What happens to AutoCAD blocks in Autodesk Inventor?

AutoCAD Drawings (.dwg) imported into Autodesk Inventor drawing (.idw)

When you translate an AutoCAD Drawing file, block definitions are translated to sketched symbols in an Autodesk Inventor drawing file.

Nested blocks are exploded and imported as a single block. The block definitions are translated to sketched symbol formats in the Drawing Resources folder in the browser. Block instances are inserted onto the sheet as sketched symbol instances.

You can place instances of the imported symbols in the drawing the same way as the sketched symbols you create in Autodesk Inventor.

To use block definitions in another drawing, copy them to the Drawing Resources in that file. To make them available in every new file, add them to the templates you use to create drawing files.

Note: AutoCAD blocks translated into part files are placed as sketch geometry.

AutoCAD Drawings (.dwg) and Autodesk Inventor Drawings (.dwg) opened in Autodesk Inventor

When you open an AutoCAD Drawing (.dwg) or an Autodesk Inventor Drawing (.dwg) , AutoCAD block definitions remain as AutoCAD block instances in Autodesk Inventor. The blocks display in Autodesk Inventor exactly as they do in AutoCAD.

AutoCAD blocks in Autodesk Inventor drawing (.dwg) file can be:

• Copied and then pasted onto an insertion point within the file.
• Deleted.
• Moved, inserted, rotated, and scaled as required.
• Patterned on a drawing sheet.

Note: The default insertion point of a view block is controlled by the View Point Insertion Point setting on the Drawing tab in the Application Options dialog box. You can change the insertion point of an existing view block. Right-click the view block in the browser, select Insertion Point, and then make a selection.

Block attribute values can be edited. You can modify existing values and populate with new values.

Blocks maintain the same layer in Autodesk Inventor as they have in AutoCAD.

Note: You cannot create or edit the Block definitions in Autodesk Inventor.

You can reuse native AutoCAD blocks in Autodesk Inventor drawing sheets. You can also include 2D AutoCAD geometry as reference data in views of Autodesk Inventor subassemblies. Use the Import AutoCAD Blocks command to insert block definitions from one dwg file into another dwg file.

Note: All the AutoCAD data is selectable for copy and paste. You can open an AutoCAD DWG file in Autodesk Inventor, and then copy and paste AutoCAD entities into an Autodesk Inventor sketch.

Every block definition in the file is represented in a folder in the Browser called AutoCAD Blocks. When a block instance is inserted onto a drawing sheet, a node is added to the AutoCAD Blocks folder for that sheet.

If you require access to the AutoCAD objects in the view blocks, (for example, lines, arcs circles, and so on) use Open to translate the AutoCAD objects into Autodesk Inventor objects. Set the Options to Import in the Open dialog box.

Import AutoCAD blocks into Autodesk Inventor Drawings (.dwg)

Blocks defined in any .dwg file can be imported into any other .dwg file in Inventor. This facilitates the reuse of standard blocks between AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor.

When a block is imported into Autodesk Inventor, the block definition is added to the drawing resources of the file and an instance of the block is added to the active drawing sheet.

The appearance of the block is the same in AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. Attributes function the same in AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. The block definition cannot be modified in Autodesk Inventor.