Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users

By Sandeep Dogra

Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook has been designed for instructor-led courses as well as self-paced learning. It is intended to help engineers and designers, interested in learning Autodesk Inventor, to create 3D mechanical designs. This textbook is an excellent guide for new Inventor users and a great teaching aid for classroom training. It consists of 14 chapters and a total of 790 pages covering major environments of Autodesk Inventor such as Sketching environment, Part modeling environment, Assembly environment, Presentation environment, and Drawing environment. The textbook teaches you to use Autodesk Inventor mechanical design software for building parametric 3D solid components and assemblies as well as creating animations and 2D drawings.

 

This textbook not only focuses on the usages of the tools/commands of Autodesk Inventor but also on the concept of design. Every chapter in this textbook contains Tutorials that provide users with step-by-step instructions for creating mechanical designs and drawings with ease. Moreover, every chapter ends with Hands-on Test Drives that allow users to experience for themselves the user friendly and powerful capacities of Autodesk Inventor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CADArtifex
• Release date: May 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393855279

Sandeep Dogra

Erica Sunshine Lee is a world-traveling musician, singer/songwriter, producer, and children’s book author who tells stories about real life struggles, faith, love, and triumph. She has been touring worldwide since 2007. Order your signed copy of Erica Sunshine Lee’s books, cds, and more @ www.EricaSunshineLee.com/store

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Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users

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Copyright © 2019 CADArtifex

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NOTICE TO THE READER

The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work/text and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The publisher does not guarantee any of the products described in the text nor has performed any independent analysis in connection with any of the product information contained in the text. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed or referenced in this work may have changed or may have been removed in the time between the writing and the publishing of this work.

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The electronic file/eBook in any form of this textbook is licensed to the original user only and may not be transferred to any other party.

Disclaimer

The author has made sincere efforts to ensure the accuracy of the material described herein, however the author makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the quality, accuracy, or freedom from error of this document or the products it describes.

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Dedication

First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for being a great support throughout my career and while writing this book.

Heartfelt gratitude goes to my wife and my sisters for their patience and endurance in supporting me to take up and successfully accomplish this challenge.

I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the employees at CADArtifex for their dedication in editing the contents of this book.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to Autodesk Inventor

Installing Autodesk Inventor

Getting Started with Autodesk Inventor

Starting a New Inventor File

Invoking the Part Modeling Environment

Ribbon

File Menu

Quick Access Toolbar

InfoCenter

Browser

ViewCube

Navigation Bar

Status Bar

Invoking the Assembly Environment

Invoking the Drawing Environment

Invoking the Presentation Environment

Identifying Inventor Files

Invoking a Marking Menu

Customizing the Color Scheme

Saving Files

Exporting Files to Other CAD Formats

Opening Existing Files

Summary

Questions

Chapter 2: Drawing Sketches with Autodesk Inventor

Invoking the Part Modeling Environment

Invoking the Sketching Environment

Working with the Selection of Planes

Specifying Units

Specifying Grids and Snap Settings

Creating a Line Entity

Tutorial 1

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Creating an Arc by using the Line Tool

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Creating a Circle

Creating a Circle by using the Center Point Circle Tool

Creating a Circle by using the Tangent Circle Tool

Creating an Ellipse

Creating an Arc

Creating an Arc by using the Three Point Arc Tool

Creating an Arc by using the Tangent Arc Tool

Creating an Arc by using the Center Point Arc Tool

Creating a Rectangle

Creating a Rectangle by using the Two Point Rectangle Tool

Creating a Rectangle by using the Three Point Rectangle Tool

Creating a Rectangle by using the Two Point Center Rectangle Tool

Creating a Rectangle by using the Three Point Center Rectangle Tool

Creating a Slot

Creating a Slot by using the Center to Center Slot Tool

Creating a Slot by using the Overall Slot Tool

Creating a Slot by using the Center Point Slot Tool

Creating a Slot by using the Three Point Arc Slot Tool

Creating a Slot by using the Center Point Arc Slot Tool

Creating a Polygon

Creating a Spline

Creating a Spline by using the Control Vertex Spline Tool

Creating a Spline by using the Interpolation Spline Tool

Creating an Equation Driven Spline

Creating a Bridge Curve

Editing a Spline

Editing an Interpolation Spline

Editing a Control Vertex Spline

Tutorial 3

Tutorial 4

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Hands-on Test Drive 4

Summary

Questions

Chapter 3: Editing and Modifying Sketches

Trimming Sketch Entities

Trimming Sketch Entities Up to their Nearest Intersection

Trimming Sketch Entities by Defining Boundaries

Trimming Sketch Entities Dynamically

Extending Sketch Entities

Extending Sketch Entities Up to their Nearest Intersection

Extending Sketch Entities by Defining Boundaries

Splitting Sketch Entities

Offsetting Sketch Entities

Creating a 2D Fillet

Creating a 2D Chamfer

Patterning Sketch Entities

Creating a Rectangular Pattern

Creating a Circular Pattern

Creating Construction and Centerline Entities

Mirroring Sketch Entities

Moving a Sketch Entity

Creating a Copy of Sketch Entities

Rotating an Entity

Scaling Sketch Entities

Stretching Sketch Entities

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Summary

Questions

Chapter 4: Applying Constraints and Dimensions

Working with Constraints

Applying Constraints

Applying Horizontal Constraint

Applying Vertical Constraint

Applying Coincident Constraint

Applying Collinear Constraint

Applying Concentric Constraint

Applying Parallel Constraint

Applying Perpendicular Constraint

Applying Tangent Constraint

Applying Smooth Constraint

Applying Symmetric Constraint

Applying Equal Constraint

Controlling the Display of Constraints

Controlling Constraint Settings

Applying Dimensions

Applying a Horizontal Dimension

Applying a Vertical Dimension

Applying an Aligned Dimension

Applying an Angular Dimension

Applying a Diameter Dimension

Applying a Radius Dimension

Applying a Linear Diameter Dimension

Controlling Dimension Settings

Modifying/Editing Dimensions

Working with Different States of a Sketch

Under Constrained Sketch

Fully Constrained Sketch

Displaying Available Degrees of Freedom

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Summary

Questions

Chapter 5: Creating Base Feature of Solid Models

Creating an Extrude Feature

Creating a Revolve Feature

Navigating a 3D Model in Graphics Area

Navigating a 3D Model by Using the Navigation Tools

Navigating a 3D Model by Using the Mouse Buttons

Navigating a 3D Model by Using the ViewCube

Changing the Visual Style of a Model

Realistic

Shaded

Shaded with Edges

Shaded with Hidden Edges

Wireframe

Wireframe with Hidden Edges

Wireframe with Visible Edges Only

Monochrome

Watercolor

Sketch Illustration

Technical Illustration

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Hands-on Test Drive 4

Hands-0n Test Drive 5

Summary

Questions

Chapter 6: Creating Work Features

Creating Work Planes

Creating a Work Plane Through Selected Geometries

Creating a Work Plane at an Offset Distance

Creating a Work Plane Parallel to a Face/Plane

Creating a Work Plane in the Middle of Two Faces/Planes

Creating a Work Plane through the Midplane of a Torus

Creating a Work Plane at an Angle

Creating a Work Plane Passing Through Three Points

Creating a Work Plane Passing Through Two Coplanar Edges

Creating a Work Plane Tangent to a Face through an Edge

Creating a Work Plane Tangent to a Face through a Point

Creating a Work Plane Tangent to a Face and Parallel to a Plane

Creating a Work Plane Normal to an Axis Through a Point

Creating a Work Plane Normal to a Curve

Creating Work Axes

Axis Tool

On Line or Edge Tool

Parallel to Line through Point Tool

Through Two Points Tool

Intersection of Two Planes Tool

Normal to Plane through Point Tool

Through Center of Circular or Elliptical Edge Tool

Through Revolved Face or Feature Tool

Creating Work Points

Point Tool

Grounded Point Tool

On Vertex, Sketch point, or Midpoint Tool

Intersection of Three Planes Tool

Intersection of Two Lines Tool

Intersection of Plane/Surface and Line Tool

Center Point of Loop of Edges Tool

Center Point of Torus Tool

Center Point of Sphere Tool

Creating a User Coordinate System

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Summary

Questions

Chapter 7: Advanced Modeling - I

Using Advanced Options of the Extrude Tool

Using Advanced Options of the Revolve Tool

Working with a Sketch having Multiple Profiles

Projecting Geometries

Projecting Geometries onto the Sketching Plane

Projecting Intersecting Edges onto the Sketching Plane

Projecting 2D Sketch onto a Face

Projecting Geometries of a .DWG File

Creating a Section View

Creating a Half Section View

Creating a Quarter Section View

Creating a Three Quarter Section View

Editing a Feature and its Sketch

Editing a Feature and its Sketch

Displaying Earlier State of a Model

Re-ordering Features of a Model

Measuring the Distance between Entities

Assigning an Appearance

Assigning Appearance by using the Appearance Tool

Assigning Appearance by using the Appearance Drop-down List

Copying and Pasting an Appearance by Using the Adjust Tool

Applying a Material

Applying a Material by Using the Material Tool

Applying a Material by Using the Material Drop-down List

Calculating Physical Properties

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Summary

Questions

Chapter 8: Advanced Modeling - II

Creating a Sweep Feature

Creating a Sweep Feature Along a Path

Creating a Sweep Feature Along a Path with Fixed Orientation

Creating a Sweep Feature Along a Path and a Guide Rail

Creating a Sweep Feature Along a Path and a Guide Surface

Creating a Sweep Feature by Sweeping a Toolbody Along a Path

Creating a Loft feature

Creating a Loft Feature with Sections

Creating a Loft feature with Sections and Guide Rails

Creating a Loft feature with Sections and a Centerline

Creating an Area Loft feature

Creating a Coil feature

Creating an Emboss Feature

Creating a Rib Feature

Creating a Rib Feature Normal to the Sketching Plane

Creating a Rib Feature Parallel to the Sketching Plane

Applying an Image on a Face of a Model

Creating a Shell Feature

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Tutorial 3

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Summary

Questions

Chapter 9: Patterning and Mirroring

Creating a Rectangular Pattern

Creating a Circular Pattern

Creating a Sketch Driven Pattern

Suppressing Features and Pattern Occurrences

Unsuppressing Features and Pattern Occurrences

Mirroring a Feature or a Body

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Hands-on Test Drive 3

Summary

Questions

Chapter 10: Advanced Modeling - III

Creating Holes

Creating Threads

Creating Fillets

Creating Edge Fillets

Creating Face Fillets

Creating Full Round Fillets

Creating Chamfers

Splitting, Trimming, and Dividing of a Model

Splitting Faces of a Model

Trimming or Removing One Side of a model

Dividing a Model into Two Bodies

Creating 3D Sketches and Curves

Creating a 3D Sketch by Using the Line Tool

Creating a Helical Curve

Creating a 3D Intersection Curve

Creating a Silhouette Curve

Creating a 3D Projected Curve

Creating a 3D Curve on a Face

Creating 3D Curves by Projecting Existing Geometries

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Summary

Questions

Chapter 11: Working with Assemblies - I

Working with Bottom-up Assembly Approach

Working with Top-down Assembly Approach

Creating an Assembly by using Bottom-up Approach

Inserting Components in the Assembly Environment

Working with Degrees of Freedom

Applying Constraints

Applying Assembly Constraints

Applying Motion Constraints

Applying Transitional Constraints

Applying Constraint Set Constraints

Applying Joints

Applying a Rigid Joint

Applying a Rotational Joint

Applying a Slider Joint

Applying a Cylindrical Joint

Applying a Planar Joint

Applying a Ball Joint

Editing Constraints and Joints

Deleting Constraints and Joints

Moving and Rotating Individual Components

Moving a Component by using the Free Move Tool

Rotating a Component by using the Free Rotate Tool

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Summary

Questions

Chapter 12: Working with Assemblies - II

Creating an Assembly by using the Top-down Approach

Editing Assembly Components

Editing Assembly Components within the Assembly Environment

Editing Assembly Components in the Part Modeling Environment

Patterning Assembly Components

Creating an Associative Pattern

Creating a Rectangular/Circular Pattern

Mirroring Components of an Assembly

Copying Components of an Assembly

Creating Bill of Material (BOM) of an Assembly

Tutorial 1

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Summary

Questions

Chapter 13: Creating Animation and Exploded Views

Invoking the Presentation Environment

Capturing Actions on the Timeline

Capturing Tweaks on the Timeline

Editing Time and Properties of a Tweak

Deleting a Tweak

Creating a Snapshot View

Creating a Linked Snapshot View

Creating an Independent Snapshot View

Editing a Snapshot View

Renaming a Snapshot View

Deleting a Snapshot View

Publishing a Snapshot View to a Raster Image

Creating an Exploded View in a Drawing File

Creating a New Storyboard

Creating a New Scene

Playing Animation of a Storyboard

Publishing Animation to a Video File

Tutorial 1

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Summary

Questions

Chapter 14: Working with Drawings

Invoking the Drawing Environment

Editing the Sheet Size

Editing/Creating the Title Block

Editing the Drafting Standard

Creating the Base View of a Model

Creating Projected Views

Working with Angle of Projection

Defining the Angle of Projection

Creating Other Drawing Views

Creating an Auxiliary View

Creating a Section View

Creating a Detail View

Creating an Overlay View

Creating a Break View

Creating a Break Out View

Creating a Slice View

Creating a Crop View

Deleting a Drawing View

Applying Dimensions

Applying Drawing Dimensions

Applying Model Dimensions

Adding a Text/Note

Adding a Surface Finish Symbol

Adding a Weld Symbol

Adding a Hole and Thread Note

Adding the Parts List / Bill of Materials (BOM)

Editing the Parts List / Bill of Materials (BOM)

Adding Balloons

Adding Balloons Automatically

Adding Balloons Manually

Tutorial 1

Hands-on Test Drive 1

Hands-on Test Drive 2

Summary

Questions

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Preface

Autodesk Inventor is a product of Autodesk Inc., one of the biggest technology providers for engineering, architecture, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries, offering robust software tools for 3D design that let you design, visualize, simulate, and publish your ideas before they are built or created. Autodesk is a leader in developing software for creators. Moreover, Autodesk continues to develop a comprehensive portfolio of state-of-the-art CAD/CAM/CAE software for global markets.

Autodesk Inventor is a feature-based, parametric solid-modeling mechanical design and automation software which allows you to convert 2D sketches into 3D models by using simple but highly effective modeling tools. Autodesk Inventor provides a wide range of tools that allow you to create real-world components and assemblies. These components and assemblies can be used for generating 2D engineering drawings for production, validating designs by simulating their real world conditions, visualization, and documentation. It also enables you to create photorealistic renderings, animations, and so on, in addition to creating rapid prototypes of your design. Autodesk Inventor helps in reducing development costs while maximizing efficiency and quality.

Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook has been designed for instructor-led courses as well as self-paced learning. It is intended to help engineers and designers, interested in learning Autodesk Inventor, to create 3D mechanical designs. This textbook is an excellent guide for new Inventor users and a great teaching aid for classroom training. It consists of 14 chapters and a total of 790 pages covering major environments of Autodesk Inventor such as Sketching environment, Part modeling environment, Assembly environment, Presentation environment, and Drawing environment. The textbook teaches you to use Autodesk Inventor mechanical design software for building parametric 3D solid components and assemblies as well as creating animations and 2D drawings.

This textbook not only focuses on the usages of the tools/commands of Autodesk Inventor but also on the concept of design. Every chapter in this textbook contains Tutorials that provide users with step-by-step instructions for creating mechanical designs and drawings with ease. Moreover, every chapter ends with Hands-on Test Drives that allow users to experience for themselves the user friendly and powerful capacities of Autodesk Inventor.

Who Should Read This Textbook

This textbook is written to benefit a wide range of Fusion 360 users, varying from beginners to advanced users as well as Autodesk Fusion 360 instructors. The easy-to-follow chapters of this textbook allow easy comprehension of different design techniques, Fusion 360 tools, and design principles.

What Is Covered in This Textbook

Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook is designed to help you learn everything you need to know to start using Autodesk Inventor with straightforward, step-by-step tutorials. This textbook covers the following topics:

Chapter 1, "Introduction to Autodesk Inventor," introduces Autodesk Inventor user interface, different Inventor environments, and identifying Inventor files. It also explains how to create a project, invoke a Marking Menu, customize the color scheme, save files, export files to other CAD formats, and open exisiting files.

Chapter 2, "Drawing Sketches with Autodesk Inventor," discusses how to invoke the Part modeling and the Sketching environments. It explains how to specify the units as well as grids and snaps settings. Besides, this chapter introduces methods for drawing lines, rectangles, circles, ellipses, arcs, rectangles, slots, polygons, and splines by using the respective sketching tools. This chapter also discusses how to edit a spline.

Chapter 3, "Editing and Modifying Sketches," introduces various editing and modifying operations such as trimming unwanted sketch entities, extending sketch entities, splitting sketch entities, and offsetting sketch entities. It also explains how to create 2D fillets, chamfers, construction and centerline entities, pattern sketch entities, mirror sketch entities as well as copying, rotating, scaling, and stretching sketch entities.

Chapter 4, "Applying Constraints and Dimensions," introduces various constraints and different methods for applying them. It discusses how to control the display of contraints in the drawing area, apply different dimensions, control dimension settings, and edit dimensions. This chapter also introduces working with different states of a sketch and displaying available degrees of freedom of the sketch entities.

Chapter 5, "Creating Base Feature of Solid Models," discusses how to create extrude and revolve base features by using the Extrude and Revolve tools. This chapter also describes how to navigate a model by using mouse buttons, ViewCube, and navigation tools such as Navigation Wheel, Pan, Zoom, and Orbit. Further, it explains the visual style of a model to realistic, shaded, shaded with edges, and shaded with hidden edges.

Chapter 6, "Creating Work Features," explains that the three default planes: Front, Top, and Right may not be enough for creating models having multiple features. Therefore, this chapter discusses how to create additional work planes. Additionally, it also elaborates on creating work axes, work points, and a user coordinates system.

Chapter 7, "Advanced Modeling - I," introduces advanced options for creating extrude and revolve features. It discusses how to work with a sketch having multiple profiles. It explains how to project geometries of existing features onto the sketching plane, intersecting edges of a model onto the sketching plane, 2D sketch onto a face of a model, and geometries of a DWG file onto the sketching plane. The chapter also elaborates on creating a section view, editing a feature and its sketch, displaying earlier state of a model, reordering features of a model, measuring the distance between the entities, assigning an appearance, applying a material, and calculating physical properties of a model.

Chapter 8, "Advanced Modeling - II," discusses how to create sweep features, loft features, coil features, emboss features, and rib features. It also discusses applying an image on a face of a model and creating a shell feature.

Chapter 9, "Patterning and Mirroring," introduces how to create rectangular patterns, circular patterns, and sketch driven patterns. It also discusses about suppressing and unsuppressing features and pattern occurrences as well as mirroring a feature or a body about a mirroring plane.

Chapter 10, "Advanced Modeling - III," discusses how to create simple, clearance, tapped, and taper tapped holes as per the standard specifications by using the Hole tool. It also explains how to create threads, different types of fillets, and chamfers, further elaborating splitting faces of a model, trimming or removing one side of a model, or dividing a model into two bodies.

Chapter 11, "Working with Assemblies - I," discusses how to create assemblies by using the bottom-up assembly approach. This chapter introduces the procedures for inserting components into the Assembly environment, working with degrees of freedom, and applying various constraints. The application of various joints such as rigid, rotational, slider, cylindrical, and ball has been described. Besides, editing constraints and joints, deleting constraints and joints, as well as moving and rotating individual components of an assembly has been described.

Chapter 12, "Working with Assemblies - II," discusses how to create assemblies by using the top-down assembly approach. It also explains about editing individual components of an assembly, patterning, mirroring, and copying components of an assembly, further elaborating on creating Bill of Material (BOM) of an Assembly.

Chapter 13, "Creating Animation and Exploded Views," discusses how to create animation of an assembly in the Presentation Environment. To animate an assembly, you need to capture various actions and tweaks on the Timeline of a storyboard. The chapter explains how to capture actions and tweaks on the Timeline and discusses methods for editing time and properties of a tweak, deleting a tweak, creating a snapshot view, editing a snapshot view, renaming a snapshot view, deleting a snapshot view, publishing a snapshot view to a raster image, creating an exploded view in a drawing file, creating a new storyboard, and creating a new scene. Besides, the chapter also teaches how to play animation of a storyboard and publish it to a video file.

Chapter 14, "Working with Drawings," discusses how to create 2D drawings of components and assemblies in the Drawing environment, with a focus on editing sheet size, title block, and drafting standard. The chapter introduces the concept and definition of angle of projections, creating various types of drawing views such as base view, projected views, and section view, deleting a drawing view, applying dimensions, adding texts/notes, adding surface finish symbols, adding weld symbols, adding hole and thread notes, adding parts list / Bill of Materials (BOM), and editing the parts list. Besides, it also discusses how to add balloons to the components of an assembly.

Icons/Terms used in this Textbook

The following icons and terms are used in this textbook:

Note

Tip

Flyout

A flyout is a list in which a set of tools are grouped together, see Figure 1.

Drop-down List

A drop-down list is a list in which a set of options are grouped together, see Figure 2.

Selector

A Selector allows you to select a geometry as an input for performing a specific operation, see Figure 3.

Field

A Field allows you to enter a new value, or modify an existing value, as per your requirement, see Figure 3.

Button

A Button appears as a 3D icon and is used for confirming or discarding an action, see Figure 3.

Rollout

A rollout is an area in which buttons, fields, selectors, check boxes, etc. are available to specify various parameters, see Figure 3. A rollout can either be in the expanded or collapsed form. You can expand or collapse a rollout by clicking on the arrow available on its title bar.

Check box

A check box allows you to turn on or off the uses of a particular option, see Figure 3.

How to Download Online Resources

Students and faculty members can download all parts/models used in the illustrations, Tutorials and Hand-on Test Drives (exercises) of the textbook. In addition, faculty can also download PowerPoint Presentations (PPTs) of each chapter of the textbook.

To download the free online teaching and learning resources of the textbook, log in to our website (www.cadartifex.com/login/) by using your username and password. If you are a new user, you need to first register (www.cadartifex.com/new-registration/) for downloading the online resources of the textbook.

How to Contact the Author

We value your feedback and suggestions. Please email us at [e-mail]. You can also log on to our website (www.cadartifex.com) to provide your feedback regarding the textbook as well as download the free learning resources.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you for purchasing the Autodesk Inventor 2020: A Power Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users textbook, we hope that the information and concepts introduced in this textbook help you to accomplish your professional goals.

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Chapter 1: Introduction to Autodesk Inventor

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In this chapter, you will learn the following:

• Installing Autodesk Inventor

• Getting Started with Autodesk Inventor

• Starting a New Inventor File

• Identifying Inventor Files

• Creating a Project

• Invoking a Marking Menu

• Customizing the Color Scheme

• Saving Files

• Exporting Files to Other CAD Formats

• Opening Existing Files

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Welcome to the world of Computer Aided Design (CAD) with Autodesk Inventor. Autodesk Inventor is a product of Autodesk Inc., one of the biggest technology providers for engineering, architecture, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries, offering robust software tools for 3D design that let you design, visualize, simulate, and publish your ideas before they are built or created. Autodesk is a leader in developing software for creators. Moreover, Autodesk continues to develop a comprehensive portfolio of state-of-the-art CAD/CAM/CAE software for global markets.

Autodesk Inventor is a feature-based, parametric solid-modeling mechanical design and automation software which allows you to convert 2D sketches into 3D models by using simple but highly effective modeling tools. Autodesk Inventor provides a wide range of tools that allow you to create real-world components and assemblies. These components and assemblies can be used for generating 2D engineering drawings for production, validating designs by simulating their real world conditions, visualization, and documentation. Autodesk Inventor helps in reducing development costs while maximizing efficiency and quality.

Installing Autodesk Inventor

If you do not have Autodesk Inventor installed in your system, you first need to get it installed. However, before you start installing Autodesk Inventor, you need to evaluate the system requirements and ensure that you have a system capable of running Autodesk Inventor adequately. Below are the system requirements for installing Autodesk Inventor 2020.

1. Operating Systems: 64-bit windows 10 semi-annual channel or 64-bit windows 7 SP1 with update KB4019990 and Internet Explorer® 10 or later

2. RAM: 8 GB or more (20 GB or more recommended)

3. Disk Space: 40 GB or more (Installer plus full installation)

4. Processor CPU: 2.5 GHz or greater (3.0 GHz or greater recommended)

5. Graphics Card: 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/S Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant (4 GB GPU with 106 GB/S Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant recommended)

For more information about the system requirements for Autodesk Inventor, visit the Autodesk website at https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/System-requirements-for-Autodesk-Inventor-2020.html

Once the system is ready, install Autodesk Inventor by using the downloaded Inventor software setup files. You can download the setup files by logging in to your Autodesk account.

Getting Started with Autodesk Inventor

Once Autodesk Inventor 2020 is installed on your system, double-click on the Autodesk Inventor Professional 2020 icon on the desktop of your system. The system prepares for start-up by loading all the required files of Inventor. Once all the required files have been loaded, the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor appears, see Figure 1.1.

If you are starting Autodesk Inventor for the first time after installing the software, the Welcome to Inventor 2020 window appears, see Figure 1.2. This window provides access to What’s New document, and choose whether to start learning about Autodesk Inventor or start working on it. If you are new to Autodesk Inventor, you can click on the Start Learning button for accessing hands-on guided tutorials to start learning Inventor. On clicking the Start Working button in this window, the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor appears, refer to Figure 1.1

The startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor allows you to start a new file, open an existing file, define a new project, displays recently used files, and provides access to Autodesk Inventor learning resources such as What’s New, Tutorial Gallery, Help File, and so on.

Starting a New Inventor File

A new Inventor file such as Part, Assembly, Drawing, or Presentation can be started by invoking the respective environment. In Autodesk Inventor, you can invoke the Part modeling environment, Assembly environment, Drawing environment, and Presentation environment by using the Part, Assembly, Drawing, and Presentation buttons in the New section of the startup user interface, respectively, see Figure 1.3. You can also invoke the required environment by using the New tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab, see Figure 1.4.

Invoking the Part Modeling Environment

To invoke the Part modeling environment, click on the Part button in the New section of the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor, see Figure 1.5. The Part modeling environment is invoked with default template. Figure 1.6 shows the user interface of the Part modeling environment.

NOTE: A template contains some properties of the file such as predefined unit and drawing standard. To change the properties of the default template, click on the Configure Default Templates tool in the New section of the startup user interface, refer to Figure 1.5. The Configure Default Templates dialog box appears, see Figure 1.7. In this dialog box, you can define the measurement units and drawing standard for the default template.

Alternatively, to invoke the Part modeling environment, click on the New tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab in the Ribbon or press the CTRL + N key, see Figure 1.8. The Create New File dialog box appears, see Figure 1.9. You can also click on the New tool in the Quick Access Toolbar to invoke the Create New File dialog box.

In the Create New File dialog box, you can select a default Metric or English template for invoking the Part modeling environment. In a default Metric template, the length is measured in millimeters whereas, in an English template, the length is measured in inches. To invoke the Part modeling environment with a default Metric template, expand the Templates node in the Create New File dialog box and then select the Metric folder. All the default Metric templates appear on the right panel of the dialog box, refer to Figure 1.9. Next, double-click on the Standard (mm).ipt template (.ipt is the file extension of the Inventor part file). The Part modeling environment is invoked with the default Metric template.

The various user interface components of the Part modeling environment such as Ribbon, Browser, ViewCube, and Navigation Bar are discussed next.

Ribbon

The Ribbon is composed of a series of tabs such as 3D Model, Sketch, and Annotate in which a set of similar tools are grouped together in different panels, see Figure 1.10. Note that the availability of tabs, panels, and tools in the Ribbon depends upon the currently invoked environment of Autodesk Inventor.

By default, the Ribbon is docked horizontally at the top of the graphics area. You can also dock the Ribbon vertically to the left or right of the graphics area. For doing so, right-click anywhere on the Ribbon. A shortcut menu appears. In this shortcut menu, move the cursor over the Docking Positions and then select the required option in the cascading menu that appears, see Figure 1.11. You can also undock the Ribbon such that it can float within the graphics area by clicking on the Undock Ribbon option in the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click on the Ribbon.

In Autodesk Inventor, you can also add a custom panel with user defined tools in each tab of the Ribbon. For doing so, right-click anywhere on the Ribbon and then click on the Customize User Commands... option in the shortcut menu that appears. The Customize dialog box appears, see Figure 1.12. Make sure that the Ribbon tab is selected in the Customize dialog box. Next, select the required tab in the Choose tab to add custom panel to drop-down list of the right panel in the dialog box. After selecting the required tab, select a tool on the left panel of the dialog box and then click on the Add button . The selected tool gets added to the right panel of the dialog box. Similarly, you can add multiple tools to the right panel of the dialog box. Next, click on the Apply button and then the OK button in the dialog box. All selected tools gets added in the User Commands panel, at the end of the selected tab in the Ribbon.

You can also change the appearance of the Ribbon to Normal, Test Off, Small, Compact, or Large. For doing so, right-click anywhere on the Ribbon and then move the cursor over the Ribbon Appearance option in the shortcut menu that appears, see Figure 1.13. A cascading menu appears. In this cascading menu, select the required option to define the appearance of the Ribbon. By default, the Normal option is selected as the appearance of the Ribbon. The Reset Ribbon option in the cascading menu is used for resetting the Ribbon to the default settings.

File Menu

The File Menu is used for accessing the commonly used tools to start a new file, open an existing file, save a file, export a file, share a file, and so on. It also displays a list of recently used files in its Recent Documents area. To invoke the File Menu, click on the File button at the upper left corner of the Ribbon, see Figure 1.14.

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is provided with frequently used tools such as New, Open, Save, and Undo, see Figure 1.15. It is also provided with the Material and Appearance drop-down lists for quickly assigning a material or an appearance to the model, respectively. The Quick Access Toolbar is available at the upper left corner of the screen.

In addition to the default tools, you can customize to add or remove tools in the Quick Access Toolbar. To add a tool, right-click on the tool in the Ribbon and then click on the Add to Quick Access Toolbar in the shortcut menu that appears. The selected tool gets added in the Quick Access Toolbar. To remove a tool from the Quick Access Toolbar, right-click on the tool to be removed and then click on the Remove from Quick Access Toolbar in the shortcut menu that appears.

InfoCenter

The InfoCenter is available at the upper right corner of the Inventor window, see Figure 1.16. It is used for accessing help documents for finding information related to a topic. Also, it provides tools to access the Autodesk App Store, Sign In to Autodesk account, search a tool, and so on.

Browser

The Browser appears on the left side of the graphics area and keeps a record of all features or operations used for creating a model, see Figure 1.17. Note that the first created feature appears at the top and the next created features appear one after the other in an order in the Browser. You can drag the End of Part up or down in the Browser to step upward or downward through the regeneration order of the features. Note that the features present after the End of Part get suppressed and do not appear in the graphics area.

NOTE: The Origin folder in the Browser contains three default planes, three default axes, and a center point.

ViewCube

The ViewCube is available at the upper right corner of the graphics area and is used for navigating the model, see Figure 1.18. You can orbit or switch between the standard and isometric views of a model by using the ViewCube. You will learn to navigate a model by using the ViewCube in Chapter 5.

Navigation Bar

The Navigation Bar is used for accessing navigation tools such as Zoom, Orbit, and Pan, see Figure 1.19. It is available in the right of the graphics area. The various navigation tools of the Navigation Bar are discussed in Chapter 5.

TIP: You can turn on or off the display of ViewCube and Navigation Bar in the graphics area. For doing so, click on the View tab in the Ribbon and then invoke the User Interface flyout in the Windows panel, see Figure 1.20. Next, select or clear the respective check boxes in the User Interface flyout.

Status Bar

The Status Bar is available at the bottom of the graphics area and provides information about the action to be taken based on the currently active tool. It also displays the current state of the sketch being created, coordinate system, and so on.

Invoking the Assembly Environment

To invoke the Assembly environment, click on the Assembly button in the New section of the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor, see Figure 1.21. The Assembly environment is invoked with default template, see Figure 1.22. You can edit the properties such as unit and drawing standard of the default template by using the Configure Default Templates tool in the New section of the startup user interface.

Alternatively, to invoke the Assembly environment, click on the New tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab in the Ribbon or press the CTRL + N key, see Figure 1.23. The Create New File dialog box appears, see Figure 1.24. You can also click on the New tool in the Quick Access Toolbar to invoke the Create New File dialog box.

In the Create New File dialog box, you can select a default Metric or English template for invoking the Assembly environment. Expand the Templates node in the Create New File dialog box and then select the Metric folder. All the default Metric templates appear on the right panel of the dialog box, refer to Figure 1.24. Next, double-click on the Standard (mm).iam template (.iam is the file extension of the Inventor assembly file). The Assembly environment is invoked with the default Metric template.

After invoking the Assembly environment, you can create an assembly by assembling two or more than two components. Figure 1.25 shows an assembly. You will learn more about creating assemblies in later chapters.

Invoking the Drawing Environment

To invoke the Drawing environment, click on the New tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab in the Ribbon or press the CTRL + N key, see Figure 1.26. The Create New File dialog box appears, see Figure 1.27. You can also click on the New tool in the Quick Access Toolbar to invoke the Create New File dialog box.

In the Create New File dialog box, select a default Metric or English template for invoking the Drawing environment. To invoke the Drawing environment with a default Metric template, expand the Templates node in the Create New File dialog box and then select the Metric folder. All the default Metric templates appear on the right panel of the dialog box, refer to Figure 1.27. Next, double-click on the required drawing template in the Drawing rollout of the dialog box. Autodesk Inventor has various drawing templates with predefined drafting standards such as ANSI, ISO, BSI, DIN, and JIS for invoking Drawing environment (.idw and .dwg are the file extensions of a drawing file). Figure 1.28 shows the Drawing environment invoked by using the ANSI(mm).idw drawing template.

Alternatively, to invoke the Drawing environment, click on the Drawing button in the New section of the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor, see Figure 1.29. The Drawing environment is invoked with default template. You can edit the properties such as unit and drawing standard of the default template by using the Configure Default Templates tool in the New section of the startup user interface.

After invoking the Drawing environment, you can generate various drawing views of a component or an assembly. You will learn about generating various drawing views, applying dimensions, creating BOM, and so on in later chapters. Figure 1.30 shows a drawing with different drawing views.

Invoking the Presentation Environment

To invoke the Presentation environment, click on the New tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab in the Ribbon or press the CTRL + N key, see Figure 1.31. The Create New File dialog box appears, see Figure 1.32. You can also click on the New tool in the Quick Access Toolbar to invoke the Create New File dialog box.

In the Create New File dialog box, select a default Metric or English template for invoking the Presentation environment. To invoke the Presentation environment with a default Metric template, expand the Templates node in the Create New File dialog box and then select the Metric folder. All the default Metric templates appear on the right panel of the dialog box, see Figure 1.32. Next, scroll down in the dialog box and then double-click on the Standard (mm).ipn template, see Figure 1.32 (.ipn is the file extension of the Inventor presentation file). The Presentation environment is invoked and the Insert dialog box appears. Also, you are prompted to select an assembly file for creating its animation and exploded views. Browse to the location where the assembly file is saved and then select it for creating its animation and exploded views. Next, click on the Open button in the dialog box. The selected assembly gets opened in the Presentation environment, see Figure 1.33.

After invoking the Presentation environment, you can create an animation and exploded view of the assembly. You will learn about the same in later chapters. Figure 1.34 shows the exploded view of an assembly in the Presentation environment.

Identifying Inventor Files

The files created in different environments (Part, Assembly, Drawing, and Presentation) of Autodesk Inventor have different file extensions, see the table given below:

Creating a Project

In Autodesk Inventor, you can create a project for organizing, accessing, and saving all the files such as parts, assemblies, drawings, standard components, library components, etc. that are associated with a particular design. You can define any folder created in a local drive of your system or in a vault as the project folder for saving all the files of a particular design in a common location, making it easier to manage all the files of the project. The method for creating a project is discussed below:

1. Click on the Projects tool in the Launch panel of the Get Started tab, see Figure 1.35. The Projects dialog box appears, see Figure 1.36. The upper half of the dialog box displays a list of already created projects. The Default project is created, by default.

2. Click on the New button in the Projects dialog box for creating a new project. The Inventor project wizard dialog box appears, see Figure 1.36.

3. Select the New Single User Project radio button in the Inventor project wizard dialog box to create a new project on the local drive of your system. If you want to create a new project in a vault, then select the New Vault Project radio button. After selecting the required radio button, click on the Next button in the dialog box.

4. Enter a name for the project to be created in the Name field of the dialog box.

5. Click on the Browse button next to the Project (Workspace) Folder field in the dialog box. The Browse For Folder dialog box appears. In this dialog box, browse to the required location in the local drive of your system and then select a folder to save all the files of the project. Next, click on the OK button. The project folder gets defined and its location appears in the Project (Workspace) Folder field of the dialog box.

6. Click on the Next button in the Inventor project wizard dialog box and then the Finish button. A project with the specified name is created at the specified location and becomes an active project. Also, it appears in the upper half of the Project dialog box.

7. Click on the Done button in the Projects dialog box. Now, every time you save a file or open an existing file, the active project folder location gets browsed automatically for saving or opening the file, respectively.

TIP: When you are working on a project or a design with large number of associated components then you can create a project at a particular location and save all the files such as parts, assemblies, drawings, standard components, library components, etc. that are associated with it in the specified project folder.

Invoking a Marking Menu

Marking Menu gets invoked when you right-click in the graphics area. It provides quick access to the most frequently used tools in the Wheel and some other tools in the Overflow menu, see Figure 1.37. Note that the availability of the tools in the Marking Menu depends on the active workspace.

Customizing the Color Scheme

In Autodesk Inventor, you can customize the color scheme of the graphical elements such as Grids, Sketch preview, Selection highlight, Drafting 2D screen, as well as the background color of the graphics area. For doing so, click on the Tools tab in the Ribbon and then click on the Application Options tool in the Options panel, see Figure 1.38. The Application Options dialog box appears.

In the Application Options dialog box, click on the Colors tab. The options to specify color scheme appear in the dialog box. In the In-canvas Color Scheme area of the Color tab in the dialog box, you can select a pre-defined color scheme for the Autodesk Inventor to be used. In this textbook, the Presentation color scheme is used with a single white background color. For doing so, select the Presentation color scheme in the In-canvas Color Scheme area of the dialog box and then select the 1 Color option in the Background drop-down list. Next, click on the Apply button to apply the change. You can also customize a pre-defined color scheme. For doing so, select a color scheme in the In-canvas Color Scheme area of the dialog box to be customized and then click on the Customize Schemes button. The Color Scheme Editor dialog box appears, see Figure 1.39. By using this dialog box, you can customize the selected color scheme by editing its graphical elements, as required.

Saving Files

To save a file created in any of the environments of Autodesk Inventor, click on the Save tool in the Quick Access Toolbar or click on File > Save in the File Menu. The Save As dialog box appears. You can also press CTRL + S to invoke the Save As dialog box. In this dialog box, enter the name of the file in the File name field of the dialog box and then browse to the location where you want to save the document. Next, click on the Save button.

TIP: You can also save a copy of an object or a file with a different name by using the Save As tool. For doing so, click on the File > Save As > Save As in the File Menu and then specify a new name for the file and location to save the file in the Save As dialog box that appears. Next, click on the Save button in the dialog box.

Exporting Files to Other CAD Formats

In Autodesk Inventor, you can also export Inventor files to other CAD formats or neutral file formats. For doing so, click on the File > Export > CAD Format in the File Menu, see Figure 1.40. The Save As dialog box appears. In this dialog box, select the required file format such as AutoCAD DWG Files (*.dwg), CATIA V5 Part Files (*CATPart), IGES Files (*.igs;*.iges), or STEP Files (*.stp;*.ste;*.step;*.stpz) in the Save as type drop-down list of the dialog box. Next, browse to the required location for the file and then click on the Save button. The Inventor file gets exported to the selected CAD format or neutral file format at the specified location.

Opening Existing Files

To open an existing Inventor file, click on the Open button in the Welcome dialog box. Alternatively, click on the Open tool in the Quick Access Toolbar or click on File > Open in the File Menu. The Open dialog box appears. You can also press the CTRL + O key to invoke the Open dialog box. In the Open dialog box, ensure that the Autodesk Inventor Files (*.iam;*.dwg;*.idw;*.ipt;*.ipn;*.ide) file extension is selected in the Files of type drop-down list for opening an existing Inventor file. Note that you can select the file extension in this drop-down list depending upon the type of file to be opened. You can also open/import files created in other CAD applications. After selecting the required file extension, browse to the location where the Inventor file is saved and then click on the file to be opened. Next, click on the Open button in the dialog box. The selected file gets opened.

Summary

The chapter begins by discussing about system requirements for installing Autodesk Inventor. The topics described in the chapter include how to invoke different Inventor environments, identifying Inventor files, various components of the startup user interface of Autodesk Inventor, creating a project, invoking Marking Menu, saving files, exporting files to other CAD formats, and opening existing files in Autodesk Inventor.

Questions

• The file extension for the documents created in the Part modeling environment is ______, for the Assembly environment is _______, and for the Drawing environment is ________.

• The _______ environment is used for creating an animation and exploded view of an assembly.

• The _______ is available at the upper right corner of the graphics area and is used for navigating the model.

• The _______ is composed of a series of tabs such as 3D Model, Sketch, and Annotate in which a set of similar tools are grouped together in different panels.

• The features of a model present after the _______ in the Browser get suppressed and do not appear in the graphics area.

• The _______ folder in the Browser contains three default planes, three default axes, and a center point.

• The _______ tool is used for saving a copy of an object or a file with a different name.

• In Autodesk Inventor, you cannot open files created in other CAD applications. (True/False)

• In Autodesk Inventor, you can open IGES and STEP files. (True/False)

• The Browser is used for keeping a record of all operations/features in an order. (True/False)

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Chapter 2: Drawing Sketches with Autodesk Inventor

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In this chapter, you will learn the following:

• Invoking the Part Modeling Environment

• Invoking the Sketching Environment

• Working with the Selection of Planes

• Specifying Units

• Specifying Grids and Snap Settings

• Creating a Line Entity

• Creating an Arc by using the Line Tool

• Creating a Circle

• Creating an Ellipse

• Creating an Arc

• Creating a Rectangle

• Creating a Slot

• Creating a Polygon

• Creating a Spline

• Editing a Spline

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Autodesk Inventor is a feature-based, parametric, solid modeling mechanical design and automation software. Before you start creating the solid 3D components in Autodesk Inventor, you need to understand it. To design a component in this software, you need to create all its features one by one, see Figures 2.1 and 2.2. Note that the features are divided into two main categories: Sketch based features and Placed features. A feature created using a sketch is known as Sketch based feature, whereas a feature created on an existing feature without using a sketch is known as Placed feature. Of the two categories, the Sketch based feature is the first feature to be designed for any real world component. Therefore, it is important to first learn drawing a sketch.

Figure 2.1 shows a component consisting of an extrude feature, a cut feature, a chamfer, and