Autodesk® Inventor LT™: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Autodesk Inventor LT?

A: Autodesk® Inventor LT™ software is a member of the Autodesk® Inventor® family of software. Autodesk Inventor LT offers the powerful and affordable 3D part-level design capabilities of Autodesk Inventor, the world’s number-one selling 3D mechanical design software, so you can take your design productivity to the next level, improve communication with your supply chain, and participate in Digital Prototyping workflows. Inventor LT helps manufacturers create, share, and edit 3D part designs and DWG™ drawing files to satisfy customer and supplier requirements in today’s complex global supply chain.

Q: What are the key similarities and differences between Inventor LT and Inventor?

A: Inventor LT provides the same 3D part modelling workflow and interface, multi-CAD import/export, documentation, and rendering capabilities as the rest of the Autodesk Inventor family of software. Since Inventor LT offers a user interface and technology that are similar to those of Inventor, all the files created and 3D design skills learned in Inventor LT are fully transferable to Inventor—the foundation of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping. Key capabilities available in other software in the Inventor software family that are not available in Inventor LT include, but are not limited to, the following:

• 3D assembly modelling

• Specialty tools such as sheet metal and dynamic simulation

• Customization via application programming interface (API) access or third-party add-in applications

These and other differences are more fully explained in a comparison matrix. Inventor LT and Inventor cannot be installed on the same computer.

Q: What is AutoCAD® Inventor LT™ Suite?

A: AutoCAD® Inventor LT™ Suite includes both Autodesk Inventor LT and AutoCAD LT software, helping make it more practical and affordable for mechanical design professionals to start adding the productivity benefits of 3D, participate in Digital Prototyping workflows and compete more effectively. Autodesk Inventor LT offers powerful part-level 3D parametric modelling, multi-CAD translation capabilities, automated DWG drawings views and other advanced capabilities found in Autodesk Inventor. Inventor LT is interoperable with the included version of AutoCAD LT, the world’s top-selling 2D drafting and detailing software, so manufacturers can still work confidently with real DWG data.

Q: Who uses AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite?

A: By offering Inventor LT for 3D part design and AutoCAD LT for 2D drafting and detailing, the AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite meets design software needs of a variety of professionals in virtually any manufacturing related industry.

Inventor LT is used by:

• Manufacturers who want to start using 3D parametric design tools to increase their mechanical design productivity and improve product quality.

• Manufacturers who need to participate in Digital Prototyping workflows by creating, editing, and sharing 2D and 3D part design data in a variety of formats in order to satisfy customer and supply chain requirements.

• Manufacturers who need to rapidly document their 3D part designs as DWG files, reuse existing DWG data as the basis for new 3D design activities, or simply view, plot or measure a DWG drawing without using AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT.

• Manufacturers who face new part design challenges that involve 3D visualization, complex shapes and surfaces, and creating entire families of parts from one basic design.

• Manufacturers who need to create stunning visualizations directly from digital design data before a physical prototype or finished product is even built.

• Design professionals who create technical drawings and have no need for automation of repetitive design steps or additional functionality provided by third party applications.

• Drafters who put the finishing touches on a design with detailing, annotations, links to online data, and verification of accuracy.

• Contractors, suppliers, or operational professionals who need to review a drawing to extrapolate data specific to their businesses.

• Principals and project leaders who need to review and edit a drawing and monitor progress.

Q. Is Inventor LT interoperable with other Autodesk products and CAD systems?

A. Yes. Sharing part files with the Autodesk Inventor 2011 family of software is seamless since Inventor and Inventor LT are based on the same technology. Inventor LT also delivers industry-leading interoperability with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT® software, providing direct read and write of native DWG files while maintaining full associativity to the 3D model without risking inaccurate translations.

Inventor LT also enables efficient, accurate exchange of design data between common 3D CAD file formats used by a variety of design and manufacturing professionals and industries.

In addition, Inventor LT includes Autodesk® Design Review software and can publish 2D and 3D DWF™ files. Markups made to 2D DWF files can easily be “round-tripped” back to the original Inventor drawing to streamline the design review process with extended design teams.

Q. Where do I find learning and training resources for Inventor LT?

A. In addition to a comprehensive help system in the product, several resources are available for free from the Resources page on the Inventor LT website, such as the Autodesk Manufacturing Community website (http://mfgcommunity.autodesk.com). Since Inventor LT shares a common user interface, workflows and data models with Autodesk Inventor, many resources originally designed for Inventor are excellent resources for Inventor LT users. World-class peer-topeer help is also available on the Autodesk-hosted Autodesk Inventor discussion forum. You can also attend instructor-led training at our offices.

Q: How do I obtain technical support?

A: You are entitled to 30 days support from your date of registration covering installation of your new Autodesk software.  Additional technical support is available for customers on Autodesk Subscription.

Q. Is subscription available for AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite and Autodesk Inventor LT?

A: Yes. Get the benefits of increased productivity, predictable budgeting, and flexible license management with Autodesk® Subscription. You get any new upgrades of Autodesk Inventor LT or the AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite software and any incremental product enhancements, if these are released during your subscription term. Some of these incremental product enhancements, and exclusive license terms are available only to Subscription members. A range of community resources, including web support direct from Autodesk product support specialists and self paced training to extend your skills, make Autodesk Subscription the best way to optimize your investment in Autodesk Inventor LT or the AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite software.