High-Definition TV Cameras Come to Life with Connectors Designed

High-Definition TV Cameras Come to Life with Connectors Designed in Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor of the Month Awarded to LEMO Connectors, the Connection Standard for HDTV Cameras

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — December 17, 2009 — LEMO USA Inc. uses Autodesk Inventor software to design and customize high-quality precision connectors for the medical, instrumentation, military, automotive and broadcast markets. In the broadcast market, LEMO’s “3K.93C” is the industry standard for high-definition television (HDTV) cameras—helping with the wide delivery of HDTV programming.

Creating digital prototypes with Inventor software enables LEMO to design and customize its connectors in significantly less time, and Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, has named LEMO as the December Autodesk Inventor of the Month for the Swiss company’s innovative design efforts.

Designing a custom connector could take LEMO up to three weeks, from designing the part, building a physical prototype and shipping it to the customer for approval. By using a Digital Prototyping workflow, LEMO can now simply produce and share 3D models with the customer, completing the entire design process within a week.

“Every time someone sits down on Sunday to watch football in high definition, they are likely watching the game through one of LEMO’s hybrid connectors,” said Erik Gammon, engineering manager at LEMO. “Autodesk Inventor software has been instrumental in helping us design, visualize and simulate precision connection solutions that deliver the high-quality results our customers expect.”

Virtually any advanced piece of electronic equipment requires several types of connectors to interface with power sources and other devices. HDTV cameras need high-voltage, fiber-optic and low-voltage contacts all within the same connector, rather than as three separate connectors. Using Inventor software enables LEMO to design a hybrid connector that combines all three contacts onto a single interconnect solution.

The hybrid connector is challenging to design because of the many different types of male pins that need to connect with the corresponding female sockets in a relatively small amount of space. With Inventor software, LEMO has the ability to first check for interferences among all the different components. It then enables tolerance checks on the contacts to help them mate with just the right amount of insertion—producing a reliable connection.

“Companies like LEMO are using Digital Prototyping to respond to customer needs quicker and bring their innovative products to market sooner,” said Robert “Buzz” Kross, senior vice president, Manufacturing Industry Group at Autodesk. “In a global economy, these are practices that serve manufacturers well.”

About the Autodesk Inventor of the Month Program

Each month, Autodesk selects an Inventor of the Month from the users of Autodesk Inventor software, which takes manufacturers beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and groundbreaking innovation. For more information about Autodesk Inventor of the Month, contact us at Email Contact.

About LEMO S.A.

Founded in 1946, and headquartered in Switzerland, LEMO designs and manufactures precision connectors that are used in medical, industrial, audio/visual, telecommunications, military, scientific research and measurement applications. LEMO USA Inc. is a subsidiary of LEMO S.A. and is based in Rohnert Park, California. For more information, visit www.lemo.com or email Email Contact.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies -- as well as the last 14 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Editorial Note:

An interview with LEMO USA is available on the Autodesk YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yYtG1r8Ai4.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

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