ASCENT Blog

What’s New in the Autodesk® Inventor® 2015 Training Guides – Part 2

By Jennifer MacMillan

In my previous post I discussed the changes in ASCENT’s Introduction and Update training guides. In this post I am going to focus on the advanced training guides that are now also available: Autodesk Inventor 2015 Advanced Part Modeling, Autodesk Inventor 2015 Advanced Assembly Modeling, and Autodesk Inventor 2015 Sheet Metal Design. Here goes…

Autodesk Inventor 2015 Advanced Part Modeling

This training guide contains both functionality changes and some new material that was updated to help improve the training guide. The following summarizes the changes:

• Chapter 1 discusses the new workflow for controlling inference and persistence in a sketch.
• Practice 5b has been replaced with a new practice for teaching the various advanced sweep options. This new practice has users model a hairdryer to better visually understand the Path & Guide Rail and Path & Guide Surface sweeps.
• In Chapter 9, the Construction Environment material that was previously identified as Optional has been removed as the tool is no longer available.
• The new Direct Edit tool is discussed in Chapter 12. All of the features in this tool are discussed and a new practice is included for students to practice. The content on Point Clouds in this chapter has also been updated to reflect changes to the workflow using the Autodesk ReCap software.
• An Appendix was added that discusses the new FreeForm tool. Both lecture material and practices are included to support learning this new functionality.

Autodesk Inventor 2015 Advanced Assembly Modeling

There is only one substantial change that affects this training guide for 2015. Chapter 15 has been updated to include the new changes to the Frame Generator. It now enables you to reuse members that have already been inserted and to edit the orientation of any reused members, if needed. All of the content has been updated and the practice has been rewritten to reuse members that were previously the same.

Autodesk Inventor 2015 Sheet Metal Design

A number of enhancements were made to the Sheet Metal environment with the release of the 2015 version of the software. Almost of all them were applicable for discussion in our Autodesk Inventor 2015 Sheet Metal Design training guide. The following specifics are Included:

• In Chapter 7 the new Cut Normal option that customizes how a cut is extruded over bent geometry is discussed and a new practice has been included.
• Also in Chapter 7, the new Punch enhancements are covered. These include the Across Bend option that customizes how punches are applied over bent geometry and how to drag a selection box to efficiently place punches in a model.
• The new A-Side definition node for Flat Patterns is discussed in Chapter 9. It adds a reference for flattening in the Model browser. All of the practices relating to Flat Patterns have been updated to reflect this new tool. This chapter also discusses the new Rotation option that can be used when orienting a Flat Pattern.
• For users that import and unfold/refold sheet metal geometry from other CAD packages that support zero bend radius, this is now supported in the Autodesk Inventor 2015 software. A description and images are included in Chapter 11.
• All of the power points that are available with this course have been updated to reflect all of these changes.

In all of these training guides, Interface changes that affected the use of the software were also updated. For example, the new My Home tab to start files and automatic projection being toggled off was updated throughout the training guides. Additionally, clarifications and corrections were made where necessary.

I hope that these last posts from me have helped you to prepare to teach any upcoming Inventor classes. I will be working on the Autodesk Navisworks and Plant Design training guides next (and taking a little summer vacation). Will keep you posted on changes to these books!

Jennifer

Follow-up to the Lagoon Grading in AutoCAD Civil 3D Webcast

By: Michelle Rasmussen

I want to personally thank everyone that was able to join my Lagoon Grading webcast on July 9, 2014. We had a great turnout! For those of you that were not able to join the webcast, here is a link to the recording so that you can watch it.

 

As I mentioned, this material was all taught directly from the content that is available in Chapter 6 of the Civil 3D 2015 Grading  training guide. I thought I would use this blog to reiterate just a few of the tips and tricks I outlined in the webcast.

Tip #1

Corridors do not have to be used just for grading linear features such as dams and levys. They can also be used for grading enclosed areas such as parking lots and ponds.

Tip #2

When grading an enclosed area using corridor models, make sure that you start and end the alignment along a straight line segment that does not contain many odd transitions. This ensures that your contours do not have gaps in them between the beginning and ending points. This can be done by taking advantage of the Bearing and Distance Transparent command or by placing a temporary line in the model and using Osnaps to snap to the mid-point for the start station and end station.

Tip #3

When grading an enclosed area, make sure the finished ground profile begins and ends at the same elevation. This can be done by taking advantage of Transparent Tools such as Profile Station and Elevation.

Additionally, extend the finished ground profile a few hundred feet or meters past the existing ground profile to accommodate alignment adjustments that might lengthen the alignment. This helps avoid spikes in the corridor where no vertical information is provided.

Tip #4

There is a vast number of subassemblies available in the Tool Palettes that provide grading solutions for just about any project. Everything is available from conditional slope grading, to various material assignments, and possible targets. The best thing you can do is get to know what options are available. If you believe in Albert Einstein’s mantra of “Why should I remember anything that I can look up?” then simply right click on any subassembly in the Tool Palettes and select Help. This causes the Help window to open directly to a page that details what that specific subassembly does and all the parameters that can be set for it.

Tip #5

Corridor grading solutions can be as complex or as simple as they need to be. Not only can you add multiple subassemblies to one assembly, you can also add multiple alignments and assemblies to one corridor model. In addition, each assembly can be stretched to reach whatever targets are necessary. Whether the target needs to be a surface, an alignment, polyline, feature line, or survey figure, it is done with ease when you select the appropriate subassembly.

Tip #6

If the project is complex enough, do not feel as though you have to stick to one grading solution to get the job done. Sometimes, it is necessary to use a combination of grading tools to complete a project. In fact, in the grading solution highlighted in the grading manual, you use feature lines to complete the two bay lagoon. This provides the detail required to model the weir between the pond bays while reducing the amount of time spent to model it.

I hope that the tips listed above combined with the Webcast help you complete your next complex grading project in record time. I hope you can join me for my next webcast, “Creating Coverages with Infraworks” on December 10, 2014.