Render and animation

View → Materials Browser

Note - if your ribbon is missing buttons, right click in the grey part of your ribbon that has no buttons, then go to "show tab" and "show panels", put a check mark next to everything to show everything.  Go to your Tool palette groups - make sure visual styles is checked.  You can get to your materials browser from either the visual styles menu, or view menu.    

Click on home, then open up AutoDesk library, tab through all of your options.

Click on the arrow next to the material you want to load it into the browser.  Select a surface, then right click on the material, and assign the material to the surface.

choose the most dominant color / texture first, and and just assign everything to the dominant color.

EXPLODE - This will let you start re-assigning different materials to individual pieces of your object.  

Lighting - go to the visualize tab, and click on sun status.

adjust exposure

This is where you can experiment with different lights, backgrounds etc.  

Under backgrounds, you can choose solid, gradient, or put in your own image.

Do a google image search for nice nature backgrounds, or whatever you would like, save the pict onto your desktop, and import it into CAD.  

Add Shadows!

Animation:
Camera moving around your object. 

Draw a couple of pathways around your object (PLINE).  You might want to experiment with paths from different heights.

Type in ANIPATH   (RENDER -  ANIMATION MOTION PATH - to get render toolbar, right click on grey area, show tools, and show render)

Use a Path for camera and point for target.  Decide what format you want your video in, frames, etc.

You might have to create a few movies before you get the angles just right.  

You can create paths that walk through your house, or around it, above it - anywhere you want to go!


Example youtube explaining it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmE7UEiE1Nc

Intro to Inventor

Finish up AutoCAD before starting Inventor!

 Inventor

Autodesk modeling software that is very similar to SolidWorks and SolidEdge

Download the "Inventor Professional" version for free from:
http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/inventor-professional
Trouble with the instal?  Chat with AutoDesk -
https://www.autodesk.com/education/support/edu-contact-us-form


Inventor is used for:
Design and visualization
Simulation
     Stress Analysis of individual parts and assemblies
     Dynamic Simulations  - driving loads, friction, vibrations etc.

Inventor File types
1. *.ipt  for individual parts
2. *.iam for assemblies
3. *.idw for drafting docs

     Files can be imported or exported as *.dwg
4. *.ipn – for exploded renderings of assemblies & presentations (not in LT version)

Getting started:
Open "Inventor Professional"

 - make sure you are using the professional version as the limited version is missing some of the tools

Start by creating an .ipt file:
rather than choosing the generic part, decide what units you would like to use for entering dimensions by choosing a specific template:

Get in the habit of saving your work from the start!

File → save  

Explore everything under "File"

explore export options to create 3Dpdf's and for 3D printing -

The 3D pdf's are pretty neat, but require Adobe to view.

AutoCAD →InventorPro

You can also open your dwg files from AutoCAD 

If you want to quickly view a file but not edit it, use "Open Dwg"

To change dwg file into ipt file, a few more steps and some patience are needed.  

 

File → Open → Import DWG → (select DWG file you previously created) → Default AutoCAD Configuration → Next → All → 

Import destination options: Change to "3D solids" → New Part (not new drawing), wires to 3D sketch (not 2D sketch), standard ipt template. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Getting started with a new ipt

Click 2D sketch → start 2D sketch

Study the orientation of the x,y,z coordinate system and how it relates to your view cube.

Click on one of the brown 2D planes, in this example I will start on the "xz" plane, or "Top" view from the view cube.

Click 2D sketch → start 2D sketch
Read the description under "start 2D sketch"
click on the horizontal flat plane to start drawing.

Have a look around in the "Sketch" toolbar, Expand all of the options under each of the basic shapes, Hold your cursor over items in the ribbon for directions.

No command line in inventor, so you will need to become familiar with the "ribbon" or buttons along the top of the screen.  

Inventor Short cuts: https://www.autodesk.com/shortcuts/inventor 

Try out your mouse 

• Use scroll wheel to zoom in and out, 
• Cntr+ click mouse wheel to pan around screen
• double click wheel to center and zoom to see drawing
• Shift-middle mouse click: Rotate model
• Shift - right click: Select

Use the view cube (just like in CAD) rotate "TOP" to be right side up instead of upside down. (Inventor starts upside down for some reason)

View→Nav Bar to bring up the same tools you had in AutoCAD



Tools → Application options → add command prompt (might be helpful, turn it off if it is not helpful), change display settings if needed.

Experiment with one of the WS's out of the book 

The following is a more challenging example, but if you get through it, you will have a good understanding of how to use constraints, and basic drawing and extruding tools.  If this gets too frustrating, choose a worksheet you have already created in AutoCAD and are familiar with .

We will create a 2D sketch → then extrude→ 2D sketch on next layer → extrude etc.
like making a layered cake!


To make 2D shapes,

• First create randomly sized shapes and lines
• Then constrain and dimension everything to the correct size

Rotate your drawing area with the ViewCube so that "Top" is right side up.

Draw a rectangle centered on the origin,
dimension the sides to 2.5 and 1.875

Draw a circle off to the side making sure it is not snapping to anything, D = 0.625

Constrain the circle, first to the side of the rectangle, then to the top.

Add another circle centered on the first D = 0.125

Draw in construction mirror lines, and mirror your circles to the 4 corners of the rectangle

Draw circle around the entire thing:

Constrain the large circle to the smaller inner circles:

Use the trim tool, then finish your sketch

Extrude up 0.1

Notice the files being created along the left hand side of your work area

Start a new sketch on the top surface of your older sketch:

Use project geometry to trace the previous shape and give your self something to snap to:

Start drawing circles again!  D = 0.625

Add lines along the top and the bottom, and then trim.

Extrude 0.3125, done with Layer #2!

Start a new sketch on top of the older ones:
D = 0.1875

New sketch:

Create construction lines:

Create a circle off to the side, then snap it into place using your construction lines:

Create another construction line joining the centers of the holes on the sides:

Add another circle D = 0.19

Mirror

Lock everything into place

Then create a LONG line off to the side.

Constrain the line to the circles:

Mirror

Trim!

Extrude 0.375

Turn it over, and create a sketch on the bottom

Change the direction of your extrude to create a hole instead of a solid.

Find your gasket sketch in the left hand menu, and copy it onto a clipboard with a base point.

Open up a new part, save as a new name

Ctrl+C → and Cntrl+V  to copy and paste 2D sketch in

Extrude your gasket 0.0625

Threaded fastener

Remember that frustrating helix command in AutoCAD?  This is much better!!

Inventor as libraries for common thread types, and other parts.  (We will explore gears, cams, springs etc. later on which are located in assembly files)

Assembly

If you made it this far, explore assemblies!