KHI has recently been focusing on overseas markets such as China and India, where there is growing demand for industrial robots

TOKYO--Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) has adopted Autodesk Digital Prototyping software to design electrical controls in industrial robots. KHI will use Autodesk tools in its Robot Division, specifically to increase the productivity and efficiency of design work, and to help drive collaboration between teams, partners and customers around the world.

As a respected pioneer in Japan's robotics industry, KHI develops and manufactures industry-leading, high-performance industrial robots to enable more efficient productivity, more consistent quality, and greater savings in automation and labor. KHI has recently been focusing on overseas markets such as China and India, where there is growing demand for industrial robots. The company is also expanding its capacity to provide industrial robots in order to meet the need for automation in a variety of new fields, as well as in more traditional sectors such as automotive, semiconductor and solar panel production.

KHI aims to establish a more efficient design workflow for higher productivity, while continuing to expand its industrial robot business on a global scale. Accordingly, KHI has adopted AutoCAD Electrical, part of the Autodesk solution for Digital Prototyping, for designing, creating and producing electrical systems and circuits.

KHI selected AutoCAD Electrical for the following reasons:

*In addition to electrical design capabilities, AutoCAD Electrical operates on the familiar and popular AutoCAD platform, making it easier to exchange data with partners and customers worldwide.

*AutoCAD Electrical enables management of multiple drawings in a project, enabling important information to be more easily updated in a single step, while maintaining consistency.

*AutoCAD Electrical enables efficient production of drawings for electrical control design through capabilities such as component and circuit transferability and automatic circuit generation, all while reducing the time required to create drawings by up to 80 percent.

*AutoCAD Electrical enables automatic report generation, helping eliminate interference and duplication in drawings and streamline works for component aggregation.

"For the past 40 years, since we first started producing industrial robots in Japan, KHI has provided preferred solutions for efficient automation, labor savings, higher productivity and consistent quality - all for improved competitiveness. Currently, we are expanding our industrial robot business on a global scale, including the rest of Asia, the United States and Europe. To enhance our competitiveness, we have decided to adopt AutoCAD Electrical electric design software. With AutoCAD Electrical, we can achieve greater efficiency and productivity in our design work, helping us to continue developing and manufacturing the best industrial robots in the world," said Yasuhiko Hashimoto, General Manager, Robot Division, KHI.

In addition to AutoCAD Electrical, the KHI Robot Division has relied on various Autodesk software packages for industrial robot design for some time, including AutoCAD software and AutoCAD Mechanical design and drafting software. As a design solution partner to the KHI Robot Division, Autodesk will continue to support KHI's initiatives to increase efficiency in the digital design workflow and to develop high-quality industrial robots.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries -- including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.