Create Factory Assets

Landing Surface

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

Access: 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: 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.

Asset Properties

Defines general and custom properties for an asset.

Access: Asset Builder tab Author panel Asset Properties

Note: The lightbulb icon that appears next to each field determines if the property value appears on the block in AutoCAD:

Click the icon to turn on the display. Leave the icon turned off to hide the display in AutoCAD.

For detailed asset property reference information see Defining Asset Properties Reference

Asset Properties dialog
Summary tab	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. These properties cannot change when you place the asset in a layout.
Project tab	Add information that is useful when preparing a bill of materials. These properties cannot change when you place the asset in a layout.
Descriptor tab	Add additional information about the asset. The descriptor appears when you hover the cursor over the asset in a layout.
Process tab	Add information to run simulations if you are using Process Analysis.
Layer	Select an existing layer or define a new layer in which to place the asset in a layout.
Customizable	Add your own properties to an asset to help you classify and manage your assets.

2D Sketch

Create and edit a 2D sketch of the asset.

Access: Asset Builder tab Author panel 2D Sketch

Generate from Model	Create a DWG file by projecting the model and edit directly in AutoCAD.
Import as Sketch	Create a "2DPlanView" sketch by importing a DWG file.

Connector Class Properties

Define connector class and property values for assets.

Access: 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.

Asset Variants

Creates variations of a factory asset.

Access: 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.

BIM Exchange

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

Access: Asset Builder tab Annotations panel BIM Exchange

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

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 as Key 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.

You can also customize a parameters factory name, tooltip, and group key parameters in the Key Parameters dialog.

Access: Key Parameters browser panel

Sort	Click on a column heading 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.
Factory Name	Customizable unique Factory Name for parameters. The Inventor parameter name is used if no Factory Name is added.
Factory Tooltip	Displays when you hover your cursor over the parameter value in the Factory Properties dialog. The Inventor tooltip is used by default if no Factory Tooltip is added.
Group	Customizable groups you can use to group parameters. If no group is selected, parameters are added to the Model category.