Structural Shape Authoring

Use the Structural Shape Authoring command to define your own frame member cross-sections and notch profiles. You can place them in the Content Center for use within Frame Generator. The Structural Shape dialog box guides you to identify the necessary entities and add data specific to Frame Generator to the part/iPart. It is much like the Component Authoring dialog box.

It is possible you published structural shapes in a previous version of Autodesk Inventor and published them into the steel shapes category in Content Center. In that case, you must author and republish those parts before you can use them with Frame Generator in Autodesk Inventor 2025. After you author and republish the parts, you will have two families in Content center:

One authored for Frame Generator in Autodesk Inventor 2025. Frame Generator recognizes only this authored family.
One that is not authored. You can keep the unauthored family in Content Center to support legacy data.

Naming Authored Frame Members

The default name for frame members contains the (Standard)+(Stock Number)+(Unique Number). During the authoring process, there is no default Stock Number to include in the name. We recommend that you add the Stock Number manually. You can maintain the default format of the name, and you can customize the name for an authored frame member.

Note: Stock Number is also used for parts list roll up in drawings. If you publish structural parts you have used in the past, the stock number can already be defined.

Modeling Requirements for Authoring

For a part to be compatible with the authoring functionality in Frame Generator, it must meet certain modeling requirements:

Three planes - start, section, and end
Three parameters
Extruded feature with Between extents

Note: For information about modeling requirements, see Create parts for Structural Shape Authoring.

After you fully define the authoring information and click OK, the model is checked for the following items:

Extruded feature sketch

The sketch is not created on a workplane. Creates a work plane based on the sketch plane. The extruded feature starts from this plane.

Base length parameter

The parameter is missing. Adds L = the parameter, which is mapped to Base Length defined in the Structural Shape Authoring dialog box, Parameter mapping area.

Extruded feature’s Extend type

The extend type is not Between.

Changes extents to Between.

Selects Start Plane as the surface to start the feature creation.

Selects End Plane as the surface to end the feature creation.

Start plane of Extruded feature

The plane is not created by an offset from the sketch plane.

Offsets the Start plane from the Section plane, which is extracted from the extrusion selected in the Structural Shape Authoring dialog box.

Offset value of Start plane

The expression is not defined correctly.

Defines as OffS = Distance between Start Plane and Section Plane

End plane of Extruded feature

The plane is not created by offset from the sketch plane.

Offsets the End plane from the Section plane.

Offset value of End plane

The expression is not defined correctly.

Defines as L+OffE = Distance between End Plane and Section Plane.

G_L parameter

The parameter is missing or not defined correctly.

The parameter G_L is created or redefined and is marked for export.

If the part does not meet the modeling requirements for authoring frame members, the part is modified and the authoring proceeds. A message dialog gives you the location of a log file that contains the details of the modifications to the file.

Migration of Legacy Frame Members to Content Center

To see the migration procedures, click the Procedures tab.

Files are not migrated when you start Autodesk Inventor 2025. If the Content Center is connected and the required libraries are attached to the current project, then migration of frame members occurs when you:

Save files or files are forced to save to the current version.
Perform a Frame Generator operation on a frame member.
Click File Manage Migrate.
Perform a migration task with Task Scheduler in Autodesk Inventor Tools.

Note: Attach all required libraries to the current project before you begin a migration operation. Otherwise, the unattached frames are considered customized, and they are not migrated to the latest version.

Update Published Families in Autodesk Inventor 2017

Frame members created from the Frame Generator database in Autodesk Inventor 2008 migrate to Autodesk Inventor 2025 and Content Center, except for those members authored in Autodesk Inventor 2008.

If you authored frame members in Autodesk Inventor 2008, then reauthor them in Autodesk Inventor 2025 and publish them into the Content Center. When you publish the part in Autodesk Inventor 2025, map the Legacy Family ID parameter to the authored part ID from Inventor 2008. Then add a legacy member ID column to the iPart table.

Migration Failure

Migration failure can occur, and a dialog box is displayed, if:

Content Center is not connected, or the appropriate libraries are not attached to the current project.
One or more of the Frame Generator files are suppressed.
A file is unresolved.
All Frame Generator specific files are migrated except the unresolved files. When the files are resolved, they migrate when you activate the Migrate command.
A file is customized and there is no counterpart in Content Center libraries.

In these cases, a dialog box is displayed with an explanation and the option to proceed or not. You can control the warning prompt with the Prompts>> settings. Use the control to avoid disturbance of the migration.