More Generators

Although I've been doing a series on Design Accelerators, I wanted to touch on another aspect of auto creation and workflow with the Frame Generator. Today we'll take a look at why it's useful and time saving to create a frame in the context of an assembly using this tool. I'll point out a few things like using projected geometry to act as the skeleton and how you can quickly and easily make updates with your model staying intact....

WATCH VIDEO HERE

John with the INCAT CAD Geeks

What File is That?

A seemingly simple question was asked today by one of our long time clients. The question - When a view is created, how do you know where the file is (directory) so you can locate the file or files? Well, that seems like it would be easy. Let's take a look at some of the ways that you can determine where the file is located....

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Thanks to Dave Phillips at Advanced Design Solutions

John With the INCAT CAD Geeks

iParts to iFeatures - Bonus Tools 2009

One of the Bonus Tools added to Inventor gives you the ability to take an iPart and quickly turn it into an iFeature with the table.

This could save you a lot of time in adding a multi-function iFeature to your catalog.

Check out this quick Video:

Enjoy the new tools,

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

Bonus Tools For Inventor!!!

Autodesk® Inventor® 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack continues focus on user productivity!

The first Subscription Bonus Pack is now available featuring improvements to frequently used commands. In fact, three of our current AUGI Top 10 wish list items are provided along with many other productivity based improvements for part and assembly modeling to drawing creation. Tools included in the Bonus Pack will reduce the amount of picks and clicks as well as reduce editing steps which will delight our customers. Our subscription customers will be able to install these tools to their current Inventor 2009 after downloading a small file from the subscription portal and these same tools will be rolled into the next release of Inventor.

What’s in it?

Drawing Manager Tools

Arrange dimensions
Dimension Selection Filters
Directly open a corresponding drawing right from a part or assembly
Refreshing drawing parameters
Balloon snap and alignment on placement
Project geometry works like part environment
Edit dimension upon placement

Part Modeling Tools
Create parameters on the fly when dimensioning
Specify iFeatures normal direction
Create iFeatures from iParts
Apply buttons on Scale and Rotate dialogs
Simplified loft selection through right click context menu



Assembly Design Tools

Bill of Material Editor
Shift or Control for contiguous or non-contiguous selection
Copy/Paste
Capitalization
Find and Replace
Cross highlight from the BOM editor and Assembly model
Auto Save Reminder


Where can they get it?

Our current Inventor subscription customers will be able to log in to the Autodesk Subscription website and download the small Bonus Pack.

Here is a Video of a Couple to wet your appetite:

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

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

Working with Difficult Fillets in Inventor

A new option called Minimal was added to the Fillet Setbacks tab. Select the Minimal option so the system can define the minimum allowable setback for a given vertex.

This option often provides the smoothest transition and increases the probability of solving difficult vertex fillets. Let’s take a look at working with setbacks.

Let's take a look
http://www.screencast.com/t/i7Q3583L
Created by Dave one of the Cad Geeks

Fay, Fay Go Away.....I'll Show You a Balloon Trick Today

Tropical storm Fay has been playing tricks on us Floridians. Seems it just keeps swirling around the state like a balloon in a wind tunnel. Speaking of balloons and tricks, I'd like to share a few tricks when placing or adding ballons that you may or not be aware of....

Watch Video Here

Wind and rain battered John with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Non-Inventor Feature Recognition For Stubburn Features

A while back one of the other CAD Geeks blogged about this tool also.
I wanted to take it a bit further in detail.

Feature Recognition is a very usefull tool for making more inteligent models out of data that is created in other CAD packages. Sometimes not all of the features can be generated by using the automatic function. When this happens I use the same tool but go at it a litlle more manualy.
You can also pick like features at the same time to speed this up.


I used this to take some data from a Pro-E file type and make an Inventor part with true features.


This can save you hours of time by not having to remodel from scratch a needed part.

Check out my video here:



Enjoy,
Jim.....Another INCAT CAD Geek!

Utilizing Shrink Wrap with Inventor

Autodesk Labs Strikes Again. A feature I know a lot of users have been looking for. How to go about creating a simplified solid for use in larger assemblies or be able to ship a 3D model to a customer and not have to worry about giving them my native file which could be reverse engineered. Also no need for a pack and go if they only need a representation of the model.

Check it out

http://www.screencast.com/t/McfTInGGpz2

Created by Dave of the Incat Cad Geeks

Getting Groovy with Welds

At my local user group we discussed the weldment envrionment inside of Inventor today.

We loooked at all of the aspects of it and found there was some interest in placing some different welds on the assembly.

This is an example of welding some rectangular tubing to a plate. This situation creates an undercut that must be filled in order to build a good fillet weld after.

Check out my video here:

Enjoy,

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

"Coil" Like a Snake

I have to be honest, I haven't really used the "Coil" command in Inventor very much. After taking a deeper look into it, I found that not only do you have complete control of how the coil will be created, you can even create a spiral. The options inside allow you to control the shape by Pitch and Revolution, Revolution and Height, Pitch and Height and the before mentioned Spiral. You can even control the end points so that they would behave like flats on the end of a spring. Keep in mind that you could use this command to actually create threads in your models. Use with caution, a helix is the most computational consuming procedure for modeling purposes and can greatly reduce performance if used excessively.

Take a Look Here

John with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Industrial Design files directly read by Inventor!!

I have been asked over the years how to get data from Industrial design departments to engineering, and it has continually been a struggle. It typically required trying to import IGES data, or many times required remodeling the design in Inventor only to lose much of the artistic design intent. Since the difference between an average product and a great product lies in the details, Autodesk Labs has introduced an Alias Studio direct reader add-in for Autodesk Inventor. If your company struggles with bridging the gap between industrial design (product design) and engineering, then this workflow should be seriously considered.

The included image is an example of some data imported from Alias Studio into Inventor.

Here is the download at Labs:
http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/alias_iv_trans/

Contributed by Ben of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Inventor 2009 - Fixing those Bad Corners....Sheet Metal that is.

Well today I had one of my faithful customers send me some file asking for help. He was making some flanges on a sheet metal part...3/8" material. When he ran into a problem from past releases of Inventor.

So we looked at the model and quickly I could see that his problem was one of the specific areas that was addressed in Inventor 2009.

I took his same part and made it the way he was wanting it. Now he has to get the IT guy to roll out their 2009 software or else I might be doing his work on the side!!

So here is just one more reason to upgrade to 2009.

Check out my Video here:

Enjoy,

Jim.....Another INCAT CAD Geek!

Can't Figure out a model's Assembly Contraints? Check out iMap on Autodesk Labs.

Autodesk Labs is at it again. In addition to a new User Interface preview, Labs has published a utility called iMap that allows you to graphically view the relationships between components in an assembly and to manipulate the assembly contraints from this new graphical interface. Can't figure out how a coworker assembled components? Try out the new iMap download on Autodesk Labs at:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_imap/

Contributed by Ben of the Incat CAD Geeks

Autodesk Labs is back at it again........Inventor 2009 User Interface Technology Preview

Last Friday I posted in advance letting you know that something cool would be coming out early this week. So here it is:

"UI Technology Preview for Autodesk Inventor 2009"

This easy to download tool will run side by side with Inventor 2009 allowing you to check this new interface concept for Autodesk Inventor. Last December while at Autodesk University I was allowed to do some prototype reviews with the Inventor product design team, and I love the new updates. Like anything working through change is tough, but I like the enhanced UI so far.

Stay tuned for more updates as we dig deeper.

Kevin with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Description from the labs web site:

Brand new look and feel for Inventor 2009!
The UI Technology Preview showcases the latest user interface design concepts for Autodesk Inventor 2009 specifically focused at enhancing the user experience. Along with presenting a fresh, modern look and feel to Inventor® 2009, the primary goals of these enhancements are improving usability and learnability for new users and realizing productivity gains for existing users.The UI Technology Preview on Autodesk Labs affords us an excellent opportunity to gather valuable user feedback on these design concepts to help us meet our goals.

Some highlights of the UI Technology Preview for Inventor 2009:

Ribbon style logical grouping of commands - The UI Technology Preview incorporates a ribbon-style layout for accessing familiar Inventor 2009 commands

Quick Access Toolbar for frequently used commands - The UI Technology Preview allows users to put commonly used commands on a Quick Access Toolbar available at all times

Progressive tooltips for greater learnability - Hovering over commands opens progressive tooltips; first level describes the command and second level includes an illustrative explanation

Tabs to quickly switch active documents - The UI Technology Preview offers document tabs with rich previews that allow users to quickly identify and switch between various open documents

Fast facts about UI Technology Preview for Inventor 2009:

Inventor 2009 required for UI Technology Preview - The UI Technology Preview requires an existing installation of Inventor 2009 (Suite, Simulation Suite, Routed Systems Suite or Professional)

Inventor 2009 standard UI and the UI Technology Preview work in parallel - The UI Technology Preview installs in a way that users can use both interfaces in parallel if they prefer

No impact on existing installation of Inventor 2009 - The UI Technology Preview can be installed and uninstalled without any impact on the existing installation of Inventor 2009

No migration impact on Inventor 2009 files - Files can be created, opened and modified in either
Inventor 2009 or the Technology Preview with no need for file migration at any time

English only but installs with all languages - The UI Technology Preview is currently available in English only but will install with all language versions of Inventor 2009

No Thanks, I'll Defer....with Autodesk Inventor 2009

Updates, that is. If you are using Inventor Professional or Routed Systems to design cable and harnesses, you may want to take advantage of a new feature in 2009. You now have the ability to defer the automatic update that would take place if you were to make an edit. If you have a large assembly or are in the beginning process of your design and not sure where everthing fits yet, this could be a time consuming process everytime you make a change. You also have the ability to defer the BOM length update, further speeding your process time.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Although this isn't a large assembly, you get the idea...

Another productivity enhancement from our friends at Autodesk.

John with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Stay Tuned........Cool new technology preview coming next week

I cant say anything else today, but stayed tuned for a post early next week about some cool new work flows for Autodesk Inventor for you to check out. I know, I know, this blog post wasn't a tip or trick, but I am so busy thinking about my post for next week.......However I might demo this stuff live at our web based user group meeting next Wednesday at 11:30am:

SIGN UP HERE

Stay tuned,
Kevin with the INCAT CAD Geeks

Added Functionality - Drawing Tools

Digging a little deeper into those folders I traditionally over look that come with your Inventor media. I was surprised with a ton of great functionality. The latest one I have been playing with are those listed under drawing tools. C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor 2009\SDK\UserTools\DrawingTools. Here I found 3 handy items: Chain Dimension which can relieve you of some tedious work, Alpha Sort for automatically putting your drawings into alphabetical order and revision cloud a lot of people like the idea of using the revision clouds with Design Review I can add revision clouds right from Inventor I just don’t have the selection like I do with Design Review. With this it will create a sketch under the view that I will be applying it to. I thought it would be really cool if I could use crop view with it but unfortunately you can’t.

Check it out

http://screencast.com/t/9Ya8JlOzFl

Submitted by Dave of the INCAT CAD Geeks

Arc Text....Another cool feature in Inventor 2009

Ever had a need to put a screen printing of text on a part like a wheel?

Well now you can do just that in a model sketch. This is one of the many feature enhansments to Inventor 2009.

It is very easy to do and gives you a ton of control of the text, even the ability to do it in reverse for inside printing on glass.

Check out my Video here:

Enjoy,
Jim.........Another INCAT CAD Geek!