First-Year Engineering Program

INVENTOR 2010 HINTS AND HELPS *

Making an Oblique Surface Establishing Symmetry Improving Centerlines Correcting Text Block Alignment and Modifying the Text Changing Isometric Orientation (and reorients METRIC ViewCube) Eliminating Unwanted Edges or Text Restoring Lost Model History Tree

Pages 2-31 Pages 32-49 Pages 50-54 Pages 55-60 Pages 61-65 Pages 66-69 Pages 70-72 Pages 73-74 Pages 75-78

Dimensioning a DRAWING in Metric Restoring "Lost" Geometric Constraints

Select topic by left clicking on underlined text while in the SLIDE SHOW mode
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Inventor: Making an Oblique Surface

PROBLEM: Your Inventor Part has requires the creation of an OBIQUE surface

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Inventor: Making an Oblique Surface

Three approaches will be shown:
1. Splitting and removing to a work plane 2. Extruding to a work plane 3. Sweep a profile along a path and cutting

Select topic by left clicking on underlined text while in the SLIDE SHOW mode
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Approach 1 Splitting Work Plane

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Approach 1 Splitting Work Plane Strategy

Create a WORK PLANE which is positioned to function as the desired OBLIQUE SURFACE where the material under the WORK PLANE is to be maintained and the material above the WORK PLANE is to be removed Use the "SPLIT" function to remove the material above the WORK PLANE Make the WORK PLANE "INVISIBLE HERE S HOW
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Setting up a Work Plane

1.) First select Work Plane from the Model Panel.

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Select 3 points to define the plane

2. Left Click on three points to define the plane you desire. If you choose to use midpoints or endpoints of lines, they are already defined and will be highlighted when you move the cursor over them.

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Selecting points that are not endpoints or midpoints

Points can be created using Grounded 3-D Work Points within the Model Panel or Points on a sketch plane. You could also draw lines so that their end points could be used to locate the work plane. ( See addendum slides on pages 28 -31 for details. Click HERE to go to addendum )
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Creating a Work Plane

Once you have selected 3 points a visible work plane is produced.

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Removing Material above the Work Plane

3.) Select Split

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Removing Material above the Work Plane 4.) Choose the Trim
Solid Icon

5.) Left Click on the work plane to select it

6.) Set the direction and click ok

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Making the Work Plane Not Visible

The Work Plane and the Split appear in the Model History Tree

7.) Right Click

on Work Plane 8.) Left Click on Visibility and your done!
LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 3

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Approach 2 Extruding Work Plane

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Extruding Work Plane Strategy

Create a WORK PLANE which is positioned to function as the desired OBLIQUE SURFACE where the material under the WORK PLANE is to be extruded from a defined surface to that WORK PLANE Use the "Extrude" function create the material to the WORK PLANE Make the WORK PLANE "INVISIBLE HERE S HOW .
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Creating a Second Oblique

( Extrusion )

1.) If a point needed to define a work plane is not available, add a sketch plane and dimension as needed
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Creating a Second Oblique

( Extrusion )

2.) Create a work plane as before using the 2 predefined work points and the newly created one ( point of the triangle )

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Creating a Second Oblique

( Extrusion )

3.) Using Extrude, select the profile, in this case the triangle on the bottom

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Creating a Second Oblique

( Extrusion )

4.) Then set Extents to "To" and select the work plane

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Creating a Second Oblique

( Extrusion )

5.) Click OK and turn the visibility of the work plane off and your done !

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 3

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Approach 3 Sweep Cut

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Approach 3 SWEEP CUT STRATEGY

Create a new surface which is to be "SWEPT" down a newly defined line Use the "SWEEP" function with the "CUT" option to remove the desired material

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SWEEP - CUT
Assume you want to cut off the corner as shown, but do not want to affect the portion protruding to the right of the object below. Using a work plane and the split will cut into that protrusion since the work plane "goes to infinity".

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Define plane to sweep

1.) Create a new sketch plane on the top of object 2.) Draw 3 line segments to create a closed surface and properly place the end points using dimensioning You now have defined the closed surface that you are going to "Sweep"

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Define path of the sweep

3.) Create a new sketch plane on the front of object 4.) Draw a line which is coincident with the end point of the surface to be swept and terminates at the boundary of the protrusion. You may use either project geometry and a coincident constraint or dimension the line to correct position. You now have defined the path that you are going to "Sweep" 5.) Finish sketch
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SWEEP - CUT
6.) Click on Sweep

7.) Select the profile which is to be swept 8.) Highlighting will now move from the "Profile" button to the "Path" button

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SWEEP - CUT
9.) Select the path (red) through which you will sweep the profile 10.) Select the "Cut" button

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SWEEP - CUT
11.) Then click on "OK" and your done !

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 3

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Addendum Grounded 3-D Work Points and Points

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Addendum - Grounded 3-D Work Points

( to establish points which have not been predefined )

1.) Click on Work Point and in the sub- menu select "Grounded Work Point" within the Model Panel 2.) Place Work Point on front right corner as indicated by selecting that corner 3.) Select "Redefine alignment or position"
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Addendum - Grounded 3-D Work Points

4.) In this example, change the value in the x-axis control box from 2.500 in to 1.000 in which repositions the grounded work point as shown. 5.) Click OK and repeat steps 24 above to place 2 additional Grounded Work Points in the desired locations. 6.) Use these 3 work points to establish the desired WORK PLANE as shown in pages 4 - 9
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Addendum
1.) Click on "SKETCH" and select
the front of the object 2.) Select "Point" within the Sketch Panel menu 3.) Locate and click on the 2 desired locations in the front plane 4.) Right click and select "Done" 5.) Right click and select "Finish Sketch" 6.) Repeat steps 1-5 for the right side of the object to place 1 additional work point 7.) Use these 3 work points to establish the desired WORK PLANE as shown in pages 4 - 9

Points
LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1

( to establish points which have not been predefined )

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OR LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 8

First-Year Engineering Program

USING SYMETRIC CONSTRAINT TO ESTABLISH SYMMETRY

PROBLEM: Your Inventor Part has SYMMETRY about one or more axes or has features which would be easier to produce if the object were constrained so that one or more principal planes are located at a specified point within the part
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USING SYMETRIC CONSTRAINT TO ESTABLISH SYMMETRY

STEP 1 - Draw 2 point rectangle STEP 2 - Project X and Y axis ( sketch plane is XY ) STEP 3 On the top toolbar locate Constrain and select "Symetric"

x-axis y-axis

STEP 4 Select the left vertical side and then the right vertical side and finally the vertical Y axis. IMPORTANT-then left click Done
Now symmetric about Y axis

STEP 5 Repeat STEPS 3 & 4, but selecting the top horizontal side and then the bottom horizontal side and finally the X axis. Then left click Done
Now symmetric about X axis

y-axis
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USING COINCIDENT TO ESTABLISH PARTIAL SYMMETRY

STEP 1A If symmetry had been desired only around the Y-axis and the bottom of the rectangle coincident with the X axis, the easiest method is to project the CP CP STEP 2A Under Constrain select "Coincident", then select the green center point on bottom of the rectangle and then select the CP.

CP

green cp

Now symmetric about Y axis and coincident with the CP

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XY PLANE - Using Symmetry via Symmetric constraints EXAMPLE 1

Draw on default X-Y plane with projected xaxis, y-axis and CP and use the "Symmetric" constraints to establish symmetry Extrude rectagular shape, turn on visiblity

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XY PLANE - Using Symmetry via Symmetric constraints

EXAMPLE 1
Extrude / cut circle, turn off visibility after extrude / cut Sketch on Y-Z plane, project CP and use "Coincident" to make sides symmetrical

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XY PLANE - Using Symmetry via Symmetric constraints

EXAMPLE 1
Extrude shape both directions, turn visibility on Draw circle on face, dividing it in half with line

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XY PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric constraints

EXAMPLE 1 (metric)

Extrude / cut half circle into object

Extrude / cut small circles into object

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XY PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric constraints

EXAMPLE 1 (metric)

Use text box to place name -sweep to delete edge lines

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X-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 2 (metric)

Delete default X-Y plane and create X-Z plane for sketch. Project X, Z and CP to make 2 rectangles symmetrical with projected z-axis and make top of T coincident with x-axis. Draw small circles.

Extrude T entire shape

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X-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 2 (metric)

Make sketch on face, closing middle sized circle ( in half) and lower right and left corners

Extrude / cut smaller circle through object, visibility turned on

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X-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 2 (metric)

Extrude / cut lower left and right corners through object

Extrude / cut smaller circle through object, visibility turned on

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X-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 2 (metric)

Project Y axis and draw circle

Extrude / cut circle into object

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X-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 2 (metric)

Extrude / cut small circles into object

Use text box to place name -sweep to delete edge lines

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Y-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 3 (metric)
Delete default X-Y plane and create Y-Z plane for sketch. Project Y, Z and CP to make rectangle symmetrical with projected z-axis and make top of rectangle coincident with yaxis. Draw 1 arc and 1 small circle Extrude all except the smaller hole in both directions.

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First-Year Engineering Program Y-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 3 (metric)
Draw circle on face and divide in half Extrude / cut half circle into object

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Y-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 3 (metric)
Project Y-Z plane and y-axis (point) to make top of T (rectangle) symmetrical with Y-Z plane and top coincident with y-axis (holes at 9.5 instead of 10) Extrude top of T, turn visibility on

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First-Year Engineering Program Y-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 3 (metric)
Extrude / cut small circles into object, turn visibility off after extrude Project z-axis on top face and draw circle

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First-Year Engineering Program Y-Z PLANE - Using symmetry via Symmetric and Coincident constraints

EXAMPLE 3 (metric)
Extrude / cut circle into object Use text box to place name -sweep to delete edge lines

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1

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Center Lines
(improving graphical representation)

PROBLEM: Your Center Lines on an Inventor Drawing are displayed as solid lines due to parameter sizing (default) of the Center Mark Style specifications

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Center Lines
(improving graphical representation)

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Center Lines
(improving graphical representation)
STEP 1: Move cursor over Centerline Bisector until green dots appear, right click and select Edit Center Mark Style STEP 2: When Center Mark Style Box appears ( this takes a little time), modify entrees A, B & D to be approximately half of their original values .

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Center Lines
(improving graphical representation)

Note that A, B and D values have been halved A = 0.125 B = 0.05 and D = 0.125

STEP 3: Click on Done and inspect the NEW Centerline Bisector

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Center Lines
(improving graphical representation)

Note the improved formatting of the Centerlines. The adjusted parameters will apply to all the Centerlines in the drawing
LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1
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Correcting Text Box Alignment

PROBLEM: Your Inventor Part text block containing the title information is misaligned with the part

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Correcting Text Box Alignment

How do you correct this problem ?

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Correcting Text Box Alignment

STEP 1: Edit the Sketch in your Model History Tree that contains the title text. STEP 2: Under the "MODIFY" portion in the top toolbar select "Rotate" STEP 3: Left click anywhere within the text box and then click on the SELECT ARROW under the Center Point label in the Rotate window and then select the upper left corner of text title box.

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Correcting Text Box Alignment

You can now pull the green dot Note that the corner is Highlighted with a green dot with your cursor and rotate the text appropriately around the green dot

When the text box is properly aligned, left click to release the rotation function

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Correcting Text Box Alignment

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1

Your problem is now resolved ! Got an error in the text? See next slide

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Correcting Text Box Alignment

STEP 1 Edit Sketch on the entry containing the text. STEP 2 Move mouse over text are until text turns RED STEP 3 Right click and select Edit Text

STEP 4 Correct text, click OK, right click and select Finish Sketch

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LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1

First-Year Engineering Program

Changing ISOMETRIC ORIENTATION

PROBLEM: Your Inventor Part is not ORIENTED as desired either because you started your initial sketch on a less than optimal plane or the orientation was accidently changed during the design process

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Changing ISOMETRIC ORIENTATION

You hit F6 and get this orientation

Use the View Face feature in the The reoriented view Navigation Bar to select the desired FRONT face Then right click on ViewCube and select Set Current View as Home-Fit to View Left click on upper right corner of ViewCube

Right click on ViewCube and select Set Current View as Front

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Changing ISOMETRIC ORIENTATION

NOTE: If you have reoriented your object and that reorientation is different from you initial assignment and you leave the object in the ISOMETRIC VIEW before you create the BASE VIEW in the DRAWING by using the FRONT (XY), your object will be oriented as it was ORIGINALLY CREATED. This is illustrated on the following slide as well as a method to get the desired NEW orientation into your DRAWING.

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Changing ISOMETRIC ORIENTATION

Original Orientation
FRONT & Reoriented HOME VIEW as shown in previous slides

Assume you leave your Reoriented Part in the ISOMETRIC VIEW as shown to the to the left and then create a BASE VIEW in your DRAWING using the FRONT(XY) selection

Then you will produce a DRAWING oriented as shown to the right with the triangle at the top (matches the Original Orientation)
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Changing ISOMETRIC ORIENTATION

But if you leave your Part in the FRONT VIEW as shown to the to the right and then create a BASE VIEW in your DRAWING using the CURRENT selection

Then you will produce a DRAWING oriented as shown to the right with the triangle at the side

and the PROJECTED VIEWS will have the triangle oriented to the side!
LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1
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Eliminating Unwanted Edges or Text

PROBLEM: Your Inventor Part or Drawing has edges, tangent lines or extra text (dimensions in a Part display) which you wish to remove or hide

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Eliminating Edges in Part

ISO A Select Tools/Application Options/Display , then unclick 'Edges' and then 'OK' to get ISO B

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ISO B

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Eliminating Tangent Edges in Drawing

STEP 1: Move cursor until dotted red box appears around Isometric, then right click and select Edit View STEP 2: Select Display Options and unclick Tangent Edges

STEP 3: Click OK and Tangent Edges are removed

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Eliminating Unwanted Text from Part

To eliminate dimensions text and lines from ISO A, find source sketch plane in Model History Tree ( moving mouse without clicking) and right click on sketch plane and then unclick 'visibility' in (Sketch1) to get ISO B

ISO A

ISO B
LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1
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Restoring Model History Tree

PROBLEM: Your Model History Tree has disappeared and you want to restore it.

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Restoring Model History Tree

Missing Model History Tree

Under View, select User Interface and then click on Browser which is presently unchecked
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Restoring Model History Tree

So that all boxes are checked if you look at User Interface again

Your Model History Tree is restored

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1
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Dimensiong a DRAWING in Metric

PROBLEM: After starting to dimension your DRAWING which is METRIC, you find that the dimensions do no correspond to those in your ISOMETRIC part

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..

Any time PRIOR to assigning any dimensions to your drawing, you must do the following:
Click on Tools and then select Document Settings Under Standards, using the drop-down list, change ANSI to ANSI-MM
So, after you have reached either of these two points select the following: or

Then select Apply and Close

LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1

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Restoring Lost Geometric Constraints

PROBLEM: You notice that INVENTOR is no longer applying geometric constraints AUTOMATICALLY to your sketch. This has probably happened just after you attempted to apply either a "Coincident" or "Parallel" or "Tangent" constraint and you accidently clicked on either the adjacent "Constraint Inference" or the adjacent "Constraint Persistence" box. ( next slide )
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Restoring Lost Geometric Constraints

The default state for both Constraint Inference and Constraint Persistence is "ON" so that, while sketching, geometric constraints are AUTOMATICALLY applied by INVENTOR. "ON" is indicated by the BLUE background color as shown below. In this default state, turning on "Show All Constraints", the applied constraints are displayed as shown below.

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Restoring Lost Geometric Constraints

If the default state for both Constraint Inference and Constraint Persistence is changed to "OFF" , no constraints will be AUTOMATICALLY applied by INVENTOR. "OFF" is indicated by the WHITE background color as shown below. In this "OFF" state, turning on "Show All Constraints", there are NO applied constraints to be displayed as shown below.

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Restoring Lost Geometric Constraints

To restore INVENTOR to it's default state, left click on Constraint Persistence as shown below. INVENTOR will then AUTOMATICALLY apply geometric constraints on any new sketch features ( note boxes color change ). One should then remove any portion of the sketch without constraints ( this is the easiest solution ) or apply geometric constraints manually.

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LEFT CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO SLIDE 1