Managing iParts and iAssemblies in Vault

iParts and iAssemblies can be a valuable tool in the Autodesk Inventor products, but anyone who has used iParts or iAssemblies in Vault might have become a bit frustrated. Due to the complex file references between all of the members in an iPart and its "Factory", it can be challenging to load these into Vault in a fully "up to date" fashion. This can lead to Inventor thinking the iPart needs to be updated and checked out each time it is inserted during regular design use.

There is a relatively simple way to keep track of the updated status of all iPart members using a container assembly. The same technique can be used with iAssemblies nested multiple levels deep. I have created a video of the technique using the Engine MKII sample data set which contains multiple levels of iPart and iAssemblies.

Check out the video HERE.

Contributed by Ben of the Tata Technologies CAD Geeks

iAuthor.... I Am

Using the iAuthor command may save you a lot of time when creating configurations. You don't need to mess around with the editing tables or .xls spreadsheets unless you want to go crosseyed. You can use the toolbar to toggle between editing a single member at a time or the entire factory scope. Inventor then "captures" the edits you make and will add the neccessary parameters or changes you make to the table. That way you can make the edits in an environment that you are most familiar with....the modeling space.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

It works the same for iAssemblies as it does for iParts making configurations fast and easy.

John with the INCAT CAD Geeks