To import an existing DWG file that contains information separated by AutoCAD in both model and paper space, first determine how you plan to use that data in Autodesk Inventor. There are options so you can directly open existing DWG files within Autodesk Inventor and you can select geometry for import to use within an Autodesk Inventor sketch.
AutoCAD Drawing (.dwg) and Autodesk Inventor Drawing (.dwg) files
Model space displays data exactly as it displays in AutoCAD. Model space is a read-only environment in Autodesk Inventor and is accessed in the browser. You can change the background color and perform all viewing functions, including rotate. You can select objects in model space for use with copy/paste and the measuring commands.
Paper space layouts are displayed as sheets in Autodesk Inventor. AutoCAD data can be viewed, plotted, and measured, and is selectable for delete and copy/paste. All Autodesk Inventor drawing commands are available in sheets/layouts. You can place views and create annotations on a layout created in AutoCAD and the Autodesk Inventor data coexists with the AutoCAD data.
While Autodesk Inventor drawing data and AutoCAD data can coexist in the same file, some data is shared between both applications. Blocks, layers, and sheets/layouts are editable by both AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. Dimension and text styles, while not equal, are synchronized such that supported changes made in one application are duplicated in the other application.
For more information, see Working directly with DWG in
Autodesk Inventor Part, (.ipt), Assembly (.iam) and Drawing (.idw) files
Autodesk Inventor requires separate file types for models and drawings.
Autodesk Inventor models are created full-scale. When creating a drawing of an Autodesk Inventor part or assembly model, drawing views are created using a scale factor appropriate to the drawing sheet size. It is like the AutoCAD workflow, which uses model space to draw and paper space (layouts) to annotate and plot.