Create Factory Assets - Reference

Author components for use in factory layouts.

Ribbon: Environments tab Factory panel Asset Builder

Landing Surface

The Landing Surface defines how the model is placed on the factory floor.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Author panel Landing Surface

Placement	Select a work plane or planar face. You can enter an offset value and change the direction of the Z-axis. As an option, you can also specify one or more insertion points to help locate the model on the factory floor. Tip: Choose the insertion point carefully if you plan to publish the asset in 2D. The insertion point can be used to accurately place the asset into an AutoCAD Factory layout.
Options	Show coordinates turns the 3D origin indicator on or off. Preview changes the view of the model so it matches the placement.

Define Connector

Connectors define how models snap to each other.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Author panel Define Connector

Select geometry to define contact point	Select a planar face, vertex, midpoint, endpoint, hole center, work point, or work plane for the connector.
Manipulate the Origin Indicator	Right-click to reselect a new contact point or to flip the axis.

Connector Class Properties

Define connector class and property values for assets.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Author panel Connector Class Properties

Connector Class File Name	Use the drop-down list to select the desired connector class from either System Assets or Cloud Assets.
	Click this button to remove the selection from the Connector Class File Name drop-down list.
Name	Select the desired property from the drop-down list.
Value	Select the desired value from the drop-down list.
Add	Click the Add button after selecting Name and Value properties from the drop-down lists. The selections then appear in the Name and Value columns in the list box.
Delete	Select a property from the list box and click the Delete button to remove it.

Define Asset Properties

Defines general and custom properties for an asset.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Author panel Asset Properties

Asset Properties dialog
General tab	The General tab lets you add properties to classify and manage your Inventor Factory assets. Once defined, you can search for assets, create reports, and automatically update title blocks and parts lists in drawings and bills of materials in assemblies. Enter the desired information in the text fields. These fields are similar to the text fields found in iProperties. They include: Title, Company, Category, Author, Keywords, and Comments text fields. Note: If these fields are already populated using iProperties, the General tab reflects the same values.
Title	Assigns a title for the asset.
Company	Identifies the company.
Category	Specifies a category for the asset.
Author	Identifies the creator of the asset. You can enter a different name. Note: The author name is set in the General tab of the Autodesk Inventor Application Options dialog box.
Keywords	Adds keywords to the asset. You can use keywords to search for related assets.
Comments	Adds comments to the asset.

Custom tab	The Custom tab lets you add custom properties to an asset. Use custom properties to classify and manage your assets. You can search for assets, create reports, and automatically update title blocks and parts lists in drawings and bills of materials in assemblies. Enter the desired information in the text fields. These fields are similar to the text fields found in iProperties. Note: If these fields are already populated using iProperties, the Custom tab reflects the same values.
Name	Specifies a name for a new custom property or selects an existing custom property for editing. Enter the name or click the arrow and select from the drop-down list.
Type	Sets the data type for the property. Click the arrow and select from the drop-down list.
Value	Specifies the value for the property for the asset. The value must conform to the selected data type.
Properties list	Displays the Name, Value, and Type of custom properties currently defined for the asset.
Add button	Lets you add your own custom property name.
Delete button	Deletes the selected property from the Properties list.

Create Asset Variants

Creates variations of a factory asset.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Author panel Asset Variants

Asset Browser icon
	Indicates the number of variants created for an asset.
Asset Variants dialog
Parameters	This section lists all user parameters defined as Key Parameters.
Columns	Displays the parameters that have been added (>>) to the Columns list. A separate column is created for each parameter.
Parameters Columns Mapping	Lists all the defined variants of the asset (Variant_1, Variant_2, etc.) with the parameter that drives the variant. The default variant names can be renamed to something more descriptive of the asset. Click the arrow to expand or collapse the display of the Parameters and Columns sections.
	Adds a new variant to the table.
	Removes a variant from the table.

Descriptor

Creates and places a descriptor tag on an asset. A descriptor can contain multiple lines of alphanumeric text. The text displays in a floating tooltip when you move the cursor over the tag. You can enter text or you can use iLogic rules to create custom text for asset variants.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Annotations panel Descriptor

Select	Select the location on the object for the descriptor tag. Valid selections include a face, an edge, a vertex, or a work point.
Advanced...	Use iLogic to define custom descriptors for asset variants
Text Input Field	Enter one or more lines of alphanumeric text for the asset tag.
	Click the OK button to finish the command and create the asset tag.
	Click Cancel to cancel the command and close the mini-toolbar.

BIM Exchange

Enters the BIM Exchange environment so you can define MEP connectors for use in AutoCAD and Revit.

Access:

Ribbon: Asset Builder tab Annotations panel BIM Exchange

See the BIM Exchange help topics for detailed information and procedures.

Key Parameters

The key parameters define how the model can change after placement in a layout. For example, a conveyor can have a different length, width, height, or number of legs. Only named parameters are listed. The parameters are automatically selected if they are marked for export in the model parameters. You can add or modify any of the properties (Title, Company, Category, Author, Keywords, and Comments) using iProperties or the Asset Properties command. Any defined property information in the model automatically populates the parameters in the Publish Asset dialog box. Once published, these parameters are listed as Miscellaneous parameters in the Factory Properties browser.

Access:

Key Parameters browser panel

	Click this button to sort the parameters in alphabetical order.
	This button updates the parameters
Key Parameters	Select the parameters that can be changed after the model is placed in the factory layout.