps to streamline the design process and utilization of CAD data through an integrated mix of software, hardware, professional services and digital imaging and distribution offerings. MasterGraphics celebrates its 60thanniversary in 2009. For more information, please visit www.mastergraphics.com.

Autodesk, Autodesk Inventor, Inventor, iLogic and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

SOURCE: MasterGraphics Inc.

MasterGraphics Inc. 
Darin Tessier, Marketing Manager 
608-210-2701, darin.tessier@mastergraphics.com

Nimrod Racing uses Autodesk Alias Design software to design the car exterior body shells and Autodesk Inventor software to engineer components from the mechanical gears and suspension arms to the engine block and chassis.

"We are essentially designing a car in miniature, and because we can communicate between Autodesk Alias Design and Autodesk Inventor software, it's easier for us to do the surface design and engineering in parallel to work through issues," said Andras Szasz, head of design engineering for R-Design Studio. "We can easily see if heavy parts hit the bonnet or body and quickly solve the problem. There is no other way we would be able to achieve this without digital prototypes that allow us to visualize and simulate our design before we build physical prototypes."

Autodesk Inventor software's Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool is particularly important in developing the chassis, which needs to be extremely strong but also very lightweight. "We use FEA to test shock absorber arms for strength and stiffness," said Szasz. "They must be able to absorb all the shocks from the ground. But if they're too heavy, the car will bump, making it unstable. FEA lets us identify where we extra material, helping us to reduce weight while meeting our strength requirements."

Nimrod Racing's use of Inventor software has enabled it to significantly reduce its physical prototyping requirements. Now, nearly 90 percent of the firm's parts and components can be created without any physical prototyping--enabling quicker and more efficient turnaround on custom RC car orders.

"Nimrod Racing is saving time and money with Digital Prototyping," said Robert "Buzz" Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. "By using a single digital model at every stage of production, Nimrod Racing has picked the fastest and most effective way to put its fantastic creations into the hands of its customers."

About the Autodesk Inventor of the Month Program

Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the users of Autodesk Inventor software, which takes manufacturers beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and groundbreaking innovation. For more information about Autodesk Inventor of the Month, visit www.autodesk.com/inventorofthemonth.

About R-Design Studio Ltd. and Nimrod Racing

Founded in 2006, R-Design Studio Ltd. is a design and engineering firm located in Budapest, Hungary. Its Nimrod Racing division handles design and production of custom-made Radio Controlled cars. For more information, visit www.r-design.hu and http://www.nimrod-racing.net.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies -- as well as the last 14 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Editorial Note:

An interview with Nimrod Racing is available on the Autodesk YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfCoVLUrncc.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Alias, Autodesk Inventor and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6105732&lang=en

SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.

For Autodesk, Inc. 
Alyson Moses, 312.297.7430 
alyson.moses@edelman.com

According to Autodesk, the SketchBook Mobile uses the same engine as Autodesk SketchBook Pro painting and drawing software, delivering much of the power and functionality as the desktop application. Content created in SketchBook Mobile can be saved in the Photo Library or emailed directly as PNG or PSD format for further refinement in SketchBook Pro.

More Information:

http://www.autodesk.com/sketchbookmobile

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

California May Ban High-Watt TVs

In California, an average residential customer's 10% electrical consumption goes to television sets. However the regulatory apprehension is that with upgrade to larger television sets the consumption pattern for television sets will spike by as much as 8% annually. This is a worrisome trend for the power hungry state which has to import around 15% of its requirements from outside the state to meet its huge requirement.

The regulators are dreading a return to the gory days of the California electricity crisis at the beginning of the century. The crisis was aggravated as the then government kept the price of electricity artificially low, encouraging wastage.

An energy-efficient TV would save a household roughly $30 a year per set in lowered electricity costs. If all 35 million television sets in the state were replaced with more efficient sets, Californians would save $8.1 billion over 10 years, according to the Energy Commission report. The standard also could help California meet the goals of its 2006 global warming law, which calls for the state to cut greenhouse gases 25% by 2020.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, utilities operating in California are spending big money. California's renewable portfolio standard requires utilities to generate 33% of power from renewable sources by fiscal 2020. PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) plans to invest around $13 billion in the period 2009 - 2011. Another utility, Edison International's (NYSE: EIX) subsidiary Southern California Edison, is projecting capital expenditures for the period 2009 - 2013 in the range of $16.8 billion - $19.8 billion.

Autodesk Beats, Guidance Mixed

Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) revenues of $416.9 million were down 31.3% year over year, mainly due to a decrease of 43.9% year over year in Licenses revenues and partially due to a 2.8% decrease in Maintenance revenues. However, revenues were flat sequentially.

By geography, revenue from the Americas increased 2% sequentially but decreased 25% from the year-ago period. EMEA revenues declined 3% sequentially and 35% year over year on a constant currency basis. Revenue from the Asia Pacific decreased 7% sequentially and 33% year over year on a constant currency basis. Revenues from emerging economies represented 15% of total revenue and decreased 3% sequentially and 45% year over year on a constant currency basis.

Moreover, revenues from 3D design solutions were down 25% from the year-ago period but were flat sequentially. Revenues from 2D horizontal and vertical products declined 37% year over year and decreased marginally from the last quarter. We are positive on Autodesk's migration from 2D products to 3D products, which have a higher margin.

Combined revenue from AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT declined 39% year over year. Although the company has a strong market position in the "mainstream" CAD market, it faces competition from Dassault Systemes. Moreover, the company competes against Adobe Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ADBE) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), among others.

Autodesk has a strong balance sheet with cash, investments and securities totaling $1.05 billion at the end of quarter and no long-term debt.

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