Via 3DPrint

Many today tout themselves as ‘leaders’ in numerous areas regarding 3D printing technology from software to hardware to materials, but for a company such as Autodesk, that’s already an undeniable fact. And they are continuing to pass their expertise on to designers and engineers around the world, allowing them to lead in their work as well with a massive toolkit that just keeps on expanding.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Autodesk unveiled their new Future of Manufacturing portfolio which makes a progressive statement in allowing designers the tools to work with additive and subtractive solutions, rather than just going 3D printing whole hog 3D and never looking back. Because there are still so many subtractive and traditional solutions that are widely relied on—and will continue to be—Autodesk has integrated an entire toolset for users whether they are engaged in additive manufacturing or CNC machining and milling.
netfabbThat new portfolio offers a wide range of options with Netfabb playing a major role, offering streamlining in preparing 3D models for manufacturing. Users can look forward to a savings on the bottom line, higher productivity, and better performance from 3D printed parts. Autodesk has now just released Autodesk Netfabb 2017, taking us into the next year already with additional tools for those engaged in additive manufacturing processes. With the latest release, users function in one environment to perform a substantial amount of work. Here, Autodesk adds:

• Design enhancement

• Manufacturing preparation

• Build simulation tools

• Common file formats

• Process definitions

Autodesk has been building on Netfabb’s capabilities since the 2015 acquisition. With Netfabb 2017, the Autodesk team points out that some of the most powerful new capabilities are the enhanced simulation and the new optimization and advanced toolpath capabilities.

Learn more!

Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!

Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!