Datasheet

Waguespack c01.tex V2 - 08/30/2008 1:44pm Page 11
LEARNING THE FILE TYPES IN INVENTOR 11
and vastly improves performance on large designs. As you’ve already explored, having different
file types allows you to have environment-specific tools for work with each file type.
The payoff of multiple file types is exemplified in the comparison between the way that Auto-
CAD handles model space/paper space and the way that Inventor handles the same tasks. To put
it simply, in Inventor the part and assembly files represent model space, and the drawing file is
in effect paper space. Using multiple file types to handle the separate tasks required for modeling
vs. detailing simplifies the interaction between both tasks, and as a result, you will see that all the
headaches of managing model space and paper space in AutoCAD are eliminated in Inventor.
Here are the primary file formats commonly used in Inventor:
.ipj: Inventor project file
.ipt: Inventor single part file
.iam: Inventor assembly file
.ipn: Inventor presentation file
.idw: Inventor 2D detail drawing file
.dwg (Inventor): Inventor 2D detail drawing file
.dwg (AutoCAD): AutoCAD nonassociative drawing file
.xls: Excel files that drive iParts, threads, and other data
Although this list may seem intimidating, once you get used to using Inventor, having many
different file types will be less of a concern. The benefit of using multiple file types to have fully
associative, automatically updating designs is a cornerstone of most 3D parametric modelers. Per-
formance and stability in the use of Inventor require good data management principles, including
storing the saved files in an efficient and organized manner. We’ll introduce this subject later in
this chapter and expand upon it in Chapter 2.
Using DWG Files in Inventor
You can use DWG files in a number of ways in Inventor. Although Inventor does not support the
creation of AutoCAD entities, AutoCAD geometry can be utilized in Inventor sketches, Inventor
drawings, title blocks, and symbol creation.
When creating a new part file in Inventor, you can copy geometry directly from an AutoCAD
DWG and paste it into an Inventor sketch. AutoCAD dimensions will even be converted into fully
parametric Inventor dimensions. However, only minimal sketch constraints will be created when
doing this. Using the Auto Dimension tool within the Inventor sketch environment, you can apply
sketch constraints to the copied AutoCAD data quickly. It is important to remember that many
AutoCAD drawings contain fundamental issues such as exploded or ‘‘fudged’’ dimensions and
lines with endpoints that do not meet. Copying such drawings into an Inventor sketch will of
course bring all of those issues along and will typically provide poor results.
Another way to use AutoCAD data in Inventor is in an Inventor DWG file. Often you’ll have
symbols in AutoCAD in the form of blocks that you want to use on a drawing in Inventor, such as
a directional flow arrow or a standard note block. Although you could re-create these symbols in
Inventor, you can also simply copy the block from AutoCAD and paste it into the Inventor DWG.
This functionality exists only within an Inventor DWG and is not supported in an Inventor IDW.
In fact, it is one of the few differences between an Inventor DWG and an Inventor IDW.
Mechanical Desktop DWG files can be opened or linked into Inventor assemblies. When
the Mechanical Desktop file is opened in Inventor, options allow the translation of Mechanical