Assembly Modeling © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The following presentation will guide you through the construction and assembly of a toy train engine. The parts will include the train body, wheels, axle peg, wheel linkage arm, and link pin. The final step will be the animation of the linkages with drive constraints. 2 A hyperlink index page has been included to allow you to view parts of the slide show on an as-needed basis. This tutorial can be run simultaneously with Inventor, allowing the user to move between PowerPoint and Inventor. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Train Body The next series of slides will guide you through the construction of the train body. Start a new drawing and save it as Train Body. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now that we have reviewed the sketch, constraining, dimensioning, and extrusion process, let’s create the base feature of the train body. Refer to the IED Resource Guide for the dimensions. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick View, Toolbar, Sketch to activate the Sketching tools. Pick Line. 5 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick this intersection and drag up. Current X,Y coordinates of cursor Current length of sketch line Current polar angle of sketch line from 0,0 User hints are given here. 6 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch 3 lines Select 3 point Arc from the Sketch toolbar and pick start of Arc here. Select End of Arc here. Drag up to the right and pick another point. Right click and pick Done. 7 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick here. We will now dimension the rough profile using the General Dimension tool. Pick this line, then drag down and pick another point to place the dimension. When a dimension needs changing, double click it to bring up the Dim edit box. Key in the correct size and press Enter. 8 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

This sketch is fully dimensioned. Any additional dimensions will result in the error message below. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Right click the drawing screen and pick Isometric View. 10 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick View and launch the Features Toolbar. Pick Extrude. 11 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Key in distance. Select the direction of Extrusion and pick OK. Extrusion Preview 12 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The base feature has successfully been extruded and displayed in Shaded mode. The next slide will demo two other display modes that may be useful in the future. Now would be a good time to save. Saving your work should be done after any major feature addition has been completed! © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Sketch, then pick this end of the extrusion. Notice the dark outline on the end of the extrusion. This is visual feedback that signifies a sketching surface is ready. Now we will apply a cut extrusion on the front end of the train body. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Rectangle. Pick about here first, then drag to about here and pick a point, right click and pick Done. 16 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Only one dimension is needed Pick Extrude from the Features toolbar, then pick this rectangle. In the next slide we will adjust the size and type of extrusion. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

First, set the distance. Second, select the direction. Third, set the Extrusion type to Cut and pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

We will now build the tank on the front of the train body. Pick Sketch. Now, pick this face. 19 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Use the Rotate View function to maneuver train body for clarity. When the viewing direction is satisfactory, right click and pick Done. 20 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch a circle approximately in this position, then dimension its diameter and X,Y location as illustrated to the right. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Set extrusion type to Join. Extent of extrusion is set at To. Select this surface to end the extrusion and pick OK. Save your work after extruding! 22 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now we will drill the axle holes and extrude cut the cab. Pick Sketch and select the long side of the train body. 23 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

For some sketch situations, it is helpful to look directly at the surface. We will do that now. Pick the Look At icon, and then pick the long surface of the train body. 24 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch a circle and lines about here, trim and dimension as illustrated below. This will serve as the cutting profile. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adjust settings in the Extrude dialog box as shown below. Then pick OK. Rotate the view and Cut Extrude the profile. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

To improve clarity, the color, viewing angle, and display type have been changed. Now it’s time to locate the center points for the axle holes. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

First, assign a sketch plane to this surface. Next, use Point, Hole Center to locate position of holes. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

When finished marking the centers, right click and pick Done. Pick approximate location for each hole. In the next slide we will place dimensions. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Use the General Dimensioning tool to precisely locate the hole centers. Initial dimensions are red, double click to adjust values. Key in correct value and press Enter or pick green check mark. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick the Hole function from the Features toolbar. Adjust the settings as indicated by arrows below and pick OK. Save your work! 31 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

In the next few slides, we will add the smoke stack to the top of the tank. Since there is no flat sketching surface on the tank, we first must place a work plane tangent to the tank and then offset it from the top surface of the cylinder. Switch to the isometric view. 32 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Work Plane from the Features Toolbar. Next, pick the cylinder. 33 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Move the cursor along the cylinder until this workplane is previewed, then pick that plane to produce the workplane as pictured on the right. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

We now will create an offset workplane from the original workplane. Select the Workplane icon from the Features toolbar. First, pick this workplane and drag up. Next, key in the offset value of 1 and press Enter. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The result is two work planes. We will now turn off the plane on the bottom by selecting it from the browser. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

In the Browser, left click on the Work Plane name, then right click to produce the visibility prompt below Left click on Visibility, the result is shown on the right. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Switch to Top View of the tank using the Look At function. Pick this edge. Pick Sketch, then pick the edge of the work plane. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension this circle. After sketching, switch to the isometric view. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Extrude from the Features toolbar and set the parameters as shown below. Pick OK when done. The first tapered extrusion is done. Next, we will apply the tapered cap on top of the smoke stack. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

In the Isometric view, select top of stack as sketch plane and sketch this circle. Next, constrain it with Concentric and Same radius constraints. Pick here to launch constraint toolbar. Concentric constraint Same constraint © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Results of Concentric and Same radius constraints. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Extrude from the Features toolbar and set up the parameters, as shown on the right. Pick OK when done. Now would be a good time to save! © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

From the Features toolbar, pick the Fillet icon. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick edge to identify the first loop, then pick OK. Rotate model and repeat as needed. Use the Loop option when applying fillets around a face. It is much faster than single edge picking. To fillet the intersection of 2 or more surfaces, use the Edge select mode. Key in a value of © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Completed Train Body Save your work! 46 Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Wheel Start a new drawing and save it as Wheel. The next series of slides will guide you through the construction of the train wheel. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

For units in inches, pick English. Pick Standard (in).ipt, then pick OK. The.ipt file extension is used for single Inventor part files. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick here to maximize the drawing space. Save this startup sheet as Wheel. Enter filename and pick Save. 49 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick View, Toolbar, Sketch to activate the Sketching tools. Sketch this figure and apply dimensions as in the figure to the right. 50 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Switch to the Isometric View. Pick Revolve. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

You must first pick a line on the profile that will serve as the centerline of rotation. Set Extents to Full and pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Sketch, then pick surface indicated below. Pick this icon to mark the center for the axle hole. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adjust the settings as indicated by arrows Below, and pick OK. SAVE YOUR WORK! 54 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The next group will demonstrate how to add the link pin post. Select the lower surface for the Sketch plane. Use the Look At function to view straight on. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension this circle, then switch to the Isometric View. Activate Extrude and pick this profile. Set up the dialog box using the values on the left and pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Set the Sketch plane to the top of the peg and sketch and dimension as given on the right. Make sure to apply a concentric constraint. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Set up dialog box as indicated above and pick OK. The last operation on the wheel will be to drill a hole here for the link pin fastener. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Set the Sketch plane to the end of the pin. Locate the hole center here. Use this function to place the hole center. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adjust settings as above and pick OK. Save your work! © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adding a Work Axis We first have to put hole centers in both holes on the correct sketch plane. First, pick Sketch. Pick the inner circular edge for the sketch plane. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Hole Center. Then pick this Intersection. This is a Zoomed view of the center mark. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Launch the Features toolbar from the View menu. Pick Work Axis. 63 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

First, pick the center. Next, pick this circular edge. A vertical axis should appear. Later, we will use this axis to animate the wheel linkages. 64 Save your work! Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Axle Peg Start a new drawing and save it as Peg. The next series of slides will guide you through the construction of the axle peg. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension a circle. Adjust settings in the Extrude dialog box as shown below. Then pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now we will put a cap on the tapered peg. To do this, a sketch plane on the YZ axis going through the center of the peg must be applied. Follow the steps below. Pick the plus sign to expand the origin. Then pick here. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Sketch. Rotate view until this axis is near horizontal. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension the figure on the right. Sketch two lines, then use 3 point arc. Dimension as shown. Finally, use the Revolve function to complete the cap. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick this line as Centerline of rotation. Set Extents to Full and pick OK. Save your work! Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Linkage Arm The next series of slides will guide you through the construction of the linkage arm. We will make use of the adaptive sketch and adaptive extrusion functions. Start a new drawing and save it as Linkage Arm. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch this figure. Trim until it looks like this on both ends. Apply dimensions as given on the left, and switch to the Isometric View. The distance between the arcs is not needed, as this will be left free to Adapt to the assembly in a later step. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Set the dialog box values as given on the left and pick OK. Place Hole Centers as shown in preparation for drilling holes. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adjust the settings shown in the dialog box and pick OK. The next slide will demonstrate how to make the link adapt to the changing needs of an assembly. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Right click Extrusion1 in the Browser. Select Adaptive, then observe the Adaptive symbol next to Extrusion1 in the Browser. When you Right click Extrusion1 in the Browser, then pick Properties. You will get the dialog box below. Remember, any undimensioned sketch geometry such as length, diameter, and extrusion thickness, can be made adaptive to meet assembly constraints. Save Your Work! Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Link Pin The next series of slides will guide you through the construction of the link pin. Start a new drawing and save it as Link Pin. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Second, switch to the Isometric View and Zoom in as needed. First, sketch and dimension this circle. Finally, pick Extrude and change the values as given in the dialog box on the right. Then pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now we will put a cap on the tapered peg. To do this, a sketch plane on the YZ axis going through the center of the peg must be applied. Follow the steps below. Pick the plus sign to expand the origin. Then pick here. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Sketch. Rotate view until this axis is near horizontal. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension the figure on the right. Sketch two lines, then use 3 point arc. Dimension as shown. Finally, use the Revolve function to complete the cap. See how in the next slide. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick this line as Centerline of rotation. Set Extents to Full and pick OK. Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Let’s review the Assembly process using the DesignProf. The DesignProf will be of great assistance in the classroom, as it contains very complete, self-paced tutorials and animations. Next, pick Demo. 82 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The DesignProf is composed of 3 modes: Demo, Mentor, and Study. Let’s try the Demo Mode 83 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Assembly Modeling. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Follow the directions above, then pick Next to review the remaining topics for Assembly Modeling. Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Assembling the Train Engine The next series of slides will guide you through placing the parts in the assembly and animation procedures. Start a new drawing using the assembly template, and save it as Train Engine. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick OK. Give the drawing this name, and pick Save. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Launch the Assembly toolbar by picking View, Toolbar, Assembly. Use Place Component to bring in the parts of the train engine. The Windows file explorer may also be used to place parts in the assembly drawing. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The first part to bring in will be the Base part. (Also known as the grounded part.) This part will later remain stationary while other parts are able to move through the use of Drive Constraints. After selecting the part name, pick Open. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

This symbol indicates the train body is the base part. We will now continue to place all the remaining parts. 90 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

After all the wheels are in place, right click and pick Done. Save your work! © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

92 Continue placing the remaining components. Save your work! Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick here to activate the Visual Syllabus. The Visual Syllabus will be of great assistance in the classroom, as it contains very complete, self-paced tutorials. Take time to explore all of the icons or use them as needed while designing with Inventor. Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adding Constraints Let’s review the Constraining process using the DesignProf. The DesignProf will be of great assistance in the classroom, as it contains very complete, self-paced tutorials and animations. Next, pick Demo. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Assembly Modeling. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

View the DesignProf demo on constraints. Step Two of the Design Prof Assembly Modeling Tutorial 96 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Use the DesignProf to learn more about Degrees of Freedom. 97 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Constraints are rules that determine how parts in an assembly fit together. As you apply constraints, you remove degrees of freedom, restricting the ways parts can move. You will occasionally need to move parts after bringing them into the assembly. In addition to moving parts for clarity, you will also have to rotate parts to gain access to proper edges or surfaces. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

First, pick Place Constraint. Second, pick Insert. Third, pick this edge. Finally, pick this edge. Note the direction of the arrows. The surface arrows must point at each other. To adjust the arrow direction, use the Flip 1 or the Flip 2 box, then pick Apply. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now Insert the axle peg into the wheel. 100 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Continue using Insert until all wheels and pegs are in place. You will have to use Rotate and Move in order to select the proper edges. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Move the linkage arm closer to the wheel, then use the Insert constraint. 102 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

One end of linkage arm is attached, now you will have to Zoom, Pan and Rotate the view to insert the left end of link. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Note that the display has been changed to Wireframe. This allows the viewing of the direction arrows for the insert process. 104 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The linkage arm has been constrained to the wheels. Now, let’s put the link pins in place. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Move the link pins Closer. Pick this edge. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Continue using the insert constraint on the remaining link pin, then Rotate, Pan, Move to the other side to constrain the remainder of the parts. Save your work! © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The assembly parts have been constrained with the Insert function. We will now use the Angle constraint to control the position of the wheels in relation to the front of the train body. In the next slide, we will use the browser to turn on the visibility of the wheel axes. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Left click the Plus sign to expand the browser for Wheel 1. Left click Work Axis, then right click to reveal the box below. Then left click on Visibility. Work axes now are visible. In the next group of slides, we will use the Angle constraint to control the position of the wheels. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Our next task will be the application of an Angle constraint between the two front wheel axes. This will synchronize the linkage position. Rotate and Zoom as needed to view both axes. Pick the Angle constraint, then pick both the wheel axes, as indicated by the arrows. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick Apply after selecting both the front wheel axes. You should observe that the wheel axes are now aligned. Next, we will apply an Angle constraint between one of the wheel axes and the front of the train engine. This is the constraint that will later be used to animate the wheel linkages. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Using the Angle constraint, pick the wheel axis and front of the train as indicated by the arrows. Pick Apply to finish. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Your train should look like this if all the Angle constraints have been successfully applied. Turn off the Visibility of the wheel axes in the Browser. Refer to the next group of slides for dimensioned views of the straight and curved track sections. Use them to create your own. The slides that follow will demonstrate how to use the Tangent and Mate constraints to assemble the track and place the train on the track. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Close up Orthographic views follow this image. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Top View Curved Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Top View Curved Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Front View Curved Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Close up Orthographic views follow this image. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Top View Straight Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Top View Straight Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Front View Straight Track © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The insert constraint has been applied to the track sections. We now will apply a Mate/Flush constraint to the vertical surfaces of the track. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

After picking the Constraint option, set up the dialog box as shown, then pick the vertical surfaces as shown on the track, then pick Apply. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

The next task will be the placement of the train above the track by using the Tangent constraint between the wheels and the track. Then we will use the Mate constraint to align the train with the track. Use Rotate view as well as Move and Rotate part until the view appears as shown. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Activate the Tangent constraint, then set up the dialog box as shown. Pick the surfaces, as Indicated, then pick Apply. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Rotate the view around to check the effect of the first tangent constraint. As you will see, the rear wheel also needs to be constrained as tangent. Do this now! Once that is completed, we will apply a Mate constraint between the vertical face of the front wheel and the inside vertical face of the track. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Rotate this view until it looks like the view below. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Activate the Mate constraint, set up the dialog box as shown, then pick the indicated surfaces. Pick Apply when done. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Train engine has been successfully constrained. Save Your Work! Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Animating a Mechanism with the Drive Constraint Use the DesignProf Assembly Modeling option to review the use of Drive Constraints. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

In the browser, expand the last wheel constrained. Right click on the second angle constraint. Next, left click the Drive Constraint option. 131 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Pick the More button to access the complete control panel for the Drive Constraint. 132 © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Adjust the values for the Drive Constraint as shown in the dialog box on the left. Pick the Play button to view the animation. Try changing the values and observe the effects upon the animation. To learn more about the Drive Constraint, use the DesignProf for Assembly Modeling. 133 Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Part Editing in an Assembly The next series of slides will demonstrate how to edit a part while in an Assembly drawing. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Use Rotate view until the train Isometric looks like this. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

In the Browser, find the Train Body, then double-click on it. This will enable just the engine body to be edited. Note the appearance of the body compared to the other parts. Also, observe the Browser has been automatically expanded to reveal all the features used to create the train body. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Second, pick Sketch. The result is a sketch plane applied to this surface. First, pick this surface. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now we will use the Look At function to view the sketch plane straight on. Pick this surface using the Look At function. The result should resemble the view on the right. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Sketch and dimension this Rectangle. Switch to the Isometric view and pick the Extrude icon. Pick the Profile, then set up the Extrude dialog box as shown, then pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Apply 0.375” fillet to all the vertical edges of the hitch to produce the feature as shown on the right. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Apply 0.1” fillet to the top and bottom edge of the hitch. We will now drill a hole in the hitch. Select the top surface of the hitch as the sketch plane, then activate the Hole function. Set up the dialog box as shown, then pick OK. © Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Now that we have finished the part editing process, we must exit the part editing mode by double clicking in the Browser the name of the assembly. Index © Project Lead The Way, Inc.