Search | Autodesk University

Industry Talk / Nashville 2025

Empowering Tomorrow's Factories with Seamless Autodesk Integration

By 2027, the Digital Prototyping Automation, Integration, & Customization market will surpass $400 billion. This isn’t a trend, it’s a transformation. Rising shipping and raw material costs, plus geopolitical instability, are driving manufacturers to reevaluate global strategies. Labor-cost-driven models are giving way to nearshoring and supply chain optimization, enabled by Industry 4.0 technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and 5G. Digital factories offer real-time data, autonomous decision making, and unmatched efficiency. Autodesk is uniquely positioned to lead this shift with end-to-end cloud solutions—from factory design to construction, simulation, Digital Prototypings, and asset management. With tools like Autodesk Fusion, Autodesk Tandem, Autodesk Forma, and Autodesk Forma, Autodesk ensures seamless data flow and collaboration across every phase. This talk will explore how Digital Prototyping Automation, Integration, & Customization is reshaping global manufacturing—and how Autodesk empowers businesses to build smarter, faster, and more resilient factories.

15p

Instructional Demo / Virtual 2021

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to ArcGIS GeoBIM and the Forma

Get on the road to cloud-cloud integration between geographic information system (GIS) and BIM (Building Information Modeling) with ArcGIS GeoBIM and Forma software. This instructional demo will showcase customer examples of the benefits gained from the fusion of geography and BIM data for project portfolio management, collaboration, and construction project insights informed by geography. By following best practices for geolocating intelligent models, AutoCAD software, AutoCAD Civil 3D software, and Revit software, users can help ensure effective integration of these models in GIS. This reduces the cost of integration by ensuring upfront data quality. To facilitate this, ArcGIS GeoBIM provides analytics to identify documents with geolocation errors. Managing and visualization issues during the design, construction, and handover of BIM projects is crucial for financial and operational performance. We will show how the integration of GIS and BIM with project and issue performance dashboards significantly improves insights into these critical aspects of project management.

New Orleans 2022

What If... Convergence of Desktop, Collaboration, Data, and Digitization

We are starting to see a convergence of different industries and disciplines like we have never seen before. Construction and manufacturing for modular construction and building product manufacturing coming further into design. Plant and power owners using these same methodologies to help meet deadlines and set quality standards. Owners using digital twin and integrated factory modeling for digitalization of factory building and production lines. Digitization in infrastructure for everything below or above ground. Along with GIS, the ability to explore locations, events, and trends so stakeholders can be better informed or create awareness of the environment. See how today’s current desktop and cloud technologies like Revit, Inventor, Forma, and Fusion are helping to bring a common data environment to multiple industries. Understand how Collaboration, Connected Data, and Digitization are bringing the “art of the possible” to a level that we have never seen before.

Instructional Demo / Nashville 2025

Architecting with Steel: Design Large, Complex 3D-Printed Structures leveraging Fusion!

Meet "The Brænch"—an organic 3-meter-high steel structure fabricated with advanced 3D printing technology. This class showcases how our cross-disciplinary team used Fusion to unlock novel design workflows and create unique architectural elements that are 3 times cheaper than if they were die cast. We'll demonstrate why architects should consider adding Fusion to their toolbox for generative design, optimization, and FEA simulation to move beyond certain limitations of Rhino/Grasshopper. Through detailed examples, we'll present an integrated workflow improving material efficiency and structural performance in large-scale metal components. The class targets architects first approaching manufacturing, practically demonstrating how to align design with fabrication requirements, opening possibilities for applications such as façade components and structural elements while leveraging additive manufacturing to tackle material transportation, construction cost, and supply chain challenges.

61p

Instructional Demo / Nashville 2025

Enabling Industrialized Construction with the Informed Design API

In this session, we’ll cover the new Informed Design API. Informed Design is an Autodesk offering aimed at connecting products created in Inventor or Autodesk Fusion software with project data in Revit software. This will improve project outcomes and increase productivity by bringing together the capabilities of our manufacturing software with our architecture, engineering, and construction software. The class will start with an overview of Informed Design and how the API can be used to extend and customize the offering. We’ll cover product creation in Inventor and Fusion. And we’ll look at how to create good BIM content by generating well-formed Revit families for use in a Revit project. Then we’ll show how to create outputs from a Revit project at scale. We’ll follow up with an overview of specific examples of how our customers and partners are using the API, followed by an example of how to use the API.

25p

Instructional Demo / San Diego 2024

Spit It Out: How AEC and the Manufacturing Data Model API Can Feed ERP Systems

Autodesk Forma or Fusion Team is used to store product data created with Revit, Autodesk Fusion, Inventor, and other Autodesk CAD authoring tools. The data stored in these cloud systems is often the most important intellectual property, and it's also critical for users who do not have access to Autodesk cloud-based systems. Learn how you can use Autodesk's AEC Data Model API and Manufacturing Data Model API to extract bills of materials (BOMs), product quantities, and other critical metadata, and publish it to enterprise resource planning (ERP)—or other enterprise systems. Accurate, reliable, and free from manual data entry.

13p

57p

Instructional Demo / Nashville 2025

Obliterating Barriers: Designing an Extreme Sports Machine for Wheelchair Users

In this session, we will travel on the journey of how students and staff at NYU created Project Mjolnir: the world’s first open-source, adaptive mountain bike to enable those with disabilities to participate in the sport of adaptive mountain biking. We’ll look at how we help students develop industry skills through experience-based learning, the methodologies we use, and the outcomes we produce with a project that goes beyond the boundaries of the university. The team has built and ridden more than 20 adaptive mountain bikes in different parts of the world, enabling people with disabilities to experience the outdoors in ways they never thought they could. Incorporating design to accommodate off-the-shelf bicycle components, an adaptable frame design, and the ability to self-build the bike, we aim to drive down the cost to a third of current offerings—as well as empower and grow a community of adaptive bike builders through educational experience-based learning.

78p

Industry Talk / Nashville 2025

Rock the Workflow: Music, Tech, and the Future of Design

Jam out with us as we explore how Avnet has amplified the music industry and is revolutionizing design workflows across all industries, powered by the free Avnet Add-in for Autodesk Fusion. Enjoy a live performance by Rogelio (AKA Kello) Gonzalez, Applications Engineering Manager at Avnet, and internationally acclaimed bass guitarist. From the stage to space, Avnet is pushing boundaries, innovating, and delivering what’s next. Don’t miss this dynamic showcase of creativity and technology.

Instructional Demo / Nashville 2025

Accelerating Design Innovation: Integrating Autodesk Fusion 360 with AI-Powered Iterative Form Exploration

Discover how to seamlessly integrate ideation powered by artificial intelligence (AI) into your Autodesk Fusion 360 design workflow. This session will explore a dynamic, iterative process using generative AI platforms like Vizcom and GPT-4o to rapidly generate, refine, and visualize diverse form variations directly from your Fusion 360 models. Learn practical methods for exporting your designs, using AI-driven form exploration, and then effectively reimporting enhanced concepts back into Fusion 360 for further refinement. Unlock greater creativity, accelerate your iteration cycles, and elevate your design innovation by strategically combining Autodesk’s powerful CAD capabilities with advanced AI tools.

Instructional Demo / Nashville 2025

Autodesk Fusion: A Year in Review 2025

Interested in catching up on improvements made to Autodesk Fusion this year? Looking to take full advantage of Fusion software’s end-to-end platform capabilities? Join us for a chance to catch up on everything that’s changed in the last 12 months. You'll have an opportunity to discover new and exciting capabilities, see firsthand how customers are succeeding with this new functionality, and find out how the Fusion platform can unlock powerful new workflows. Learn more about unlocking advanced designs, manufacturing more-complex components with a focus on data at the center.

Hands-on Lab / Nashville 2025

Crafting Your Own Rabbit Bell: Integrating Seamless MCAD and ECAD in Autodesk Fusion

When friends reminisce about the 70s, 80s, and 90s, receiving a musical greeting card for their birthdays was truly a joyful experience. Gently unfolding the paper card to hear the Happy Birthday song was a simple yet delightful pleasure. Even after the birthday, revisiting the heartfelt wishes written by friends while listening to the melody brought back cherished memories, often accompanied by a smile. These moments are among the beautiful memories of that era. Inspired by these nostalgic thoughts, why not create a DIY mini rabbit bell and bring it back to home to share with others about the special moment from Autodesk University? Fusion is excellent for seamless integration of MCAD and ECAD. In this 90-minute class, you will craft your very own Rabbit Bell from scratch using Fusion. You could bring one Rabbit Bell PCB board back to home.

28p

17p

Panel / Nashville 2025

Fireside Chat with the Inventor Product Team

Sit down with the Inventor product team and discuss your most-pressing issues, concerns, and questions about Inventor. A number of Inventor team members will be available to answer your questions. What are the best practices for maximizing your Inventor use? How are Inventor projects prioritized and chosen for each release? Where is Inventor going in the near future? Model States, BIM workflows, Drawings, Sheet Metal, Autodesk Fusion vs. Inventor—all your favorite topics will be open for discussion.

Industry Talk / Nashville 2025

Innovators Stage | AI for Design: What's Now and What's Next

Dr. Tonya Custis, senior director of artificial intelligence (AI) at Autodesk, draws on 20 years of experience in AI research to explore both the limitations and the transformative potential of AI in design workflows. While powerful, AI is often misunderstood—it’s frequently perceived as a catch-all magical solution rather than a tool with specific strengths and weaknesses. As AI becomes more commonly used in daily life, expectations rise for its role in professional tools. The best way to move beyond the hype, fear, and uncertainty surrounding AI is to develop an understanding of its history, limitations, and the types of tasks it’s best suited to help with. In this session, Dr. Custis will demystify how AI actually works, examine current trends, and outline the unique challenges of applying AI to design workflows—particularly those involving complex 3D design data. She’ll also share some recent work from the Autodesk AI Lab, offering a glimpse into the current state of AI in design and what the future may hold.

54p

Panel / Nashville 2025

Innovators Stage | Revolutionizing Design Workflows with AI Agents: Autodesk and Microsoft’s Frontier Partnership

Discover how Autodesk and Microsoft are revolutionizing everyday design and review workflows in Fusion by leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to transform their customers' workflows. Autodesk has become a frontier firm by adopting this innovative, best-in-class AI technology, setting new standards in the industry. Stephen Hooper, VP of Design & Manufacturing Product Development at Autodesk, and Kathleen Mitford, Corporate Vice President, Global Industry Product Marketing at Microsoft, will share how their teams are: - Automating time-consuming design tasks to reduce manual effort, allowing teams to focus on higher-value work. - Simplifying product reviews to speed up collaboration and approvals. - Enabling teams to tell stronger stories through clearer, more compelling outputs. This interactive session also provides attendees the opportunity to ask Stephen and Kathleen questions about their pioneering partnership and the AI-enabled solutions they’re bringing to market.

Panel / San Diego 2024

How Manufacturers Can Reduce Emissions and Improve Profitability

The manufacturing industry finds itself at a pivotal juncture. Accounting for 20% of global carbon emissions and 54% of the world's energy usage, the sector also confronts mounting regulatory pressures, consumer demands, and volatile energy prices. All manufacturers increasingly need a sustainability strategy. However, for many companies the path toward truly sustainable manufacturing remains complex and challenging. What tangible actions and innovative tools, technologies, and processes can manufacturers use from cradle to grave to drastically reduce their environmental impacts, while simultaneously improving productivity and profitability? Join key industry players, including Xometry and Gravity, to learn how manufacturers can drive measurable sustainability gains while boosting competitiveness. Our panelists will highlight innovative technologies, including Autodesk MSI, that manufacturers can adopt to drive emissions and cost reductions.

23p

Industry Talk / San Diego 2024

3D Printing for All: Bridging the Gap Between Makers, Engineers, and Nonengineers at MSF

Difficult and costly importation of equipment. Lack of customized parts. Unavailable spare parts, especially in the remote areas where supply chains may be disrupted. These are some of the daily challenges faced by the staff of MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières—Doctors Without Borders). The 3D Printing for All project aims to democratize access to 3D printing and solve some of those challenges by getting 3D printing in MSF's projects, and developing procedures and guidelines on how to use it safely and efficiently. Describing design needs, context, and technical parameters for a CAD expert to make a design is critical to the production of the products that solve problems in the field. For the most part, the people who have the problems to solve do not have engineering backgrounds—and yet they have to provide precise information. Throughout the implementation of the project, we've experienced this communication gap, learned valuable lessons on how to minimize the number of iterations, and saved material and time involved in putting a product in use.

Instructional Demo / San Diego 2024

Futures Briefing: Autodesk Informed Design

Join Ryan McMahon, general manager of Autodesk Informed Design to gain insights on how this platform tool enables Industrialized Construction. Roadmap and feature highlights as well as industry imact will be covered in this talk.

Instructional Demo / San Diego 2024

Autodesk Fusion for the Inventor User