First impression of Autodesk 123D beta

123D
The new child of Autodesk.
The Beta can be downloaded for free.

My first impression:

* terms and conditions exist in 4 dozen languages but German is missing
* program is a Beta
* program only exists in US-english
* all the points in "Learn About 123D" do not work on a 64bit Windows (they try to open an swf as a file and the Adobe web-site says that the flash player 10.x is no available in 64 bit.)
* lines in sketches are hidden in "draw"
* sketches can be on flat surfaces but not on non-flat ones
* If the model is in metric units, you cannot specify inches for features (e.g. a 1/4 hole to attach a camera in a metric part)
* the only constraint I have found is "pin down" = lock feature
* I cannot find the operations I did in the model-hierarchy or any kind of construction-timeline
* I also cannot find a way to temporarily supress and operation, only parts
* I can enter basic formulas but not variable-names

It seems to be some kind of "Sketchup meets ProE".
Give extremely visual oriented people very basic parametric tools without allowing much in terms of later modification of the created object.
Useful for simple modifications to solid models in the usual CAD-formats and simple 1-off parts.
Not so much for complex parts that you test-print and then modify earlier steps in the construction history or change any parameters at all.

Marcus

http://www.123dapp.com