Distributor Man and Machine has launched a new computer-aided design (CAD) suite for its 650 resellers and integrators that specialise in supplying bespoke and purpose-built systems.

Autodesk’s 2009 Product Suite was launched to the UK channel in May. The new product suite means Man and Machine can offer integrators the latest CAD design software, the distributor claimed.

The new suite includes updates to Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT software.
This will speed up the CAD design process, while increasing worker productivity in sectors such as manufacturing design, architecture and engineering, according to Tim Seaman, Man and Machine’s managing director.

“Autodesk’s latest product offering will create real opportunity for our reseller and integrator base. It is great to have a vendor with such an influence in the digital design market,” said Seaman.

Meanwhile, the specialist graphic card market could be boosted by the rise in demand for 3D graphics, driven by a growth in the use of CAD CAM applications and gamers.

This is where Nvidia will capture market share from the integrated graphic manufacturers such as Intel, argued Ben Berraondo, marketing director at Nvidia. “This trend will continue as applications get more advanced and use more 3D graphics, creating more opportunities for resellers to upsell,” said Berraondo.

The new range of Nvidia entry-level graphics cards give business and home users professional graphics at a low price point, he argued. Resellers can then migrate them onto high-end cards such as the Quadro FX4900.

“One of the biggest trends in the future to affect the graphics market will be the driver developed by Nvidia and AMD ATI,” said Seaman.

“The new drivers will allow graphics cards to be more efficient by controlling graphic-intensive processes such as shading and geometry at the same time, rather then leveraging multiple drivers,” he said.