Inventor Link enables you to link Autodesk Inventor assembly (.iam) and part (.ipt) documents to a .dwg file and display the 3D model in model space. After that you can generate 2D drawings of the 3D model in paper space and annotate them.
The link between the .dwg file and the part file or assembly file is fully associative. Whenever you modify the part file or assembly file (in Autodesk Inventor), AutoCAD Mechanical toolset highlights the changed file. You can update the .dwg file by right-clicking the highlighted file in the browser and choosing the Update menu option.
You cannot modify the part file or assembly file from AutoCAD Mechanical toolset.
The link also extracts the following details from the part/assembly file:
The Autodesk Inventor Link automatically reads the following parametric dimensions and makes them available for display on drawing views.
Sketch dimensions:
Feature dimensions: (dimensions created based on the existing features of the model)
If the part or assembly file does not contain nominal dimensions, the program does not import parametric dimensions. A message appears when you link to the part or assembly file.
Since the program obtains parametric dimensions from the part/assembly file, you cannot modify them. You can, however, change (override) tolerance values. If you change the file in Autodesk Inventor and then update the linked drawing, the program discards all overrides.
The drafting standard used in the drawing (.dwg) file controls the precision of tolerances.
AutoCAD Mechanical toolset does not have an equivalent for MIN and MAX tolerance types and treats them as dimensions with no tolerance.
iProperties read from the part/assembly file are available to be added as columns of the Bill of Materials (BOM). You can use them for parts lists.
The BOM database in AutoCAD Mechanical toolset does not count parts that have their Reference property set in Autodesk Inventor. Parts excluded from the BOM in Autodesk Inventor are excluded from the BOM database and parts lists in AutoCAD Mechanical toolset as well.
If you override the BOM properties from AutoCAD Mechanical toolset, the program discards the overrides when you update the drawing file.
You can annotate thread and hole details extracted from the part/assembly with the AMNOTE command. AMNOTE recognizes a thread as: