Autodesk's President and CEO sees the possibility of the powerhouse 3-D design software firm getting involved with hardware.

No, they're not planning an imminent launch for a new phone or a set of architecture-analyzing glasses. But Carl Bass, who's helmed the $2 billion corporation since 2006, admits that the delineation between building virtual and physical products is eroding, and that has created opportunities for companies who have traditionally focused on developing and selling software.

"It used to be that it was this unwritten rule that software companies don't do hardware, and vice versa," he says, "but I think the rules are changing.... It totally would be fun. I personally would love it."

Bass' comments come as Autodesk and upstart 3-D printer manufacturer MakerBot use SXSW to announce a partnership that will have Autodesk helping market and distribute the Replicator 2 series of desktop 3-D printers, selling the machines directly through Autodesk's site as well as through Instructables, the massively popular DIY project compendium it acquired in 2011. The collaboration also has Autodesk introducing a direct-to-printer option that will allow its 123D apps to send creations straight to the Replicator, rather than requiring renderings to be exported, manipulated, and uploaded before being able to print.

Photo: CBassAD

The goal of the partnership, according to Bass, is to increase the simplicity of using 3-D printers, which he feels are still not quite as straightforward as they should be. "We think 3-D printer should be no harder than taking a Word document and sending it to your inkjet printer. You're modeling a creature, you're modeling a part, you're using any of the 123D apps, you hit print and it comes out on your MakerBot."

MakerBot's Bre Pettis notes that while 3-D hardware continues to advance, its success relies on useable software, something that the partnership will help bring. "MakerBot prides itself on setting the standard in desktop 3D printing, and now in working with Autodesk, we are also together, setting the standard in providing the leading 3D design software that is optimized for printing on a MakerBot," he states in a press release.

With CAD software as the foundation of its success, staying tightly involved with 3-D printer manufacturers makes sense for Autodesk. And although he has no specific plans for the company to start manufacturing its own line of printers, it's an area that Bass feels could have potential.

"Right now there seems there's really healthy competition in 3-D printing, particularly at the low end. As long as that continues, I think consumers will be well served by all the competition which drives innovation. But if there ever was a gap, I just wouldn't rule it out."

Bass looks at two specific contemporaries of Autodesk as examples of good ways for a software company to build a physical product. "You look at Xbox from Microsoft and its been quite successful," he says. "It's a huge business, and they did a really nice job."

"The more interesting model is somewhat like what Google is doing," he continues. "I don't quite see them as a hardware company, but they're not afraid to play with Hardware. There's the Chromebooks. They go in and out of the phone market — now they have Motorola so they'll be more 'in' than 'out.' It's unclear how they bring the autonomous vehicle to market. But they're not afraid to play with hardware."

"But also software companies can be prone to failure, like Zune," he laughs.

With its range of professional software products that extend into top-level architecture, product design, movie special effects, and synthetic biology, Autodesk has its hands full, something that Bass acknowledges could hinder any hardware initiatives."The trick in running a company, it's as much about figuring out what you're not going to do as what you are going to do."