Autodesk Inventor, developed by U.S.-based software company Autodesk, is 3D mechanical CAD design software for creating 3D digital prototypes used in the design, visualization and simulation of products.

Autodesk Inventor uses Shape Manager, their proprietary geometric modeling kernel. Inventor includes an integrated motion simulation and assembly stress analysis environment. Users can input driving loads, friction characteristics, and dynamic components, and then run dynamic simulation tests to see how a product will work under real-world conditions.

The simulation tools can help users optimize strength and weight, identify high-stress areas, identify and reduce unwanted vibrations, and size motors and actuators to reduce energy consumption. Finite element analysis (FEA) lets users validate component design by testing how parts perform under loads (using actual load information instead of estimates).

Inventor’s Parametric Studies and Optimization technology lets users modify design parameters from within the assembly stress environment and compare various design options, then update the 3D model with the optimized parameters