Assembly visibility settings in Inventor

I sometimes run across an Inventor user that has played around with some of the "settings" and now they can't clearly tell which part they are editing in the context of their assembly. This is usually due to the "Component Opacity" setting that is commonly overlooked (or turned on without knowing what it does). Take a look at the following video for an example of the component opacity as well as another overlooked visibility option.

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Frame Generator - Out of the Box

Here is a little video about how to use tools in Inventor, such as Frame Generator, in a way that may not be apparent at first glance. Here I'm going to create the bracket shown at right by using Frame Generator tools. By thinking slightly out of the box, you may be able to use the tools you have in a manner that fits your design worflows.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

John with the INCAT CAD Geeks

I've Found The Missing "LINK"

While doing some work with one of my customers this week, I helped them to simplify how they go about editing a design to create a new version.

We began using parameters in their parts and then add the functionality of linked parameters across other parts.

Check out this Video:

The process is really simple to use and can reduce your need to open every file to make changes.

Enjoy,

Jim.......Another INCAT CAD Geek!

Inventor...One More Section at a Time

Last time I posted I showed how to to a dynamic assembly section in Inventor. This weeks post is a little simpler but may still save you time if you are unaware. Check it out.

See Video Here

Hope it save you a few steps.....

John With the INCAT CAD Geeks

Autodesk Intent - Step 1 - Adopting Components

Every journey starts with a first step. The first step in any Autodesk Intent automation project is the creation and adoption of Inventor components into the Intent environment. In the following video you will learn how to optimize your Inventor designs for use within Intent, use the Intent Entity Naming Editor to properly name elements of your Inventor components, and use the Intent Adoption wizard to make your component ready for use in Intent. These steps will help set the stage for serious efficiency improving automation in subsequent steps.

Lets get started!

http://www.screencast.com/t/z98tJNNL

Automating Detail Parts List Using Templates

Speaking with a customer recently I found that everytime they would create a parts list for a single detail they would go through the steps of adding a parts list then add column information an so on. Well this adds up in time especialy when you do a couple hundred details. Lets take a look at changing this process for them. In there case they want to show a detail number, material and overall domensions for there parts list. I will use a template file for getting my overall dimension easily and add some information to my template title block. Lets take a look.

Let's take a look

http://www.screencast.com/t/g9Ph9zjQ2b

Created by Dave one of the Cad Geeks

One Section At A Time

Have you ever had the need to look at an assembly and figure out what's going on with the inner workings of some of the parts. It would be nice if you could "Dynamic Section" the assembly so you could drag a cut plane through the assembly and get a cross section. The DWF viewer offers this functionality as part of it's tool set. You can accomplish this in Inventor as well if you follow this short video on how to dynamically section an assembly....

Watch Video Here

Hope this help "see" your designs a little better.

John With the INCAT CAD Geeks

Managing Assembly Constraints

As an Inventor user we must know and love working with constraints. Well love might be a bit overboard but they are nessecary in our designs to have movement and proper placement of parts within our assemblies. My video is going to cover some best practices when working with constraints and some tools we have avaiable to help understand the relationships we have built.Let's take a look
http://www.screencast.com/t/NEmrqvqFb9
Created by Dave one of the Cad Geeks

Basic Model Tolerances when Fractions Count

Back in the days when I was in the design industry, we made some pretty tight tolerance parts.

Most of the time when people model up parts in 3D they do it in a nominal dimension form.

This is not a bad way to work at all, but you can model using the manufacturing tolerances right in the sketches of your parts.

By doing this you can validate your parts based on the different material conditions of the part.

Check out my video here:

Enjoy,

Jim.............Another INCAT CAD Geek

Base Solids Editing - Part 3

Hello again. In part 3 of this series concerning the editing of base solids, I would like to show an example of moving an entire set of faces on a model. This is just another way to edit a part that doesn't actually have any features to edit.

Check out this video for an example:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Do you have the Knack?

Using Overlay Views with Inventor

When I was a designer I always had to show extended and retracted positions of any item in my design that moved. This took some time to set-up worrying about capturing the information, placing it, rotating it and of course if there was a design change just another item I had to make sure I updated. With Inventor this is no longer an issue using Overlay view in my drawing environment.

Overlay drawing views use positional representations to show an assembly in multiple positions in a single view. Overlay views are available for unbroken base, projected, and auxiliary views. Each Overlay view can reference a design view representation independent of the parent view.

Let's take a look

http://www.screencast.com/t/s1MjWCT3j
Created by Dave one of the Cad Geeks

Super Fast Assembly Constraints

Using Shortcuts to speed up your work flow is a great way to increase your productivity.

Here is a great way to add assembly constraints fast.

Use the Alt-drag shortcut to infer constraints. Press the Alt key, and then drag a component into the appropriate position. The inferred constraints are previewed in the graphics window as you drag over the affected components.
When constraining components using the Alt-drag shortcut, you can change the constraint type after you start dragging the first part.
Release the Alt key and enter a shortcut key:
M or 1
Changes to a mate constraint. Press the space bar to flip to a flush constraint.
A or 2
Changes to an angle constraint. Press the space bar to flip angle direction on the selected component.
T or 3
Changes to a tangent constraint. Press the space bar to flip between an inside and outside tangent constraint.
I or 4
Changes to an insert constraint. Press the space bar to flip insert direction.
R or 5
Changes to a rotation motion constraint. Press the space bar to flip rotation direction.
S or 6
Changes to a translation (slide) constraint. Press the space bar to flip slide direction.
X or 8
Changes to a transitional constraint.

Check out my video here:

Enjoy,

Jim.....Another INCAT CAD Geek!

Base Solids Editing in Inventor - Stretch Trick

One of the tricks I find most people are unaware of in Inventor is the ability to edit "Base" features in Inventor. Base features are what you normally get when you import a model from another CAD system or Step file. Many people have figured out that they can sketch on faces of a Base model to create additional features, but few know they can use something as simple as the "Delete" key to remove features while in the Base Editing mode (as detailed in a previous CAD Geek post). I just wanted to show an example of utilizing a work plane and streching a base solid to a wider variation. Take a look at this video for a quick example:

Watch Video Here

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks