Another Autodesk University has come and gone. I was not actually looking forward to it, but it turned out great. A great chance to catch up with friends (albeit, some are just au friends). Also a great opportunity to learn about Autodesk plans and new products.
One new product is up for preview on Autodesk Labs - Inventor Publisher. You might think of this tool as the next generation of Technical Documents. Interesting tools to show your product.
There were fewer people this year, although still a lot of people. New venue, much more space, but you had to walk a lot farther. And the food was a lot better (except the pizza at the AUGI Beer Bash).
Hope to see you at AU 2010.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Episode 2 Sketching (circle)
We left off with my new file and I selected the ‘Circle’ tool, and I anchored the center of the circle at the origin (0,0,0). This brings up the concept of ‘Constraints’ or 2D Constraints, and we will delve in much further as we go along. By anchoring the center of the circle to the origin we have applied a constraint that tells Inventor that the center of the circle is at 0,0 (x,y in this sketch). That leaves this sketch with only one constraint and/or dimension to ‘fully constrain’ the sketch. What Inventor is looking for in this case is either the diameter or the radius of the circle.
In the case of circles to create a solid, Inventor (or any solid modeler) needs to know where the center of the circle is and the diameter/radius. Inventor will allow us to create a solid without the dimension or location of the center. Caution is advised here, it will do it, but it is much harder for it to do so. As mentioned in Episode 1, it is always better to fully constrain your sketch.
When we have created the circle on the screen all that is left to do is give it the size. Using the dimension tool pick on the edge of the circle. When you are in the dimension tool, and you are near geometry the dimension tool recognizes, it will show a ‘glyph’ near your cursor showing the type of dimension that it is about to apply. In this case the diameter. It is an option at this point to right-click for a pop-up menu, and change your selection to a radius.
By default (in a new Inventor out of the box) Inventor will figure out the size of the circle you created and give you that dimension when you left-click to place the dimension. Then you left-click on the dimension and an edit dimension tool will appear. When you change the dimension to the value that you desire, the circle (in this case) will change to that size. You can change this behavior so that the Edit Dimension tool appears as soon as you place the dimension. Select the ‘Tools’ tab, select ‘Application Options’ icon, when the dialog box appears, select the ‘Sketch’ tab. Near the bottom select ‘Edit dimension when created’. Now when in sketch mode and you place a dimension the Edit Dimension dialog will appear automatically.
There are actually two types of circles that Inventor has sketch tools for. The first one, center point circle we just described. The second, the Tangent Circle, requires that you pick three pieces of existing geometry to create a circle tangent to all three. You will see an arrow pointing down just below the circle tool, and if you click on that arrow, the icon for Tangent Circle will appear. If the geometry that you select is well defined (constrained) then you will not be required to place any dimensions for the size of the circle.
In the next Episodes we will start to look at some of the other sketch tools, and we will start to explore the concept of constraints.
Tod
In the case of circles to create a solid, Inventor (or any solid modeler) needs to know where the center of the circle is and the diameter/radius. Inventor will allow us to create a solid without the dimension or location of the center. Caution is advised here, it will do it, but it is much harder for it to do so. As mentioned in Episode 1, it is always better to fully constrain your sketch.
When we have created the circle on the screen all that is left to do is give it the size. Using the dimension tool pick on the edge of the circle. When you are in the dimension tool, and you are near geometry the dimension tool recognizes, it will show a ‘glyph’ near your cursor showing the type of dimension that it is about to apply. In this case the diameter. It is an option at this point to right-click for a pop-up menu, and change your selection to a radius.
By default (in a new Inventor out of the box) Inventor will figure out the size of the circle you created and give you that dimension when you left-click to place the dimension. Then you left-click on the dimension and an edit dimension tool will appear. When you change the dimension to the value that you desire, the circle (in this case) will change to that size. You can change this behavior so that the Edit Dimension tool appears as soon as you place the dimension. Select the ‘Tools’ tab, select ‘Application Options’ icon, when the dialog box appears, select the ‘Sketch’ tab. Near the bottom select ‘Edit dimension when created’. Now when in sketch mode and you place a dimension the Edit Dimension dialog will appear automatically.
There are actually two types of circles that Inventor has sketch tools for. The first one, center point circle we just described. The second, the Tangent Circle, requires that you pick three pieces of existing geometry to create a circle tangent to all three. You will see an arrow pointing down just below the circle tool, and if you click on that arrow, the icon for Tangent Circle will appear. If the geometry that you select is well defined (constrained) then you will not be required to place any dimensions for the size of the circle.
In the next Episodes we will start to look at some of the other sketch tools, and we will start to explore the concept of constraints.
Tod
Episode 1 Sketching
As I started to write this I realized I could go on and on forever, just about sketching. I started asking myself how to break it up so I wasn’t writing for days. The other thing that happens is every little thing leads to another discussion. So, ‘Episodes’ will be general discussions about tools (and closely related tools), and ‘Scenarios’ will be information about actually using the tools.
Those of you who have been in one of my classes (and thank you), will know that again and again I talk about keep it simple. So the three tools I try to use most are Line, Circle and Rectangle. And when I use the line tool I still try to keep my initial shape pretty simple. Some of you might say to yourself, ‘Well, why does he do that?’ The answer is a little complex, but here goes; ALL solid modelers before they can open the file the next time you want to use it, have to look at a number of things before you see the file. They have to make sure the sketches are all closed sketches (in general), they have to know where the lines, arcs, and circles are, and what their size is, etc. So, the simpler and more controlled the first sketch is, the easier it is for Inventor to start opening the file. In an assembly of 10 parts, it makes little difference how complex the part is. However, if that 10 part assembly is used in a 5000 part assembly now it starts to make a difference. And if it is used in a 50,000 part assembly it really makes a difference.
The message is try to ‘Keep It Simple’
The next thing to address with regard to sketches is ‘fully constrained’ vs ‘not fully constrained.’ It is always preferable to have a sketch fully constrained. Whenever there is doubt, or unconstrained situations this slows down the process because Inventor has to check everything against that unknown before it can proceed.
This brings up the idea of where to start a sketch. With Inventor I cannot think of a reason not to anchor your sketch, in some way, to the center point (0,0,0).
Displaying 0,0,0 or Part Origin; left-click on the ‘Tools’ tab, then left click on ‘Application Options’, left click on the ‘Sketch’ tab. Down towards the bottom left click in the box for ‘Autoproject part origin on sketch create’. In the next model you start there will be a point in the center of your screen that you can “tie” your sketch to by dimensions or constraints. You can also get to ‘Application Options’ from the Inventor Icon button in the upper left corner of Inventor 2010. Then left click on the ‘Options’ button at the bottom.
I have started a new part, and I left click on the ‘Circle’ icon, I move my cursor towards that point in the center of the screen and when I get pretty close I see a green dot, at that point I left click to start the center of the circle. Now I move my mouse away from the center point and I see the circle start to draw, and I can pretty much click anywhere to get the circle shape.
Inventor keeps track of your cursor position, similar to AutoCAD constantly giving you your X and Y position. (Lower right hand corner of your Inventor window). When you are in a sketch, and sketching (in this case the circle), it also gives you your Radius before you finish drawing the circle.
In Episode 2 we will delve into other important things to keep in mind regarding sketching, and start to look at some of the tools.
Tod
Those of you who have been in one of my classes (and thank you), will know that again and again I talk about keep it simple. So the three tools I try to use most are Line, Circle and Rectangle. And when I use the line tool I still try to keep my initial shape pretty simple. Some of you might say to yourself, ‘Well, why does he do that?’ The answer is a little complex, but here goes; ALL solid modelers before they can open the file the next time you want to use it, have to look at a number of things before you see the file. They have to make sure the sketches are all closed sketches (in general), they have to know where the lines, arcs, and circles are, and what their size is, etc. So, the simpler and more controlled the first sketch is, the easier it is for Inventor to start opening the file. In an assembly of 10 parts, it makes little difference how complex the part is. However, if that 10 part assembly is used in a 5000 part assembly now it starts to make a difference. And if it is used in a 50,000 part assembly it really makes a difference.
The message is try to ‘Keep It Simple’
The next thing to address with regard to sketches is ‘fully constrained’ vs ‘not fully constrained.’ It is always preferable to have a sketch fully constrained. Whenever there is doubt, or unconstrained situations this slows down the process because Inventor has to check everything against that unknown before it can proceed.
This brings up the idea of where to start a sketch. With Inventor I cannot think of a reason not to anchor your sketch, in some way, to the center point (0,0,0).
Displaying 0,0,0 or Part Origin; left-click on the ‘Tools’ tab, then left click on ‘Application Options’, left click on the ‘Sketch’ tab. Down towards the bottom left click in the box for ‘Autoproject part origin on sketch create’. In the next model you start there will be a point in the center of your screen that you can “tie” your sketch to by dimensions or constraints. You can also get to ‘Application Options’ from the Inventor Icon button in the upper left corner of Inventor 2010. Then left click on the ‘Options’ button at the bottom.
I have started a new part, and I left click on the ‘Circle’ icon, I move my cursor towards that point in the center of the screen and when I get pretty close I see a green dot, at that point I left click to start the center of the circle. Now I move my mouse away from the center point and I see the circle start to draw, and I can pretty much click anywhere to get the circle shape.
Inventor keeps track of your cursor position, similar to AutoCAD constantly giving you your X and Y position. (Lower right hand corner of your Inventor window). When you are in a sketch, and sketching (in this case the circle), it also gives you your Radius before you finish drawing the circle.
In Episode 2 we will delve into other important things to keep in mind regarding sketching, and start to look at some of the tools.
Tod
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
New info for Inventor Users
Autodesk Inventor
As most of you know, or will come to find out, I am a big fan of the Autodesk Inventor products (and those that went before it). As I write this at the end of September 2009, we have seen Inventor come a long way from its beginnings. I would imagine most of you, at one time or another took some kind of training course. For most users that was an “Introduction”, or “Level One” class. Some of you might have even taken more advanced or in-depth training on a specific topic of Inventor. From the time you took your class to now, Inventor has kept evolving, growing, and ‘changing.’ Over the years Autodesk has continually added to the product, and with 2010 made its first significant change to the way it looks (and give it room for future growth).
During this past summer, I/we started exploring how people were using Inventor, where they were having success, where there were gaps in knowledge, what people were interested in finding out about Inventor. Some people just wanted to “catch up.”
Well, the number of topics that people were interested in was huge. Some of the pieces of the puzzle are very easy to communicate, and some much more complex. We started looking for ways to deliver the content our users wanted. We explored creating classes in a variety of ways, half-day, all day, then we looked at on-line. One thing that has changed in the last few years is the number of sources of information. Used to be you just called your Autodesk dealer and asked questions. However, these days, the amount of information on-line is just shy of overwhelming. There are discussion groups (Autodesk and AUGI, not to mention others), there are tips and tricks pages, there is You Tube (hundreds, if not thousands of videos on Inventor), blogs (I even have one), and the ever present facebook.
There is no single answer for everyone. We still run regularly scheduled classes at all three of our offices in California, and we have done one in Las Vegas (more coming). A lot of you just want more, so how do we give it to you. So for the time being here is what we are working on and doing;
I (or we) are going to put together an unending series of articles on various portions of Inventor from A (arcs) to Z (Z-axes). They will be short little articles on a topic, sometimes with links to my blog for more information. We are also going to try to put it up on facebook, where you can link in as a friend and get the updates whenever they are published. We still want your input and ideas, we also need to know you are looking at the articles as to whether or not, what we are doing is helping, or of value – so we keep doing it.
Now the question is, ‘Where do we start?’ Having given this a little thought, I am going to start with sketching (we will come back to the interface soon).
So, on to Episode 1 – Sketching in Inventor Part Modeling.
As most of you know, or will come to find out, I am a big fan of the Autodesk Inventor products (and those that went before it). As I write this at the end of September 2009, we have seen Inventor come a long way from its beginnings. I would imagine most of you, at one time or another took some kind of training course. For most users that was an “Introduction”, or “Level One” class. Some of you might have even taken more advanced or in-depth training on a specific topic of Inventor. From the time you took your class to now, Inventor has kept evolving, growing, and ‘changing.’ Over the years Autodesk has continually added to the product, and with 2010 made its first significant change to the way it looks (and give it room for future growth).
During this past summer, I/we started exploring how people were using Inventor, where they were having success, where there were gaps in knowledge, what people were interested in finding out about Inventor. Some people just wanted to “catch up.”
Well, the number of topics that people were interested in was huge. Some of the pieces of the puzzle are very easy to communicate, and some much more complex. We started looking for ways to deliver the content our users wanted. We explored creating classes in a variety of ways, half-day, all day, then we looked at on-line. One thing that has changed in the last few years is the number of sources of information. Used to be you just called your Autodesk dealer and asked questions. However, these days, the amount of information on-line is just shy of overwhelming. There are discussion groups (Autodesk and AUGI, not to mention others), there are tips and tricks pages, there is You Tube (hundreds, if not thousands of videos on Inventor), blogs (I even have one), and the ever present facebook.
There is no single answer for everyone. We still run regularly scheduled classes at all three of our offices in California, and we have done one in Las Vegas (more coming). A lot of you just want more, so how do we give it to you. So for the time being here is what we are working on and doing;
I (or we) are going to put together an unending series of articles on various portions of Inventor from A (arcs) to Z (Z-axes). They will be short little articles on a topic, sometimes with links to my blog for more information. We are also going to try to put it up on facebook, where you can link in as a friend and get the updates whenever they are published. We still want your input and ideas, we also need to know you are looking at the articles as to whether or not, what we are doing is helping, or of value – so we keep doing it.
Now the question is, ‘Where do we start?’ Having given this a little thought, I am going to start with sketching (we will come back to the interface soon).
So, on to Episode 1 – Sketching in Inventor Part Modeling.
Friday, April 3, 2009
INVENTOR 2010
Yes, Inventor 2010 is shipping!!
This release is great. I really like it. I know many of you have heard me say this before, but here it is again ' there is something in this release for everyone.' I will start going through this new release in the next post. If you are on an older version, and usually wait to upgrade, don't. Move now, start to get the new tools working for you.
We have posted on our website some (not all) of the new on-line training courses. What you need when you need it, and extremely affordable. Working on more classes and those will be posted soon.
This release is great. I really like it. I know many of you have heard me say this before, but here it is again ' there is something in this release for everyone.' I will start going through this new release in the next post. If you are on an older version, and usually wait to upgrade, don't. Move now, start to get the new tools working for you.
We have posted on our website some (not all) of the new on-line training courses. What you need when you need it, and extremely affordable. Working on more classes and those will be posted soon.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Inventor 2010
As mentioned previously, here, we are just around-the-corner from the release of Inventor 2010. There are, as usual a lot of; changes, improvements, new features. In this release the number 200 is thrown around. Many of us won't use all 200 changes to this release, but there is something for everyone.
First, a new Interface, born of the need to make the interface more consistent as you moved from modeling to frame generator, for instance. I really like the new interface, and it didn't take me very long to become a fan. Another reason for a new interface is they need room to grow, they keep adding applications.
New application built-in to all Inventor's, tools for designing Plastic Parts, things like lips, rule fillets (this is very cool), grills, rests, bosses.
New tools (this list goes on forever);
For those of you who manufacture "anything" that goes into a building, you will be "extremely" interested in the new tools for sending files to Autodesk Revit, the architectural product. You can now transfer all your meta-data with the file, things like; manufacturer part number, cost, etc. You can also prepare all electrical connections, duct connections, liquid connections, etc. Talk to us about ways to make your products available to all Architects using Revit.
There are lots of new tools/features for those of you that need to "Concept" the desing before modeling starts.
There are all kinds of productivity tools and enhancements for Assembly modeling; organizational tools, large assembly tools, and just tools that make you think "why didn't they do this in Release 4?"
There are new tools in Drawing manager, BOM, alignments, balloon tools.
A new Inventor Pro tool is available; Inventor Pro Tooling Suite, for building molds, and all the analysis necessary to make good plastic parts.
There are new Data Management tools; two new products, Vault Workgroup, and Vault Collaboration, also Producstream has been renamed to Vault Manufacturing.
Needless to say, I haven't even scratched the surface. So, hopefully, you are asking yourself "How do I get my head wrapped around all this new stuff?"
Well we think we have an answer, On-Line training! How about if you could get an hour or two on a specific topic, without having to go anywhere? We have been doing on-line training for about 6 months, primarily in AutoCAD and AutoCAD Updates, full classes with an instructor. And this has been quite successful, I know it is not for everybody, but it does offer the ability to learn just what you need instead of sitting through a class talking about a lot of things you don't do. Contact us and see if we have something that fits your needs.
We will get into more about Inventor 2010 in the next blog.
First, a new Interface, born of the need to make the interface more consistent as you moved from modeling to frame generator, for instance. I really like the new interface, and it didn't take me very long to become a fan. Another reason for a new interface is they need room to grow, they keep adding applications.
New application built-in to all Inventor's, tools for designing Plastic Parts, things like lips, rule fillets (this is very cool), grills, rests, bosses.
New tools (this list goes on forever);
For those of you who manufacture "anything" that goes into a building, you will be "extremely" interested in the new tools for sending files to Autodesk Revit, the architectural product. You can now transfer all your meta-data with the file, things like; manufacturer part number, cost, etc. You can also prepare all electrical connections, duct connections, liquid connections, etc. Talk to us about ways to make your products available to all Architects using Revit.
There are lots of new tools/features for those of you that need to "Concept" the desing before modeling starts.
There are all kinds of productivity tools and enhancements for Assembly modeling; organizational tools, large assembly tools, and just tools that make you think "why didn't they do this in Release 4?"
There are new tools in Drawing manager, BOM, alignments, balloon tools.
A new Inventor Pro tool is available; Inventor Pro Tooling Suite, for building molds, and all the analysis necessary to make good plastic parts.
There are new Data Management tools; two new products, Vault Workgroup, and Vault Collaboration, also Producstream has been renamed to Vault Manufacturing.
Needless to say, I haven't even scratched the surface. So, hopefully, you are asking yourself "How do I get my head wrapped around all this new stuff?"
Well we think we have an answer, On-Line training! How about if you could get an hour or two on a specific topic, without having to go anywhere? We have been doing on-line training for about 6 months, primarily in AutoCAD and AutoCAD Updates, full classes with an instructor. And this has been quite successful, I know it is not for everybody, but it does offer the ability to learn just what you need instead of sitting through a class talking about a lot of things you don't do. Contact us and see if we have something that fits your needs.
We will get into more about Inventor 2010 in the next blog.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Changing Times
Inventor 2010.
We at U.S. CAD are very excited about the upcoming release of Inventor 2010. Many new features, many new applications. Can't talk about it yet, but keep your eyes on this space for news very shortly.
These are uncertain times, there's no doubt about that. I have spoken with many of my long-time acquaintances over the last couple of months, some are very busy, some are in the midst of lay-offs. Not a very thrilling prospect to say the least.
I have been working with companies that are hiring, and companies that are laying off. And one consistent thing I am seeing that is bothering me is the number of people that move to a new job, telling their new employer that they 'know' Inventor, and then proceeding to use techniques that are marginal, at best, and at worst damaging to the workflow.
I recently had a conversation with an Autodesk Application Engineer for Manufacturing products and we were talking about some upcoming training aimed at the Dealer Application guys, and he was worried that it would be too general for the guys that had been around Inventor for a long time. I expressed that no matter what level a person is at (me included) there is always something new to learn.
My point is that I think we all owe it to ourselves to get as much training as we can, and never stop. Your employer 'owes' it to you to keep your skills current and marketable. By keeping your skills up your employer reaps the benefits of your increased productivity. And if things slow down and the worst happens you will have marketable skills and be able to jump right in at the new employer.
Ask yourself this, when was the last time you took an Inventor training course? If it was longer than two years ago, you need more training. Inventor has grown exponentially in the last couple of years. And there will be a lot of new technology in the next release that you will want to get on top of, maybe not all of the new things in Inventor will apply to your company, but you might not be at your current company in 6 months or a year. Now, I am not suggesting that you need to go take a fundamentals class (although for some people that might not be a bad idea). What I am suggesting is targeted training for those aspects of the software that are new, and for those aspects of Inventor you might not be as familiar with as you want to be. And then, going back to where I started this, there are people who "think" they know the software using it wrong.
Obviously in these times it's hard to get out of the office for training, but what if you could do an hour, or two, at your computer, on a topic you felt you needed a better feel for. The MSD team, here at U.S.CAD, have been busy putting together (or breaking down Inventor) topics for targeted training. We have been offering on-line training for things like AutoCAD, and some other topics. And we have been experimenting with many different delivery methods.
So, your action item is to start bugging your boss or employer about U.S.CAD's on-line training offerings. We can customize the content and delivery method for your company. One other appealing aspect to on-line training is you can get it in chunks, and pay for it in chunks.
Don't hesitate to let me know what you think.
We at U.S. CAD are very excited about the upcoming release of Inventor 2010. Many new features, many new applications. Can't talk about it yet, but keep your eyes on this space for news very shortly.
These are uncertain times, there's no doubt about that. I have spoken with many of my long-time acquaintances over the last couple of months, some are very busy, some are in the midst of lay-offs. Not a very thrilling prospect to say the least.
I have been working with companies that are hiring, and companies that are laying off. And one consistent thing I am seeing that is bothering me is the number of people that move to a new job, telling their new employer that they 'know' Inventor, and then proceeding to use techniques that are marginal, at best, and at worst damaging to the workflow.
I recently had a conversation with an Autodesk Application Engineer for Manufacturing products and we were talking about some upcoming training aimed at the Dealer Application guys, and he was worried that it would be too general for the guys that had been around Inventor for a long time. I expressed that no matter what level a person is at (me included) there is always something new to learn.
My point is that I think we all owe it to ourselves to get as much training as we can, and never stop. Your employer 'owes' it to you to keep your skills current and marketable. By keeping your skills up your employer reaps the benefits of your increased productivity. And if things slow down and the worst happens you will have marketable skills and be able to jump right in at the new employer.
Ask yourself this, when was the last time you took an Inventor training course? If it was longer than two years ago, you need more training. Inventor has grown exponentially in the last couple of years. And there will be a lot of new technology in the next release that you will want to get on top of, maybe not all of the new things in Inventor will apply to your company, but you might not be at your current company in 6 months or a year. Now, I am not suggesting that you need to go take a fundamentals class (although for some people that might not be a bad idea). What I am suggesting is targeted training for those aspects of the software that are new, and for those aspects of Inventor you might not be as familiar with as you want to be. And then, going back to where I started this, there are people who "think" they know the software using it wrong.
Obviously in these times it's hard to get out of the office for training, but what if you could do an hour, or two, at your computer, on a topic you felt you needed a better feel for. The MSD team, here at U.S.CAD, have been busy putting together (or breaking down Inventor) topics for targeted training. We have been offering on-line training for things like AutoCAD, and some other topics. And we have been experimenting with many different delivery methods.
So, your action item is to start bugging your boss or employer about U.S.CAD's on-line training offerings. We can customize the content and delivery method for your company. One other appealing aspect to on-line training is you can get it in chunks, and pay for it in chunks.
Don't hesitate to let me know what you think.
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