Autodesk is a design software and services company, offering a suite of products that helps users create using computer-aided design software. It is used across various sectors including manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, media, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is also one of the 150 tech services available to Bobcats! We wanted to tell you about this software that gives you the power to make anything.
If you haven’t heard of Autodesk before, you may be familiar with some of the movies made using their 3D and animation software including Finding Nemo, Frozen, Avatar, and the Transformers franchise. If you’ve ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you’ve experienced what people have created with the software.
Texas State faculty and staff can request a license for the Autodesk Suite to be installed on a university-owned computer. The suite includes AutoCAD 2019, AutoCAD Raster Design 2019 (64 bit), 3Ds Max 2019, Revit 2019, Inventor 2019, and Navisworks 2019.
Autodesk Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is a cloud-based computer-aided design and manufacturing tool for collaborative product development. The great thing about Fusion 360 is that it’s cloud-based and your computer doesn’t need a lot of processing power because a majority of the processing and rendering is done in the cloud. So there’s no need to buy an expensive CAD computer.
Other benefits of Fusion 360 include that it combines organic shapes modeling, mechanical design, and manufacturing in one comprehensive package, and the ability for collaboration and iteration on product ideas and product documentation collaboration within a team.
A real-world example of a company using Fusion 360 is Orange County Choppers. They use Fusion 360 in the design and rapid prototyping phases when developing new motorcycles. 
Autodesk offers a free education 3-year subscription to Fusion 360 if you signup using your Texas State email account. They also have a ton of tutorials for beginners to learn what you can do with Fusion 360.
Cedrik Chavez is marketing and communications specialist student employee in the IT Marketing and Communications office.
