Autodesk Inventor was introduced in 1999 as an ambitious 3D parametric modeler based not on the familiar AutoCAD programming architecture but instead on a separate foundation that would provide the room needed to grow into the fully featured modeler it now is, a decade later. Inventor 2010 continues the development of Inventor with assembly layout, plastic parts, and other productivity tools.
The maturity of the Inventor tools coincides with the advancement of the CAD market's adoption of 3D parametric modelers as a primary design tool. And although it is important to understand that 2D CAD will likely never completely disappear from the majority of manufacturing design departments, 3D design will increasingly become a requirement for most. With this in mind, we have set out to fill the following pages with detailed information on the specifics of the tools, while addressing the principles of sound parametric design techniques.
This book is written with a wide range of Inventor users in mind, varying from beginning to advanced users:
Beginning Inventor users who are making the move from traditional 2D CAD design to Inventor 2010. These readers will have experience with AutoCAD and an understanding of basic design and engineering concepts, as well as a desire to improve their skill set and stay competitive in the marketplace.
Intermediate Inventor users who have gone through formal Inventor training during their company's initial implementation of Inventor and are looking for more information on a specific module within Inventor. This book also targets users looking for a desktop reference to turn to when they come upon an area of Inventor that they do not encounter on a day-to-day basis.
Advanced Inventor users who have mastered the Inventor tools they use over and over daily but want to conquer the parts of the program they do not utilize during their normal design tasks. This book also targets advanced users who want to add to their skill set to move up the ranks within their current company or want to expand their knowledge in pursuit of a new position with another employer.
Attempting to learn all the tools in Inventor can be an intimidating experience, because of the wide range of task-specific modules available. It was the goal of this book's authors to separate these modules into easy-to-tackle chapters relating to real-world situations for which the tools were designed, while also including chapters on general Inventor tools, techniques, and design principles.
- What you will learn
The following pages will explain the Inventor settings while teaching you how each tool functions. Just as importantly, though, these pages are filled with the tips and techniques learned by the authors while spending years using, researching, and discussing the tools that are Autodesk Inventor. You should come away from reading this book with a solid understanding of the capabilities of Inventor and a strong idea of how to tackle your design challenges in the future, as well as an abundance of timesaving tips and tricks.
- What you will need
The files needed to complete the tutorial projects in this book are included on a DVD. Please consult Appendix B, "About the Companion DVD," for more information on getting these installed.
To install and run Inventor, you should consult the system requirements information found on the installation media and ensure that you have a system capable of running Inventor competently. Autodesk recommends a minimum of 512MB of RAM and 1.5GB of available hard disk space for basic educational purposes dealing with small tutorial-sized assemblies. An additional 1.8GB of hard disk space is required to install Content Center. Note that these are the bare minimums to run the program, and you might see slow performance when executing operations that require heavy calculations.
We recommend a minimum of 2GB of RAM for doing production work on moderate-sized assemblies and encourage you to consider a 64-bit operating system with at least 8GB of RAM if considering large assembly design. You can find more information about workstations specs and large assemblies in Chapter 9.
The Mastering series from Sybex provides outstanding instruction for readers with intermediate and advanced skills in the form of top-notch training and development for those already working in their field as well as clear, serious education for those aspiring to become pros. Every Mastering book includes the following:
Real-world scenarios, ranging from case studies to interviews, that show how the tool, technique, or knowledge presented is applied in actual practice
Skill-based instruction, with chapters organized around real tasks rather than abstract concepts or subjects
Self-review test questions, so you can be certain you're equipped to do the job right
This is what the book covers:
Chapter 1, "Inventor Design Philosophy," covers how to design the "Inventor way" when transitioning from other 2D or 3D design applications.
Chapter 2, "Data and Projects," examines file structures and search paths and explains project file types and configurations.
Chapter 3, "Sketch Techniques," explores the principles of creating parameter-driven sketches for use in modeling features and parts.
Chapter 4, "Basic Modeling Techniques," conquers creating parametric features and building 3D parts models.
Chapter 5, "Advanced Modeling Techniques," explores complex feature creation including sweeps, lofts, and more.
Chapter 6, "Sheet Metal," covers how to create accurate sheet-metal models and flat patterns as well as how to create documentation and set up sheet metal styles and templates.
Chapter 7, "Part and Feature Reuse," examines the different methods for reusing parts and features for maximum consistency and design efficiency.
Chapter 8, "Assembly Design Workflows," covers a thorough understanding of this key concept of Inventor design, including the use of assembly constraints, subassemblies, and more.
Chapter 9, "Large Assembly Strategies," explores the tips and techniques to getting the best performance out of your Inventor workstation and considers upgrade requirements for the future.
Chapter 10, "Weldment Design," explores Inventor's weldment modeling environment and the weldment documentation tools.
Chapter 11, "Functional Design," gives you a thorough look at this collection of Inventor design accelerators and considers the difference between standard modeling and functional design.
Chapter 12, "Documentation," covers how to use the Drawing Manager and presentation files to create both traditional, 2D annotated drawings as well as animated assembly instructions.
Chapter 13, "Inventor Tools Overview," examines this collection of Inventor utilities including AutoLimits, the Design Assistant, the Drawing Resource Transfer Wizard, style tools, and much more.
Chapter 14, "Exchanging Data with Other Systems," shows the available options for importing and working with solid models from other CAD packages.
Chapter 15, "Frame Generator," covers how to get the most out of this utility when creating structural frames from Inventor's library of common shapes.
Chapter 16, "Inventor Studio," covers this powerful tool set to create photorealistic images and animations of all your Inventor models.
Chapter 17, "Stress Analysis and Dynamic Simulation," explores the simulation tools used to analyze load stress and mechanism motion on your models.
Chapter 18, "Routed Systems," covers the cable and wire harness and tube and pipe environments and their uses in creating routed design layouts.
Chapter 19, "Plastics Design Features," explores the tools used specifically for plastics design as well as the general tools used in specific ways for plastics design.
We welcome your feedback concerning Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2010. We want to hear what you liked, what you didn't, and what you think should be in the next edition. And if you catch us making a mistake, please tell us so that we can fix it on our errata page (available at www.sybex.com/go/masteringinventor2010) and in reprints. Please email us at [email protected] or contact Wiley customer service at http://support.wiley.com.
Thank you for purchasing Mastering Autodesk Inventor 2010; we hope it helps you on your way to happy and successful inventing, and we look forward to hearing your comments and questions.