SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 17, 2011 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), has named RND Automation & Engineering LLC as the Autodesk Inventor of the Year for 2010.

Members of the Autodesk manufacturing community from around the world chose the Sarasota, Fla.–based company by voting on the community website. RND Automation designs customized automation solutions for a wide range of customers, including manufacturers of hydraulic valves, contact lenses and insulated beverage containers. The company was originally named Inventor of the Month in March 2010 for its Digital Prototyping work with clients to help manufacture and assemble products more efficiently and with less waste.

“Autodesk’s products give us an advantage over our competition in terms of time to market, ability to illustrate concepts to our customers and the flexibility to quickly change design parameters,” said Sean Dotson, president of RND. “My relationship with Autodesk goes back more than 13 years to the first days of Inventor Release 1. It’s quite an honor to receive this award and to be recognized for our work.”

Digital Prototyping Simplifies Challenging Projects

With the assistance of Tampa-based Autodesk reseller Tata Technologies, RND has successfully used Autodesk Inventor software since its first release on a wide range of projects, tapping almost every area of the software’s functionality in the process:

• For a hydraulic valve manufacturer, RND created an automated assembly machine that was 22 feet long and eight feet wide, with 16 assembly stations and four articulated robot arms. RND designed, visualized and simulated the entire machine using Inventor, enabling them to fully analyze operation of each assembly station, all before any materials were purchased.
• To create a machine that manufactures disposable contact lenses, RND needed a design mechanism capable of rapidly raising and lowering heavy weights. RND used the finite element analysis (FEA) functionality in Inventor to analyze the forces placed on the linkages to help ensure the overall design was strong enough to withstand the pressures of daily operation.
• RND is also using Digital Prototyping to help Tervis Tumbler, the leading manufacturer of insulated beverage containers for hot and cold drinks. RND used Inventor software’s animation capabilities early in the design phase to show Tervis how each assembly station would function and at what precise location the fully assembled product would exit the machine.

“Inventor software is helping RND bring the benefits of automation to clients in a broad array of industries,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group, Autodesk. “We join the Autodesk Manufacturing Community in congratulating RND for its standout application of Digital Prototyping software to surpass the competition with its custom machine designs.”

About the Autodesk Inventor of the Month Program

Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the users of Autodesk Inventor software, which takes manufacturers beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and groundbreaking innovation. For more information about Autodesk Inventor of the Month, contact Email Contact.

About RND Automation & Engineering

RND Automation & Engineering is a manufacturer of custom factory automation, robotic work cell, packaging and material handling equipment. RND has more than 17 years of experience in the design of automated machinery. For additional information, visit www.rndautomation.com.

About Tata Technologies Limited

Tata Technologies Limited, founded in 1989 and a part of the Tata Group, is a global leader in engineering services outsourcing and product development IT services solutions for product lifecycle management and enterprise resource management to the world’s leading automotive and aerospace manufacturers and their suppliers. For more information, visit www.tatatechnologies.com.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries — including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Editorial note:

An interview with RND Automation is available on the Autodesk YouTube Channel ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxajjbwgMXQ ) .