Class A (or "strak") is a term used specifically in automotive design. It describes the final production surface data for the aesthetic parts of a car. The term "Class A" is often misunderstood, but it's generally seen as the holy grail of surface modeling. This is because as it achieves the highest surface quality levels, it demands a high level of automotive design knowledge, as well as surface modeling skills. Class A represents the craftwork end of the design process. Creating the main surface shapes to describe the vehicle is the primary design activity. But the painstaking, detailed craftsmanship of perfecting those surfaces, designing flanges and panel gaps, is what guarantees that a beautiful design turns into a beautiful manufactured product. This class will cover the workflows and techniques involved in achieving Class-A-level production surfaces using the latest Alias tools in 2021.

Almost every original equipment manufacturer and design studio is trying to shorten the design process. And not just shorten the process-they want more and more innovative designs. More variants, shorter process. How could we make this happen? The answer is never far. It's time to let the designers get into the real 3D design world. Alias software is not just a tool for surface modeling. It is far beyond that: it is supposed to be the designers' playground. You can sketch 2D, model 3D, sketch 3D, and communicate with digital sculptors on one model, one platform. This class will explain how.

“Class A” (or, “strak”) is a term used specifically in automotive design. It describes the final production surface data for the aesthetic parts of a car. The term “Class A” is often misunderstood, but it’s generally seen as the holy grail of surface modeling. This is because as it achieves the highest surface quality levels, it demands a high level of automotive design knowledge, as well as surface modeling skills. Class A represents the craftwork end of the design process. Creating the main surface shapes to describe the vehicle is the primary design activity. But the painstaking, detailed craftsmanship of perfecting those surfaces, designing flanges and panel gaps, is what guarantees that a beautiful design turns into a beautiful manufactured product. This class will cover the workflows and techniques involved in achieving Class-A-level production surfaces using Alias tools.

This one-hour demo will show the design of a track shoe from sketch to render. We will show the process of sketching in Sketchbook and bringing the work into Alias software. Once in Alias, we’ll compare NURBS modeling workflows and how the new Subdivision modeling in Alias 2020 is better suited for concept modeling. The main portion of the demo revolves around how Dynamo, Sketchbook, and Alias work together to help designers ideate procedurally designed tread for the soles. Once the sole is complete, the shoe is brought into VRED software to create photorealistic marketing-level renderings.

Take a look at some of the tools inside Alias software for procedural, computational, and automated workflows in industrial and product design.

Subdivision bodies are a type of geometry in Alias software that provides smooth continuous surfaces for the creation of objects and organic shapes. Alias subdivision bodies are compatible with standard Catmull-Clark subdivision surfaces, which makes them like subdivision surfaces in other content creation applications such as Maya software and 3ds Max software. However, Alias subdivision bodies are a collection of continuous NURBS surface patches, so they also inherit characteristics from Alias surfaces. This means that Alias subdivision bodies include the strengths of Alias NURBS surfaces and traditional subdivision surfaces. This class will cover the new subdivision tools and integrated workflows in Alias.

Join us for a talk on how you can easily integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into various 3D project workflows using tools such as Revit software or 3ds Max software via the NVIDIA Omniverse platform and OpenUSD interchange. We’ll show you examples of how to automate tedious 3D work and alleviate time-consuming tasks to help accelerate time to production and maximize creative exploration. You’ll learn how to connect generative AI tools and technologies such as ChatGPT or LLM integrations, Instant NeRF, and Omniverse DeepSearch to take over repetitive work, freeing up time to focus on more-meaningful work. You’ll also learn how to use generative AI to improve the quality of your work and create new and innovative products and services. This talk is essential for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of technology. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn how AI can help you do more of what you love.

In this class we will go over some of the new features in Alias software that can help in procedural modeling techniques, and tools that you can create with scripts to be driven through Dynamo software. Dynamo is a visual programming platform that you can use to create custom algorithms to process data and generate geometry. Since version 2019, we have had an integration of Dynamo in our Alias line of products (Concept, Surface, and AutoStudio). With the latest release of 2021, we have included Dynamo player, which enables anyone to run scripts and capitalize on the power of these tools to improve workflows and processes to save time and effort.

In this class, we’ll take a look at the road map for Alias software.

In this session, we’ll talk about how Autodesk products like Alias software, VRED software, PowerMill, and PowerInspect can empower automotive design studios with technology to push the boundaries of creativity and collaborate radically with the goal of making better products, faster.

This presentation will show the creation of a concept seat, from using Autodesk® Alias® Speedform for creating the design and shape, to Autodesk® Alias® software for detailing like the stitching and other complex details, and finally Autodesk® VRED™ software for creating high-end renderings.

The presentation will show a seamless workflow from start to finish, and will give tips and trick about the latest features of each software that is used.

In this presentation, car designer Ning Ding will show best practices in automotive design through fast concept modeling, sketching, rendering, and animation workflows. Drawing on the full power available in Alias AutoStudio, Ning will share how designers and digital sculptors can work together during this process to bring a design to life. Ning will share live demo vignettes to show how designers can sketch and even directly create concept model by Alias, Speedform and Maya, visualize and render the 3D model in VRED and even create animations and cool scenes in Maya. Ning will also share insights into the current state of the automotive design market in China, where he has both practiced as a professional designer as well as his current job as a subject matter expert working for Autodesk. This session features Alias AutoStudio and Alias Concept.

The Studio Wind Tunnel Project will bring simulation insight and guidance to the automotive design community. With seamless integration into existing design pipelines, fully automated virtual wind-tunnel analysis will enable studios to assess performance criteria, visualize airflow, and make informed design decisions at any stage of development. Designed to provide reliable and consistent insight, the Studio Wind Tunnel Project solves traditional challenges associated with vehicle aerodynamic simulation.

The digital creation process has made physical models rare. Today, iterative work around form finding, feature line definition, or design definition convergence has to happen digitally on 2D screens. Imagine if you could connect virtual reality (VR) full-scale visualization in VRED software with 3D modeling workflows in Alias software through custom tools that allow designers to sketch tape lines in VR, giving instant feedback to the 3D modeler in Alias—and use ShotGrid software to capture the sketched tape lines to feed downstream digital-modeling activities. Discover how Autodesk Consulting can help you improve collaborative workflows in your studio, going beyond out-of-the-box product capabilities.

Discover how to implement Dynamo Player scripts within Alias software for automotive and industrial design, illustrated through examples like a subdivision car configurator. We'll explore the advantages of real-time slider adjustments that enhance creative flexibility and support precise, proportional modeling based on dimensional constraints. The session will also explore how to enable optional curve input while maintaining functional subdivision topology and providing instant annotational feedback directly in the viewport. Learn how to make beginner-friendly scripts that are ready for immediate use, yet adaptable enough to support your design intent. You will see how to use external spreadsheets as preset files to easily customize inputs.

In the spring of 2024, the legendary Jeff Smith connected Associate Professor Bush from Auburn University with an OEM partner to explore what it would look like to team a group of graduate industrial design students with a seasoned digital vehicle designer. Through this interaction emerged a five-week section in Alias AutoStudio software and a five-week section in VRED software, using the Auburn instructor's background in surface modeling with the OEM partner's background in SubD and mesh modeling. This proposal compares the CAD instruction methodology that has been implemented at Auburn University for the past three years with the experimental, collaborative approach with the OEM. We will highlight the changes in student outcomes, as well as the implications of knowing SubD/hybrid modeling moving into the design profession.

The landscape of automotive design is rapidly evolving, driven by the transition to electric architectures and the emergence of agile new competitors. This evolution places immense pressure on design studios to streamline their development processes. At Autodesk, our AI teams are dedicated to assisting these studios in unleashing their creative potential and achieving unprecedented levels of productivity. At this year's Automotive Innovation Forum, we gave a tech preview of Form Explorer, the first AI capability delivered within Alias software. With Form Explorer, automotive concept designers can effortlessly generate and refine 3D concepts within seconds, seamlessly transforming them into functional SubD surfaces. This creates the potential to expedite the creation of proportional exterior designs. This groundbreaking tool harnesses a fusion of AI capabilities exclusive to Autodesk, paving the way for a suite of innovative design interactions within Autodesk's arsenal of tools.

In this talk, we'll explore the transformative potential of generative AI (GenAI) in streamlining conceptual design processes. Our one-year collaborative journey with Kia Motors led to the development of a GenAI wheel concept design tool that bridges design inspiration to creation. Join the talk to discover how GenAI accompanies designers from establishing design directions to exploring design options, facilitating intuitive design workflows. Learn how to harness GenAI's capabilities to interpret designers' inspirations, generating limitless variants efficiently. We'll also discuss how we integrated design constraints into GenAI, providing designers with greater control. Join the conversation and explore the challenges and opportunities for GenAI to streamline your design workflows.

This will be a live demonstration of Alias 2025 software—showcasing the latest features in Alias 2025 and providing a sneak preview of new technologies under development. See firsthand how Alias is still an evolving and powerful surface modeling package for designers.

This year—2024—was a significant year for VRED software, marked by numerous enhancements and new features. We started with a comprehensive UI redesign, reflecting Autodesk's guidelines for a modern, intuitive experience. And we introduced improvements, such as multiselection property editing and searchable preferences, boosting speed and efficiency. We launched many new features, balancing technical precision and artistic freedom, providing a platform for visually compelling and accurate designs. In line with industry advancements, VRED integrated open standards, including IFC, USD for data exchange, and MaterialX and MDL for seamless material exchange across applications. VRED also introduced OpenVDB for volumetric data processing from simulation applications, and OpenXR for a wider range of hardware support, including hand and marker tracking capabilities. In this presentation, we'll guide you through the changes from 2024 to 2025, providing an overview of the key updates shaping VRED 2025.