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

Math Rules!

iParts can be a great way to simplify your parts library. However, I constantly hear that it's pain to remember which features to suppress for each configuration. My answer is to create rules with math.

We can write equations that provide values and then suppress the features based on those values. There are hundreds of ways to use these but I want to stress that sometimes this can get too complex. That is when you want to look into iLogic or Inventor Automation.

Video > http://www.screencast.com/t/VpJP4gqdPq5

MathRules.ipt > http://www.box.net/shared/6efanavrhx

Created by Josh, Yet another CAD Geek

Props to my friend (and CAD Geek) Chris Weitzel for collaborating on these equations.

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!

ipart Paint Shop

I was out with one of my customers today and came across this issue.
They oreder parts that are the same in size and shape but have different paint colors applied to them.
They want to have the parts show up in their assemblies with the correct color applied to them.



Well after a quick set up of an ipart and adding a few properties we came up with this solution.



Check out this short video:



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

Making Your Parts More Intelligent

So you maybe you have mastered creating iParts and iFeatures, but we can take those items one step farther adding in some operators to make them even more intelligent. I am going to take a very simple example and create intelligence that will work with the dynamic geometry of a part. Allowing to have suppression of a feature due to a size change in a model.

Why is this important?
As iParts and iFeatures increase and decrease in size you may want to suppress or un-suppress other features so that they fit. One example could be that you have a plate 4 inches long with 3 one inch holes in it with equal spacing; you may want a hole to disappear if that plate ever gets shorter than a given length. Working with parameters will allow this to happen automatically.

Check it out

http://screencast.com/t/M6OFYWeHi

Submitted by Dave of the INCAT 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