We get it, you're comfortable with your Autodesk product subscriptions and don't see any reason to switch things up. You may not know much about Flex as a pay-as-you-go option or have already decided it's not right for your team. But how can you be certain you have all the facts you need to make an informed decision? In this session, we'll set the record straight. Watch industry leaders take the hot seat as they reveal their candid experiences with Flex and how they've been able to innovate their businesses. You'll learn how you can better support your occasional users, save time with easy onboarding, and give users immediate access to 100+ products. Don't miss hearing about the new products and features added to Flex. After this session, you'll be ready to make the right decision for your business & get started with Flex today. If you're skeptical about Flex or want to learn more, this session is for you!

About USD$2 trillion—that's the amount of money the architecture, engineering, and construction industry has lost due to bad data. Bad data is data that's inaccurate, inaccessible, and incomplete. In the industries Autodesk serves, data is a critical lifeline for project decisions and automations. But all too frequently, that data is not easily accessible, or, even worse, the available data is simply bad. Across the globe, the ability to use data in an insightful manner is no longer a "nice to have"—it has become a primary source of competitive advantage. Furthermore, with the acceleration of AI, the need for data is increasing exponentially. Those who use their data to make informed decisions and gain performance insights will ultimately emerge as leaders in their industries. Meet the leaders behind the industry data models to learn more about how Autodesk will help solve top customer problems.

With the Manufacturing Data Model API, you can read, write, and extend your design model through cloud-based workflows—all without the need for desktop authoring applications like Autodesk Fusion software. You can access granular, transparent data via GraphQL APIs, and programmatically access manufacturing information to achieve a variety of cloud-based automations and workflows more efficiently than with REST APIs.

Join this panel discussion with the leaders at large-enterprise, cross-industry companies as they discuss their strategies for managing their software portfolios. We'll have a wide-ranging discussion across a variety of technology topics.

This session will delve into the transformative journey of African manufacturing, focusing on resilience, innovation, and sustainability. We will explore how Autodesk's digital tools, including BIM workflows with Revit, have empowered African manufacturers to overcome challenges, innovate their processes, and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape. Additionally, we will highlight the critical role of sustainable practices in ensuring long-term success for manufacturing in Africa.

Discover how the integration of low-code/no-code platforms like Microsoft Power Automate with Autodesk Platform Services empowers users, including non-developers, to create custom workflows around their engineering and design data. This session will demonstrate how to leverage these powerful tools to streamline processes and drive innovation without the need for extensive coding knowledge. Attendees will gain insights into practical implementation strategies, real-world use cases, and best practices for maximizing the potential of their design data through automated, customized workflows.

In this enlightening talk, Renishaw, a recognized leader in precision measurement and process control solutions, will explore the power and potential of Autodesk Fusion software in programming the company's innovative manufacturing technologies. As the digital manufacturing revolution continues to transform industries, it is vital to understand how to harness critical data on the shop floor. Renishaw will explore practical applications, demonstrating how Fusion 360 can be used to optimize their process control solutions, enhancing precision, reducing waste, and boosting productivity. Additionally, the talk will spotlight how Fusion 360 can drive Renishaw's advanced metal additive manufacturing equipment, facilitating the design-to-production process and enabling more-intricate, powerful, and lightweight designs. Attendees will gain insights into the future of manufacturing, where software like Fusion 360 and hardware from Renishaw intertwine to create innovative solutions.

The process of managing factory design layout data and fostering collaboration between the design team and external reviewers using Vault software and Autodesk Construction Cloud to handle clashes in Navisworks software is an integrated procedure. The design team can use AutoCAD software or Inventor software to develop the factory design layout, which is then stored in Vault. Vault acts as a secure, centralized storehouse for design data, enabling the team to access the latest information, reducing potential mistakes and rework. It also tracks version history and documents updates, offering clear accountability. Once the design is finalized, it can be disseminated to external reviewers through Autodesk Construction Cloud. Autodesk Construction Cloud serves as a shared data environment, allowing teams to collaborate and exchange design data in real time. It also supports model coordination, document management, and design review, augmenting collaboration between the design team and external reviewers.

This session will walk you through an incredibly simple yet powerful workflow that will not only save you time and money but will also give you incredible visuals and models to kick off your projects. We will showcase the integration of AutoCAD Plant 3D software, Autodesk Construction Cloud, and Matterport. We will demonstrate how this can be used for collaboration and how to turn your plant into a digital twin.

Advanced nuclear is challenged to design and construct on short timelines, with smaller budgets and fewer workers. Digitalization can help companies overcome these constraints. Unfortunately, a digital twin (DT) is often presented as a monolith. This results in organizations abandoning DTs as having benefits that are minimal or unrealized in time. Many perceive DTs as too large an undertaking to even begin. However, digitalization isn't a track meet; it's a marathon of incremental milestones. And, like all races, it has a starting line. This session will summarize a journey that Argonne National Laboratory and Implexus Lab made to digitize the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL), a test facility for advancing sodium fast reactors. Components were designed with Inventor software and assembled in Navisworks software, and AutoCAD software generated construction documents. Integrating with Revit provided a DT foundation. Ultimately, the suite of Autodesk tools enabled the creation of a DT boasting live data visualization within a virtual reality (VR) environment.

Learn how generative AI can revolutionize product engineering and lifecycle management. This session will focus on key challenges in the manufacturing product lifecycle, such as the reliance on 2D drawings and PDFs, the time-consuming nature of model creation and analysis, and the complexity of assembly modeling. With a focus on practical applications, we'll discuss how generative AI can address these challenges by transforming engineering workflows and enhancing efficiency. And we'll look at the impact that generative AI (powered on Amazon Bedrock) has on the manufacturing lifecycle. We'll explore Autodesk Fusion 360 software, and we'll showcase the potential of integrating a chatbot or plug-in within Fusion 360 that can assist designers in rapidly building models and accelerating the design process.

French engineering firm Artelia faced a challenge in generating secondary supports assembly drawings from AutoCAD Plant 3D software. The default AutoCAD Plant 3D settings were time consuming, and the competitor's solution was costly. Autodesk Consulting developed a new AutoCAD Plant 3D plug-in, leading to a 75% time reduction across Artelia projects, potentially saving approximately 208 days in the first year alone. The plug-in offers a variety of features. It automatically generates orientations and position views in a drawing, which streamlines the design process. It includes auto-annotation of views, making documentation more efficient. The addition of a bill of materials (BOM) and a new graphical user interface further improves user friendliness and functionality. The solution currently works with secondary supports and is beneficial for all AutoCAD Plant 3D users who use orthographic drawings. It can potentially be scaled up to include support for all objects and drawings, and for drawings with auto-dimensioning capabilities.

Join us for an in-depth exploration of the latest advancements and future directions in Fusion 360 at Autodesk University. This session, "Fusion Roadmap: Design, Engineering, & Manufacturing," will guide you through the innovative features and upcoming enhancements that are transforming the way we approach design, engineering, and manufacturing.

This session will showcase a new workflow of creating a factory layout in Autodesk Factory Design Utilities software and using FlexSim to validate the throughput of the layout, identify potential bottlenecks, and balance resource use. We will also discuss the product roadmap for Factory Design Utilities and FlexSim, as well as the vision for Autodesk Fusion digital factory. Learn how Autodesk is paving the way to connected data and seamless workflows in the Autodesk Fusion industry cloud, as well as enabling factory designers and industrial engineers to validate factory layout designs.

Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion that dives into the pivotal role of discrete event simulation in modern factory design. Our expert panelists will explore how this technology is transforming the way organizations visualize, analyze, and optimize their production processes. Simulation offers invaluable insights by modeling complex factory operations, allowing users to identify potential bottlenecks, balance resource use, and discover opportunities for increased efficiency and productivity. Our speakers will share their valuable experiences in using tools like FlexSim, revealing how simulation can be used to validate factory layout designs and throughput, its potential in creating digital twins of production environments, and the future of factory design. Don't miss this opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of discrete event simulation in factory design.

With the ever-increasing demands in manufacturing, end users require best-in-class solutions from all their vendors, which ultimately make their businesses more profitable and successful. At the same time, manufacturing companies must currently invest resources in combating data silos and data translation tasks that do not bring business value. Strong partnerships between hardware and software solution providers can ensure the highest productivity and the smoothest processes for end users. MDES is an open specification that enables the Autodesk Manufacturing Community to benefit from a seamless experience when investing in the latest, cutting-edge manufacturing solutions. In this session, the audience will learn how MDES facilitates a smooth integration between Fusion 360 and other key manufacturing assets—from high-performance cutting tools to crash-proof CNC machines—and how MDES enables a seamless data workflow.

If you joined us at last year's AU and attended "A Factory Design Utilities Discussion with Peers on a Successful Deployment," you know the group discussed best practices and what to avoid when implementing Factory Design Utilities software. The information we discussed helped people who'd already implemented it by validating the experiences of others, and helped the people who were planning on implementing it soon. In this session, we'll pick up where last year's ended and focus on best practices for maintaining a successful deployment. We'll especially focus on using simplification workflows to keep file sizes smaller, managing simplified models, and understanding how to update the simplified models automatically when changes happen to the main file. After this session, you'll be able to integrate smaller models into your designs and keep them updated as changes occur.

Much has been said of the impacts AI will have on manufacturing, but most have not considered what needs to be done in preparation to take advantage of these new capabilities. In order to use AI effectively, we need to change how we work today, modernizing the management of operational data so that AI tools can use it to provide insights and intelligence that will create competitive advantages. In this session, we'll frame what to expect from AI in the coming years. Then we'll engage a panel of technical experts from different disciplines across Autodesk in an exploration of key considerations and best practices for structuring workflows that make data management central to our operations. We'll also discuss the benefits this approach can deliver today, and how this structure is critical to using AI for maximum future benefits.

In this session, we'll present a study showing the process for implementing Vault Professional software with Autodesk Fusion Manage software with bidirectional integration. See what went well, and what didn't go well and why. Discover what lessons we learned. Explore how much can be implemented at one time for users to absorb, understand, and gain ROI from.

Unlocking a digital factory's potential demands innovation, collaboration, and data-driven decisions. In this second session of the Digital Factory Symposium, experts share insights on how connecting data and teams across disciplines can deliver better outcomes. *This session is part of the Digital Factory Symposium, a learning pathway and networking experience on Wednesday, October 16. To see all related sessions, select the "Digital Factory Symposium" filter. If you would like to attend the private welcome reception on Tuesday, October 15, please email DigitalFactoryAU@autodesk.com.