A few questions to get me started please.

I'm totally new to Inventor version 5, I think its an older one now. I have had some use with AutoCAD 2002.

Just a few questions to get me started:

How do I setup snap settings, to grid, mid-point, end etc..?

I have some flat 2D work from AutoCAD, can I open these files in Inventor and

and work on them?

Is there a quick way of making gear wheel and pinons?

You might want to check out Professor J.D. Mather's website.

http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/content/DSG322/inventor_surface_tutorials.htm

And ask your questions in the Inventor section of the forum. :wink:

I have moved your question over there.

Thanks for moving the post, I just saw the Begingers section and though it was a generic CAD section.

I had a look at the tutorials which seem to be for a different version of the program, they also seem to require previous knowledge of the software so they don't seem cover the information I an after.

If I could access the snap setting I would be able to get started with.

Is there a way of typing in command rather than going to the menus the whole time - I don't mean short cuts.

I found how to bring in AutoCAD drawings.

Im sorry ive never used version 5 so Im not sure if the settings are the same. in 2007 version 11 was release, in 2008 they went to the year. The most current version is Inventor 2010.

The best thing for you to do is go to your Help menu and under the help topics you should either see getting started or Inventor Launchpad. They will start you out with a Getting Started pdf(about 350pages) that will answer everything you could want to know to get started.

Inventor sketch environment is not at all like autocad(even though things may seem similar to start). You start in a sketch, your sketches need to be dimensioned and constrained. If you dont start with a sound base, meaning if you dont properly sketch, you are going to be in for a big headache later, trust me:)

To answer your question about snap settings. Tools menu, Application Options, Sketch tab when that window opens up and you will see some settings. Snap to Grid is one of them but I have never used it. In your sketch environment you should have constraints automatically assigned. You will notice little icons pop up around your drawing. For instance in my screen shot the little upside down T appears. This means as im sketching my second line that it is perpendicular to my first line. In my second screen shot the red arrow is pointing at a green dot. I am sketching a line and the green dot indicates that it will snap or be coincident with that line.

I strongly urge you to look through some help documentation. There are plenty of help documents included with the software including transitioning from Acad to Inventor that may give you some insight on the differences you need to be aware of.

I don't know anything about Inventor, but in AutoCad, the command OSNAP will open the snap settings.

The help menu is actually very amazing.

Start with this tutorial, some things have changed but it is mostly the same.

http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/AU2006/MA13-3%20Mather.pdf

I think you will need to Project Geometry the origin in each sketch yourself as autoproject origin wasn't added till later release.

Forget AutoCAD. Forget grid and snap to grid. Forget direct distance entry. None of these are needed in Inventor. You will resist my suggestions, but the sooner you accept that you don't even want this antiquated AutoCAD stuff the sooner you will catch onto the concepts of geometric constraints and parametric dimensioning.

And if you should discover the Precise Input toolbar turn it off and forget you ever saw it (at least until you progress to 3D sketches - I still don't use it as my 3D sketches are built off of 2D sketches).

JDM's message should be very useful to you when starting off in Inventor. I would add that although Inventor might be a computer design tool, from Autodesk, it works very differently to AutoCad. As previously stated, Snap and Grid are not really going to be a part of your new design path.

This does not mean you can design without discipline, just that the discipline is applied in a different way. :wink:

I suppose you could say that in AutoCad one starts with a drawing that leads to a model, in Inventor one starts with a sketch that is (eventually) made into a drawing, via a 3D model.

Here's a few tips that I live by:

• Always project the Center Point (can be set up automatically in later versions).
  
• Whatever your first object is (line, arc, circle etc) dimension it straight away. This makes the development of the sketch more predictable and helps keep proportions about right.
  
• Constrain to the center point early on (helps stability)
  
• Think 3D! Consider how you would make the part in real life and choose your sketching plane accordingly.
  
• Don't overlook the Mid-Plane option when extruding your first object!
  
• Keep sketches simple.
  
• Get to know how to use the Work Plane and Work Axis tools.
  
• Keep a good text book handy!!
  
• Keep checking out this site!

As you progress, you'll develop your own way of living with Inventor I'm sure. One thing I do know is you'll never stop learning new stuff.

Stick with it, it's good!

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