Inventor 2014 and Inventor LT 2014 Essentials: Autodesk Official Press

Thom Tremblay

• Publisher: Sybex
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781118757574
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: CAD-CAM
• Index: Computer Science

Quickly learn essential inventor tools and techniques

This full-color Autodesk Official Press guide will help you quickly learn the powerful manufacturing software's core features and functions. Thom Tremblay, an Autodesk Certified Instructor, uses concise, straightforward explanations and real-world, hands-on exercises to help you become productive with Inventor. Full-color screenshots illustrate tutorial steps, and chapters conclude with a related and more open-ended project to further reinforce the chapter's lessons.

Based on the very real-world task of designing tools and a toolbox to house them, the book demonstrates creating 2D drawings from 3D data, modeling parts, combining parts into assemblies, annotating drawings, using advanced assembly tools, working with sheet metal, presenting designs, and more. Full-color screenshots illustrate the steps, and additional files are available for download so you can compare your results with those of professionals. You'll also get information to help you prepare for the Inventor certification exams.

• Introduces new users to the software with real-world projects, hands-on tutorials, and full-color illustrations
• Begins each chapter with a quick discussion of concepts and learning goals and then moves into approachable, hands-on exercises
• Covers the interface and foundational concepts, modeling parts, combining them into assemblies building with the frame generator, using weldments
• Includes material to help you prepare for the Inventor certification exams

Autodesk Inventor 2014 Essentials provides the information you need to quickly become proficient with the powerful 3D mechanical design software.

Chapter 1

Connecting to the Interface

To access the power of Autodesk® Inventor® 2014, you have to start with the interface. To some extent, Inventor is an interface between your ideas and your computer.

The ability to navigate and leverage the nuances of a program interface can mean the difference between struggling and excelling with the application. In this chapter, you will explore the components of dialog boxes, Ribbons, tabs, and viewing tools that will help you create your designs. You will also learn how to modify the interface to increase your comfort with Inventor.

• Exploring the graphical user interface
• Setting application options
• Using visualization tools
• Working with project files

Exploring the Graphical User Interface

Autodesk Inventor 2014 opens with a Welcome screen (Figure 1.1), which presents the new user with the tools needed to create a new file, open an existing one, and access the many Essential Skills Videos and tutorials built into the product. You can even change the units of the default templates to spare you from selecting Metric or English templates all the time.

FIGURE 1.1 The Autodesk Inventor Welcome screen

When you first see the interface, you will probably think it is rather bare. With no file open, you just have the absolute basics there. Even when a file is loaded, your design remains the focus of the interface. In Figure 1.2, you can see the primary elements of the interface that we will refer to in this chapter.

FIGURE 1.2 Elements of the Inventor user interface

Users of other current Autodesk or Microsoft applications will recognize the Ribbon-style interface and the Application icon in the upper left. The adoption of the Ribbon interface in Inventor goes beyond most other applications by actively offering you tools when they’re most needed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; let’s start by getting more details on these features.

Across the top of the Inventor window is the title bar. It lets you know you’re using Autodesk Inventor, or it displays the name of the active file when you’re editing one.

In the upper-left corner is an icon with a large I on it. Clicking it opens the Application menu (Figure 1.3), which displays tools for creating and manipulating files (on the left) and a list of recently opened files (on the right). If you want to be able to return to a file frequently, you can select the pushpin icon to the right of the filename and keep it on the list of recently accessed files.

FIGURE 1.3 The expanded Application menu and Quick Access toolbar

You can also toggle the list between recent documents and the documents that are currently open and change the list from filenames to icons showing the files.

At the top (on the right side) is a Search Commands window for finding tools that are available in the file you are editing. As you begin typing a tool name or more conceptual term, a list of options based on the entry will be generated. You can then start the tool from that list. The location of the tool in the Ribbon is also displayed for future reference.

Just below that you will find icons that sort how previously opened files are listed and a drop-down menu for the size of the icon displayed.

At the bottom of the menu are buttons to exit Inventor and to access the application options, which you will explore later in this chapter.

The Quick Access toolbar is embedded in the title bar next to the Application icon and contains common tools for accessing new file templates, undoing and redoing edits, and printing. The toolbar is dynamic, which means different tools will appear depending on the active file. For example, one of those part-time tools is a drop-down menu that allows you to change the color of the active part.

You can customize this toolbar by adding commonly used tools to the toolbar. To do so, select the desired tool from the Ribbon, right-click, and select Add To Quick Access Toolbar from the context menu.

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Important!

At this time, it is critical that you go to www.sybex.com/go/inventor2014essentials, download the Inventor 2014 Essentials Data.zip file, and extract it to the root of your C drive. This will create a new folder, C:\Inventor 2014 Essentials. The files needed to complete the exercises for this book are in this folder.

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Opening a File

Knowing this much of the interface will allow you to access the Open dialog box and see how the rest of the interface works. In this exercise, you will open a file in Inventor:

1. Start Autodesk Inventor if it is not already up and running.

2. Expand the Application menu, and select Open from the options on the left.

When the Open dialog box appears, notice the tools at the top. These tools allow you to navigate to other folders as you would in Windows Explorer, change the way files are displayed (including the option of thumbnail images), and add new folders.

3. In the Open dialog box, use the Up One Level button to navigate to the C:\Inventor 2014 Essentials\Parts\Chapter 01, folder, as shown in Figure 1.4.

FIGURE 1.4 The Open dialog box includes tools for finding and browsing for files.

4. Double-click the c01-01.ipt file listed, or click it once and then click Open.

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You can also access the Open tool via the Quick Access toolbar.

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5. To see the complete model, move your cursor near the ViewCube® in the upper right of the Graphics window. When the icon that looks like a house appears, click it.

Clicking the Home view icon restores a view position that was saved with the model. Your screen should now resemble Figure 1.2.

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Selecting an Inventor file from the file list generates a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Connecting to the Interface
• Chapter 2: Introducing Parametric Sketching
• Chapter 3: Introducing Part Modeling
• Chapter 4: Creating 2D Drawings from 3D Data
• Chapter 5: Introducing Assembly Modeling
• Chapter 6: Exploring Part Modeling
• Chapter 7: Advanced Part Modeling
• Chapter 8: Creating Advanced Drawings and Annotations
• Chapter 9: Advanced Assembly and Engineering Tools
• Chapter 10: Creating Sculpted and Multibody Parts
• Chapter 11: Working with Sheet Metal Parts
• Chapter 12: Building with the Frame Generator
• Chapter 13: Working in a Weldment Environment
• Appendix: Autodesk Inventor Certification