You can import data from other CAD systems in Autodesk Inventor. Usually the files can open as solid bodies in the part environment. When surfaces and wireframe are imported, they are either automatically stitched into quilts or placed in the construction environment.
In the construction environment, you analyze the quality of imported data and repair surfaces or solids for use in part modeling. After data is repaired, you can use the Copy Object command to move the data to the part environment, where it behaves like native Autodesk Inventor data.
When data is imported into the construction environment, a Construction folder is created where wireframe and surfaces are placed. These surfaces may not have come from a single body in the sending system. In the construction environment, you can stitch surfaces into a single body, making it easier to manage large numbers of surfaces. Errors that can occur during translation include:
These errors can be detected and repaired using specialized tools found in the construction environment.
Base features in the part environment can also be copied to the construction environment and stitched. A feature copied to the construction environment has the same group name as the base feature name in the part environment.
Data in the Construction folder can be placed into a default group or sorted into many different groups. The system automatically generates subfolders for the different data types in a group, such as solids, surfaces, and wireframe. Construction environment bodies, such as solids, surfaces, and quilts, can have appearances. It is common for faces to have colors in the original source file. The same colors are applied to the faces in Autodesk Inventor, and remain after translation. If all the faces are in a single collection, feature or group, then the feature has the color, and the face appearance overrides are removed.
Use the specialized tools in the construction environment to analyze errors of imported surfaces and repair data. Quality Check checks for errors in topology, geometry, and modeling. The damaged data is highlighted and, where possible, a repair is suggested. Use the Refit option to select and repair problem faces by attempting to refit them, and by selecting or entering a maximum allowable tolerance between faces.
You can stitch and unstitch surfaces, reverse the normal direction, extend a face, and break or trim intersecting faces, all non-parametrically, while in the construction environment. Use Stitch and Copy Object to move selected surfaces or solid bodies to the part environment.