Archinect - News

Autodesk founder John Walker dies aged 74

2024-03-08T14:45:00-05:00

The New York Times is reporting Autodesk founder John Walker to have died on February 2nd at the age of 74.

The technologist and Case Western Reserve University alumnus is credited with the development of AutoCAD, a software tool which revolutionized architectural design and paved the way for the industry to expand considerably in regards to output beginning in the 1990s.

Walker, along with 12 programmers, formed the company with $59,000 in 1982 and served on its board as chairman and president until he stepped away from leadership roles in 1986, penning a memoir of his experiences titled The Autodesk File three years later.

Since then, he lived mostly in Switzerland, working on programming for the company until 1994. Autodesk grew during those years to become one of the world's ten largest software companies. Autodesk, which had to shutter its San Rafael, California, location amidst the recent recession in the tech industry, now has more than twenty offices and reported a total o...

Sharpen your Autodesk CAD and BIM skills with Microsol Resources and CADLearning by 4D Technologies

2019-11-07T08:00:00-05:00

This post is brought to you by Microsol Resources

Microsol Resources Corporation—a recognized leader in building information modeling (BIM) technology solutions, as well as a leading Autodesk Platinum Partner serving the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries—announces its most recent technology partnership with CADLearning by 4D Technologies, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher and a premier learning portal for all things Autodesk.

CAD and BIM users and administrators can manage talent, knowledge, and competencies in one easy-to-navigate interface.

CADLearning provides the most comprehensive library of Autodesk learning content for over 40 products, including AutoCAD, Revit, and Civil 3D. CAD and BIM users and administrators can manage talent, knowledge, and competencies in one easy-to-navigate interface. CADLearning helps firms identify and fill skills and knowledge gaps, improve performance, and save time and resources by providing product support to maximize ...

Are you a skilled draftsperson? Here are 9 firms offering architecture job opportunities for drafters

2019-02-13T17:20:00-05:00

Are you a master of AutoCAD, Revit, and SketchUp? Drafting has changed tremendously over the years, but the skill and precision needed for the job hasn't. From reading and interpreting blueprints to ensuring 2D and 3D architectural drawings are accurately depicted, drafters play an integral role in firms. Below are nine architecture firms and studios seeking experienced drafters to join their team.

Spine Residence Image © Cohesion

Cohesion Studio seeks an Architectural Designer/Drafter in Los Angeles
The studio seeks a young, energetic person, self sufficient person with diverse design skills and experience that can work with AUTOCAD and SKETCHUP. Must have knowledge in Autocad, 3D sketchup, Indesign, excel, Microsoft office and rendering software. Comfortable on a construction site and is diligent in construction documents. Candidates must have a Bachelors or Masters in Architecture ( B. Arch or M. Arch ) and be proficient in AutoCad and Sketchup 3D.

Outer facade for Home Depot Jers...

Vintage photos remind of the profession before AutoCAD

2018-08-20T17:04:00-04:00

Before the advent of AutoCAD and other drafting softwares, the engineering drawings were made on sheet of papers using drawing boards. Many equipments were required to complete a given drawing such as drawing board, different grade pencils, Erasers T-squares, Set square etc.

Check out this fun collection of photographs from the pre-CAD era...

Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk, on why computers are superior to human designers

2017-01-23T12:19:00-05:00

Essentially people, all of us when we go to design something we often go out and do it and will make one or we’ll have three designs and…then we run out of time or money or patience and we say good enough. The computer doesn’t get bored in that same way. It doesn’t run out of time so you can literally test millions of versions and get a much better answer. So really what we are doing is automating the building of these prototypes.

E Ink introduces display and new PocketBook tablet for use on the construction site

2013-12-03T11:38:00-05:00

"Our goal was to develop a device to be used on construction sites. We created a highly portable large format display device with a rugged and weatherproof case that could hold all the CAD drawings a team needs. This makes designs available virtually any place and any time,"

E Ink announces the 13.3" Fina E-ink Display in conjunction with Pocketbook announcing the new PocketBook CAD Reader. Utilizing the Fina display and running Android 4.04, the larger tablet was explicitly designed to display CAD drawings and be utilized in the field for construction. It utilizes touchscreen and a Wacom stylus input and is designed to be integrated with existing AutoCAD based applications. A case designed to withstand the stresses of construction. The tablet has a 1 Ghz dual-core processor, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of storage, WiFi and 3g modules, and an 8000 mAh battery.

The tablet will be on display at the Autodesk University event in Las Vegas, NV, on December 5th.

Revised Autocad Command Shortcuts [CTLR+ANGST+DEL]

2011-08-28T22:53:50-04:00

CTRL+5 - Remove Client’s color Palette CTRL+6 - Remove Client’s wife’s color Palette (must press hard) CTRL+E - Cycles through design ideologies CTRL+F - Flatten all roofs CTRL+H - Insert Awesomeness CTRL+K - Justify design concept CTRL+L - Left justify design concept CTRL+P - Prints unemployment check CTRL+V - Value Engineer (reduces scale by 78%) F4 - Toggles MODERNISM F8 -Toggles ORTHO MODE (should always be on) F9 -Toggles POSTMODERNISM (should always be off) F11 - Toggles ARROGANCE

Jody Brown at Coffee with an Architect has come up with a revised list of Autocad Command shortcuts. I would imagine that these will quickly become the new industry standard for drafting stations everywhere. Please print and post next to your work station for future reference. And remember, to reboot, just hit - CTRL+ANGST+DEL

Autodesk Design Suite Premium

2011-04-20T01:22:00-04:00

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