jdkriek Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I get remarks like this all the time - users that operate MDT as ACAD and complain about Inventor - get some training and apply yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks JD, helpful insight is always welcome. i'm gonna have to find out if there's any training in my area to see if it's worth the hype... i've been using my 7 months experience inventor to teach so called seasoned professionals about a few little tips and tricks about inventor, some couldn't insert JPG files into IDW, another couldn't dimension to "apparent intersections"... another questions for your experts, if i'm modeling a large pattern detailed component such as grid mesh flooring, i can A) model the entire thing as it would exist in real life... or B) i can model up a boundary using surfaces(bounding box type of thing). then model a small section of the detail with in the boundary. trouble is that when i use method B the detail section will appear as hidden lines in the detail drawing (obviously because it's within the surface). is there anyway to change this to view as acctual detail? only way i can think of is to "select as lines", then change the properties... but i don't know how this method would work in an assembly... any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ungoliath69 Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 There's a handful of things I'd still like to see from MDT such as Layers (yes, for those who argue there is a reason to have layers, visual reps, and lod's) Most people may not need them but it'd be extremely helpful to have that option for what I do. Also some of the other wishes I hear they have in 2008. The point of me responding is that when I switched to Inventor I had a buttload of problems. Complained all the time about why don't they have a simple move command, etc. The problem was basically that I didn't know how to use the program. I wanted to create a workplane, thought it was a pain, then I found out there's about a dozen ways of making one. My eyes were opened. 3d lines/splines I simply didn't touch cause it was too confusing. Then I was forced to learn. Although I like some of the ACAD style of creating the 3d lines there's some really nice stuff that's downright awesome. I will say that MDT has a few better options when it comes to annotating drawings like being able to scew text and such but take it from someone who was in the same boat. Once you learn what IV can do you'll NEVER want to go back. The options are there to do what you want just Autodesk isn't very good at enlightening people to how. As for the parametric/assembly bit, it's basically preplanning vs. post. It requires you to think a lot more about how you set things up at the start but down the line will save you world's more time in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 It's now been quite a few months since my last post, and in that time i've learnt ALOT about inventor, what it can do, what it can't, but probably most importantly how to find otherways to do what it can't... I'm still finding i need to go back to AutoCAD for a few things that inventor just won't do, really really simple things like exploding sketch geometry... i'm finding it really difficult to work without using ACAD, Here's a good example... I was trying to tidy up our default drawing template the other day, and part of the logo is hatched in, but alas, if you use the sketch 'fill region' tool you loose the ability to set layer properties... which makes it totally useless in our workplace because we have 2 different drawing borders for the same drawing (controlled by turning layers on and off with VBA) what's more, is that if you use a hatch a sketch, it's inserted on the same layer as a hatch from a section view etc, so when you turn off the hatch layer, you loose ALL hatches... this is frustrating beyond description, our solution was to just draw our own hatch... but in inventor you can't pattern sketch geometry, then trim elements of the hatch... the solution was to replicate the geometry in ACAD, Hatch the regions, explode them, and copy into inventor... piece of cake.. but it can't be done with out outside help... I still find myself going back to MDT for modeling at times too, because inventor is really helpful with it's dimension control, but when you want a quick model for representation purposes its just not as good as it could be... On a side note, does anyone know of competitons coming up for inventor? I'd love to see if i could mix what i know now with some of the pros... Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSkies Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I've been using Inventor for 9yrs and I also teach users. The easist way to go from MDT to Inventor is : Forget everything you know about Autocad and MDT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Wow this thread spans a good bit of time:) I started using Autocad back in 95 or so in high school. In college in 99 in freshmen engineering class we were introduced to Mechanical Desktop(which they taught as autocad). It wasnt until work got a copy of inventor 10 for me that I even had anything to do with it. Instanly I was engulfed in it. I tried to just "pick it up" but thats not a very good idea:) I went through as many tutorials as I could but here at works there isnt really "training" its do it and get done most of the time. I did have a senior cad design class using unigraphics and once i was introduced to that, no turning back. I still do use autocad(05 07 and 09) on a regular basis but for what I do these other packages are just great. I think out of all of the packages I really enjoy Solidworks. Inventor is great, and Unigraphics is very powerful and I find myself modeling things in there and bringing them into SW at times. Using software incorrectly can be very frustrating. Once you have the insight into what can be done and how it should be done, there is a world of difference. I still really havent had "training" and im still learning every day, mostly through this forum. As for explode, You can start a 3d sketch and use project geometry, include geometry, 3d intersection curve and project curve to surface. In this case(at least what it sounds like) a 3d sketch with include geometry is what you want to extract edges. Here is a screen shot i just did in IV11 pro. I did an extrusion with an arc in one direction, then i drew a spline curve in the other and kept the intersection between the two so i would have a complex edge and used the include geometry(purple). Now you cant modify this line(or at least i dont think so) but you can use it which is what you would do with exploded geometry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Mather Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Now you cant modify this line(or at least i dont think so)... RMB Break Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 oh yeah good call:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 Using software incorrectly can be very frustrating. Once you have the insight into what can be done and how it should be done, there is a world of difference. I still really havent had "training" and im still learning every day, mostly through this forum. Shift - Sounds like your history is a lot like mine, if only a few years earlier (i got autocad in 2000, mechdes in 2006(ish) and inventor in 2007. When i started with Inventor i found the only assistance i had was from my peers, Work has only recently started allocating $$$ for a training budget, unfortunately too late for me. I find myself now looking for things to try and expand on most of which i don't expect to find a use for at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 up until recently my job only needed me to design simple 2d parts or sheet metal parts etc. thats actually the first thing i started using inventor for was the sheet metal application. then stress analysis, then motion studies to check for interference etc. Slowly we are pushing farther into design so if i needed it(except for the budget cuts) i could have found classes. I think i missed the boat so to speak:) What state are you in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 We used inventor for modeling and drawing from the word go... we're not running the pro version, so stress analysis isn't available, we use ansys for that anyways... but sheet metal is almost a daily occurance, and despite being great for fairly basic parts, when things get more complex, inventor starts to fall short... for example, the inability to draw a face across a bend (reverse operation to cut across bend) and the inability to transfer features from flat patterns back to the folded piece (available in 09 i believe... we're a little slow at our office). I've taken a bit of an interest in VBA, because i learnt LISP when i was using ACad, then was most dissappointed to find out it wasn't available in inventor.. and there's only 2 states to be in.... QLD.... and pissed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 the inventor pro solver is ansys if you do come across an upgrade. What things wont go from flat pattern to bent piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 the inventor pro solver is ansys if you do come across an upgrade. Yeah, that's true... how does it compare to full function ansys though? is it a limited version or full featured? What things wont go from flat pattern to bent piece? Nothing goes from flat pattern to folded model in 2008... when we upgrade to 2009 that'll take care of that issue... typically the only things draw in the flat pattern are the press marks at bend center lines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 i draw my sheet metal parts as they are after bending, then you use flatpattern to export the file to have it laser/water jetted. You can suppress the flat pattern and refold the parts, but i cant remember if you can add features once flattened. ive only used the ansys in Inventor so i dont know its limitations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVDM Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I'm pretty sure that features added to the flat pattern do not transfer back to the folded part in 2009 either. 2010 is around the corner though, that might have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickoz_bro Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 I'm pretty sure that features added to the flat pattern do not transfer back to the folded part in 2009 either. 2010 is around the corner though, that might have it. Hmm... Looks like your right... that's a bummer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift1313 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 well you can certainly modify a flat pattern and export it as a dxf(export face as). I have done this when adding extra holes, fixing the auto reliefs at times etc. but, are you saying you can "unflatten" a model? or are you saying after drawing the part flat you cant bend it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD Mather Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 You can model flat and then fold (generally poor practice). You can model as folded and then generate Flat Pattern but you can not Refold after adding additional features without juming through some hoops. Inventor 2010 will take of this limitation and much much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritch7 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Inventor is in my opinon the best program autodesk sell, it's one of the most complex from my exp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVDM Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Have you ever had a play with 3DSMax? Inventor is childsplay in comparison. Inventor 2010 is out now by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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