1EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Work PlanesSo far we have created sketch planes by:• Selecting an initial sketch plane in the front, top, or right side view• Adding sketch planes to surfaces in existing solids

Sometimes a new feature will be located on a plane that is not available on the current part. In such a case we can add work planes where sketches will be formed in order to add new features. The simplest type of work planes use the standard orthographic planes. We will later see other types of work planes and/or work features. XY, YZ, and XZ Work PlanesMany features can be developed on standard planes in the world coordinate system. These planes go through the origin, so it is helpful to have a key point in your model located at the origin. XY Plane – a plane parallel to the front viewYZ Plane – a plane parallel to the right side viewZX Plane - a plane parallel to the top view 

2EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side as shown below. A work plane will be used to draw the hole.

Select Origin as center of circles

1. 2D Sketch: Create the pipe by drawing two concentric circles with their centers at the origin

Work plane

2. Extrude: Use an extrusion to form the pipe

3EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5

3. Make the right (YZ) plane visible: Expand (+) Origin in the model browser. As you pause over each plane it will can be seen on the screen. Right-click on YZ plane and turn on () Visibility.

Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

4EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5

4. Add a 2D Sketch to the YZ plane:

Select Start 2D Sketch and pick this plane

Before adding the 2D sketch After adding the 2D sketch

Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

5EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

Select Slice Graphics

The back half of the pipe is now displayed (seen more clearly in the isometric below)

5. Slice Graphics: Try to add a circle to the center of the side of the pipe and you will find that you can’t locate the midpoints or endpoints. This problem can be fixed as follows:• Right-click on the solid and select Slice Graphics. This will remove the portion of the

solid in front of the plane so that you will see only the back half of the pipe.

6EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5

6. Project Geometry: We still can’t locate the midpoints or endpoints of the pipe to add a circle so we need to use Project Geometry to project some of the pipe features onto the sketch plane. Either select Project Geometry in the Ribbon or right-click on the solid and select Project Geometry.

Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

Select Project Geometry

Pick pipe features to project onto the sketch plane (color changes to

yellow when selected)

7EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

Diagonal construction line

Isometric View

7. Draw circle We can now draw the circle at the center of the side of the pipe. A handy way to center the circle is to locate it at the midpoint of a diagonal construction line that connects endpoints.

8EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5

8. Extrude the circle Note that even through the circle cannot be seen in the view below (as it is inside the pipe), it can still be selected as the Profile.

Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

Select circle as Profile

9EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5

8. Finish the Sketch and Extrude the circle (continued) Use the following extrusion options:- Cut- Symmetric- Extents: All

Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

SymmetricCut

10EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)

Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of YZ Plane

9. Final Result

11EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Offset Work Planes Work planes can be created which are offset from any desired surface.Example: Create the part shown to the right using a work plane. Make all walls and the bottom of the model 0.125” thick.The basic steps are illustrated below, but are shown in more detail in the following slides.

Create basic solid

Add offset work plane

Add sketch plane, slice graphics, and

draw rectangle

Extrude (cut) rectangle

Final result

12EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)1) Create 2D Sketch of Front View2) Extrude to form basic solid (1.25” used in this example)

13EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)3) Add Work Plane

• Select Plane on the Ribbon• Select front plane of solid• Hold down left mouse button and slide the plane behind the face• Enter the offset distance (-0.125” in this case)

14EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)3) Add 2D Sketch to work plane just created4) Use Slice Graphics to only show solid features behind the plane5) Use Project Geometry to project key edges onto the work plane

Project Geometry used to project key edges

onto work plane

After adding 2D Sketch to Work Plane: After using Slice Graphics

15EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)6) Draw rectangle. Use dimensions to control two key distances from edges of solid model.

Rectangle and dimensions add to 2D Sketch

Isometric view

16EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)7) Finish the Sketch and Extrude the rectangle with the following options:

• Select Distance (1.25 – 0.125 – 0.125 = 1.00”)• Direction (behind plane)• Cut

Rectangle extruded to form box to be cut from model

Note that all walls and the

bottom are 0.125” thick

17EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)

Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of Work Plane

18EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Features in InventorRecall that Inventor models may contain various types of features, including:• Placed Features (no 2D Sketch required):

• Holes• Fillets• Threads• Chamfers• Etc

• Sketched Features (one or more 2D Sketches required):• Extrusion (based on one 2D Sketch)• Revolution (based on one 2D Sketch)• Sweep (based on two 2D Sketches) – to be covered next

19EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Swept FeaturesExtrusion – Used to project (or sweep) a profile along a linear path. Sweep – Used to sweep a profile along any path (a curved path, for example)A sweep is very useful for creating wires, tubing, etc., that follow some path. A swept feature in Inventor requires two sketches:• 2D path (along which the profile will be swept)• Profile (created in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane containing the 2D path)

Profile

Profile

Extrusion Sweep

Extrude profile along a linear path

Sweep along a sketched path

Path

20EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing (shown to the right) that follows a curved path using a sweep.

1. Add a 2D Sketch in the front view and create the following sketch (the required path):

21EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).

2. Turn on Visibility for the YZ (right) plane and add a 2D Sketch to this plane.3. Select Project Geometry and then select the lower part of the path so that you can tell where

it intersects the sketch plane.

• YZ plane made visible• 2D Sketch added to the YZ plane

Select Project Geometry from menu and then pick this line

22EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).

4. Add two circles to form the Profile. The center of the circles must be on the path. If a green dot does not appear then perhaps Project Geometry was not correctly used in the last step.

Add circles for Profile. Be sure that the Green Dot appears when locating the centers.

Draw circles from the

right view Or draw circles from the isometric view

23EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).

5. Finish the Sketch and Perform the Sweep• Select Sweep from the 3D Model menu• Select the Profile• Select the Path• Select OK

Profile

Path

Sweep appears after selecting the Profile and Path. Select OK to accept.

24EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).

Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of YZ Plane

6. Final Result

25EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Additional examples using sweeps

26EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Additional example using a sweep

Triple-track window frame

27EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5ExampleThis simple desk lamp was created using an extrusion, a revolution, and a sweep.Which operation was used for each part? (Discuss and then see next slide for profiles.)

28EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)Which profiles were used for each operation?