Introduction to Autodesk Inventor

Introduction Computer Aided Design (CAD) is a critical tool engineers use to transform their napkin sketch ideas into actual three dimensional models. Inventor is a powerful software package that allows engineers to design parts, create assemblies, animate assemblies and create real life renderings of their models. CAD is one of the main ways an engineer can communicate their ideas to other parts of a company like Sales, Marketing and Technical Support. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words; well, a 3D animated model is worth a million. Computer Aided Design (CAD) assemblies animate Digital Prototyping with Inventor enables robotics teams to test a robot design before it’s built, identify potential design flaws and make corrections early in the design process, greatly reducing time spent on the physical build. Inventor can help students design a winning robot, by guiding them through assembly creation and ensuring that all parts and components fit correctly.

Basic Inventor Command Overview In order to begin assembling the Clawbot in Inventor, a few basic commands need to be reviewed. Select each of the following videos for a quick overview of the commands used in Inventor for this lesson. If you are already comfortable with navigating the Inventor interface, skip to the next section. Please note that the interface may vary slightly depending on what version of Inventor is used in the class. Primary Environment Click here to download this video. here In this video, students will learn the four different file types in Inventor and how they are used. Note that the drawing file types are applicable for all recent versions of Autodesk Inventor. UI Navigation 1 Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn about the Ribbon, Tabs, Panels and Extended Panels. They will also learn how to change the appearance of the Ribbon. Note: There may be some variation in location and availability of tools in the panel menus in recent versions of Autodesk Inventor.

UI Navigation 2 Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn about the Browser menu, Application menu, and Quick Access Toolbar.Browser menu Graphics Window Display Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to change applications options, display colors, and icon styles. Note: There may be some variation in location and extra options available in the applications menu in recent versions of Autodesk Inventor. Navigation Controls Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn about the View Cube, Function Keys and the Navigation Bar. Project Files Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to create a project file and manage a project. Creating Assemblies 1 Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to create assemblies and apply constraints. Degree of Freedom for a particular part will be reviewed as well as grounding parts.constraints Note: In later versions of Autodesk Inventor, the first component inserted is not automatically grounded as shown in this video. You must insert by positioning with the Right mouse button and selecting the 'PlaceGrounded at origin' option. Creating Assemblies 2 Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to insert parts from the content center. They will also be shown the difference between Bottom Up Modeling and Top Down Modeling using adaptive parts.Bottom Up ModelingTop Down Modeling Viewing Assemblies Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn about the three different view representations of an assembly: Position, View and Level of Detail. Visualization Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to render images and animations of 3D models. render

Building the Clawbot There are 16 design videos to walk the student through the assembly and animation of the Clawbot. Click on each video to review the content. Pause, rewind, fast forward and stop features are available as the student reviews the content. It is expected that the students have a basic working knowledge of Autodesk Inventor and have viewed the videos in 4.2: Basic Inventor Command Overview. The workflow in these videos includes: Assembling the base frame using simple pick and place techniques Placing gears and wheels Inserting motors Aligning the gears so that they drive the other gears and wheels correctly Using Inventor Studio to create rendered images and an animation of your robot design Overview Click here to download this video. here In this video, all the key phases for modeling a VEX Clawbot robot in Autodesk Inventor software will be reviewed. Modeling the robot in Autodesk Inventor consists of assembling parts from the virtual kit of parts library. The key phases in the required workflow are reviewed in this overview video. Video 1: Review the Robot Model Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will learn how to use Autodesk Inventor project files to organize file location. An overview of project files and how to set the active project file is shown. The completed robot is opened in Autodesk Inventor. With the file opened, the view manipulation tools are demonstrated. Note that later versions of Inventor will have a slightly different opening screen. Note: The files required for this activity must be downloaded, and data sets in imperial and metric units are available. The data sets provided will work for Inventor version 2013 onward. Download and unzip these files and save them into a new project folder called ‘Clawbot.’

Video 2: Start a New Assembly Click here to download this video.here In this video, students learn that the structural frame members have square holes that have to be aligned correctly. Assembling the parts using the iMates attached to each hole simplifies the process by reducing the number of clicks required. This workflow enables you to snap each part into its correct location. Note: A metric assembly template can be started by selecting the metric template folder. In later versions of Autodesk Inventor, the first component inserted is not automatically grounded unless you insert by positioning with the Right mouse button and selecting the 'PlaceGrounded at origin' option. Also note in later versions of Inventor in order to view the iMate you have to hold the ALT button, select the iMate and drag the mouse slightly to display. Video 3: Complete the Base Frame Click here to download this video.here In this video, students will assemble all the parts required for the base frame by adding three more C-channels and a bumper.

Video 4: Add Standard Parts to the Assembly Click here to download this video.here In this video, students use standard parts to assemble the frame. Autodesk Inventor provides standard parts such as nuts, bolts, and washers. They can be placed in an assembly using Content Center. In this project, the standard parts are provided and are constrained to the base frame using the iMate workflow used previously. Note: The template check shown when creating the subassembly in the video is for an Imperial template; note there is a metric equivalent found in the metric folder. Video 5: Assemble Bearing Flats and Rivets Click here to download this video.here In this video, students add bearing flats and rivets to the base frame. VEX robot drive shafts rotate in bearing flats. These flats are held onto the frame using bearing pop rivets. Video 6: Assemble the Driveshaft and Collar Click here to download this video.here In this video, students add the drive shafts and collars to the base frame assembly. The drive shafts are inserted into the bearing flats. Collars are added to the ends of the shaft to hold the shaft in place. Note: Metric equivalents " = -9.5mm

Video 7: Assemble a Wheel Click here to download this video.here In this video, students add a wheel to the Clawbot. The wheel assembly consists of a 60 tooth gear, spacer, 4-inch wheel and a collar. These parts are placed in the assembly and constrained using various workflows. Constraints are placed between each part to make sure that they rotate correctly. Constraints Video 8: Create a Wheel Subassembly Click here to download this video.here In this video, students simplify the placement of wheel parts by creating a subassembly. To reduce the time required to create a wheel assembly, the parts are demoted into a subassembly. With the wheels in place, a 60-tooth gear is added between the wheels, and motion constraints are added to the gears. Note: The template check shown when creating the subassembly in the video is for an Imperial template; note there is a metric equivalent found in the metric folder. The metric equivalents of the Imperial offsets shown are " = -9.5mm and " = -22mm. Video 9: Align the Gears Click here to download this video.here In this video, students use work planes to align the gear teeth. To correctly align the gear teeth, work planes are created through the center of the teeth or a gap between the teeth. These work planes can be used to align the teeth by constraining the work planes to each other. Video 10: Assemble the Claw Arm Drivetrain Click here to download this video.here In this video, students build the claw arm drivetrain using gears, shafts, and shaft collars. The claw arm drivetrain is assembled using 84 tooth gears, 12 tooth gears, shafts, and shaft collars. The gears are aligned using work planes like the wheel drivetrain. claw

Video 11: Add the Cortex Microcontroller Click here to download this video.here In this video, students assemble the Cortex microcontroller and battery straps onto the base frame. Motors are added to the wheel drivetrain and the motion of the gears and wheels is checked. Video 12: Assemble the Claw Arm Click here to download this video.here In this video, students add the claw arm to the Clawbot assembly. The channel is constrained to the 84- teeth gears. Video 13: Complete the Robot Assembly Click here to download this video.here In this video, students add the remaining parts to complete the robot assembly. The claw is constrained to the claw arm. Braces are added to provide additional support to the vertical channels. Video 14: Render and Animate the Robot Click here to download this video.here In this video, students use Inventor Studio to create rendered images and an animation of the robot. Summary Click here to download this video.here In this video, students review the workflow required to model the robot. Modeling the robot requires a number of different workflows in Autodesk Inventor including: Assembling parts using iMates Adding standard parts Creating subassemblies to speed up the process Using Inventor Studio to create rendered images and animations Want to try more projects based on VEX robots and other exciting challenges? Click the link to access the Autodesk Design Academy.