In many design and manufacturing environments, teamwork is a way of life—an essential part of getting a product to market quickly. Concurrent design among multiple team members requires coordination, discipline, and organization. In other situations a designer might work primarily as a stand-alone user, collaborating with others but generally creating and accessing files as a single user. In either case, effort invested in setting up an efficient file management system saves time while designing parts and provides safeguards against rework and downstream errors for the designer. When working as part of a design team, the value increases exponentially.
In this chapter, you'll learn to:
The power of Inventor comes from the way it creates separate files and then links them to one another, allowing designs to be quickly created and edited. Without a good plan, however, the many files and links can become unmanageable as users move and rename files that are referenced by other files. It is important, therefore, to do some planning in order to optimize file access and organization and minimize the number of broken links and time spent managing files in the future.
It is important to consider where and how you store Inventor data. The basic setup of your directory structure defines how efficient data access will be. You don't want your design team spending hours redesigning parts because it is faster than locating poorly organized existing part files, and you don't want them rebuilding assemblies because moving and renaming part files has created myriad file link resolutions. Whether you plan to work in multiuser or single-project mode, setting up an Inventor project is a good time to review the file structure that you have used in the past.
The ideal directory structure varies based upon the type of work you do: product development, engineer to order, make to order, and so forth. In all cases, the overall goal of a directory structure should be to simplify the file structure and reduce the possibility of placing the same (or similar) file in multiple locations. You also want to create clear paths that separate your workspace from the support data and library files.
Examine the job-based file directory structure example in Figure 2.1. There is a folder named Engineering intended to contain all the files used by the engineering department. Also present are three subfolders: 3rd Party Software, Autodesk Service Packs, and CAD Files. The first two folders (3rd Party Software and Autodesk Service Packs) are intended for storing and maintaining supporting files for engineering department software. We'll discuss the third folder next.
The third subfolder, CAD Files, stores all files related to individual jobs. Inside this subfolder are three more subfolders:
Content Center
Designs
Libraries
The Designs folder stores all files related to individual jobs that are not standard content parts (Content Center) or standard user-defined parts (Libraries).
It is important to understand what Content Center is and how it works. The Content Center libraries are collections of table data containing the definitions for how to create 800,000-plus standard parts and features. This database is managed by the Desktop Content settings or the Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS). Once you've installed the content libraries, you can use this content in your designs. To do this, you choose a component from the database to place into your design. Understand that it is at this point that the Content Center part file is created. Up until this point, the part existed only as a definition in the database table.
In your project, you need to specify a Content Center file store location. The file store folder will include additional subfolders where Content Center files will be stored once used in your designs. These additional folders are created automatically as parts are created. The next time a part is specified from the Content Center libraries, Inventor first searches the Content Center file store directories and then creates the part from the database only if the part file does not already exist in the file store location. It is required that the Content Center file store location be outside the main project data path. From this discussion of libraries, you can see that high importance is placed on planning the correct part locations and workflow.
Within the folder called Designs, you may choose to segregate files by customer, then by year, and then by individual job, or you can use any other organizational scheme that fits how you design. In the example directory structure, the GM folder contains a subfolder for the year 2007 and beneath that another for job 01-223-78Z. All files that are unique to job 01-223-78Z will be stored here. Additional subfolders under this folder can be created as required. Files that are not specific to a job, product line, or client and are intended to be shared between designs would likely be placed in library folders rather than in the Designs directory.
Library folders contain existing, shared components. Library folders are useful repositories for purchased parts such as fasteners, clamps, motors, and connectors, as well as any other common standard components. Library folders are defined in the Inventor project file (*.ipj). All components stored in a folder designated as a library file are considered to be read-only by Inventor. This prevents the component from being unintentionally edited or from being revised without appropriate approvals. For example, before you modify a design that was completed as part of another job, it's important to determine where else that part was used. The goal is to ensure that the changes you plan will not render the part unusable for other designs.
Library folders should be located outside the main Inventor project (*.ipj) path. In the job-based directory structure example shown in Figure 2.1, the Libraries folder is on the same directory level as the CAD Files folder and therefore outside the primary Inventor project data path, in this case the Designs folder. Library folders can be located anywhere outside the primary project data path, even on different drives or mapped servers.
Inventor handles files differently than many other applications. You can think of an Inventor assembly as an empty "bucket" into which parts and subassemblies are placed and assembled. Therefore, the assembly file contains only the file path references of the components it is composed of and the information about how those components are assembled. As a result, the location of referenced files is a key issue. If when opening an assembly referenced files cannot be found at the search path recorded in the assembly file, a manual file resolution process is activated. This happens most often when component files are moved or renamed outside the Inventor utilities dedicated to these tasks.
Upon manually pointing the assembly to the moved or renamed file, the new location is saved into the assembly file, assuming that the lost file is physically present within the search paths. If the file is located outside the project search path, then the File Resolution dialog box appears every time the assembly is opened. These search paths are defined for each Inventor project file (*.ipj).
The file reference path in Inventor files differ between library and nonlibrary files:
A library reference path consists of the following:
Library name
Filename
Subfolder location (where applicable)
A nonlibrary reference path consists of the following:
Filename
Subfolder location (where applicable)
Inventor project files (*.ipj) are easy to create and use, provided you understand how Inventor uses them. An Inventor project file is a configuration file that lists the locations and functions of each search path. Inventor uses these definitions to resolve file links and locate the files needed for the parts and assemblies on which you want to work. Figure 2.2 shows how Inventor loads assemblies and parts inside an assembly file.
When opening an assembly file, Inventor resolves files by searching for the first file to be located within the assembly file. Inventor first looks in the library folders for that file. Next, Inventor searches in the local workspace for the file. When a file is not found in any of the referenced folders, Inventor launches a manual file resolution dialog box offering you the opportunity to browse and point to the file.
As anyone who has worked in mechanical design knows, at some point in the project revisions will be needed. To protect legacy designs and avoid rework, part revisions must be reviewed to determine where that part or subassembly is (or has been) used. If the proposed revision can be made without harming existing designs, library parts can be updated. If replacing the existing parts with a revised part causes problems with existing designs, then the existing part will be saved and updated under a new name. This protects the existing part and prevents damage to older designs.
As discussed earlier, the goal is to create one unique physical part file for each unique part name, with an associated 2D drawing, stored in a single location within the company's data storage system. No duplicate parts or filenames should exist anywhere within the company, except while a part is being revised. If an existing part is edited and saved as a new part name and number in the appropriate library folder, the temporary part is deleted. With this workflow, you are assured that when a part is selected for use in a design, it is the correct part. The following sections highlight two suggested workflows for reusing designs.
Figure 2.3 reviews a process for handling existing parts to be reused for a new design. If the part will be reused, shared parts are copied to a library folder and then are used in the Component Replace or Replace All process. The original copies can then be removed or managed as required.
Autodesk Vault is a data management program that assists in the file management aspect of working with Inventor. Using Vault greatly reduces the occurrence of missing or unresolved file links because, unlike moving and renaming Inventor files with Windows Explorer, moving and renaming Inventor files in Vault automatically updates the assembly file so that file links are maintained. When using Vault, you should create a single Vault project and store all designs under it. For Vault projects, moving files to a library folder location may not be necessary, although performance can be improved by using designated library folders. Utilizing a single project path approach for all designs will simplify the reuse of files shared between jobs, as illustrated in Figure 2.4.
Alternatively, Autodesk Vault contains a command called Copy Design. With the Copy Design approach, you can selectively copy only the parts that need to change to the new design. Other files not copied can remain intact and referenced as fully "reused" components and/or excluded from the new, copied design. Vault's Copy Design tool also accommodates the copying of the detail drawings that accompany the copied parts.
Using Copy Design Without Vault
You can find a limited-feature Copy Design utility at C:Program FilesAutodeskInventor 2010SDK.
Follow these steps to install and use this utility:
Double-click the
UserTools.msifile to unpack the tools.Locate the Copy Design folder in the unpacked UserTools directory.
Locate the
CopyDesign.exefile in theCopy DesignBindirectory, and double-click it.
This tool requires an IDW of the top-level assembly to work. It copies the IDW and all of the files referenced by the IDW to a folder of your choice, and it allows you to specify a prefix name for each file, as shown here.
This tool is a "bonus" tool and may not work in all circumstances.
As mentioned previously, file management in Autodesk Inventor is handled through the use of a project file (*.ipj). A project file is simply a configuration file set up and used to control how Inventor creates and resolves file links, where you edit files, how many old versions of the files to keep, and how Content Center files are stored and used. In the early days of Inventor, Autodesk offered two basic project types: single-user and multiuser projects. At this point, the Vault project has replaced the earlier multiuser project types.
Unless you have installed Vault, you have only one project type to choose from by default, the single-user project. The name single-user could be considered a misnomer, because this project is widely used by one-man shops and multiseat design departments alike. The term single-user does not mean that only one user can access the files in that project as it might suggest, but instead it refers to the fact that there are no means of preventing files from being accessed for editing while another user is already editing the file. This can create a "last-man-to-save-wins" situation, if care is not taken.
Many design departments use single-user projects effectively in collaborative environments because of workflows that lend themselves to this type of project or by simply maintaining good communication among the design team. For collaborative environments that require some safeguard against situations where users could potentially save over one another's work, using a Vault project is recommended.
Vault is a data management program that, as the name implies, locks down files for their protection. Once a file is in Vault, it is checked out by a user in order to be edited. Vault typically resides on a file server where the entire design team can access it. When the file is checked out of the Vault server, it is placed on the user's local machine for editing. The next user who comes along and attempts to access that file can access only a read-only version. Once the first user is finished editing, the file is checked back into Vault and automatically versioned.
It is also important to note that Inventor installs with a default project setup. The default project is typically not used for production work because it is not fully configurable and will almost always lead to file resolution issues.
In Inventor, two project file configurations are available:
- Single-user
A single-user project allows you to work in a file structure that is wholly contained on your system or on a network server location. This project file type is the simplest project file type to create and works well when users are not working on the same design concurrently.
- Vault
Autodesk Vault is an easy-to-use data management tool that integrates work created with Inventor, Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Mechanical, and AutoCAD Electrical. It includes features that allow design teams to track work in progress and maintain version control in a multiuser environment. Design reuse is facilitated by consolidating product information and storing it in one place. Vault is a SQL database environment. A subset of the SQL environment exists in all current Windows operating systems from Windows 2000 through Windows Vista. Vault installs separately from Inventor. The Vault installation checks to make sure that your system is compatible and that auxiliary programs required for operation are installed. Vault is included with all versions of AutoCAD and Inventor.
Now, which type of project is best for you?
One or more designers can use projects using Vault. Single-user projects are most commonly used when there is a single seat of Inventor in the company or when only one designer works on a particular job more or less exclusively.
Multiuser Vault projects rely on a Microsoft SQL Server environment, which can be as simple as the Autodesk data management server, which supports up to 10 users with the default Microsoft SQL Server Express database. If you have a larger workgroup or require a higher capacity, a full version of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is recommended. In addition, a workspace folder located on the individual user's system is required. Data servers should be a separate server with rapid data access hard drives dedicated to the engineering department's use.
Inventor 9 and earlier allowed you to create shared and semi-isolated project file types. If you are currently using either legacy project type, then you should consider moving to Vault, since Autodesk may not support the legacy types in future versions.
Probably the best way to learn about projects is to create a "test" single-user project. Single-user projects allow you to open, edit, and save files without checking the files in or out. The single-user project file is normally the choice of people who are working on their own. In the following sections, you will investigate the single-user file project mode. Once you gain an understanding of single-user projects, you will be ready to investigate the other project file types. To create a test project, you will use the Inventor Project Wizard.
To get the most out of this exercise, open your version of Inventor, ensure that you have closed all the open files, and then access the Inventor Project Wizard by going to the Get Started tab and clicking the Projects button.
In the Projects dialog box, click the New button at the bottom.
You will see two options in the Inventor Project Wizard, as shown in Figure 2.5. Select New Single User Project, and then click Next.
Enter MI_Test_Project in the Name input box.
Enter C: MI_Test_Project in the Project (Workspace) Folder input box.
Figure 2.6 shows a Project File page specifying the project.
Click Next to advance to the next page of the wizard.
If you already created a folder for your library files and used those library folders in a previous project, those locations will appear on the Select Libraries page, shown in Figure 2.7. When creating a new project, you can choose to include some, all, or none of the defined library locations. Click the Finish button to include no libraries at this point.
Click OK in the message box informing you that the project path entered does not yet exist.
Click Finish to create and save your new project file. The newly created project file link will appear in the list in the Projects dialog box.
Now that you have created your sample project file, you'll explore the options and settings available for your new project. To activate and use your new project, highlight the new project, and click Apply. You can also activate or select a new project link by double-clicking the project link. Notice that MI_Test_Project has a check mark next to the project name indicating that the project is now active, as shown in Figure 2.8.
In the lower pane, you can view and access parameter settings for the following:
The project type
Optional included project file
Style library options
Libraries you want to use
Frequently used subfolders
Folder options
Other project options
Right-click a parameter group to view the settings available within that group.
Within the Project group, you can change the project type, view the project location, and include other project files. Project types were discussed earlier in this chapter. The project location is a read-only parameter. Included files deserve some additional discussion, because the Included File parameter allows you to apply a master project to your current project; this setting as well as the other project settings are discussed in the coming pages.
Although it's not required, you can include an existing project in the configuration of the current project by right-clicking Included File. The properties and settings in the project file that you attach override the settings in the current project file. This is useful for restricting and controlling a user's ability to change the project file. Also, if you frequently create new project files, you might consider creating a master project file that contains library locations and other settings you commonly use and then include the master project file in each new project file.
For single-user projects, the workspace is defined by the location of the project file (*.ipj). For Vault projects, the workspace is defined on the workstation and is configured to match the Working Folder setting in the Vault settings. The workspace is the folder that files are copied to when they are checked out. The Workspace folder may include several subfolders containing various aspects of the design. Examples of subfolder types might be Parts, Assemblies, Drawings, or other subfolders as deemed necessary.
The workgroup search path specifies a location outside the current project file paths where Inventor can search for existing files that are not included in a library. A workgroup is specified when the project is created. Each single-user project should have no more than one workgroup.
Inventor uses styles to specify dimensions, text, colors, materials, and other properties. This is similar to styles used in AutoCAD. However, Inventor allows you to store styles locally within the templates or in an external style library that may be used with any project file.
The Use Style Library function in projects specifies whether the project uses only local styles, local styles and the style library, or just local styles and a read-only version of the style library. The read-only style library is recommended for projects that have multiple users. With multiple users, changing or editing the style library on the fly can cause downstream problems. To change the Use Style Library parameter, right-click, and select the new setting.
Remember that for your projects you can right-click to select another option when it is appropriate. Click Yes if you want to be able to edit styles in this project. Click Read-Only (the default) if you want to access style libraries and local styles without enabling style-editing capabilities. Click No if you want to restrict access to styles located within the current file and project template.
Next on the list are libraries. Library folders are located outside the project file path. They may be located anywhere on your system or on your server. If you are sharing library files, it is recommended that you place them on your server in a commonly accessed location. The contents of directories specified as libraries in the project file are considered read-only by Inventor.
In your newly created project file, you have not added any library folders. If at any time you want to add library folders, you can do so by right-clicking Libraries and choosing Add Path, Add Paths From File, or Paste Path, as shown in Figure 2.9.
You can manually add a path, either by browsing or by typing a new file location. Be sure to give the library a descriptive name that identifies the contents of that file location. Add Paths From File permits extracting library paths from another project file. Paste Path allows the user to copy and paste. Once you have specified library paths, the Delete Section Paths option becomes available, and you can remove paths not needed by the project. Deleting unused library paths reduces search and resolution time.
Frequently used subfolders are similar to the bookmarks you can set in Internet Explorer. The subfolders must already be nested within the current project workspace, workgroup, or library. Adding frequently used subfolders to your project provides navigation links in your open, save, and placed dialog boxes so you can quickly navigate to those locations. The Samples project is a good example of frequently used subfolders.
The Folder Options setting allows your project to access other file locations than are specified on the Files tab of the Application Options dialog box. Keep in mind that you may have to close and reopen Inventor in order to reinitialize the optional project file locations. You can use this option to specify different default locations for templates, design data, styles, and Content Center files. When the locations are set to the defaults, then the location/storage of the files is specified on the Files tab of the Application Options dialog box. Right-click any of the options to change the storage and access location.
Expand the Options heading to show the global defaults for the selected project. The Options settings in a project determine file management functions; right-click an option to edit it.
Use the Options setting to determine how many old versions or backup copies of each file to save. The Old Versions To Keep On Save option specifies the number of versions to store in the Old Versions folder for each file saved. The first time a file is saved in a project, an Old Versions folder for that file is created. When the file is saved, the prior version is moved automatically to the file's Old Versions folder. After the number of old versions reaches the maximum in the setting, the oldest version is deleted when a newer version is moved into the folder.
All versions located in the Old Versions folder have the same name and extension, except that a number is appended after the name. The default setting of 1 creates one backup file in the Old Versions folder. If you are working with a very complex assembly or model, you can specify additional backup versions; however, remember that with each additional backup version you are creating additional files (and using additional space) on your hard drive. Setting Old Versions to −1 will cause Inventor to save all backup files.
The listing called Using Unique File Names in the Options is the setting that forces the user to create unique part names for all files in the project including subfolders. Libraries are excluded in this option. The recommended setting for using unique filenames is Yes. Proper design workflow demands that each unique part have a unique name, and that name will not be used for any other part. When parts are reused, you should ensure that any revision to that part be acceptable to all designs where that part is used. If that revised part cannot be used in all the designs, then you should use a new part name, because you have now created an additional unique part.
Setting the Using Unique Filenames option to Yes forces unique filenames for every file you create within the project. Duplicating filenames results in resolution errors because the project search path is a relative path; it's relative to the location of the project file.
The tool buttons along the right side of the lower pane of the Projects dialog box provide access to tools that allow you add, edit, and reorder project parameter settings and paths; check for duplicate filenames; and configure the Content Center libraries used for the active project.
Use the magnifying glass icon located on the lower-right side of the Projects dialog box to check your project paths for duplicate filenames, as shown in Figure 2.10.
The Projects dialog box supports the configuration of one or more Content Center libraries. The Content Center provides multiple database libraries that can be used in assemblies or by the Design Accelerator (Functional Design System).
If you elected to install Content Center libraries while installing Inventor, you must configure the Content Center libraries in the project before you can access them. Click the Content Center icon in the lower right hand corner of the project-editing dialog box. Then select the Content Center library or libraries you want to use, and click OK. Figure 2.11 shows the Configure Libraries dialog box.
Select the Content Center libraries you think you'll use. Installing all the Content Center libraries may slow your system down significantly when you are accessing Content Center because Inventor will need to index each library upon initialization.
When you finish editing the project file, click Save, and then make sure your desired project file is active before clicking Done to exit the Projects dialog box.
Working as a team can increase productivity many times over. In a collaborative design environment, multiple users may be working on a project at the same time. When you create a multiuser project, you have the option to choose the Vault (if Vault is installed), shared, and semi-isolated project types. As stated earlier, Vault works in a similar fashion to a semi-isolated project. It prevents you from working on the original version of a file located inside Vault. Each user creates a local Vault project file that specifies a personal workspace located on the local drive and that includes search paths to one or more master projects.
To edit a "Vaulted" file, the user must check the file out of Vault. The process of checking the file out copies the file to the local workspace. Whenever the file is checked out for editing, the original stored in Vault is flagged as "checked out" to that particular user. Other users can view the checked-out files in read-only mode, but they can't edit the checked-out file.
The user who checked out the file can edit and save the file in his local workspace without checking the file back into Vault. When he saves the file, he will be prompted to choose whether he wants to check the file back into Vault. If he chooses to check the file into Vault, the file will be saved into Vault and is then available for editing by a different user. Optionally, he may save the file into Vault but keep it checked out to his local workspace, allowing other users to view the updated file without being able to edit it.
Collaborative design project files are created using the Inventor Project Wizard, in much the same manner as a single-user project file. The file resolution process within a collaborative project file functions in the same way.
With Vault installed on your server or your own system, you can create and configure a Vault project. If Vault Explorer is not installed on your system, then you cannot install or create a Vault project on your system. Before you create your first Vault project, verify that Vault is correctly installed and that you can open and create a new Vault file store using the ADMS console. The new Vault file store must be accessible on your local system from Vault Explorer. If Vault functions correctly, you are now ready to create a Vault project file. As with a single-user project, use the Inventor Project Wizard to name the project, specify the workspace, assign libraries for use with the project, and configure project parameters.
Again, as in other project file types, you will need to edit the default settings in your project file and optionally configure your Content Center for use.
- Create an efficient data file directory structure
Create clear paths for support, data, and library files. Be sure to support a unique filename for each assembly and part.
- Master It
Earlier in the chapter, you looked at a sample job-based directory structure. Now, consider a directory structure for a product-type-based directory structure to serve customers in the automotive industries. Create a directory structure.
- Create efficient search paths
Keep your search paths isolated. For instance, keep libraries in the library path, data in the project path, and so on. Organize and group your library parts into logical folders without duplication. Make it easy to find and maintain unique parts.
- Master It
Consider the location of the libraries in the following directory structure. How is this structure inefficient? Why is it more likely that duplicate parts will be created? How would you improve the search paths in this directory structure?
- Understand how Inventor uses data, library, and Content Center files
Your project file is an XML file that lists the locations and functions of each search path. Part loads and searches begin in the library search path, then move to the local workspace, and finally move to any workgroups. Keep your paths simple to reduce search and load times. Use library files to share designs and automatically protect parts and assemblies from inadvertent revision.
- Master It
What are the advantages of library files?
- Determine the best project type for your work
Project types include single-user projects, which are single-seat or single-designer projects, and Vault projects, which are single- or multiple-designer workflows to track work, maintain version control, and facilitate design reuse.
- Master It
For a complex product that will be worked on by several design teams and updated twice a year for the next five years, which project type would you choose?
- Create single- and multiuser projects
Use the Inventor Project Wizard. Customize the default settings for your work. Include only the paths and files you expect to use. You can always add more later as needed. Use a master project if you frequently create similar projects.
- Master It
Why not include every library and data file in your project? What is the benefit of including a master project file?