Many of you may have had to deal with the cultural pressures of what design tool to use when deciding between Product Design Suite (Inventor) or SolidWorks...well that decision may have just became much easier to make with the decision of Dassault Systemes to cap the development of SolidWorks. Thus signaling an end of life as it goes for software products.

One sure thing to count on is Autodesk's strength and commitment to continue developing the fullest set of manufacturing and design tools.

If this is the first you have heard of the news, here are links to SolidWorks blogs that will help explain.

Do you pay for manual effort to translate engineering design work into other forms? Other forms like PDF, DXF, SAT, Excel, ERP Data, Work Orders, etc? If so, D3's Robotic Services (we call them Bots) run in the background to eliminate that manual effort and disband your company's Department of Repetition Department.

What's required:

• Vault Workgroup or higher, can vary based on Bot feature
• An available seat of that Vault license and a CAD seat
• Access to the internet

What you get for a monthly or annual fee:
A locally installed toolset that crunches out your operations. Periodically it will reach out to check for current license status and updates. Turn it off when you like or add features when you need.



SUMMARY
What used to take days with many manual touches, now can happen in a few minutes with the click of a button.

D3 Technologies embraces a very simple but structured approach to help companies evaluate where they are and where they need to be. We then craft a solution path that allows you to incrementally tap into the benefits to be had. Let us know if you are looking at process improvements and have an interest to invite a partner in to help provide a 3rd party perspective. Take the opportunity to pick our brains on what is working best for others facing similar challenges.

Contact Us if you would like more information.





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Recently, we partnered with Accuer to bring their product (Relay) to our clients. It consists of a very powerful communication tool (a dashboard) and is backed up by a methodology that is breathing new life into the hopes of what is possible for reducing cycle times. Specifically, it is turning the traditional approach to cycle times UPSIDE-down and causing many to rethink what they held to be true. Not surprisingly, your current beliefs are your biggest obstacle for this to work for you.

In our December issue we dove into the economics of Life Cycle Profits and the Cost of Delays. We also raised the concern of the effect of a Stage Gate, if you don't measure its economical impact. This issue we will cover Phased Requirements.

Queues: Do you manage your product development queues effectively? Most do not even realize that they have queues and are limited to just the information plotted in MS Project vs. a tool like Relay that behaves like a Project Dashboard. Added visibility will help to speed up your Feedback Loops.

The problem of being blind to queues begins when you fail to recognize Design in Process (DIP) as inventory. This occurs because it is not visible or tangible like normal inventory and in every manner is ignored. DIP can increase variability, risk and cycle time and decrease efficiency, quality and motivation. So, how big are your queues? What is the cost of these queues?

Without knowing the true Cost of Delay, queues appear to be free and therefore unworthy of attention…a costly mistake that you can remove.

Next issue we will cover Risk as it relates to Early Learning and Variability.

D3 Technologies embraces a very simple but structured approach to help companies evaluate where they are and where they need to be. We then craft a solution path that allows you to incrementally tap into the benefits to be had. Let us know if you are looking at process improvements and have an interest to invite a partner in to help provide a 3rd party perspective. Take the opportunity to pick our brains on what is working best for others facing similar challenges.

Contact Us if you would like more information.

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The time has come around again when the latest edition of your Autodesk software is released and you are ready to upgrade. In order to upgrade, you must first download the software. This can be a daunting task due to the time it takes to download the large files. Here are a few tips that will make the download process go a lot smoother.

Click Here to download the PDF tutorial.

Still struggling to update? Or prefer to skip the hassle of downloading? You can always request the physical media be mailed out to you through the Subscription Center.

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D3 Recently welcomed Gregory Blake, Implementation Consultant, and Aaron Lancaster, Marketing Coordinator, to the team.

Gregory works out of D3's Longmont, Colorado office. Here are some quick facts about Gregory:

Position at D3:
For the past couple of years, Gregory has been a contractor through D3 teaching Inventor Essentials classes. He looks forward to the variety of opportunities and customers at D3.

Aaron works out of D3's Springfield, Missouri office. Here are some quick facts about Aaron:

Education:
BS in Business Marketing from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri (2012)

Work History:
Interned as a Media Intern working in video production and broadcasting. Upon graduating college, Aaron worked temporarily in the experiential marketing field promoting some of the most well-known toy, food, electronic, and video game brands, including Lego, PlayStation, Verizon, and Keurig.

Position at D3:
Aaron has been with D3 since late February performing a wide range of marketing activities and is looking forward to bringing his skill set to drive the company's marketing success.

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Meet Daryl Price, Sales and Marketing Director at D3. Daryl works at D3's Springfield, MO office and has been with us since 2006.

Click Here to learn more about Daryl and read the interview.

Continuing our advancements and innovation, we announced earlier that the new improvements and new look recently introduced in the ProJet 3500 HDMax and CPXMax 3D Printers have been implemented across the entire ProJet 3500 printer family. These printers provide new levels of performance with revolutionary ease-of-use, greater utility and enhanced reliability that was previously introduced in the Max models. These new printers are now in production and available for immediate shipment.

Watch this short video to see some of the capabilities of the ProJet 3510 Series' Professional 3D Printer.

For more details, please contact Barbara Miller-Webb.

We are pleased to announce the Global Field Promotion (GFP), which is focused on the latest Autodesk Design & Creation Suites. Customers have the opportunity to move into a higher level suite, or a current M&E product and receive:

• 20% off upgrade SRP from all previous releases (0-6x) to all Autodesk Design & Creation Suites with Subscription (10% off without Subscription)

• 15% off upgrade SRP from all previous releases (0-6x) to Autodesk 3ds Max 2014, Autodesk® 3ds Max Design 2014, Autodesk Maya 2014, and Autodesk® Softimage® 2014 with Subscription (5% off without Subscription)

See the "Level Up II" Promotion's Terms & Conditions document to help determine whether your software qualifies for this promotion. If you have any questions about the Global Field Promotion or the Autodesk pricing policy changes, please contact your local D3 representative.

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For a limited time, customers can benefit from low financing rates of 2.5% for 24 months or 3.5% for 36 months on all Autodesk software. Taking advantage of this offer will enable customers to:

• Keep up with the latest Autodesk software without disrupting cash flow
• Increase software purchasing power with no money down
• Meet anticipated growth needs with minimal increase in monthly payments

ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS
The financing offer is valid from May 7, 2013, through July 25, 2013, or until $8 million in funding is allocated (whichever occurs first) as determined by Autodesk. This promotion is valid in the 50 United States and Canada only, and is subject to approval by one of the identified financing partners; void where prohibited or restricted by law.

See the "Take it to the Next Level" Promotion's Terms & Conditions document to help determine whether your software qualifies for this promotion. If you have any questions about financing your software, Autodesk promotions, or the Autodesk pricing policy changes, please contact your local D3 representative.

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Save now on the professional choice in drafting and detailing software. For a limited time, you can save $200 instantly upon purchase of a new seat license of AutoCAD LT® 2014 software.

You can also receive a 30% instant rebate off upgrades from current and previous releases (0-6x) to AutoCAD LT or AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite.

Why wait any longer? There's never been a better time to get the latest release and stay competitive. But act soon, this offer expires July 25, 2013.

See the "AutoCAD LT Instant Rebate" Promotion's Terms & Conditions document to help determine whether your software qualifies for this promotion. If you have any questions about the the rebate, Autodesk promotions, or the Autodesk pricing policy changes, please contact your local D3 representative.

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