Inventor Tips and Tricks: starting with - Switch between trim and extend

[Buffeldrek]

there are tooo few inventor tips here - so lets do something about it:

as most autocad users know you can toggle between the extend and trim command by pressing the shift key. Would you be surprised to know inventor does the same thing?
Within sketch mode, press the shift key while doing a trim to toggle to extend. Goes the other way around as well.

[Ron Oldenbeuving]

Sweeeet, and oh so simple.

I liked this thread so much, I've stuck it so that other users can add their own without having to search for it. Oh, and I've changed the title a little too.

[jonathan.landeros]

there are tooo few inventor tips here - so lets do something about it:

as most autocad users know you can toggle between the extend and trim command by pressing the shift key. Would you be surprised to know inventor does the same thing?
Within sketch mode, press the shift key while doing a trim to toggle to extend. Goes the other way around as well.

My personal 'simple but gets missed'. If you start your work feature tool (Workplane, axis, point), and right click, there is a option to 'repeat command'. Checking it allows you to place multiple work features without restarting the tool every time.

[bill.bogan]

This has been around a long time, but is worth repeating.

When sketching constraints are automatically applied. Sometimes you may not want that. Just hold down the CTRL key while drawing the sketch object and you won't have constraints, such as parallel or perpendicular, for that object.

If you haven't used this before, I'd advise playing with it until you are comfortable with it.

Cheers,
Bill

[Ron Oldenbeuving]

In AutoCAD, it's possible to use the divide command to place equispaced points on a spline. In Inventor, it can also be done.

After you have created, imported, etc your spline, create a workpoint on the end of your spline. Open the "Rectangular Pattern", pick the workpoint as the feature, select the spline as Direction 1, Enter in the number of points, and change "Spacing" to "Curve Length"

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Its also possible to do the same with workplanes, and keep each workplane square to the spline. Create a workplane at the end of the spline by picking the end point of the spline, and then the spline itself. This workplane is square to the end of the spline. Open the "Rectangular Pattern", pick the workplane as the feature, and follow the instructions as per the workpoints. However, before you hit "OK", open the details ">>", and change the setting for Orientation (in the lower window) from Identical to Direction 1 (see jpg file below), this is what keeps the Workplanes square to the spline as they are translated.

[Buffeldrek]

oooh good one on the array - ron

within sketch mode - there is a nice offset option:
the offset feature will standard select a bundle of objects, like a closed contour or objects that are attached with one another. This is because the option "Loop Select" is on. During the offset command - click RMB to get access to this option "Loop Select" and turn it off. Now you are able to select independent objects fromwhere you wanne do the offset.

This setting also has a regkey (i case you would be interested): HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Inventor\RegistryVersionxxSystem\Preferences\Sketch\Offset Loops

[jonathan.landeros]

I like using the offset tool to help make a basic four hole pattern.

If you offset a rectangle from the outside perimeter of the part, you can place four holes at each vertex of the rectangle.

Once you're done, you can control the hole's offset using one dimension!

[john_laugh]

there are tooo few inventor tips here - so lets do something about it:

as most autocad users know you can toggle between the extend and trim command by pressing the shift key. Would you be surprised to know inventor does the same thing?
Within sketch mode, press the shift key while doing a trim to toggle to extend. Goes the other way around as well.

heres something that works pretty well, hope I can explain it easily.
when trying to show threads on a machine drawing, it has to be shaded, unless you go thru the task of actually creating threds. the problem with shaded draings are that us black/white printers look pretty bad when most of our parts are bronze castings. and, its also nice to maintain the bronze look and colors when working with assemblies etc.. so;
what i do is i create the bronze color in the color standards with a name for ex: 'BronzeCasting" then I save it in my library with the same name "BronzeCasting".
then I change the color in my model to a flat white, thus looking pretty pale yet the threads are all there. I maintain the name in the standards oof the drawing as "BronzeCasting" but I save it to my library as "BronzeCastingNoShade".

when I open my typical IPT with the default material as Bronze, and create the part, and it looks and shines like bronze, then i create the machine part with the same material (also having "BronzeMachined" and a library file "BronzeMachinedNoShade" in the exact same mannor described above, and before I insert the part into an IDW, I import the two BronzeCastingNoShade" and the BronzeMachinedNoShade" and any feature or derived part that have these two colors get replaced with the NEw NO shade color and everything turnes white. excpet the threads.
when you then insert the views into the IDW file, and turn on the shade feature, the parts look white with threads, and print as if there was no shade on at all....

there can be issues with PDF files and its my recomendation to set them to best quality, and grey scale, else the threads tend to turn very black and look bad.

[Rick-o]

Ok, maybe this isn't tips and tricks for the Inventor program. But it IS a tip for improving one of the best peripherals ever made for working with a 3D model.

Most people who use a Space Pilot motion controller swear by it and say they would hate to go back to life without it. A lot of those same people might be quick to comment on the SP's ergonomic design (or its shortcomings).

I've given my SP buttons some tactile enhancements to allow my hand to stay oriented without taking my eyes off the screen. I found a sheet of plastic self-adhesive buttons in my odds-and-ends box and stuck a few of them on some of the Space Pilot's buttons. It's not pretty but has been quite effective for me. (See attached pics.)

Since the plastic buttons were peel-and-stick I was able to experiment with what worked best for me. The plastic piece on button #3 has a long straight edge on the top. The straight edge sets it apart from the other buttons and serves as an tactile "anchor" for my fingers, much like the little bumps on the F and J keys on keyboards. After a day or two getting comfortable using the SP buttons by feel it becomes second nature.

[inventorwizard]

For who's interested in RAL colors for Autodesk Inventor,
they can be downloaded from this link:
http://www.inventorwizard.be/textures/index.html