In addition to costing less, as it was based on AutoCAD. It was an Autodesk product and existing AutoCAD customers could upgrade to MDT for a significantly less amount than buying SOLIDWORKS or SolidEdge. When I entered the workforce in 1998 it was for an Autodesk reseller. MDT was based on AutoCAD, acquired technology, and internally developed features. For most organizations, you could be very proficient spending just between $5000 and $10,000.Īs already mentioned, the main 3D mechanical modeling system for Autodesk at the time was Mechanical Desktop (MDT). No longer did you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do 3D modeling. No longer were the old-boys club of ProEngineer, Catia, and Unigraphics ruling the roost. Autodesk’s Mechanical Desktop, the new-to-the-market SOLIDWORKS, SolidEdge, and others were really changing the playing field.

It is 1999 and the so-called midrange modelers are now the dominate players in the 3D modeling market. Is Inventor’s death a real possibility? How could Autodesk kill a product that is a market leader, is used by thousands of people, and has a strong (loyal) community of users? They definitely can and have done so before.

A360 fusion