Autodesk discontinues Mechanical
Desktop
Autodesk has ceased development of Autodesk Mechanical
Desktop and will no longer release new versions of the product. This
decision was made to allow Autodesk to focus on the development of the
Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD Mechanical product lines. With this
decision, Mechanical Desktop 2009 becomes the last version of the
product to be made available.
Subscription customers should have received an email notification on
October 7 explaining this change.
What does this mean for you?
If you are on subscription, you already have Autodesk Inventor. Perhaps
you have successfully migrated to Inventor already. Or perhaps you
maintain a mix of tools, or still rely on Mechanical Desktop. This
announcement creates an opportunity for you to complete the switchover
to Inventor.
Customers who upgrade to the latest version of Inventor will benefit
from the leading 3D design tool for Digital Prototyping with the ease of
use characteristics pioneered by Mechanical Desktop.
If you?re using Mechanical Desktop 6.0 or an earlier version, you are
eligible for Inventor Legacy pricing (30 percent off the new seat price)
on Inventor Suite, Inventor Professional, Inventor Routed Systems Suite
and Inventor Simulation Suite.
Autodesk? Discontinuation of Mechanical Desktop?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why did Autodesk decide to discontinue MDT?
A: Autodesk is discontinuing development of Mechanical Desktop because
the technology in this product is outdated and in order to support the
needs of the larger and growing community of Inventor? users, Autodesk
has decided to transfer MDT development resources to support the
Inventor product family.
Recent releases of Inventor contain enhancements designed to capture
many of the advantages introduced by Mechanical Desktop. Customers who
upgrade to the latest version of Inventor will benefit from a modern,
highly capable 3D design tool for Digital Prototyping with the ease of
use characteristics pioneered by Mechanical Desktop.
Q: When will Autodesk discontinue customer support for MDT?
A: With the release of Inventor 2010 (Spring 2009), MDT will enter a
phase of limited support. During this phase Autodesk may, at its
discretion, make available service packs or patches to MDT 2009. Support
for MDT will end in 2013 with an MDT End of Life announcement.
Q: When will Autodesk remove MDT from the download area?
A: Mechanical Desktop 2009 will remain on the download page while this
product remains subject to Subscription Support. Customers should note
that Mechanical Desktop 2009 will only install if the target computer
contains a valid installation of Inventor 2009 or AutoCAD? Mechanical
2009.
Q: Can I still purchase MDT?
A: You will be able to purchase Inventor 2009 products which contains
MDT until the OBIT date for Inventor 2009.
Q. Will I be able to run MDT run on Vista?
A. Yes, the 2009 version of Mechanical Desktop runs on Vista.
Q: What do I do with the MDT libraries, data, and drawing files that I
have acquired since using MDT?
A: We recommend that customers who are still running Mechanical Desktop
move their operations to Inventor as soon as practical. Inventor
provides excellent compatibility with MDT datasets including a feature
level import of MDT models and true DWG interoperability.
Q. Can I still use AutoCAD Mechanical?
A. Yes. Inventor 2010 will include AutoCAD Mechanical 2010. AutoCAD
Mechanical continues to experience solid sales growth and will continue
to be offered as an important part of the Inventor product line.
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