Addressing the interests of the increasing number of designers who are creating products that have more-sustainable designs, Autodesk is offering an Eco Materials Advisor as part of its Autodesk Inventor 2012 release.

Essentially, based on the product design and materials selected, a dashboard display indicates the eco impact of the object, showing, for example, energy needed to produce it, the CO₂ footprint, and materials cost.

Granta Design, which is behind the development of the Eco Materials Advisor, is going to be offering a Full Version later this year for Inventor 2012. Among the features are:

· The ability to handle Inventor assemblies of any size

· A choice of approximately 3,000 materials in the data base

· A more comprehensive look at the eco impact, including the raw materials, manufacture, transport, use, and disposal.

So if you’re looking for a more robust eco design capability, check it out.