To create a parametric part in Autodesk Inventor, you will create, constrain, and dimension sketch geometry, then create 3D models from your sketches.
Part Modeling in Autodesk Inventor
An Autodesk Inventor part model is a collection of geometrically and dimensionally related features that represent a single physical object. To model a part in Inventor, you start by drawing 2D sketches to define feature profiles and paths. You then use commands to apply parametric geometry to the sketched geometry and generate three-dimensional part features. Finally, you combine the features to create parts. Although you create most features from sketched shapes or profiles, some features such as chamfers, fillets, and shells, are well-defined mechanical operations that do not require sketches. Sketched features can join, cut, or intersect with another feature. You can combine features to create complex parts.
As you add new 2D sketches, planes, and parametric solids they are added to the Model tree in the left side of the Inventor user interface. Selection can be made either in the model view or the tree, which is useful when in-canvas selection is difficult due to overlapping geometry. Also note that the View Cube allows for easy manipulation of the model view including selection of standard Top, Front, Side, or Isometric Views.
Features are positioned using geometric constraints and dimensions. If you leave some curves on features undimensioned, you can make the feature adaptive, which means it can change size when you constrain it to fixed geometry in an assembly.
Types of Autodesk Inventor Parts for Infrastructure Content
Autodesk Inventor lets you design two basic types of parts for infrastructure content:
Single-body Parts: A part file that consists of one solid body. A body is an independent collection of features contained within the part file, including faces, edges, surfaces, and other forms and shapes.
Multi-body Parts: A part file that contains more than one solid body. Each body can contain an independent collection of features or shared features. Each solid can be exported to an assembly as a separate part file at the end of the design process. Creating a multi-body part is an efficient top-down design workflow in which you use common modeling commands to create a new body in the context of other bodies.
Part Modeling Workflow
In the most basic sense, your content authoring workflow in Autodesk Inventor proceeds as follows:
- Open or create an .IPT part template in Autodesk Inventor.
- Configure sketch planes, work planes, and a center point for your model.
- Sketch desired shapes, define constraints, add dimensions to your construction lines, and give them specific names in Autodesk Inventor.
- Optionally, click Sketch
Materials, and configure materials for features in your shape.
- Click Finish Sketch.
- Extrude the 2D shape to add height/thickness/volume dimensions to your part.
- Click Manage Parameters.
- Use the Parameters dialog to review and modify the shape template parameters that will be exposed to the Infrastructure Parts Editor or Autodesk InfraWorks.
See the Parameters Reference for more information.
- Click Environments Infrastructure Part Shape Utilities.
Depending on the type of infrastructure content you are creating, such as bridge components, drainage structures, or piping assemblies, you can add pipeline connectors, add assembly connectors, and add reference points using the Infrastructure Part Shape Utilities tools.
- Click Finish Infrastructure.
- Hide the visibility of work planes and sketches that are non-essential.
- Click Export Template to export your parametric part as a shape template in .IPT file format.