Autodesk Australia have announced the beginning of the official Inventor of the Year voting process. Autodesk Australia are encouraging members of the manufacturing community to visit the Autodesk community web site at http://mfgcommunity.autodesk.com and choose which of the 2008 Inventor of the Month recipients should be named the Inventor of the Year. The Inventor of the Month programme recognises the most innovative design and engineering advancements made by the community using Autodesk Inventor software, the foundation of the Autodesk Australia solution for digital prototyping.
The Inventor of the Year is chosen from the monthly award winners for 2008. The monthly winner with the highest rating selected by community members will be awarded the title of the Inventor of the Year.
Triple Eight Australia were named the Inventor of the Month in January 2008 and are in the running to be voted the Inventor of the Year.
A digital prototype lets users design, visualise and simulate a product before it is built, reducing the reliance on constructing multiple physical prototypes.
Inventor of the Month winners for 2008 includes:
- January 2008: Triple Eight Australia compete as Team Vodafone in Australia's V8 Supercars race competition. Triple Eight Australia designers use Autodesk Inventor software to optimise the performance of the car before it reaches the track.
- February 2008: OPEX Corporation are a recognised global technology leader in high-speed mailroom automation equipment. OPEX relied on the Autodesk Inventor product family to design their innovative Mail Matrix, a mail sorting solution that redefines the capabilities, functionality and performance of the mailroom.
- March 2008: ADEPT Airmotive are manufacturers of general aviation engines for the light aircraft market. Leveraging digital prototyping capabilities within Inventor let ADEPT produce accurate 3D models of the 320T engine before anything was actually built, reducing the number of physical prototypes that needed to be constructed.
- April 2008: Unverferth Manufacturing Company are providers of agricultural equipment and machinery. Engineers at Unverferth were able to design specific tillage components, specify their ranges of motion and use the kinematics built into Inventor to simulate components in action.
- May 2008: Sound Devices LLC are manufacturers of professional audio recording and mixing equipment. Digital prototypes created with products from the Inventor family of products helped Sound Devices LLC check for interferences between various components and explore design variations before anything was built.
- June 2008: 42 Surfboards are Oregon-based manufacturers of classic surfboards. Autodesk Inventor software let 42 Surfboards create a new generation of wooden surfboards by taking the strength of woods, such as spruce and poplar and giving it the lightness and performance of lighter materials such as foam and balsa wood.
- July 2008: Responsible for the United Kingdom's national scientific activities in Antarctica, the British Antarctic Survey use Autodesk Inventor software to design crucial tools that let the organisation to effectively carry out research and provide insight into key 21st century challenges such as climate changes, ozone depletion and rising sea levels.
- August 2008: Wipaire manufacturers of aircraft floats and pontoons used Autodesk Inventor software to design the water-scooping pontoons of the Fire Boss, a fire-suppression plane that provides a versatile tool to fight against wildfires.
- September 2008: Genmar Yacht Group, manufacturers of luxury yachts under the Carver and Marquis brand names, used Autodesk Inventor software to design their new Marquis 420 Sport Coupe, which was recognised as the best new yacht in its class at the 2008 Miami International Boat Show.
- October 2008: ClearEdge Power are providers of ultraclean and efficient on-site energy generation systems for homes and small businesses. ClearEdge Power used Autodesk Inventor software to develop their first product, the CE5, an efficient energy system that converts clean natural gas into heat and power.
- November 2008: Elmarco are Czech-based manufacturers of industrial machines for the production of nanofiber. Elmarco relied on Autodesk Inventor software to develop their Nanospider line of machines, which made the production of nanofiber textiles possible on an industrial scale.