Ever CAD Tool has an option of Undo and Redo embedded in it.

This mainly helps in making changes when we make a mistake in a drawing file, sketch file, part file, assembly file or even when generating a drawing view.

Autodesk Inventor, has this option in a better way, by providing some additional memory when we work with large assembly files.

To enhance the Undo File Size:

Click on Tools > Application Options > Select the option show below

You can change the Undo File Size in terms of MB, you can increase this based on the assembly type and number of parts in the assembly.

Topic: Navigation Bar in Autodesk Inventor 2010

Let’s learn the basic stuff related to Navigation Bar in Inventor 2010.

Tools in Navigation Bar

Inventor has a basic navigation tool called Navigation Bar featuring the following command

Navigation Bar

Navigation Bar

Location of Navigation Bar

The navigation Bar can be located at 4 different corners on the graphic area as shown below. They can be located by selecting the Docking Position > Dock Top Left | Top Right | Bottom Left | Bottom Right

Access Docking Positions

Active / Inactive Opacity:

This helps in enabling the display of the Navigation Bar when selected and when not in use the % varies from 0 – 100 in increments of 25%

Access to Navigation Bar:

In case you close the Navigation Bar, they can retrieved from the View Tab > User Interface > Navigation Bar

Enable Navigation Bar

Custom Docking Position:

In case you wish to doc the Navigation Bar in custom location, you  need to ensure you un check the option Link to View Cube. This way you will be able to dock the navigation bar to any location on all the four sides of the graphic area.

Display of Icons on Navigation Bar:

In case you want to display additional icons on the Nav Bar, click on the customize icon at the bottom and you have an option to enable or disable the following commands

• Steering Wheel
• Pan
• Zoom
• Orbit
• View Face
• Zoom All
• Zoom Window
• Zoom Selected
• Previous View
• Next View
• Shading
• Projection

I know it was a long time since I posted back, I’ve started planning to write more in the next months for the research done so far. Although they might be simple, but would enhance your productivity to the next level.

Key note: There are plenty of software’s out there in market, have you surveyed any tool with reference to the Extrude Command, then do so, as you know all tools have a Protrude / Pad / Cut Out as two different options, Inventor has all in built see for yourself.

As a CAD Engineer, learning any tool is a matter of time, but when working with tool, its matter of productivity.

Cheers,

CAD Professor

I was busy with the lauch activites for the Autodesk India User Community for last two weeks and its already more than 1000+ registered members on the site.

Back to our work,

CAD Professor crossed the 100+ post.,

In this article I would like to focus on a command in Inventor 2010 – Slice Graphics

Slice Graphics can be activated in two ways,

• 2D Sketch Panel > Right Click Sketch Area and Select Slice Graphics / F7
• View Tab > Slice Graphics

Why Slice Graphics ?

Assume a case where in you need to sketch at the mid surface of a part file or you need to create a cavity inside a part file.

In simple terms – If a plane you want to sketch on is obscured by geometry, you find it difficult to carry on the necessary modifications.

Let’s understand the concept of slice graphics with an examples

Consider the part as shown below

The cylinders are 100mm height with (OD = 50mm and ID = 25mm)

Part 01

When you see the above geometry, there are two cylinders perpendicular to each other.  However, if we need to start the sketching of second cyinder, the mid plane is obscured by the geometry.

Hence it is essential to make use of slice graphics. See the sketch below

XZ Plane

Now select sketch option using the work plane as shown above and click on slice graphics

Sketch Plane

Select Slice Graphics

Alternatively you can also make use of the function keys – F7

Part Sliced

Now perfor the necessary sketches to get the desired shape and geometry

Slice Graphics Sketching

As you complete the sketch, click on finish sketch or press F7 to exit the slice graphics. Now perform the necessary operations to complete the part file

Sketch ready to extrude

Exturded Model

I hope you might have got a better idea as to how to effectively use slice graphics in case you are not able to sketch when the geometry obscures.

Note: You can perform slice graphics on any work plane that you create

It is clear that Inventor 2010 has one tool bar as a standard one for every environment – QUICK ACCESS TOOL BAR

Quick Access Tool Bar: This tool bar changes to present valid tools, based on the environment we select.

The toolbar contains tools for file handling, settings, view manipulation, and model or document appearance

quickaccesstoolbar

The tool bar organized based on groups as listed below

1) File Management Tools

• New Document
• Open Document
• Save Document

2) Undo / Redo

3) Environment Navigation

4) Update Document Icon

5) Selection Filtering Icon

6) Material Selection Icon

• You can select the Material type
• Update Physical Properties
• Update Material Style

7) Design Doctor (You will learn more about this in the later posts or come back later and do a search @ CAD Professor)

Note: You can ADD additional Icons like Print, iProperties,  Projects or Open from Vault

Explore Quick Access Tool Bar today to reap the benefits from them

Tips: You can add any commands to the quick access tool bar that you use frequently by right clicking on the command icon and selecting Add to Quick Access Tool Bar.

Right Click

Enjoy Reading CAD Professor,

Your Friendly Professor

Hi CAD Professor Readers,

With growing demand from all users of Autodesk Inventor, CAD Professor makes a move ahead in the WWW by creating a forum exclusively for the Autodesk Inventor Users. . .past present and future

Pls comment back if you need a forum exclusively for Autodesk Inventor . . .

On a trial basis we have launched a site for the forum http://CADProfessor.in/forum

Pls let me know, if you would be interested in participating in the CAD Professor Inventor Forum. Will such a forum benefit all Inventor users past present and future . . .

The forum can feature

• Topics related to Autodesk Inventor
• All modules
• News and Announcement
• Tutorials
• Free Learning sites
• Many more in the pipe line . . .

We are also on the look out for moderators, if you are interested send in an E Mail to sunithbabu@CADProfessor.in

After the installation procedure of Inventor 2010, its time to move ahead with learning of various aspects of Inventor 2010.

In this post, we shall review and see how the Getting Started Tab will help us in knowing more about Autodesk Inventor.

Getting Started Tab:

getting-started-tab

Note : Commands that were earlier available on the Panel bar & Drop down menu bar are now available on Tabs as shown above.

The Getting Started Tab contains many new options to increase productivity and learn more about the latest development in Autodesk Inventor 2010.

The Get Started Tab are available on all environments like the Sketching, Part Modeling, Assembly and Drafting. . .

Logical Grouping available in Get Started Tab are listed below

• Launch
• User Interface Overview
• New Features
• Learn About Inventor
• Involvement

The Luanch > This contains options that help an user in starting a new file, opening a saved file and opening / creating a new project database.

On Pressing the

New command > you will be prompted to select the template for creating a new part file which includes Units in

• Metric
• Inches

Note: During the Installation, you can select the type of units you generally work, saving time during selecting a template file.

new-file1

Open > This option helps you in selecting and opening a file that was already saved in the hard disc. You can also open files created from other CAD Softwares like Pro-E, Catia, Solidworks, UG NX and few netural format file like IGES, SAT etc.,

Projects > This helps the user to create a new project or access an existing projects folder.

projects

• User Interface Overview

Ribbon Introduction > On clicking this you will be taken to a new window which provides access to video tutorials related to New Interface options some are listed below in the image

ribbon-interface

• Ribbon Interface

This gives a complete information about the different Ribbon Interface for different environments of Autodesk Inventor 2010.

Topics in this section

• Introduction to the Ribbon Interface
• Interface fundamentals
• Set the active project
• Create a part
• Create a sketch geometry
• Finish the sketch
• Extrude the sketch
• Switch to an environment
• Print
• Measure
• Save
• Create an assembly
• Place occurrences
• Add command to Quick Access Toolbar
• Use file tabs and edit the part
• Increase screen space
• Create constraint
• Create drawing views
• Create parts list and annotation
• Customize tabs
• Create your own tab panels
• Export tab settings to XML
• Using access points through the browser

ribbon-tutorial

• Inventor Command Locator
  

With Autodesk Inventor 2010, following the lines of Office 2007, its time for every user to know where exactly the different tools and commands exists.

command-locator

Note on clicking on the Sketch > Circle you will be taken to new window as shown below to identify the exact location where the command exists.

command-locator-1

We have the What’s New Interface > this helps an user to know more about the new features available within Autodesk Inventor 2010.

whats-new

• Getting Started Guide >

This helps in opening all the associated PDF files of Autodesk Inventor 2010.

• Tutorials

This is divided into three levels

• Fundamentals
• General Interest
• Specific Interest

• 
  

  tutorial-001
  
  

  tutorial-002
  
  

  tutorial-003

Learning Path

See the various learning Path available for Autodesk Inventor 2010

learning-path

• Show Me Animation

This helps an user to learn how a particular command works or gives a step by step tutorial in executing an operation

show-me-animation

• Engineers Rule.ORG

This option takes you to the student community > Autodesk Education

• Customer Involvement Program

This helps users to register for the CIP > To learn more about CIP > Click Here

Thanks to continuous research and development being conducted at Autodesk labs as well as product improvement suggestions made by AUGI members through the Wish List, there has always been a technology drive and plenty of improvements in every release of Autodesk Inventor® software. The latest release, Autodesk Inventor 2009, is no exception. In this article, I will focus on the Feature Recognition tool inside Autodesk Inventor 2009.

Inventor Feature Recognition really helps us when converting neutral 3D CAD data such as STEP, IGES, or even SAT into actual Inventor models, which is fully feature–centric. Before we go ahead with the tutorial, I recommend that you download the tool Feature Recognition for Autodesk Inventor 2008 from the Autodesk Labs website.

The key objectives of this tool are to find and create features such as hole, extrude, fillets, chamfers shell, sculpt, sweep, and revolve within the model. The intended design features can be achieved either automatically or by an accurate step–by–step procedure, as described below.

Step 1: Start Autodesk Inventor 2008 and select Part Modeling.

Step 2: Open a part file, which has any one of the following extensions: STEP, IGES, or SAT.

Step 3: If you don’t have a part file with these extensions, I recommend that you create such a file. Here I will be creating a feature, shown in Figure 1.

inventor-0707-01

Step 4: Create a rectangle with sides 20mm x 40mm and extrude to a height of 10mm as shown in Figure 2.

inventor-0707-02

Step 5: Insert five holes (diameter 3mm) using insert hole [H] feature option with dimensions as shown in Figure 3.

inventor-0707-03

Step 6: Create a chamfer on both sides with dimensiona 2 x 45º Chamfer as shown in Figure 4.

inventor-0707-04

Step 7: Now save this part file as *.SAT (Save Copy As…) as shown in Figure 5.

inventor-0707-05

Step 8: Now open the SAT file directly using the open dialog box and you will be prompted with the dialog box shown in Figure 6.

inventor-0707-06

Step 9: Now click on Yes and you will be taken into Automatic Feature Recognition module as shown in Figure 7. Click on Automatic Feature Recognition and you will be prompted via another window, shown in figure 8. Here you need to select the type of feature, which can be automatically recognized along with faces. Once all are recognized, they are individually displayed in the browser bar (Feature Recognition) as shown in Figure 9.

inventor-0707-07

inventor-0707-08

inventor-0707-09

inventor-0707-10

Step 10: Now click on Return in the standard tool bar and you will be prompted with: “There are some recognized features, do you want to create them?” Click on Yes and you will have the actual Inventor feature file. To justify this, try to change the extrusion height from 10 to 15 mm. If you are able to do it, then your part file is native Inventor format. Further change the color to Black Chrome. Figure 10 shows all of the operations. If you need to make some hole features as rectangular array, you can select those and execute them as a Rectangular Pattern, as shown in Figure 11.

inventor-0707-11

Note: If Automatic Feature Recognition does not work, it is safe to work on Interactive Feature Mapping.

Send in your comments about this tutorial.
www.CADProfessor.in

Are you a AutoCAD user? Have you tried converting all the orthographic drawings in your CAD department into 3D Part models using Autodesk Inventor®? If no, then this tutorial is for you and a must for every CAD engineer.

With a new tool released from Autodesk Labs, 2D to 3D Tool for Autodesk Inventor, life is much more interesting for every CAD professional. In this tutorial we shall focus on how to convert a 2D drawing created in AutoCAD® into a 3D part model in Autodesk Inventor.

I recommend you download this tool from Autodesk Labs and follow the procedure for installation as given in the User Guide Download.

Let’s begin with the tutorial.

Step 1: Make sure you search for an old orthographic drawing done in AutoCAD, maybe way back in the ’90s. I am using a drawing file created in 1998. (This is to make sure you can implement this feature from any version of AutoCAD.)

Step 2: The isometric view and orthographic views are as shown in Figures 1 and 2 below.

1

Figure 1

2

Figure 2

Step 3: Now make sure you have installed the 2D to 3D Tool for Autodesk Inventor and open Autodesk Inventor with Part Module (mm) as shown in Figure 3.

3

Figure 3

Step 4: Select the command Insert AutoCAD File from 2D Sketch Panel as shown in figure 4

4

Figure 4

Step 5: Now open the orthographic drawing (*.dwg) from the location where it is saved, as shown in figure 5, and click on Open.

5

Figure 5

Step 6: You will be taken to a new window which shows a preview of the drawing to be imported into Autodesk Inventor. Based on the number of layers used in AutoCAD, all can be used or removed by selecting the selective import. Once done click on finish.

6

Figure 6

Step 7: Make sure you can either retain or remove the dimension layer while importing the drawing into Autodesk Inventor. The drawing will look like the one shown in figure 7.

7

Figure 7

Step 8: Now make sure you select the 2D to 3D tool in Inventor as shown in figure 8.

8

Figure 8

Step 9: The various options available in this toolbar are Base View, Projected View, Sketch Alignment, and Extrude.

9

Figure 9

Step 10: Once you click on Base View, you will have your drawing view oriented as shown in figure 10.

10

Figure 10

Step 11: Select the front face and later select the front view as shown in figures 11 and 12.

11

Figure 11

12

Figure 12

Step 12: Now make sure you select the Projected View from the 2D to 3D Tool Bar as shown in figure 13.

13

Figure 13

Step 13: Now go ahead and select the side view as shown in figure 14 using the mouse button and click OK. You will get the side view as shown in figure 15.

14

Figure 14

15

Figure 15

Step 14: Similarly, repeat step 13 to get the top view as shown in figure 16.

16

Figure 16

Step 15: Once you are sure that all the views are oriented, select the Extrude command (E). Now select the Side View, which has two faces (area), and enter the extrusion distance as 40mm and click on OK as shown in figure 17.

17

Figure 17

Step 16: Similarly, select the front view and carry out a Boolean operation as shown in figure 18.

18

Figure 18

Step 17: Similarly, carry out the same for top view by selecting the hole with a cut out option as shown in figure 19.

19

Figure 19

Step 18: As you complete the steps sequentially, you will get the final 3D PART MODEL as shown in figure 20.

20

Figure 20

Tips and Tricks

* You must work on a new part file to begin this tutorial.
* All the geometry must be located on the same plane.
* All loops must be closed for use with the Extrude command to create 3D Models.
* In order to achieve STEP C the best way is to import the geometry using the Import Wizard.

Before Independence Day 2009 rolls around, why not practice using the Decal command in Autodesk Inventor to wrap your country’s flag? Here’s a tutorial about how to do that, using my country’s flag.

The Decal command helps us in placing any labels, names, paintings, logos, barcodes, and warranty seals on a part model or assembly model. The general procedure would be to insert an image in sketch, then use constraints followed by dimensions to position the sketch correctly. Decal is applied mostly to extruded surfaces.

Let’s go ahead with the tutorial.
Step 1: Download your country flag (.bmp file) and save it in a folder.
Step 2: Now open Inventor and select part module.

decal-01

Step 3: Now create a rectangle with dimensions of 66mm X 45mm as shown in Figure 2. This dimension should match with the size of the flag image.

decal-02

Step 4: Now extrude the rectangle of dim (66mm X 45mm) with a height of 2 mm by using the finish sketch (Figure 3) and selecting extrude command (Figure 4).

decal-03

decal-04

Step 5: Now enter the height as 2mm in the extrude dialog box.

decal-05

Step 6: Now select the work plane option from the part feature dialog box as shown in Figure 6.

decal-06

Step 7: Now select the face and offset the work plane by 5mm or more as shown in figure 7.

decal-07

Step 8: Now select sketch on work plane and insert the image (your country flag) from the folder in which you have saved it as shown in Figures 8 and 9.

decal-08

decal-09

Step 9: Now place the image, which is a bmp file, as shown in Figure 10.

decal-10

Step 10: Now right-click and select Finish Sketch and select the decal option from part feature.

decal-11

Step 11: Now select wrap to face and later select the image first and then the face where the decal image is to be placed.

decal-12

Step 12: Now you will notice that the image is wrapped on the face of the part file as shown below in Figure 13.

decal-13

Step 13: Now you can hide the visibility of the work plane and notice only the part file with the image decal on it.

decal-14

Step 14: Now you notice that work plane is hidden as shown in Figure 15 and click on look at the front face to get the image in the front view as shown in Figure 16.

decal-15r

decal-16r

Step 15: I hope you can do the part model as shown in Figure 17.

decal-17

In this way you can decal any file with the following extension: *.bmp, *.doc, or *.xls format. Now go ahead and decal the world map on a sphere!

In the previous post on Are you Parametric? Part One, we have learned how to alter the height width and length of a simple cube. The same concept can be applied to any given model, simple or complex. In this issue we will explore how to control the same model (cube) using an Excel file. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Create an Excel file with the following data and save it as Parametric2007.xls.

parametric-figure-001

Note: L1 = length, L2 = width, L3 = height

Step 2: Open Autodesk Inventor® 11.0, select part modeling, and create a square of arbitrary values as shown below in millimeters.

parametric-figure-002

Step 3: Right-click and select Finish Sketch.

parametric-figure-003r

Step 4: Now orient the view in Isometric or press F6

parametric-figure-004

Step 5: Now let’s link the Excel file Parametric2007 with the Part Model by selecting the Tools->Parameters option.

parametric-figure-005

Step 6: Now select the link option from the Parameters, as shown in Figure 6.

parametric-figure-006

Step 7: Now Select the Parametric2007 file (Excel file) from the location where you have saved it earlier, as shown below.

parametric-figure-007

Step 8: Now you will notice that all the values appear in the parameters dialog box as shown below.

parametric-figure-008

Step 9: Once you have linked the Excel file with the Inventor model, you can edit the Excel file to alter the 3D Part Model or 2D Sketch. Now in the Browser bar, you will notice additional information, which reads as Third Party. Once you click on it you will find the Excel file attached to it—Parametric2007.xls, as shown in Figure 9. If you right-click on it and select edit, you can alter the values of L1 L2 and L3 in the Excel file directly.

parametric-figure-009

Step 10: Now let’s edit the values of Length and Width, which were created with arbitrary values of 10 mm and 10 mm respectively by double-clicking on the dimensions as shown in Figure 10.

parametric-figure-010

Step 11: Now select the List parameters to select the values of L1 and L2 as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

parametric-figure-011-resized

parametric-figure-012-resized

parametric-figure013

Step 13: Now select the Extrude Command and link to the parameter file with L3 option (height).

parametric-figure-014

Step 14: The final component (cube) is now parametric and can be altered based on the values of the Excel file.

parametric-figure-015

Step 15: Open the Excel file and change the values of L1, L2, and L3 as 100, 150, and 225. Save the file. Now select the update icon in the Inventor tool bar as shown in Figure 16. Notice the changes.

parametric-figure-016

In this way you can create any complex 3D models by linking an Excel file. Some part models such as bolts, nuts, and so on, can be created and modified easily with this technique.

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