Autodesk Inventor 2021 Parametric design and iLogic for beginners
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Title: Autodesk Inventor 2021 Parametric design and iLogic for beginners
Author: Fabian Stasiak
Publication Date: 2020-09
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Customer Review
...This textbook on the contrary, draws great lines about how Inventor works and guides you step by step through the general aspects of the software, helping you quickly adapt...
Autodesk Inventor tutorial for beginners
This tutorial is intended for beginners for whom this is the first contact with Autodesk Inventor software. However, individuals who are familiar with the program will find here useful informations. The Autodesk Inventor software is ready for operation immediately after installation and is pre-configured to create designs in line with the general guidelines of the ANSI standard, allowing you to immediately start creating 3D models and associated documentation 2D.
The exercises proposed in this tutorial cover many aspects of working in Autodesk Inventor software and will help you deal with the following three examples:
Example No 1: Designing a complete product
The best way to get to know the parametrization of Autodesk® Inventor® is to make a design of any simple device, which will be shown all the main steps of creating and editing a parametric design. In the first example you will learn how to work in Inventor, from the scratch. You will create a project of a simple drill vise, on which you will learn the basic operations of modeling and creating drawing documentation. This example emphasizes the principles of project management, from a single part through designing parts in the context of the assembly, checking the basic kinematics of the product, and further creating a complete drawing documentation containing item numbers and a parts list, as well as an exploding view of the product, rendered illustration and video to be both used for marketing this product.
Then, thanks to the parametric modeling and skillful file management, you will quickly create a new version of the drill vise with a complete set of drawing documentation as well as a rendered illustration and video of the new version of the product. The approach proposed in this example will facilitate the application of Inventor parameterization and file management in designing varieties of products of similar design, which use many common components and it will accelerate obtaining flawless drawing documentation of the new version of the product.
This is a great example for beginners Inventor users who will learn here the main principles of leading projects in Inventor and will create a solid foundation for expanding their skills.
Example No 2: Component libraries for beginners. iPart
Most of the products being designed use components purchased from external suppliers. For this reason, parametric 3D models of purchased components, which can be quickly inserted into the project instead of modeling each time from scratch, offers greatest possible convenience for the constructor. In addition, component library files should be properly described, so that they are correctly presented in the bill of materials and also it should be placed in the library resources area, which will protect them from accidental editing.
In this example, you will create two parts purchased from suppliers: a rubber foot with fixed dimensions and a parametric library of metal handle that is available in several sizes. The examples presented here will teach you how to prepare your own parametric libraries of purchased components, as a static components and as a parametric iPart library components.
Example No 3: Parametric generator of product versions using iLogic
In the third example, you will create a parametric generator for making a simple metal casing that allows you to obtain a model of any size, with or without handles and pre-prepared drawing documentation for each version of the casing. The generated version of the casing can be further modified in order to obtain the final appearance.
In this example, you will learn the basics of designing sheet metal parts, the use of parameters in parts and in the assembly and you will learn the basics of iLogic programming. The approach presented here will teach you how to create and use iLogic parametric version generators.
The example presented here is a little more advanced but it shows how easy it is to implement design automation in your daily work with Autodesk Inventor. Even a beginner user of Autodesk Inventor will easily perform this example and thank this will achieve a higher level of skill.
And…
No additional files are required to complete the designs described - all files will be created using the exercises in sequence. Exercises presented in this manual have been implemented in Autodesk Inventor 2021; however, most of this manual is also compatible with previous versions of Autodesk Inventor software.
Selected illustrations from the textbook
What you'll learn from this book
If you correctly follow all the exercises contained in this manual, you will know how to:
- Modeling simple singular mechanical parts in a separate part file or in the context of an assembly.
- Compose parts in the assembly and control their mutual position.
- Insert standard parts from the
- Drive the assembly constraints to verify the kinematics of the assembly model.
- Prepare a basic visual presentation of designed product containing rendered illustrations and the video animation .
- Prepare an exploded presentation of the product.
- Create a technical drawings of the project, including the basic views, dimensions, descriptions, parts list.
- Create drawings with exploded views for presentations or assemble instructions.
- Cerate a new product design based on an existing design with associated drawings, rendered illustrations and presentations video.
- Carry out basic administrative operations on files with maintaining files relationships.
- Create single version library components and correctly describe them for the BOM.
- Create parametric iParts components, specify key parameters, descriptions and create a version table.
- Model simple sheet metal parts using basic tools and create flat patterns.
- Control dimensions and features of part in part files using simple iLogic functions.
- Define global parameters in the main assembly file and transfer their values to related part files using the iLogic function.
- Control the use of iParts in an assembly using the iLogic function.
- Control such features like holes and assembly constraints across all parts using the iLogic function.
- Create a dialog box to conveniently control the parameters and options of the variant.
- Design a generator of versions of the product containing associated drawing documentation.
- Generate many versions of a simple subassembly using the variant generator, which contain correctly named 3D models and related drawing.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Example No 1: Designing a complete product
Example No 2: Component librariesExample No 3: Parametric generator of product versions
PREPARATION FOR EXERCISES
Creating a main project fileAdjusting the title block in the template file of drawing
EXAMPLE NO 1. DESIGNING A COMPLETE PRODUCT
Exercise 1. Modeling of parts. Movable jaw of the vise
Exercise 2. The technical drawing of the part. The jaw drawingExercise 3. Part–modeling in the assembly file. Corps of the viseExercise 4. Inserting and positioning parts in the assemblyExercise 5. Part-modeling in cross section of the assembly. Clamping screwExercise 6. Modeling of the adaptive parts in assembly. Screw supportExercise 7. Inserting standard parts and creating bolted connectionExercise 8. Assembly kinematics. Drive constraintsExercise 9. Organize content of a bill of materialExercise 10. The visual presentation of the project on the screenExercise 11. Rendered picture and the video of a viseExercise 12. Creating a presentation fileExercise 13. Technical drawing of the assembly. List of parts and numbering
Exercise 14. Technical assembly drawing with exploded viewExercise 15. 2D drawings of parts. Break out, breaking and detail viewsExercise 16. Creating a new version of the vise based on the current versionExercise 17. A task: do it yourselfSummary of Example No 1
EXAMPLE NO 2. LIBRARY OF COMPONENTS
Exercise 18. Supplementing the configuration of the project fileExercise 19. Library component as a single part. FooterExercise 20. Library component as iPart. HandleExercise 21. Test of inserting library parts into the assemblySummary of Example No 2
EXAMPLE NO 3. PARAMETRIC GENERATOR
The initial conditionsExercise 22. Create a project file and version generator assembly. ParametersExercise 23. Modeling of the sheet metal bottom of the caseExercise 24. Modeling the cover of the metal caseExercise 25. Modeling of the front plateExercise 26. Inserting handles and footers. Dimensions correctionExercise 27. Creating an iLogic rule controlling the versionsExercise 28. Creating a control formExercise 29. Creating 2D drawings for the version generatorExercise 30. Generating of metal cases variantsSummary of Example No 3