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CHAPTER 1 Inventor DesIgn PhIlosoPhy
If your experience is like that of many others who made the transition from the drawing
board to drawing lines in AutoCAD, it was difficult to say the least. At first you may have been
frustrated with spending more time creating electronic drawings than it would have taken to
produce the drawing with the board. However, a key reason for the acceptance of AutoCAD
was the ability to make edits far more quickly than you could with eraser and paper. Once you
master Inventor, you will find the same benefit of faster edits, as well as the many benefits that
parameter-based design has to offer.
Making the move to Inventor successfully requires some evaluation of current methods
of design in AutoCAD. The following are some of the evaluation steps in planning your suc-
cessful move:
Assess your current directory structure of AutoCAD drawings. How do you store, name,
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and reuse current AutoCAD files? Will the structure be compatible for storing Inventor
documents, or is it time to take a deep look at your data management structure?
Determine how you will manage Inventor files. Inventor utilizes projects to manage
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assemblies, drawings, and associated part files. What worked in AutoCAD will probably
not be the ideal scenario in Inventor.
Document your current design workflow when using AutoCAD. Is it time to reevaluate the
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design process in light of the efficiencies that may be gained when using Inventor? How
are revisions, engineering change orders, and production currently being managed, and
how can Inventor improve on the design-to-manufacturing processes?
Determine whether your current computer hardware and network are up to the task of
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implementing and using Inventor. What gets by for using AutoCAD will seldom work for
the demands of 3D modeling in Inventor.
Set aside time for training and implementing Inventor. If you have multiple users, it might
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be best to consider phasing Inventor in over a period of time, allowing new users to accli-
mate themselves to a new way of design.
If you take the time to plan your leap into Inventor, your chances of success are greatly
improved. The rewards of a successful transition can be a savings in time, money, and effort.
There are many, many proficient AutoCAD users who today seldom ever open AutoCAD, as
they have mastered the tools in Inventor and use it for all of their design work. On the other
hand there are many industries that require both mechanical design and layout work. Because
AutoCAD handles the layout tasks better than Inventor, and Inventor the design work better
than AutoCAD, these users will probably always use both tools together.
3D models vs. 3D Virtual Prototypes
Starting out, you may simply be interested in learning how to create 3D models, but as you
progress you should understand the concept of 3D Virtual Prototypes and how they differ from
a simple 3D model.
What Is a 3D Virtual Prototype?
So, what is a 3D virtual prototype? Put simply, it’s a prototype that functions (and malfunctions)
just like the physical prototype that has not yet been built. It is far more than a just a 3D model.
The virtual prototype consists of a main assembly, which contains many subassemblies that
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