Handout_5196_MD5196 Sharpening Inventor Skills With Power-User Tips for the Inventor Power-User

7/25/2019 Handout_5196_MD5196 Sharpening Inventor Skills With Power-User Tips for the Inventor Power-User

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SharpeningInventorSkillswithPowerUserTipsforthe

InventorPowerUserChristiaan

Bowen

Sellier

Enterprises,

Inc.

Email:[email protected]

Web: www.inventortraining.com

MD5196 HereisthekeythatwillunlockthedoortoincreasedInventorsoftwareproductivity.Thisclass

takesafastpacedapproachtodiscoveringlittleknowntoolsforthemodeling,assembly,anddrawing

environmentinInventorsoftware,amustseefortheInventorpoweruser.

LearningObjectives

DiscoverlittleknownfeaturesthatwillimproveyourskillsasanInventorsoftwarepoweruser

DiscovernewfeaturestoincreasetheInventorsoftwarepoweruser'sproductivityinthemodeling

environment

Discover,

as

an

Inventor

software

power

user,

new

features

to

increase

productivity

in

the

assembly

environment

DiscovernewfeaturesthatwillincreaseproductivityfortheInventorsoftwarepoweruserinthedrawing

environment

AbouttheSpeaker

ChristiaanisanaccomplishedinstructorandanAutodeskInventorCertifiedExpertwithover25yearsof

experienceasaspecialistinmechanicaldesignprimarilyusingAutodeskproducts.Celebratinghis

6thyearteachingatAU,hecombineshisexpertise,knowledge,andpatiencetoteachinnovative

coursesintheAutodeskInventorseriesofproducts. Christiaanhasalsoincorporatedacompany,Sellier

Enterprises,Inc.,thatspecializesinmechanicaldesignforindustrialautomatedmachines,includingmud

cleaningsystemsforthewelldrillingindustriesandenvironmentalsupportsystemsfortheaerospace

industry.


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MD5196 - Sharpening Inventor Skills with Power-User Tips for the Inventor Power User

2

IntroductionandScope

IuseInventoreverydayinmechanicalproductdesign. Idesignavarietyofdifferentproducts

rangingfrommudcleaningequipmentforthewelldrillingindustrytoenvironmentalsystemsfor

thelightpassengerjetaircraft. ThroughoutmyexperienceinmechanicaldesignusingInventor,I

havediscoveredmanyusefulproductivityworkflows. Mygoalistodemonstratehowyoutoocan

benefitfrom

my

discoveries

over

the

years.

We

will

look

at

specific

settings

that

contribute

to

productivityaswellasvariousexamples. Someofthesearenewandsomearenot;however,they

aretriedandtested.nodoubtmostifnotallwillcontributetobecomingamoreproductive

Inventormechanicaldesigner.

StartingwithSomeWorkwithApplicationOptions

ImportingSettingsTosettheenvironmentHighlightthroughoutthesession

o IhavealaptopandadesktopandIliketokeeptheenvironmentsthesame.Therefore,I

useanxmlfiletokeepthesettingsthesameacrossallmachinesIuse.

PowerUser

Features

for

the

Solid

Modeling

Environment

PartsandSketches

AFewBasicSolidModelingTipstoIncreaseProductivity

RectangularPatternFollowingaPreDefinedPath

UserDefinedWorkPlaneVisibility

EffectivelyUsingInlineworkfeatures

CreateWorkPlanefromTwoNonParallelWorkPlanes

IdentifyingthePositiveandNegativeSideofaWorkPlane

EffectivelyLeveragingthePoweroftheConstraintSettingRelaxMode

Leveragingthe

Power

of

Direct

Edit

SheetMetal

AFewSheetMetalProductivityTipstoIncreaseWorkflowonthefly

o AdjustingFlangeCornerTreatments

o PunchToolLocation

o CutNormal,Whatisit?

o UnfoldandRefoldFeaturetoCleanUptheFlatPattern

PowerUserFeaturesfortheAssemblyEnvironment

LoadExpressMode

AssemblyConstraintAnalysis

LoadExpressMode

ContentcenterFavoritesandFilters

SelectionFiltersEditingaPartFeatureattheAssemblyLevelShiftRightClick

CreatingFoldersintheBrowsertoCleanItUp


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3

PowerUserFeaturesfortheDrawingEnvironment

Controlbeforeplacingasectionviewtobreakassociativity

ReorientinganIsometricView

AssociateTexttoaView

SelectionFiltersShiftRightClick

Attachingdetail

views

ControlSectioninginanAssembly Shafts

FastOpen(SkipAll)

SettingtheTableoftheInventorEnvironmentwithApplicationOptions

Thisiswheresettingscanbeaccessedthatcontrolappearances,behaviorsandfilelocationsin

Inventor.Thesecanbemodifiedatanytimeandarethenappliedtotheregistryofthecurrentuser.

TheseoptionscanbesavedtoanxmlfilewithpreferredsettingsandcanbeImportedand

Exported. Therearetwodefaultapplicationoptionsinthisdialog,Inventor_Default_Options.xml

andAutoCAD_Related_Options.xml. Thesexmlfileswhetherstandardorcustomarestoredhere

bydefault:

C:\Users\christiaan\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Inventor

2015\Preferences

TheseoptionswillbehighlightedandadjustedthroughoutthishandouttosetanoptimalInventor

designenvironmentforyourspecificneeds. Thisisadvantageousespeciallywhenworkingbetween

devices. Forexampleyoumightworkfromadesktoponadaytodaybasisbutwhentravelingyou

usealaptop.

ApplicationOptionscanbeaccessedfromtheToolsTabOptionsRibbon:


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4

GeneralTab

UndoFileSize(MB)Setsthesizeofthetempfilethattrackschangesforundoactions.Forlarger

complexmodelsitisbesttoincreasetoprovideadequateUndocapacity. Note: forbestresults

increaseordecreasethesizein4megabyteincrements.

AnnotationScaleSetssizeofdimensiontext,arrowheadsondimensions,constraintanddegree

offreedom

symbols

for

model

elements.

The

range

can

be

adjusted

from

ascale

of

0.2

to

5.0.

LocalHelpGreatfeatureforthetravelerbecauseaninternetconnectionisnotrequiredtoaccess.

TodeployAutodeskInventor2015orLT2015LocalHelpasapartofanInventororLTdeployment:

1. DownloadtheLocalHelpfromthefollowinglocationsandsavetoalocaldrive.

Inventor:http://www.autodesk.com/inventor 2015helpdownload

LT:http://www.autodesk.com/inventorlt 2015helpdownload

SaveTab

SaveReminderTimerTurnsonandofftheAutoSaveremindernotification. Thiscanbe

deactivatedby

unchecking

the

box.

It

is

best

to

get

into

the

habit

of

saving

frequently

anyway.

DisplayTab

ZoomBehaviorReverseDirectionThisonesforAutoCADusersbecausethedirectionofthe

wheelzoomcanbereversed.


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5

SketchTab

DisplaySetstheelementsofthecoordinatedisplaysystemandgriddisplayinthesketchenvironment.

Thiswillcleanupthesketchenvironment.

ConstraintSettingsSetstheelementsofthecoordinatedisplaysystemandgriddisplayinthesketch

environment. Wewilldiscussinfurtherdetaillateron,staytuned.

EditDimensionsWhenCreatedEditDimensiondialogboxdisplaysautomaticallyduringdimension

creation. Workswelltoinputpropervalueondimensioncreation.

Overconstrained

Dimensions

Apply

driven

dimensions

so

that

you

can

use

these

dimensions

as

variables.


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PartTab

SketchonnewpartcreationNonewsketchDisablesautomaticsketchcreationwhencreatinga

part. Thisworkswellbecausethesketchplanemustdeliberatelybeselectedinthepartenvironment.

DisplayextendedinformationafterfeaturenodenameinbrowserDisplaysdetailedinformation

aboutpartfeaturesinthebrowser. Helpstracedownthecorrectfeaturetoedit. Inotherwords,ittells

astoryofhowthepartwasmodeledwithoutdiggingtoodeepintothemodel.

AssemblyTab

Enableconstraintredundancyanalysisanalyzesforduplicateconstraintsappliedinanassembly.

Whenthis

setting

is

toggled

on,

the

constraints

will

be

marked

for

your

information.

Enablerelatedconstraintfailureanalysisanalyzesforconflictingconstraints. Whenthisoptionis

turnedoff,aconflictingconstraintthatisappliedwillhighlightasanerrorbutwillnotshowwhichother

constraintitconflictswith.

Havingtheseoptionsturnedon,especiallywhenworkingwithlargeassemblieswillrequireInventorto

performmorechecksthannormalwhenapplyingconstraintsandwillresultinslightlyslower

performance. Itisconsideredabestpracticetoturntheseoptionsononlywhenrequired.

CrossPartGeometryProjectionThiscreatesanadaptiveorassociativerelationshipwhencreating

partsinplacewithintheassemblyenvironment. Ifadaptivebehaviorisnotdesiredonpartcreation,

thenclearthecheckboxes. Mostofthetime,Iamnotabigfanofcreatingadaptivegeometrybetween

partsintheAssemblyenvironment;itcreatesundesiredendresults. Idratheruseitatwillratherthan

automatically.


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DisplaycomponentnamesafterrelationshipnamesShowsthepartassemblyconstraintrelationships

andcanbeveryhelpfulwithlargeassemblies. Thishasthepotentialtotellagreatstoryofhowthe

assemblyworks.

PowerUserFeaturesforthePartEnvironment

AFewBasicSolidModelingTipstoIncreaseProductivity

Donotcreatefilletsinthesketchenvironment;rather,createthematthefeaturelevelandlater

inthedesign.Theyclutterthesketchenvironmentandarehardertomodify. Note:fillets

shouldbecreatedafterashelltocreateaconstantwallthicknessthroughoutthepart.

Whenapplyingfillets,applylargefilletsfirst. Thispreventsproblemswhensolvingforfillets.

To

decrease

file

size

on

larger

complex

models

with

a

large

number

of

holes

use

a

cutout

or

extrudedfeatureinsteadofaholefeature.

TodecreasethefilesizeofanInventorPartfile,moveEndofPartfeaturetreetothetop. This

workswellwhensharingdataviaemail.

Createdraftfeaturesasearlyaspossible.

RectangularPatternFollowingaPreDefinedPath

Thisexampleemploystechniquestosuccessfullycreatearectangularpatternaroundapredefined

path. Inordertomakeitworkcorrectlyastartpointneedstobespecified. Hereshowtodoit.

Startbyplacingaholeataspecifieddistancefromedgeofpart.


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Createanewsketchonthepartfaceandprojecttheedgeprofilefromthepart.

CreateaWorkPointonthecenterofthetopedge

CreateaRectangularPattern30HoleFeatureinDirection1.Selecttheprofileofthe

projectededge.

Needsfittedtothelengthoftheselectedcurve,selectCurveLength.

Direction1:SelecttheWorkPointastheStartofDirection1andIdenticalforCompute

Direction2:SelectDirection1forDirection2Orientation.


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9

Hereistheendresult.

UserDefinedWorkPlaneVisibility

UserDefinedWorkPlanesaregenerallycreatedthroughoutthedesignprocess. Sometimesthere

aremanyUserDefinedWorkPlanesthatareusedtocreateapartandasaresultamodelcanget

cluttered. SincemanyWorkPlanescanbeverydistractingandarenecessarytocreatethepart,

whatcanbedonesothatattentioncanbekeptonthedesignandnotgetlostinthesework

features? Bydefault,WorkPlaneswhetherInventorsstandardorUserDefined,aresettoAuto

Resize.This

means

that

when

aWork

Plane

is

resized

by

the

user

then

it

will

resize

back

to

its

originaldefaultsizeafteraccess. Thisnextexampledemonstratesaneffectiveuseofresizingwork

planestodeclutterthepartdesignenvironment. Inthisexamplethereareseveralworkplanes

andtheyclutterthepart. Theseworkplanescanbeturnedoffinonebyindividuallyclickingon

themoneatatimeorusingViewObjectVisibilityandselectingUserWorkPlanes. Thatsone

methodanditworksbutwhatiftheWorkPlanesneedtobeaccessedandseenthroughoutthe

designprocess? TurningoffAutoResizeisaneffectivewaytomanageworkplanes.

ToTurnofftheAutoResizesetting,clickonaWorkPlane,rightclick,thenuncheckAuto

Resize.


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Next,resizetheworkplanestoamanageablesize. Nowtheworkplanescanremainvisible

throughoutthedesignprocesswithnovisibilityproblems. Anothertipistorenamethe

workplanewithameaningfulnamethatappliestothefunctionofthedesign.

EffectivelyUsingInlineworkfeatures

Thisis

awork

feature

that

is

created

during

the

creation

of

another

work

feature.

They

are

dependentinthecontextoftheactiveworkfeaturecommand. Forexample,youcancreateawork

axisbetweentwoworkpointsthatdonotyetexistbeforeyoustarttheworkaxiscommand. These

InLineworkfeaturesareaccessiblewitharightclickwhenworkfeaturesarecreated. Theyare

displayedaschildrenoftheparentworkfeatureinthebrowser. Thisisagreattoolbecauseinstead

ofhavingtocreateindividualworkfeaturesyoucancreatetheseworkfeaturesallinonestep.

Note: inlineworkfeaturesarenotavailableinanassembly.

ThisexampleeffectivelyusestheInLineWorkFeature,aworkpoint,centeredaboutaslotwhich

willultimatelybeusedtolocateinadrawing.

Hereisaplatewithaslot. Thetaskistocreateapointinthecenteroftheslotsothatitcan

ultimatelybe

dimensioned

from

the

center,

since

atool

will

be

used

to

punch

the

slot.

Start

byactivatingtheworkpointtool. ThenrightclickandselectCreatePlane

Next,selecttheedgeofoneoftheradiioftheslotthenselectonehorizontaledgeofthe

slot,thiscreatesthefirstinlineplane. RightclickagainandchoosePlaneagainthenselect

themidpointedgeofthelengthoftheslotedgetwice. Thiswillcreateanotherplanethat

intersectsperpendiculartothefirstplane. Thenselectthetopofthepartwhichcreatesa

workpointinthecenteroftheslot. Thismighttakeacoupleoftriestogetthehangofit.

Noticeinthebrowserhowtherearetwoworkplanesnestedundertheworkpoint.


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11

Nowarectangularpatternwillbecreatedincludingthenewworkpoint.


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12

Herestheresult.

LetsskipaheadslightlynowtocreateabaseviewinadrawingusingthisnewlycreatedIn

LineWorkPoint InthedrawingenvironmentabaseviewwillnowbecreatedinitsCurrent

Orientation. ClickovertotheDisplayOptionsTabandcheckboxUserWorkFeatures. This

willallowtheworkfeaturesinthemodeltobeseenandusedintheview.

Theendresultshowstheworkpointsascenterlineswhichcanbeusedforthelocation

dimensionoftheslot.


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Create aWorkplanefromTwoNonParallelWorkPlanes

Thisexamplecreatesabisectingplanebyselectingtwoworkplanes. Thisworkswellbecause

thereslesssketchgeometrythatneedstobecreatedandtheworkplanesarenestedanditcleans

upthebrowser. Thistaskistocreateanotchbetweenthemountingholes. Arethereotherways

tocreate

this

notch?

Yes,

but

this

example

highlights

astreamlined

approach.

Here

is

the

end

result.

TheZAxisandYZPlaneareturnedon.CreateaplanethatpivotsontheZAxisfromtheYZ

Planeat45degrees. Next,createanewworkplanethatbisectstheYZPlaneandWork

Plane1byselectingeachplane. Noticeinthebrowserthattheothertwoworkplanesare

nestedintotheNewWorkPlane2,itisdependentonthoseworkplanes.

CreateasketchonthenewplaneanddrawarectangleforthenotchandRevolveCutmid

planeat15degrees.Next,rightclickandselectSliceGraphicswillhelpwiththegeometry

creation.Note

that

slice

graphics

can

also

be

toggled

either

on

or

off

from

the

status

bar

or

hittingtheF7key. Status Bar


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14

Finishtheoperationwithacircularpatternof4about360degrees.

IdentifyingthePositiveandNegativeSideofaWorkPlane

Generallyitisgoodpracticetosketchonthepositivesideofworkplane. Itisespeciallycritical

whenapplyingembossedtextonparts. Whenasketchiscreateditwillalwaysgetplacedonthe

positivesideoftheplane,unlessthenegativesideisselected. Thepositivesideinthiscolorscheme

isyellow

and

magenta

is

the

negative

side.

If

the

negative

side

is

selected

then

the

text

would

appear

backwards.

This

may

be

the

desiredresultifamoldisbeingcreated. Ifnot,thentheplanecanbeflippedwiththeFlip

Normalrightclickselection.

EffectivelyLeveragingthePoweroftheConstraintSettingRelaxMode

RelaxModeallowsthemodificationofgeometryandtheabilitytoapplynewconstraintsto

geometryalreadyconstrained. WhenRelaxModeisonandgeometryismodifiedconflicting

constraintswillbehighlightedthenremovedandconflictingdimensionswillbecomedriven. Relax

modecanbetoggledeitheronorofffromthestatusbar,hittingtheF11keyorcanbefinetuned


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fromtheSketchTabintheApplicationOptionsdialog. Thisnextexampleshowsaneffectiveuseof

RelaxMode.

Thissketchisfullyconstrainedwithbothdimensionalandgeometricconstraints. The

designhassuddenlychanged,whichmeansthegeometricshapeisgoingtochange. It

wouldmeanredrawingthisshapewithouttheuseofRelaxMode. Andtheramifications

wouldbeanobviousdeterrent. BytogglingRelaxModeOnthegeometrycanfreelybere

shapedto

the

new

design

criteria.

When

the

geometry

is

re

shaped,

the

dimensional

constraintswillbecomealigneddimensionsandthegeometricconstraintswillberemoved.

Note:FunctionKeyshavealreadybeenmentioned.Heresaquickproductivitytipfortoggling

Keytips.

Keytipsareshortcutkeysforperformingtaskswithoutusingyourmouse.UsingKeytips,youcan

navigateintheApplicationMenuandtheribbonusingonlythekeyboard.Usethekeyboardarrows

tonavigatetocommandsontheribbonandApplicationmenu.

PressALTorF10todisplayshortcutkeysforcommontoolsintheapplicationwindow.Keytips

appearasunderlinedcharacterstoindicatewhichkeyorcombinationofkeystopresstoactivatea

command.

Note:Keytipsarenotcustomizable.

Status Bar

Relax Mode

Constraint Settings

Application Options

Sketch Tab


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LeveragingthePowerofDirectEdit

Inanutshell,DirectEditenablestheabilitytomakequickeditstomodels. Thisisagreattimesaver

especiallywhenmodifyingcomplexmodels. HerearejustafewinstanceswhenDirectEditshould

beconsidered.

Quicklymodifyacomplexmodelthatyoumaynothavecreatedoriginallyincluding

importedmodels

from

other

solid

modeling

packages

Modifyimportedbasepartswhilepreservingtheoriginalmodel.

Easilymodifyonlywhatyouchoose,whileavoidingunintendedchangesduetocomplex

relationships.

Rapidlyexploredesignalternatives

Inmyexperience,thishasbeenahugetimesaverwhenprovingoutmechanicaldesignconcepts. I

encouragealltousethisoneASAP!

Inthisrealworldexamplethelengthneedstobeincreasedby1.25sothatitwillaccommodate

thenewmechanicalsealdesigninahydraulicmotor. ItisashaftthatwasbroughtinasaSTP

model.

ActivatetheDirectEdittoolandselectthesplinedendoftheshaft;thisdefineshowthe

shaftwillgrow,inotherwordswhatfacetheshaftwillbestretchedfrom. Thenselect

whichpartoftheshaftwillgrow. Next,selectthearrowglyphandstartstretchingtheshaft,

notetheboxwhereahardvaluecanbepluggedinandbecarefultonotewhetheritwill

growinthepositiveornegativedirection. Finally,selectthePlussymboltolockitin,then

theXsymboltoexitthecommand. Thisisacriticalsteptoexecute;otherwise,the

modificationwillnotbeaccepted.

Ifforsomereasontheshaftneedstobetweaked,thenrightclickontheDirectEditinthe

featurehistorybrowserandchooseMove.Thiswillallowtheedit.


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AFewSheetMetalProductivityTipstoIncreaseWorkflowontheFly

Thisexampledemonstrateshowtoaddresscornertreatmentswhenflangesarecreatedsothat

hemscanbesuccessfullyappliedto3ofthetopedges. Centerpointswillbecreatedandusedto

locateapunchtool. ItwillalsoshowhowCutNormalworks. EndingthepartwithanUnfoldanda

RefoldsothatchangeswillshowintheFlatPattern.

Intheprocessofcreating4flanges,notetheglyphsoneachcorner. Theseglyphsareselectable

allowingtheadjustmentofthecornertreatments. Onceselected,eachcornercanbeadjusted

tooverridethesheetmetalstandard. Inthiscase,sinceahemisgoingtobecreated onthe

topedgeoftheflangethesymmetriccornergapwillneedtobesetback,byabout. The

reliefsizewillbelefttothestandard.


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Next,forthehems,3topedgeswillbehemmedasshown(2shortedgesandonelongedge)

anda245degreeflangeneedstobeaddedtothenonhemmededge.

Now,timeforaddingsomeslotswiththePunchToolandaCutOut. CreateasketchontheXY

planeandadd3CenterPoints,locationisnotcriticalrightnowtheyjustneedtobecompletely

ontheface. ThepointofthisistoshowtheselectabilityoftheCenterPoints. TheObround

PunchToolwillbeused. NoticehowInventorautomaticallyselectsalloftheCenterPoints,in

thiscaseonly2ofthethreewillbeselected. ClickontheGeometryTabandShiftdeselectthe

centerobround.


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AndnowCutNormalworkswhencreatingaCutOut. CreatearectangleontheXZplane,Finish

thesketchandselecttheCutOuttool. ThiswillbeCutthroughAllandmakesurethattheCut

Normalischecked(bydefaultitisnot)andFinish. Thiswillcreatestraightedgesforthecutout

ratherthanangled.

Finally,largercutoutswillneedtobecreatedineachcornerofthepart. Thesearepossibleto

addintheflatpatternbuttheywillnotshowupintheformedpart.

ThisiswhereUnfoldandRefoldcomeinhandy. ActivatetheUnfoldcommand,selecttheface

withtheslotsforStationaryReferenceAthenselectthefirst4flangesthatwerecreated.


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Createarectanglesketchontheupperrightcorner,usetheCuttooltocutthroughthe

thicknessthen

Mirrorthe

Cut,

next

mirror

the

mirrored

Cut

RefoldbyselectingthesamefaceforStationaryReferenceAthenRefoldeachflange. Belowis

thedesiredendresultwiththefoldedmodelandflatpattern.

PowerUserFeaturesfortheAssemblyEnvironment

LoadExpressMode

Thiscomesinveryhandywhenviewingorperformingsmalleditsinlargeassemblies. Itisavailable

intheAssemblyenvironment. TheupsideisLoadExpressModeallowstheloadingoflarge

assemblies3to5timesfasterbutthedownsideisthatitlimitstherangeofcommandsthatcanbe


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used. However,ifthefullrangeofcommandsisnecessary,usetheLoadFullcommandtorestore

thecommands. ThismodeisavailablefromFileOpenOptions

OritisavailableintheAssemblyEnvironmentfromtheRibbon

Important:IfalargeassemblyissavedinExpressmodeandtheninsertedintoanewassembly

Expressmodeisnotautomaticallyenabledinthenewassembly. Togetthemaximumperformance

benefitfromExpressmodewhenyoucreatenewassemblies,enableExpressmodebeforeinserting

subassembliescontainingsavedExpressdata.ToenableExpressmode,clicktheProductivityTab

andthenselectLoadExpressfromthedropdown.Savethetoplevelassemblyandtheninsertthe

subassemblies.

Note:ThebehaviorofthisfeaturecanbetweakedinApplicationOptionsfromtheAssemblyTab

underExpressModeSettings.

AssemblyConstraintAnalysis

Thisisaquicktiptoanalyzeconstraintrelationships.

UseShowrelationshipstodisplaytherelationshipanderrorglyphsonacomponent.Ifyou

wanttoshowrelationshipsonmultiplecomponents,selectthecomponentsbeforeyouselect

thecommand.

UseShowSicktodisplayerrorglyphsoncomponentsthathavearelationshiperror.If

therearenorelationshiperrorsinthemodel,theShowSickcommandisnotavailable.


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UseHideAlltoremoveallrelationshipanderrorglyphsfromthedisplay.

ContentCenterFavoritesandFilters

ContentCenterisahugedatabasecontainingthousandsofparts,therefore,itwouldbebetterto

discriminateonwhichpartsareseen. FavoritesandFiltersaregreatorganizationaltoolswhen

usingContentCenter.

FavoritesallowstheabilitytoaccessfrequentlyusedCategories,Families,Family

MembersandFeatures. DragandDropworkswellwhensettingthisup.

Filters canbesettoonlyviewselectedStandards,ManufacturersorCategories.


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SelectionFiltersEditingaPartFeatureattheAssemblyLevelShiftRightClick

SelectionFilterscanandshouldbeusedthroughoutthedesignprocess. Theyspecifytheelements

thatcanselecteddependingontheenvironment. Inthiscase,itistheAssemblyenvironment.

Thisnextexamplewillshowagreatwaytoselectexactlywhatneedstobeeditedinapart

intheassemblyenvironmentquicklyandeasilywithouthavingtolookinthemodelbrowser

toactivate

sub

assemblies

or

parts

to

accomplish

amodeling

update.

This

is

very

helpful,

especiallywhenacomponentisburieddeepinthemodelbrowser. Hereshowitworks. In

thiscasethefilletradiusneedstochangefrom1.5to1.25onthebearingcoverburieddeep

inthetree.

IntheassemblyenvironmentshiftrightclickandchooseFeaturePriority. SelecttheBearing

Cover,pauseandselecttheFillet. NoticehowInventoractivatesthecorrectpartand

feature. Itsjustthateasy.

Isolatecomponentswhensolvingconstraintrelationships

Whodoesntencounterasickassemblyconstraintortwofromtimetotime? Heresaquickwayto

findtherelationshipandvisiblyisolatethecomponents.


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SelectthesuspectconstraintsfromtheRelationshipsfolderinthebrowserandchoose

IsolateComponents. Thetwocomponentsinquestionareisolated. Oncethisiscomplete,

rightclickinthegraphicsareaandchooseUndoIsolatetobringbacktheoriginalvisibilityof

theassembly.

CreatingFoldersintheBrowsertoCleanItUp

Thebrowser

can

be

cleaned

up

significantly

by

creating

folders

in

the

tree.

This

is

not

to

be

confusedwithcreatingsubassemblies. ItworkslikeWindowsExplorer,partsandsubassemblies

canbegroupedtogetherforbetterorganization.

Hereshowitsdone. Selectthepartsandsubassemblieswithcontrolselectfromthe

browserorgraphicswindow,rightclickandchooseNewFolder. Folderscanbedeleted

witharightclickaswell,whichremovesthefolderandrestoresthepartstotheiroriginal

locationinthebrowser.

Note:Itmakesiteasierwhencomponentshavetobeisolatedbecausearightclickonany

foldercanisolatethecomponentswithinthefolder.

PowerUserFeaturesfortheDrawingEnvironment

Controlbeforeplacingasectionviewtobreakassociativity

Heresanotherquickonetogetthingsrollinginthedrawingenvironment. Sometimesthe

associativityofaSectionViewneedstobebrokensothatitwillfitonthesheet. Thiscan


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bedonewheninitiallycreatingtheviewbyholdingdowntheCtrlkeywhenplacingasection

view.

ReorientinganIsometricView

ItneverfailsonlargerassembliesthattheIsometricViewwillneedtochange,reorientedatsome

pointin

the

detail

drawing

creation

process.

ThiscanbeaccomplishedbyarightclickontheviewandselectingtheChangeView

Orientationbutton. Next,changethevieworientationthenselectFinishCustomView.

Note:Ifaviewhasbeencroppeditcannotbereoriented. Itwouldneedtobeuncropped,

reorientedthenrecropped.

AssociateTexttoaView

Thisworkswithtextaswellsketchsymbols.

Itsaverysimpletwostepprocess,createaleaderwithtext,andattachtheleadertoaview

edgeandOkoutofthedialog. Nextrightclickontheleader,anddeletetheleader,and

thenmovethetexttoitsfinallocation. Thetextremainsandisassociatedtotheview

whichmeansitwillmovewiththeviewaslongastheviewismovedasawhole.


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SelectionFiltersShiftRightClick

Thisisagreathabittogetinto,accessingthroughoutthedesignprocess. Thisfunctioncanbe

activatedwithashiftrightclickwithinthedrawingenvironment. Ifinditworkswellwhenturning

thevisibilityofpartonoroffbyselectingthePartPriority.

Attachingdetailviews

ItisimportanttoattachaDetailViewProfiletotheparentview. ThispreventstheDetailViewfrom

shiftingoffcenterwhenthepartorassemblychanges. BydefaulttheDetailViewProfileisnot

attached.

Selecttheareatobedetailedandcreatethedetailedview. RightclickontheDetailView

andchooseAttach.

ControlSectioning

in

an

Assembly

Shafts

Thiscleansupthedrawingtocomplywithdraftingstandard. Typicallyshaftsarenotsectionedina

sectionview.

OncetheSectionViewiscreated,firstShiftRightClickontheSectionViewandthenchoose

PartPriority.

Nextrightclickontheshaft,chooseSectionParticipationandthenchooseNone. This


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excludestheshaftfromparticipatingintheSectionView.

FastOpen(SkipAll)

Thisonesstrictlyforperformance. Itworkswellwhentryingtotakeaquickpeekatalarge

assemblydrawing. WhenFastOpenisselected,noattemptismadetofindanyfilesreferencedby

thedrawing. Onceopened,thedrawingbehavesasthoughithadbeenopenedwithnofile

referencespresent. DimensionsandAnnotationscanbeplacedandwillbecomeassociativewhen

thedrawingisopenedwithoutFastOpen.

WhenopeningadrawingfileselecttheOptionsbuttonandchooseFastOpen(SkipAll)and

accepttheInventorwarning.

Note:Significantperformancegainsaresubjecttothesizeofthemodelandrequirethatbothparts

andassembliesbemigratedtothelatestversion.

Conclusion

Thisis

the

end

of

the

handout

and

what

have

been

presented

here

are

just

afew

productivity

tips,

whynotgivethematry!

Date post:	25-Feb-2018
Category:	Documents
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Handout_5196_MD5196 Sharpening Inventor Skills With Power-User Tips for the Inventor Power-User

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