Chapter Six: Creating and Documenting Assemblies€¦ · 2 Objectives Chapter Objectives Describe assembly options Create bottom -up/top-down assemblies Create subassemblies Constrain

Autodesk Inventor 6 Essentials Instructor Guide

Chapter six: creating and documenting assemblies 6-1

Chapter Six: Creating and Documenting Assemblies

Chapter Outline This chapter provides instruction on the following topics and provides exercises for students to

practice their skills.

Topic: How to create and document assemblies Chapter Topic Estimated

Time (Hours)

# of PowerPoint

slides

Recommended Optional

6 Introduce how to create and document assemblies

1 X

6 Review chapter objectives 1 X

6 Creating assemblies 10 X

6 Assembly constraints 15

6 Exercise 6-1: Assembly constraints

1

1 X

6 Designing parts in place 2 X

6 Exercise 6-2: Designing parts in the assembly context

1 X

6 Adaptivity 7 X

6 Exercise 6-3: Creating adaptive parts

1 X

6 Analysis tools 8 X

Instructor-led demo: center line of gravity

X

6 Exercise 6-4: Analyzing assemblies

1

1 X

6 Presentation files 8 X

6 Exercise 6-5: Presentation views

1 X

6 Creating drawing view from assemblies and presentation files

9 X

6 Exercise 6-6: Presentation views

1 X

6 Review summary 1 X

6 Applying Your Skills: Exercises 6-1, 6-2

1 X

6 Review Checking Your Skills answers at end of chapter

1

X

Total 3 69



Slide 3

Autodesk Inventor® 6 www.autodesk.com

Creating and Documenting Assemblies

Creating Assemblies

Slide 4

Autodesk Inventor® 6 www.autodesk.com4

Creating Assemblies

New Assembly Files.IAM Extension

Creation MethodsNew icon – What To DoNew – File Menu

New icon – Down Arrow


6-4 Chapter six: creating and documenting assemblies

Slide 5


Creating Assemblies

Assembly OptionsTools > Application Options > Assembly tab

Slide 6


Creating Assemblies

Assembly BrowserPart Occurrence

Assembly ConstraintsSubassembly Occurrence

Technical Note

In R6, you can no longer reorder parts in the browser. The addition of the

weldment environment with assembly features required this change.



Slide 7


Creating Assemblies

Bottom-Up ApproachComponents are created in their individual files

Place Component tool‘P’ hot key

Slide 8


Creating Assemblies

Top-Down ApproachCreate new components while in an assembly

Create Component toolCreate In-Place Component Dialog

File Name

File TypeFile Location

Template to be used

Constraint to selected face

Technical Note

The Middle-Out approach is important. The assembly is a combination of existing

parts and new parts created in place. This is the most common workflow.



Slide 9


Creating Assemblies

OccurrenceCopy of existing components

Copy/Paste

Place ComponentDrag & Drop

Any change to original updates all occurrencesSave Copy As… to create a copy that is not linked to original

Slide 10


Creating Assemblies

OccurrenceActive Component – Available for edit

Double-click in the graphics area

Double-click file name/icon in the BrowserRight-click in the Browser > Edit



Slide 11


Creating Assemblies

OccurrenceGrounded Component

The Component will not move

All Degrees Of Freedom are removed When constraining, components move to a Grounded component

Any # of components can be grounded

Slide 12


Creating Assemblies

Subassembly CreationCreate Component

Change file type to Assembly

Promote/DemoteRight-click after selecting a component in the Browser

Promote – moves a component(s) to it’s parent assembly

Demote – moves a component(s) to a subassembly



Slide 13


Assembly Constraints

ConstraintsCreate relationships between components

Bolt and a Hole

Reduce the number of Degrees Of Freedom6 total (3-translational & 3-rotational)

View > Degrees of FreedomComponent Properties > Occurrence tab



Slide 15



ConstraintsPlacing Constraints

Constraint tool

Right-click > Constraint‘C’ hot key

Place Constraint Dialog

Slide 16



ConstraintsConstraint Types – Assembly tab

MatePlane, Line, or Point

Assembles two components so that the surface normals on the selected planes are opposite each otherAssembles the edges of linesAssembles two points together

Flush SolutionAligns two components so the selected planes face the same direction (surface normals point in the same direction)



Slide 17




Angle

Specify the degrees between the selected planes

Slide 18




Tangent

Defines a tangent relationship between planes, cylinders, spheres, cones, and ruled splinesAt least one selected face must be a curve

Inside/Outside Solutions



Slide 19




Insert

Two circular edgesCenterlines are aligned & mate constraint is applied to the planes defined by the circular edges.

5 DOF’s are removed with an insert constraint

Slide 20



ConstraintsConstraint Types – Motion tab

Animation the motion of gears pulleys, rack and pinions, etc.You can drive one component and cause others to move accordingly

Motion constraints are secondary constraintsThey do not maintain positional relationships between components

Recommended: fully constrain components before applying motion constraints, then suppress the constraints restricting motion



Slide 21




Rotation

Define a component that will rotate in relation to another componentSpecify a ratio for the rotation between the two components

Forward & Backward solution types

Slide 22




Rotation-Translation

Define rotation relative to translation of a second component



Slide 23



ConstraintsConstraint Types – Transitional tab

Transitional

Specifies a transitional relationship between a cylindrical part face and a contiguous set of faces on another part

Slide 24



ConstraintsSnap ‘n Go

ALT – drag a part to another part

No Place Constraint dialog boxSelect correct area on the part to apply the constraint

Changes to a transitional constraint.X or 8

Changes to a rotation-translation constraint. Spacebar flips the translation direction

S or 6

Changes to a rotation motion constraint. Spacebar flips the rotation direction.R or 5

Changes to an insert constraint. Spacebar flips insert direction .I or 4

Changes to a tangent constraint. Spacebar flips between inside/outside solutions.

T or 3

Changes to an angle constraint. Spacebar flips angle direction.A or 2

Changes to a mate constraint. Spacebar flips to a flush solution .M or 1



Slide 25



Moving & Rotating ComponentsMove Component Tool

Drag individual components in any linear direction in the viewing plane

Temporarily suppresses assembly constraints on the component until the assembly is updated (constraints are then re-applied)

Rotate Component ToolAfter selected, the 3D rotate symbol appears on the selected componentSimilar to the Move Component tool, Rotate Component temporarily suppresses any assembly constraints applied to the component

Slide 26



EditingTwo Methods via the Browser

Double-click the constraint name

Right-click the constraint name and select Edit, Suppress, or Delete

Edit - opens the Edit Constraint dialog box

Suppress – the assy constraintis not appliedDelete – deletes the assy constraint



Slide 27



ConflictsAlert Box

If you try to place or edit an assembly constraint and it cannot be applied, an alert box is displayed explaining the problem.

ConflictingWhen assembly constraint conflicts with another one, a small yellow icon with an exclamation point is displayed in the Browser

RecoverDisplays the Design Doctor to walk you through the steps to fix the problem

Slide 28



ConflictsRedundant

Occurs when too many constraints are added.

Constraints are preceded with an information symbol



Slide 29


Exercise 6-1


Slide 30



Designing Parts In-Place



Slide 31



In-Place CreationInitial Sketch Creation

Face of an existing assembly component

Work Plane

Automatically constrain the sketch plane to the selected face or work plane

Creates a Flush constraint between the sketch and the selected face or plane

Slide 32



In-Place CreationAfter the base feature is created

Create additional features based on geometry from another part in the assembly an adaptive work plane is created.

The adaptive work plane moves as necessary to reflect changes in the component that it is based upon

The sketch moves with the plane

Features based on the sketch adapt to match its new position



Slide 33


Exercise 6-2

Designing Parts in the Assembly Context

Slide 34



Adaptivity



Slide 35


Adaptivity

DefinitionAllows the size of a part to be determined by setting up a relat ionship between the part and another part in the assembly

Under-constrained sketches and features can adaptThe adaptivity relationship is acquired by applying constraints between an adaptive sketch or feature and another part

The sketch cannot be fully constrainedA part can only be adaptive in one assembly at a timeOnly one occurrence of a part can be adaptive – other occurrences reflect the size of the adaptive part

ExampleDiameter of a pin from the size of a hole or vice-versa

Technical Note

Adaptive relationships will increase the time to solve constraints. To improve

performance, turn off adaptivity once a component is sized appropriately.



Slide 36


Adaptivity

OptionsTools > Application Options > Assembly tab

Slide 37


Adaptivity

ExampleThe rectangular sketch is not dimensioned along its length



Slide 38


Adaptivity

ExampleThe extruded feature is defined as adaptive

Slide 39


Adaptivity

ExampleParts are placed, constraints applied between the two plates (flush between the faces on the ends of the plates)



Slide 40


Adaptivity

ExampleThe small plate adapts its length to meet the length of the large plate

Slide 41


Adaptivity

Components VisibilityOn or Off

Right-click a component and select Visibility from the menu

Enabled Component is displayed as wire frame and cannot be selected in the graphics window

Right-click a component and select Enabled from the menu



Slide 42


Exercise 6-3

Creating Adaptive Parts

Slide 43



Analysis Tools



Slide 44


Analysis Tools

MeasureTools Menu

Measure DistanceLength of a line, arc, distance between points, radius/diameter of a circle, or position of elements relative to the active coordinate system

Slide 45


Analysis Tools

MeasureMeasure Angle

Measures the angle between two lines, edges, or points



Slide 46


Analysis Tools

MeasureMeasure Loop

Measures the length of closed loops defined by face boundaries or other geometry

Slide 47


Analysis Tools

MeasureMeasure Area

Measures the area of enclosed regions



Slide 48


Analysis Tools

MeasureAdditional Options

Click the arrow in the Measure dialog box

Changes the decimal display between all decimals and the number of decimal places specified in the document settings

All Decimals

Displays the sum of all measurements added to the accumulate

Display Accumulate

Clears all measurements from the accumulate sumClear Accumulate

Adds the measurement in the measurement box to the accumulate

Add to Accumulate

Clears the contents of the measurement boxReset

Slide 49


Analysis Tools

Center of GravityView > Center of Gravity

Displays Gray when the properties are out of date

Hover the cursor over the origin of the symbol to display the COG coordinates



Slide 50


Analysis Tools

Interference CheckingTools > Analyze Interference

Define Set #1 – select components that define the first set

Define Set #2 – select components that define the second setClick OK

< Instructor-led demo for center of gravity

1. Open centerofgravity.iam

2. On the View menu, select Center of Gravity. The tripod is displayed.

3. Hover the cursor over the origin of the tripod. The coordinates of the CoG are displayed

4. Close the file, do not save any changes

End of demonstration



Slide 51


Exercise 6-4

Analyzing an Assembly



Slide 52



Presentation Files

Slide 53


Presentation Files

File Type.IPN Extension

Exploded Views

Hide specific componentsCreate animations of assembly and disassembly of components

Work Plane

Associated with the assembly fileChanges made to the assembly are reflected in the presentation



Slide 54


Presentation Files

Panel BarPresentation Panel

Creates an animation of the assembly –AVI file can be output

Animation

Rotates the view by a specified angle direction using a dialog box

Precise View Rotation

Moves and/or rotates parts in the viewTweak Components

Creates views of the assemblyCreate View

Slide 55


Presentation Files

Creating Presentation ViewsCreate a presentation view

Create View tool

Adds a presentation view to the file and the Browser



Slide 56


Presentation Files

Creating Presentation ViewsTweaking Components

Moves or Rotates components a specified distance or angle

Auto ExplodeExtends all tweaks the same distance

Slide 57


Presentation Files

Creating Presentation ViewsTweaking Components

Tweak Component Dialog Box

Manual Tweaks



Slide 58


Presentation Files

Creating Presentation ViewsAnimation

Animate Tool

Controls for playbackRecord to AVI file

Slide 59


Presentation Files

Creating Presentation Views

AnimationAnimate Tool > More button

Changing the Animation Sequence

Move Up / DownGroup / Ungroup



Slide 62


Creating Drawing Views (Assemblies & Presentations)

Base View Base View tool

Slide 63



BalloonsFormat > Standards > Balloon tab

Make changes to the balloon style



Slide 66



BalloonsEditing

Aligning Balloons Vertically or Horizontally

Select multiple balloons > right-clickOffset Value is set on the Balloon tab(Format > Standards)

Text Style is set on the Balloon tab(Format > Standards)

Slide 67



BalloonsCustom Balloons

Right-click a balloon > Attach Custom Balloon

Select multiple balloons > right-click



Slide 68



Parts ListsParts List tool

Select a view

Enter options in the Parts List Item Numbering dialogClick OK

Slide 69



Parts ListsEditing

Right-click and select Edit Parts List



Slide 70




Slide 72


Applying Your Skills

Skill Exercise 6-1

Slide 73


Applying Your Skills

Skill Exercise 6-2



Answers to Checking Your Skills

Use this section to review the answers to the questions at the end of chapter six. 1 True___ False___ The only way an assembly can be created is by placing existing parts into it.

FALSE. You can also create a part inside of an assembly. 2 Explain top-down and bottom-up assembly techniques.

The Top-Down assembly technique is used where you create new components while in an assembly model.

The Bottom-Up assembly technique uses external files that are referenced into the assembly. The components that make up the assembly in this approach are created as individual files.

3 True___ False___ An occurrence is a copy of an existing component.

TRUE 4 True___ False___ Only one component can be grounded in an assembly.

FALSE. More than one component can be grounded in an assembly file. 5 True___ False___ Autodesk Inventor does not require components in an assembly to be fully constrained.

TRUE. However underconstraining a component would result in the assembly acting unstable. 6 True___ False___ A sketch must be fully constrained to adapt.

FALSE. You typically underconstrain a sketch allowing it to adapt when placed in an assembly file. 7 What is the purpose of creating a presentation file?

Creating a presentation file will allow you to demonstrate how parts in an assembly interact with each other. An exploded presentation can be created of an assembly to expose parts that would otherwise be hidden from view. Animations can be created that show how parts are assembled or disassembled.

8 True___ False___ A presentation file is associated to the assembly file on which it is based. TRUE

9 True___ False___ When creating drawing views from an assembly, you can create views from multiple presentation views or design views.

TRUE

Documents

Chapter Six: Creating and Documenting Assemblies€¦ · 2 Objectives Chapter Objectives Describe assembly options Create bottom -up/top-down assemblies Create subassemblies Constrain