Autodesk Inventor – Part 1 Autodesk Inventor – Part 1 EdgeCAM EdgeCAM CNC Motion CNC Motion Prolight CNC Mill Prolight CNC Mill CNC Box

Inventor Lid Interior and Base

New Sketch Start a standard.ipt Create a two-point rectangle – Ensure the bottom left corner is constrained to the origin Set the major stock boundary dimensions – In this example 3”x3” Finish Sketch Inventor – LID INTERIOR & BASE

Extrusion Extrude the box into the negative direction – Add both the major height of the lid and the bottom stock for the extrusion dimension 1” Lid + 2” Base = 3” Inventor – LID INTERIOR & BASE

New Sketch Create a new sketch on the top surface to start the lid interior Inventor – LID INTERIOR & BASE

Offset Boundary Create an extra offset boundary from the stock outside edges to ensure the milling bit removes material around the entire part Dimension the offset boundary 1/8” from the stock boundary Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Sketch Lid Interior Profile The boundary may touch all four edges but should not exceed the offset boundary Offset an additional profile 1/8 inch from the lid profile. This will create the lid interior pocket Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Interior Fillets Create ALL interior fillets Use the radius of the end mill to be used to pocket this area – In this example a ½” end mill will be used D = 0.5” R = D / 2 R = 0.5”/ 2 R = 0.25” Finish Sketch Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Interior Extrusions – Outside Boss Extrude Cut the outside profile and the profile boundary¼” shy of the lid’s total stock. This will leave a ¼” boss to hold in the vise during milling – Stock depth = 1” – Extrusion = 1”- 0.25” Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Interior Extrusions – Inside Pocket Open Extrusion 2 and right click on sketch 2 Select share sketch to reutilize sketch 2 for a second extrusion – Extrusion 3 / pocket extrusion Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Interior Extrusions – Inside Pocket Extrude Cut the pocket interior 5/16” min. – This will leave 7/16” inside the lid interior for the lid surface design Right click sketch 2 and select visibility – This will turn off the shared sketch Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Outside Profile Finishing At this time make any final edits to the lids exterior profile Inventor – LID INTERIOR

New Sketch Create a new sketch on the backside of the combined stock Inventor – BASE

Projected Profiles Rotate the stock in order to again see the lid interior Project the outside and inside face of the lid to the new sketch Inventor – BASE

Pocket Profiles Offset the lids projected geometry 2 additional times Select any line from the Lids interior projected geometry Transform this line to a construction line by selecting construction while the line is still highlighted Inventor – BASE

Pocket Profiles Constrain the two offsets 1/8” from each other – This will create the lid retaining lip / boss Constrain the outside offset (hidden line) from the lids interior project geometry – This creates the fit tolerance between the lid’s interior pocket and the exterior of the base’s retaining boss Inventor – BASE

Outside Boss Finish Sketch Extrude Cut the outside profile ½” shy of the base’s total stock. This will leave a ½” boss to hold in the vise during milling – Stock depth = 2” – Extrusion = 2”- 0.5” Inventor – BASE

Retaining Lip Boss Share Sketch 3 from Extrusion 4 Extrude cut the outside profile ¼” to create the retaining lip Inventor – BASE

Interior Pocket Extrude cut the interior profile to create the base’s pocket Leave ¼” of material in the base of the box – 2”Stock - ½” Boss – ¼” Floor Turn off the visibility of sketch Inventor – BASE

Measure Remaining Boss This should complete the design of the lid’s interior and the base Select the measure tool and select an edge of the remaining stock The should measure 0.75” 3” – ((1”- 0.25”) + (2”-0.5”) = 0.75” Save the file as FULL CONTAINER Lid = 0.75”Base = 1.5” Stock Inventor – LID INTERIOR & BASE

Offset Work Plane Select Plane Offset the top surface of the lid by selecting / holding the left mouse and pushing the surface into the negative direction Type -1” to place the plane at the between the lid and base stock – The plane will seem to disappear – The plane is visible in the browser and may be highlighted there Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Select Split Set the Split tool to Trim Solid Select the Work Plane in the browser bar Notice the direction arrow preview points into the negative direction – This portion of the part will be removed Split Component Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Save the Lid Interior Select Save Copy As Save the File as LID INTERIOR This completes the Lid Interior Inventor – LID INTERIOR

Start Lid Exterior File Again Select Save Copy As Save the File as LID EXTERIOR This starts the Lid Exterior File Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Save the Lid Interior Double click the split feature in the browser bar to edit the existing feature Select the opposite direction for the remove Notice the direction arrow preview changes to the positive direction Select ok Inventor – BASE

Save the Base Again Select Save Copy As Save the File as BASE This completes the Base Inventor – BASE

Inventor Lid Surface

Open and Remove Boss Open the Lid Exterior File Create a new sketch on the side of the lid’s remaining stock boss Finish sketch Extrude cut all the remaining boss Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Reset Boss Place a new sketch on the bottom lip of the lid Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Reset Boss Create a Two-Point Rectangle – Ensure the bottom left corner is constrained to the origin Set the dimensions of the rectangle to the dimensions of the original stock – In this example 3”x3” Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Inventor – Lid Exterior Reset Boss Finish Sketch Extrude all profiles in this plane ¼” in the positive direction Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Create a new sketch on the lid’s top surface Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Find the center of the outside profile – Select the Tangent Circle tool – Select three of the outside edges of the polygon – This will create a center point Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Offset the circle Place a diameter dimension on the offset circle of 1.25” Select and transform the tangent circle to a construction line Finish Sketch Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Extrude cut all profiles 0.25” Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft This final cut will leave 3/16” worth of solid material on the lid surface before the loft begins This also leaves 1/2” worth of material to be held while machining the lids surface Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Share sketch from sketch 6 Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Example Lid Surface Using Loft Select the loft feature – Selection 1- the visible remaining solid surface – Highlight and select sketch 6 – Selection 2 - the circle – Select ok – Remove sketch 6 Visibility Inventor – LID EXTERIOR

Inventor – Final Components 3 Final Separate Inventor Files LID INTERIOR w/ ¼” Boss BASE w/ ½” BossLID EXTERIOR w/ ¼” Boss Inventor – FULL CONTAINER

Final Product