PARAMETRIC MODELINGFundamentals of Autodesk Inventor

SKETCHES The basic unit of design is the sketch They are not required to be precise, but it will make your life easier if you

follow the basic rules below Create a sketch that is proportional to the desired shape Think about how you want your design to relate to the origin and other work

planes Keep the sketches simple Sketched geometric entities should form a closed region

CONSTRAINTS AND DIMENSIONS Constraints describe how two

shapes relate to each other Dimensions tell something about

a particular shape We can get dimensions of length,

angle, diameter, radius, etc.

CONSTRAINTSCoincident - a point that must lie somewhere on a curve

Colinear – like parallel, but they are lined up

Concentric – curves have the same center point

Fix – Locks a point the World Coordinate System

Parallel – You should know

Perpendicular – You should know

Horizontal to the WCS

Vertical to the WCS

Tangential – Line and circle will share a point

Smooth – Makes a spline smoother

Symetric – Both sides are the same

Equal – two objects share the same length or diameter

DO 1 Make a new standard.ipt Turn on visibility Save your work as d2.adjuster,

save often Make a new sketch on the XZ plan Use the line tool to make a basic

sketch in the lower left center of the graphics window

As you draw the shape look at the constraints that are implemented as you draw

DO 2 Use the dimension tool to add the

Dimensions as shown Click Finish Sketch If we want to go back and edit

this sketch, double click on Sketch1 on the browser

DO 3 Extrude the

shape 2.5 inches, as shown

DO 4 Now we will add another extruded

feature. Based on the top face of the solid model we just extruded.

Click New 2D sketch Then choose the top face This will make a workplane based

off of the top face. Anything we draw will be matched up to that surface.

DO 5 Draw an L in

similar orientation to the original object

DO 6 Add the basic

dimensions

DO 7 Add Some special

dimensions These describe the

position of the sketch relative to the top corner of the solid model

These are really important to get right, ask for help if needed Between the two vertical

lines Between the two ‘tops’

DO 8 Set both of

those new dimensions to 0

DO 9 Finish the Sketch, then Extrude it

down 2.5 Make sure you extrude in the

correct direction, use the arrows under the distance to change the direction

DO 10 We will now add a Cut Feature

Add a new sketch Choose the face shown

DO 11 Draw a circle of arbitrary size on

the face

DO 12 Add the dimensions

shown These show

The Size of the circle

Its position of the center relative to two edges

DO 13 Finish the Sketch Click Extrude This time we are going to do a

Cut Click the Cut Icon Set the extents to All so it goes all

the way through the shape Click Finish

YOU’RE DONE WITH THIS ONE Save your work as d2.adjuster Two more exercises to go

EXERCISESd2.notched plate d3.slider