Setting Factory Options

The Factory Options dialog box contains six tabs:

• DWG: Contains DWG overlay display and asset placement settings.
• Templates: Specify the template file to be used for new factory layouts, creation of both part and assembly assets, and automatic generation of 2D DWG files.
• Snap: Control whether snaps are enabled and set the active distance for snaps.
• Assets: Enable or disable cloud-based content, clear the cloud cache, and disable automatic proxy detection. Placement settings determine Reposition command, component placement, and automatic layering behavior. Asset key parameter settings are also stored here.
• Asset Builder: Elect to publish a 3D asset as a 2D DWG file that can be used as a 2D asset in AutoCAD Factory, as well as specify the object type for multiple imported DWG solids. Also elect to simplify asset file structure by deriving a part from an assembly and generate Navisworks compatible models.
• Annotations Set font, height, and placement options for asset tags and asset descriptors.

Factory options settings are global so that all new documents use the settings.

Show DWG overlay layers and drawing previews

You can choose to display a dialog box listing all layers present in a DWG overlay, see a preview of an overlay, and set asset placement options.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. On the DWG tab, enable the Show Layer Settings dialog on placement check box. By default, this check box is disabled. When placing a DWG overlay onto the factory floor, (with the Show Layer Settings enabled and using the Add DWG Overlay command), the Layer Settings dialog box displays. The dialog box contains a list of all drawing layers defined in the DWG overlay. A checked box to the left of each layer name indicates that the layer will be visible in the DWG overlay. Uncheck the layer boxes to turn off layer visibility in the overlay.
4. Also on the DWG tab, enable the Show DWG preview in Layer Settings dialog check box to display a preview of the DWG overlay. This check box is disabled by default. The preview image in the Layer Settings dialog box updates as you turn layer visibility on or off. The black and white buttons at the upper right of the dialog box let you toggle the preview background color between black and white.
5. The Infer Connectors check box in the Asset Placement section of the DWG tab is used when auto-placing 3D assets on a DWG overlay that contains 2D assets. With this setting enabled, and if possible, connectors are automatically honored between 3D assets that are within a small distance tolerance from one another.
6. Occasionally, non-standard asset lengths are created in the AutoCAD Factory asset chaining process and automatically converted to custom assets. By default, these custom assets are represented by the color red in Inventor Factory. The Enable Custom Color check box allows you to disable this setting, or specify a different color to be assigned to these assets when placed during asset chain population in Inventor. Click the Custom Components Color drop-down arrow to the right of the color swatch to display the color palette. You can select one of the basic colors or click Select Color… to display the Color dialog box, where you can define a custom color.

Specify template files

The Templates tab of the Factory Options dialog box specifies the template file to be used for creating a new factory layout. It also specifies the template files to be used when modeling a part or an assembly intended for asset authoring and publishing. Additionally, you can specify the AutoCAD template file to use for automatic drawing creation by the Sync AutoCAD and Publish/Update DWG commands.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. Click the Templates tab.
4. The Default Layout Template section specifies the StandardFactoryLayout.iam template file to be used for all new factory layouts. Click the Browse button to navigate to an alternative folder location if you wish to specify a different template file.
5. The Default Part Asset Template section specifies the Standard.ipt template file to be used when creating a part model for asset authoring and publishing. Click the Browse button to navigate to an alternative folder location if you wish to specify a different template file.
6. The Default Assembly Asset Template section specifies the Standard.iam template file to be used when creating an assembly for asset authoring and publishing. Click the Browse button to navigate to an alternative folder location if you wish to specify a different template file.
7. The Default DWG Template section specifies the AutoCAD template file (.dwt) to be used when invoking the Sync AutoCAD and Publish/Update DWG commands. The default setting automatically selects the proper template based on the system of units in use. Activate the User defined template option button and click the Browse button to navigate to an alternative folder location if you wish to specify a different template file.

Change snap settings

The snap settings control how an asset is placed on the factory floor and how it connects to other assets. You can control whether snaps are enabled, and the maximum distances to preview and enable a snap.

The units for the snap distance values are set in screen pixels. The result is that the actual snap distances change as you zoom in or out of the layout. As you zoom in, the actual distance decreases; the distance increases as you zoom out.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. On the Snap tab, uncheck Enable to turn snapping off.
   Note: Unchecking Enable also turns off automatic placement of assets on the factory floor. New components are placed in space, and you have to constrain them manually.
4. In the Snap to Floor/Grid area, activate the Snap to Floor and/or Snap to Grid check boxes to turn on floor and grid snapping.

   Enter a value from 1 through 50 for the Grid Snap Tolerance. This value is the maximum distance in pixels for an asset to snap to the grid. The default value is 25 pixels.

5. In the Snap to Connector area, activate the Snap to Connector check box to allow snapping of one asset to another. Both assets must have connection points defined.

   Enter a value from 1 through 50 for the Connector Snap Tolerance. This value is the maximum distance in pixels to snap the asset you are positioning to another asset. The default value is 25 pixels. Enter a value from 1 through 100 for the Connector Snap Preview Tolerance. This value is the maximum distance in pixels to display a line between the asset you are positioning and another asset. The default value is 50 pixels.

6. In the Snap to Trail Line area, activate the Snap to Trail Line check box to enable assets to snap to virtual intersections of points or vertices. Customize the Trail Line Snap Tolerance by entering a value from 1 through 50. The default tolerance is 25 pixels.
7. In the Snap to Inventor Geometry area:
   • Activate the Snap to Sketch check box to allow the snapping of factory assets to 2D sketch entities.
   • Activate the Snap to Surface check box to allow the placement of assets on the surfaces of existing assets.
   • Activate the Snap to Vertex or Edge check box to snap an asset to the vertex or edge of another asset.
   • Activate the Snap to DWG Overlay check box to enable factory assets to be snapped to 2D drawing objects in a drawing overlay.
   • Activate the Snap to Point Cloud check box to enable an asset to snap to a selected point in a point cloud.
   Note: The various Snap-To options are designed not only to facilitate the initial placement of assets on the factory floor, but to assist with more accurate repositioning of assets once placed.

   Customize the Inventor Geometry Snap Tolerance by entering a value from 1 through 10. The default tolerance is 5 pixels.

8. By default, the snap preview color is yellow. Click the drop-down arrow in the Snap Style section of the dialog box to display the color palette. You can select one of the basic colors or click Select Color… to display the Color dialog box, where you can define a custom color.

Note: You can also enable or disable snaps in the Snap Types drop-down menu on the Options panel of the Factory tab. The snap settings in the Factory Options dialog box and the Snap Types drop-down menu are automatically synchronized.

The Assets tab

This tab lets you specify where downloaded cloud-based assets are stored and cached. It also lets you disable automatic proxy detection and provides a setting that immediately launches the Reposition command after placing an asset, or inserting a model, into a factory layout. Settings also include an automatic layering option and adding key parameter properties to assets.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. On the Assets tab, check/uncheck Enable Cloud-based assets. Active by default, this setting lets you download and store cloud-based content. The downloaded assets are stored in a folder called FactoryCloudLibrary. Click the Browse button in the Local Cloud asset library section to specify a different location for the FactoryCloudLibrary folder. Click the Clear Folder button if you wish to remove the contents of the FactoryCloudLibrary folder.
   Note: Clearing the library folder will force all downloaded cloud-based assets to be downloaded again before they can be used.
4. Automatic proxy detection is a setting that is controlled by the LAN Settings in Internet Explorer's Internet Options. There may be instances where it is desirable to retain the "Automatically Detect" setting for normal web browsing, but there can occasionally be a degradation in performance when downloading Cloud-based assets. Activate the Disable automatic proxy detection check box to selectively override the default LAN Settings behavior and increase performance.
5. Active by default, the Start Reposition command after placing component check box in the Placement section of the tab starts the Reposition command automatically after placing an asset or inserting a model into your layout. You can then make immediate adjustments to the component's XYZ location or angle. For more information about the Reposition command, see the Inventor Factory Help topic: Reposition components
6. Select Finish the command after placing one component to change the default asset placement behavior from multi-placement mode to single placement mode. If you place an asset in multi-placement mode and then select Done, a preview of the same asset appears so that you can place it again. This provides a quick way to place an asset multiple times in your layout without reselecting the asset each time. Selecting this option places the asset only one time before exiting out of the placement mode.
7. Enable automatic layering activates the automatic layering feature when defining asset properties. This feature lets you define a placement layer for an asset. If you deselect this option, automatic layering is deactivated and assets are placed in the active layer of the layout.
8. Select the Bill of Materials option to automatically add a Key Parameters iProperty when placing or modifying an asset. The associated Factory Bill of Materials command shows the BOM with each asset instance as a row, and adds a Key Parameters column where all the key parameter values from each instance are shown. For example, the BOM might show the same part, such as a table, with a key parameter length of 72 inches on one line and a key parameters length of 80 inches in a second line.

The Asset Builder tab

On this tab you can elect to publish a 3D asset as a 2D DWG file that can be used as a 2D asset in AutoCAD Factory, as well as specify the object type for multiple imported DWG solids. Also elect to simplify asset file structure by deriving a part from an assembly and generate Navisworks compatible models.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. On the Asset Builder tab, check the Simplify to publish an assembly as a single part. Selecting this option can improve performance and simplifies file management because fewer files are created during the convert process and when placing the asset in layouts.
4. Select Generate NWC Model if you use Navisworks and want to generate a Navisworks compatible model when publishing an asset. Selecting this option also speeds up the AutoCAD Sync Navisworks feature.
5. Check/uncheck the Publish 2D Asset check box to generate and publish a 2D drawing in DWG format of a 3D asset when the asset is created and published using the ribbon commands on the Asset Builder tab.
6. AutoCAD DWG solids can be imported to create new Inventor Factory assets. If there are multiple solid objects in the DWG file, select the appropriate option button to specify whether the objects are imported as an assembly or a multi-body part.
7. If you are using the automatic layering feature, select the file to reference when generating a layer selection list for the feature. Click the browse button under Load Layers From File to select the file.

The Annotations tab

This tab is used to specify the text font, height, and placement options for asset tags and descriptors after syncing to AutoCAD Factory. Once in AutoCAD, the annotations are represented as block attributes in a text style called Factory_Annotation. Two AutoCAD layers are also automatically created for the annotation; Factory_AssetTag and Factory_Descriptor, respectively.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. On the Annotations tab, select the desired font from the Font drop-down list. The default font is romans.shx.
4. Set the text height in the Height text box. The default text height is .125 inches (3mm). Be sure to set the text height to an appropriate size to reflect the drawing/plot scale of the 2D layout.

   Next, determine the placement settings for the annotations. Observe that elevation in the Z-direction is not a factor here as both annotations are flattened onto the 2D factory floor in AutoCAD.

5. For the Descriptor annotation placement, choose Below (the default) or Center. The Below setting places the descriptor annotation away from the asset. Center places the annotation in the center of the asset. The graphic image in the dialog box reflects your Descriptor placement changes.
6. For the Asset Tag annotation placement, choose Below or Center (the default). As with Descriptor placement, the Below setting places the asset tag annotation away from the asset or inserted model. Center places the annotation in the center of the asset or inserted model. The graphic image in the dialog box reflects your Asset Tag placement changes.

Annotation font, height and placement settings apply to new asset tags and descriptors only. Changing any of these values for existing annotations and repeating the Sync AutoCAD command will not produce any changes in the AutoCAD layout. If you wish to make font or height changes to the synced assets In AutoCAD Factory, use the STYLE command to change the annotation font. To change the attribute text height, use the EATTEDIT command.

Note: The Factory Annotations tab in the AutoCAD Options dialog box offers the identical annotations settings described here. If you make any changes to these settings in AutoCAD Factory, they are reflected in the assets that are subsequently placed (dragged and dropped) from the Asset Browser into the 2D layout. The changes do not affect any annotations on assets that have already been synced to AutoCAD. Additionally, changed annotations settings in Inventor Factory are automatically synced to AutoCAD Factory when AutoCAD is restarted. Similarly, changed annotations settings in AutoCAD Factory are automatically synced to Inventor Factory when Inventor is restarted.

Restore factory default settings

Changes to the Factory Options settings for the current document can be reset to the default settings that are installed with the product.

1. If you are working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Options panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
2. If you are not working in a Factory Layout, click Factory tab Factory Launch panel Factory Options to display the Factory Options dialog box.
3. In the Factory Options dialog box, first click the DWG, Templates, Snap, Assets, or Asset Builder tab. Then, click the Restore Defaults button to restore the default settings for the selected tab.