The technology preview of the 2D to 3D Tool for Inventor has been around for some time. It was created to try to improve the manual process. Here is an 8-minute video of how it is done with Inventor 2012.

We considered not having the technology preview for Inventor 2016 because Inventor 2016 features some DWG import improvements. Product Line Manager, Janna Spicer, was kind enough to share some information about what is built into Inventor 2016.

Here is a video of 2D DWG support included in Inventor 2016. Go the page by clicking on the image below and scroll down to the Native DWG Support video.

Watch the video.

So here's the gist. You can:

• Quickly insert an AutoCAD DWG file in an Inventor part file as a DWG underlay using the Import command in the 3D Model tab, Create panel.
• Add assembly relationships to underlay geometry.
• Use the Project DWG Geometry command to project DWG geometry, polylines, open or closed loops, and DWG blocks. Then you can use the projected sketch elements to create modeling features.
• Allow Inventor 2016 to update your 3D Inventor models based on the DWG geometry when the 2D geometry changes in AutoCAD (feature being worked on right now).

Despite these improvements, we decided to conduct this technology preview so Inventor 2016 users could compare the functionality built into Inventor 2016 versus what the technology preview has to offer.

The other day, Senior User Experience Designer, Rocky Zhang, provided me with an update that corrects two Inventor crashing defects that were reported by technology preview users. I have posted the update to the Autodesk Labs project for participants to download. This might indeed be the last update of the technology preview.

Get the update or start anew.

Rocky's done his part. Now we ask that you do your part. Please tell us: Do the DWG import improvements meet your needs or do you still need the functionality provided by the technology preview? You can reach us at labs.iv.2dto3d@autodesk.com.

Looking at issues from multiple dimensions is alive in the lab.