Jan 19, 2012
Release Notes - Readme file
Autodesk, Inc.
This file contains information that became available prior to releasing Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013, or information that is useful while using Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013. If you experience problems not covered in this Readme, please visit the Inventor Fusion web site and report your findings through the appropriate channel.
DISCLAIMER
Files created with, or files saved using Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013 are not guaranteed to be used in:
Any release version earlier than Autodesk Inventor 2013.
NOTES ABOUT INSTALLATION
Please update your system using Windows Update before you install Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013. Reboot your system after all system updates are installed.
We strongly recommend that you close all Autodesk applications before you install, maintain, or un-install the software.
For Windows 7, uninstalling Fusion may cause the Explorer.exe process to be terminated.
Occasionally Explorer.exe does not automatically restart, resulting in the desktop UI (icons, Start button, and so on) disappearing.
To display your desktop UI you must start Explorer.exe manually using the keyboard to access Task Manager. To use the keyboard,
follow the steps below:
Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to start the Task Manager.
On the File menu, click New Task(Run...).
Enter "Explorer" in the text box, and click OK.
Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013 can work with the following Autodesk companion products
AutoCAD products
AutoCAD 2013
AutoCAD Architecture 2013
AutoCAD Mechanical 2013
AutoCAD MEP 2013
AutoCAD Electrical 2013
AutoCAD ecscad 2013
AutoCAD P&ID 2013
AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013
Autodesk Inventor products
Autodesk Inventor 2013
Autodesk Inventor Professional 2013
Autodesk Inventor LT 2013
Autodesk Alias products
Autodesk(R) Alias Automotive 2013
Autodesk(R) Alias Design 2013
Autodesk(R) SketchBook Designer 2013
Autodesk Moldflow products
Autodesk(R) Moldflow Adviser 2013
Autodesk(R) Moldflow Synergy 2013
Autodesk(R) Moldflow Insight 2013
Autodesk(R) Moldflow Insight 360 2013
Autodesk Simulation products
Autodesk(R) Simulation Mechanical 2013
Autodesk(R) Simulation Mechanical 360 2013
Autodesk(R) Simulation Multiphysics 2013
Autodesk Simulation CFD products
Autodesk(R) Simulation CFD 2013
Autodesk(R) Simulation CFD 360 2013
INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS
Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013 supports Windows 7 32bit, Windows 7 64bit, Vista 32bit SP2, Vista 64bit SP2, XP 32bit SP3 and XP 64bit SP2. If the OS does not meet these requirements, please update it before the installation.
Verify you have administrator privilege on your local machine to install Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013.
Running Fusion on virtual machines is supported if the Accelerate 3D graphics option is checked.
Flash Player 10 (or higher). The multimedia learning solutions require the Flash player. Download from .
Adobe Reader is required to read documentation provided in PDF format. Download from .
Disk requirements - Autodesk Inventor Fusion 2013
Includes Inventor Fusion disk requirements and Inventor Fusion prerequisites disk requirements. (Not including .NET Framework 4.1)
Actual Disk Required
Win XP x32 sp3
Win XP x64 SP2
Win Vista Enterprise x32 SP2
Win Vista Enterprise x64 SP2
Windows 7 x32
Windows 7 x64
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Install all important Windows updates that are pending on your machine and reboot.
Windows XP:
You can do this from the Windows Update utility located in the Control Panel.
Windows Vista and Windows 7: Use the Windows Update utility located in the Control Panel, and on the sidebar.
WHAT'S NEW IN AUTODESK INVENTOR FUSION 2013
Plug-ins/Interop
AutoCAD and Inventor Plug-ins will reuse the open Fusion session
AutoCAD Plug-in offers an accept or deny dialog on return to AutoCAD
AutoCAD Plug-in allows users to edit blocks created by opening Fusion DWG files, or DWG files with 3D data in blocks, resulting from AutoCAD's native 3D translators.
Inventor displays a dialog before launching edit form in Fusion
New Autodesk Inventor LT Add-in
Inventor Add-in now supports edit/transfer of multiple Inventor bodies for Edit Form workflows
New Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Insight 360 Plug-in
New Autodesk Simulation CFD 360 Plug-in
New Autodesk Simulation 360 product line Plug-in
Opening a DWG file that is from AutoCAD will warn the user that a copy is being made and objects Inventor Fusion does not support will be removed
Assemblies
You can now reorient the move triad to component vertices and then move to other component vertices. This allows an AutoCAD like move point to point positioning workflow for parts.
You can now insert a Fusion DWG into another Fusion DWG keeping hierarchy, This does not create a link or x-ref
Interference command. Find interferences between components or for the entire assembly. Add option to keep interferences as new components
Improved wireframe visual style
Add an "Exit orbit" context menu item for AutoCAD consistency
Add Adaptive Performance option to disable dropping of visual effects during modeling and view navigation
Add options to enable Alternate Zoom Direction for mouse wheel(allows Fusion to zoom like AutoCAD)
Change Slice Graphics to dynamic sectioning
User option to enable software rendering
New display Zebra analysis
Symmetry and Edit Edge now works with surfaces
Sweep profiles and patch can now be selected from different components
Shell a solid without having to select a face
Split command now uses selection to determine whether to split the face or the body. The in canvas glyph has been removed.
New command to insert an edge into an existing face
Edit form allows the user to G2 blend or combine 2 edges
Edit form allows users to planarize edge curves making them lie on a specified plane
Allow selection of solid faces and solid body as tool for split command
Ability to use any edge to create a surface patch
Open edge, sketch profile and a surface face can be used in Surface Extrude, Sweep, Revolve and Loft
Fluid Volume command to create internal volumes and external volumes around existing designs (powerful for simulation users)
Simplify command now allows users to control the preview. This greatly increases usability and performance of the tool
Work axis thru circular edge
Allow linear edge selection as input for work plane thru point axis
Spline does not terminate when selecting an existing sketch point
Drag sketch circle to resize
Simplified sketch grid contextual glyph menu
Dragging multiple selected sketch objects now will snap to other sketch points
Shift select allows window select of profiles
Contextual command menu for selected sketch objects
Translators
SketchUp import
OBJ import
Improved import of SolidWorks files with configurations
NX Translator import
DXF import and export
STL import and export mesh data to STL format
VRML export
Support for three Ribbon themes (Dark, Light, Black)
Browser now sub-highlights parents of objects selected deep in product hierarchy
Option to turn off features in the browser, making Fusion look slightly less mechanical
ESC key now exits browser menus
New select other to chain select tangent contiguous edges. It can be found in the, "Neighbor," select other tools.
GENERAL NOTES
For the document window title, Inventor Fusion 2013 follows the setting Hide Extension for known file types in Windows Explorer like Microsoft Word or Excel.
Inventor Fusion 2013 supports translating CAD model to Autodesk Simulation Multiphysics 2013 and Autodesk Simulation Mechanical 2013. However the Simulate command is active only when either of them is installed side by side.
Inventor Fusion 2013 supports translating CAD model to Autodesk Moldflow Synergy 2013. However the Simulate in Moldflow command is active only when Autodesk Moldflow Synergy 2013 is installed side by side.
Graphics Card
We recommend that you use a certified graphics card. See the Autodesk Inventor . This site also includes useful information that was not available at the time this document was written.
Inventor Fusion 2013 requires a minimum capability of Pixel Shader 2.0 and Vertex Shader 2.0. As a guideline, the following graphics card supports Pixel Shader 2.0 and Vertex Shader 2.0.
GeForce FX series 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
Radeon after 9500
GMA X3000 or higher
GeForce GT and GTX
Quadro FX (all models)
FireGL X and V (all models)
Quadro NVS after 280
FirePro (all models)
We recommend that you do not turn on the Effects if you are using low end graphic hardware. Below are the minimum requirements for the four effects.
Effect Level
Shader Model 2.0
Silhouette
Shader Model 2.0, SM 3.0 would be better
Ambient occlusion
Shader Model 3.0
Floor Relection
Shader Model 2.0
Appearance
Shader Model 3.0 for high quality effects, Shader Model 2.0 for low quality materials.
Testing your Graphics Card Capabilities
In your Inventor Fusion Install directory (C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor Fusion 2013 or the equivalent on your machine), you will find a Graphics Capabilities Application AdskDiagOutput.exe.
Open a command prompt (Start Menu-& Run& cmd) and navigate to this folder. Type AdskDiagOutput f& out.txt and press enter. The program will run and produce an output file (out.txt or any other name you choose).
Open the output file. The entry looks similar to this:
Autodesk System and Graphics Device Information Reporting Tool
System Information:
Operating System:
32-bit Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.5)
English(Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer:
System Model:
Ver 1.00PARTTBLx
Processor:
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU
@ 2.40GHz (1 cores)
System Memory:
2030MB RAM
Page File:
1501MB used, 2421MB available
DirectX Version:
DirectX 9.0c (4.09.)
DxDiag Version:
DirectX Version:
Detailed Graphics Device Information for all Devices:
WMI Graphics Device Information:
Manufacturer:
Chip Type:
Quadro FX 570M
Integrated RAMDAC
Graphics HW Memory:
Display Mode:
1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Graphics driver file:
nv4_disp.dll
Driver file version:
6.14.11.7715
Driver Date:
5 December :00 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
DxDiag Graphics Device Information:
Device Name:
\\.\DISPLAY1
Description:
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M
DDI Version:
9 (or higher)
DDI Version Number:
DxDiag WHQL Level:
Driver Signed Valid:
Driver Signed:
Manufacturer:
Chip Type:
Quadro FX 570M
Integrated RAMDAC
Graphics Memory:
Display Mode:
1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
SubSystemID:
0x20D917AA
RevisionID:
Graphics driver file:
nv4_disp.dll
Driver file version:
Driver Date:
WHQL Level:
DxDiag Graphics Device Information:
Device Name:
\\.\DISPLAY2
Description:
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M
DDI Version:
9 (or higher)
DDI Version Number:
DxDiag WHQL Level:
Driver Signed Valid:
Driver Signed:
Manufacturer:
Chip Type:
Quadro FX 570M
Integrated RAMDAC
Graphics Memory:
Display Mode:
1600 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
SubSystemID:
0x20D917AA
RevisionID:
Graphics driver file:
nv4_disp.dll
Driver file version:
Driver Date:
WHQL Level:
Graphics Device Information:
Manufacturer:
Chip Type:
Quadro FX 570M
Integrated RAMDAC
Graphics Memory:
Display Mode:
1920 x 1200 (32 bit) (60Hz)
SubSystemID:
0x20D917AA
RevisionID:
Graphics driver file:
nv4_disp.dll
Driver file version:
Driver Date:
5 December :00 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
DDI Version:
9 (or higher)
WHQL Level:
Autodesk Graphics Feature Level:
Feature Level:
Feature Level Details:
Vertex Shader Version:
Pixel Shader Version:
Pixel Shader Version:
Max Vertex Index:
Max Primitives:
Max Streams:
Max Clip Planes:
Max Render Targets:
Max Texture Size:
8192 x 8192
Max Texture Repeat:
Max Anisotropy:
Non Power-of-2 Texture:
Elapsed Time (seconds):
The line Feature Level tells you what level of Graphics support your card offers Inventor Fusion.
If the value is less than 2_0, then Inventor Fusion sometimes does not work well or at all on your machine. It is possible to find
graphical defects that are not addressed by the Inventor Fusion Development Team.
If the value is 2_0, Inventor Fusion can work on your machine, but the Ambient Occlusion effect does not work. If you turn the effect on, you see no change to your image. Also, Realistic Appearances are not available for this level. A fallback version of Appearances is used, which is noticeably different from the high-quality appearances that are rendered with a card that has Feature Level 3_0 support.
If the value is 3_0 or higher, all effects used by inventor Fusion are supported on your machine.
In case you have any issues with your graphics card, and you believe the graphics card meets the requirements, please email the above text file along with a description of your problem to . If we need further information like screenshots, sample files, and so on in order to help fix the issue, a member of our team contacts you.
Windows Themes
Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and Win 7 provide new themes (or visual styles). In Windows XP/Vista/Win 7, you can define the visual style or appearance of controls and windows from simple colors to textures and shapes. Inventor Fusion takes advantage of this. Visual themes are enabled by default for the Inventor application.
Note To disable visual themes for Inventor Fusion, access the Properties dialog box through Windows Explorer. Go to Program Files -& Autodesk -& Inventor Fusion 2013 . Right-click, select Properties, and then click the Compatibility tab. Select the Disable visual themes check box, and then click OK.
Direct Translators Supported File Versions
Translator
HSF v12.15
Pro/ENGINEER
Pro/ENGINEER Granite
AP214, AP203E2
Solidworks
Up to 2011
SUMMARY OF ISSUES IN AUTODESK INVENTOR FUSION 2013
3D Annotation
In this release, editing a dimension created between different components is not supported.
In this release, dimensions on surface body are not editable.
After saving file as .CATPart type, dimension can't be edited anymore.
Sometimes, right mouse click to bring up context menu on browser node may not work well. Please press right mouse to workaround it.
Sometimes Edit Edge fails to add point handles on edges created with Split Face and other complex curve shapes.
After Edit Edge, the edges will still be symmetric while the faces may not be symmetric
For complex models, Insert Edge command may create incorrect edges and the inserted edge may be not editable for Edit Edge
Edit Edge may fail when to add a point handle when the selected location is too close to the endpoint.
Analytic edge geometry such as circle or ellipse are not supported well by Edit Edge, edits to these types of edges do not preserve curve type.
Periodic spline edges should be split using Split Faces before editing with Edit Edge.
If edges with spline geometry are edited using Edit Edge, many point handles may be displayed. Use Shape mode to minimize curve geometry changes, or delete some point handles to give more control.
On Vista OS, when UAC is turned on and you drag and drop a Fusion file into the Fusion application, the file does not open.
Fusion can't be launched when using "Remote Desktop Connection" to connect to a Windows XP machine, please use VNC tools.
Fusion browser and graphical controls on graphics window will disappear when logging the machine with a guest account.
Interoperability with AutoCAD
Sometimes the text from an AutoCAD command line may appear in Desktop after 'Edit in Fusion'.
Dragging surface group to another component is not supported.
Add User Tags
Currently, we cannot see a list of all tags on a particular entity, and there is no facility to remove them.
Cut/Copy/Paste
Dimensions, annotation planes, and body constraints are not supported when you Cut/Copy/Paste bodies and components
Edit Features
Only edits to Fillet, Chamfer, Hole and Pattern features are supported in this release.
Find Features:
Find Features supports: Extrude, Revolve, Fillet, Chamfer, Hole, Mirror, Circular Pattern and Rectangular Pattern.
Find Features is slow to recognize the features of a model with complex geometry. The application can hang or crash if the model is too large.
When you create a hole on some blended faces, such as the faces of a loft, a
broken face is generated.
To create a Loft with a center line, we recommend using a center line that intersects the Profiles.
To create a Profile-to-point Loft in this release, use Sketch Point only.
You can create a centerline from multiple segments only if the segments are tangent continuous.
Preview during Move is may not be correct when topology changes when moving a face.
Press Pull:
Broken surfaces are created when offsetting the bottom face of a hole.
Unexpected faces can be created when using Press Pull to cut the body.
Grill/Web type Rib feature creation is not supported.
Sometimes the scale result might be wrong if selecting multiple instances of the same component.
To avoid this, just select one instance of each component for scaling.
We recommend using a path which intersects the profile when creating a Sweep feature.
We don't support unconnected path or a path which has branches.
Most sketch commands do not support pre-selection of objects.
During sketch drag, in some cases involving angle dimensions, incorrect results can occur.
Use Undo to reverse the effect of the drag, and use another method to change the geometry, such as editing a dimension.
Fusion can sometimes create over constrained situations during sketch drag, please delete some constraints and continue, or use Undo to reverse the effect of the drag.
Space Mouse Support
It can be necessary to start the Space Mouse driver before launching Inventor Fusion. (Start Menu -& All Programs -& 3DConnexion -& 3DConnexion 3DxWare -& Start Driver)
Translators
All Translators:
Wires and Points are not supported.
Catia V5 and Pro-E:
Please avoid NON-English characters in file names when exporting.
When opening some large Catia files on 32 bit machines, Fusion may crash.
The document units may be wrong after export to IGES format and reopening the file in Fusion. Switching the document units to CM before export and re-import will correct this.
Inventor Translator Import:
Inventor Assembly features are not supported, for example, Weldment features.
Inventor color is not supported when importing files in Fusion
Excluded, Suppressed, and Invisible objects will become visible when loading IPT and IAM files.
Please migrate Inventor files to Inventor 2013 format before loading it into Inventor Fusion.
Inventor Fusion software hangs or crashes sometimes when opening a very large file.
On Windows XP, sometimes Ribbon UI items don't refresh correctly.
Unit and Expressions
Inventor Fusion provides limited support for the expressions. Arcsine and Arccosine are not currently supported.
LEGAL NOTICE
Notwithstanding the terms contained in the Subscription terms and conditions and the Autodesk Software License Agreement (EULA) accompanying this software, if you received this Software as a New Version or Cross grade (all as defined in the EULA), your license with respect to the previously licensed version of Autodesk Mechanical Desktop software (Mechanical Desktop) shall not terminate, you shall have no obligation to uninstall such software and you may continue to use such Previous Version of Mechanical Desktop with your current version of Autodesk Inventor software.
Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Data Management Server, Autodesk Productstream, Autodesk Autoloader, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, Mechanical Desktop, and AutoCAD Electrical, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Windows 2000, Windows 2003 server, Windows 2000 server, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Portions of this software copyright
Acresso Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Respectfully,
Autodesk Inventor Fusion Product Team}