IMAGINiT Manufacturing Solutions Blog

Draw in 3D with Inventor LT

Check out this great video from our very own Caleb Funk on the awesomeness of Inventor LT for those not needing the full Inventor Suite capabilities.  As you may or may not know Inventor LT can be purchased with AutoCAD LT as a Suite and save you a bundle!

Great Job Caleb!

Project Twitch - Autodesk Software over the Web

Autodesk Labs has launched project Twitch.  This technology preview is a test into cloud computing and allows users to run AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor, and Maya remotely from the Autodesk servers in the San Fransisco Bay area around a 1000 mile radius.

Now the idea is really novel and a good use of future way to work with Autodesk software, but since it is extremely geographically limited it does not allow a large feedback pool.  I suppose that is why it is called Twitch (in reference to a horse restraint maybe).  It allows a certain degree of free testing usage without download or local installation and could possibly solve a lot of company issues if the technology takes off. 

Cloud computing seems to be a big focus this year in technology and I can't wait to see what this small study finds.  This may change the way your company uses and licenses Inventor in the future and has great capabilities for remote users or frequent business travelers.

**UPDATE: 1000 Mile Radius Restriction Removed**

AutoCAD Electrical Project Description Mapping

AutoCAD Electrical contains many ways to track your design.  One of them is the Project Descriptions which can be mapped to the Automatic Title Block updating.

However, out of the box Project Descriptions are not that intuitive to your company's needs.

This is easily solved by created a file called default_wdtitle.wdl which is essentially a text file with a renamed extension to match what AutoCAD Electrical reads as a Description Line mapping file.

Inside the text file setup your mapping as you see below

LINE1=Project
LINE2=Job Number
LINE3=Client

Save the txt file as a wdl extension and put it in either your ACADE support directory for all projects or in your project folder for single project mapping.  If you have more than one WDP project in a folder the file can be renamed to be project specific such as MODULE02_wdtitle.wdl instead.  The next time you read the Project Descriptions, the mapping will automatically take place and you will enhance your design tracking and make your title block setup a lot easier to manage.

Blogaversary and Updates

One year ago I took over this blog from one of my esteemed colleagues.  To celebrate, we have a whole new back end system that has really helped us overhaul the site into a more user interactive page.  We now have post commenting, track backs, categories for content, and a developed archival system.  I also plan on adding more in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more to come.  Until then let me serve up a new RSS feed as well.  If you don't know what an RSS feed is, crawl out from under that technological rock and click the link on side of the page "What is RSS".

New Blog URL for bookmarks: http://blogs.rand.com/manufacturing/
RSS Feed: http://blogs.rand.com/manufacturing/atom.xml
Adding RSS feeds to Autodesk software: Infocenter RSS feeds

As always I will be covering Autodesk Manufacturing Solutions including Inventor, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, and others.  We will see more tutorials, white papers, tips, tricks, and technology futures as time goes on.  I also encourage you to leave any comments to foster discussion and provide deeper user insight.  Thanks for reading!

Inventomizations: iFeature Icons and Placement

In my ongoing series of Inventor Customizations we will take a look at some options for iFeatures placement and browser recognition.

Inventor's iFeatures allow users reuse and repetitive geometry without having to remodel it from scratch each time. Typically these types of features are industry, company, or design specific. Commonly these types of features help the standardization of designs for both standard products and new design concepts.

The creation of an iFeature (.ide file extension) usually evolves from a couple of factors in design.

• Does this geometry need to be standardized due to varying user design methods?
• Does your company create geometry that is used as a standard in industry?
• Does your design commonly go through iterations or design improvements that require remodeling?
• Will the geometry be used to retrofit older designs and models?

After you have a case for an iFeature, to aid in adoption of the iFeature it usually needs two things. First is the ability for anyone to place it correctly. Second is the ability to recognize it in the design for modification.

In order to facilitate correct placement of an iFeature a Placement Help option is preferred. This is a file that is embedded to the actual iFeature when created and hence becomes available during placement. First up, draft a Word document or Adobe PDF or even a simple image of what needs to be done with your authored iFeature to correctly place it. Use the Insert Object command in the iFeature file and choose the Create From File option without linking the file.

Next, expand the 3rd party dialog box and right click on the new object and choose Placement Help.

Now when you are placing an iFeature the little blue i icon will be available to show the user how to place your repetitive geometry.

More customization can also be had inside the iFeature dialog to create your own custom imagery for the browser tree icons. This will help users tell the geometry apart from other Inventor iFeatures. For instance, if you are using more than one iFeature in a file it would be best to tell a visual difference in the browser, and it can be good for a change of pace of the normal icon. Simply start the Change Icon command inside the iFeature file. Here you will be able to change the color and design of the browser image. NOTE: If you want a clear background you have to choose the Magenta color as a back fill (see below).

Now when the iFeature is used it will have a distinguishable icon in the browser to determine the geometry it represents or maybe just a company logo to show that it is your standardization. NOTE: Inventor needs to be restarted in order for the icon changes to take effect in the iFeature placement flyout (Manage Tab, Insert Panel). Notice some of these do not have icons and others do.

The browser can be further enhanced with the Application option of Key 1 as Browser Name. Which will put the first filter key from a table driven iFeature behind the name of the iFeature in your model history.

I hope you enjoyed this deeper look into Inventor customization of iFeatures.

Related Posts:

Inventomizations: Color Schemes Editor

In my ongoing series of Inventor Customizations we will take a look at some options for iFeatures placement and browser recognition.

Inventor's iFeatures allow users reuse and repetitive geometry without having to remodel it from scratch each time. Typically these types of features are industry, company, or design specific. Commonly these types of features help the standardization of designs for both standard products and new design concepts.

The creation of an iFeature (.ide file extension) usually evolves from a couple of factors in design.

• Does this geometry need to be standardized due to varying user design methods?
• Does your company create geometry that is used as a standard in industry?
• Does your design commonly go through iterations or design improvements that require remodeling?
• Will the geometry be used to retrofit older designs and models?

After you have a case for an iFeature, to aid in adoption of the iFeature it usually needs two things. First is the ability for anyone to place it correctly. Second is the ability to recognize it in the design for modification.

In order to facilitate correct placement of an iFeature a Placement Help option is preferred. This is a file that is embedded to the actual iFeature when created and hence becomes available during placement. First up, draft a Word document or Adobe PDF or even a simple image of what needs to be done with your authored iFeature to correctly place it. Use the Insert Object command in the iFeature file and choose the Create From File option without linking the file.

Next, expand the 3rd party dialog box and right click on the new object and choose Placement Help.

Now when you are placing an iFeature the little blue i icon will be available to show the user how to place your repetitive geometry.

More customization can also be had inside the iFeature dialog to create your own custom imagery for the browser tree icons. This will help users tell the geometry apart from other Inventor iFeatures. For instance, if you are using more than one iFeature in a file it would be best to tell a visual difference in the browser, and it can be good for a change of pace of the normal icon. Simply start the Change Icon command inside the iFeature file. Here you will be able to change the color and design of the browser image. NOTE: If you want a clear background you have to choose the Magenta color as a back fill (see below).

Now when the iFeature is used it will have a distinguishable icon in the browser to determine the geometry it represents or maybe just a company logo to show that it is your standardization. NOTE: Inventor needs to be restarted in order for the icon changes to take effect in the iFeature placement flyout (Manage Tab, Insert Panel). Notice some of these do not have icons and others do.

The browser can be further enhanced with the Application option of Key 1 as Browser Name. Which will put the first filter key from a table driven iFeature behind the name of the iFeature in your model history.

I hope you enjoyed this deeper look into Inventor customization of iFeatures.

Related Posts:

Inventomizations: Color Schemes Editor