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WHITEPAPER

Configuration of Model-Based Definition in Inventor 2018

Model-Based Definition (MBD) will become an important tool for users wishing to review part model designs before the 2D drawing is created, or for those who desire to skip the 2D drawing process completely. MBD may also be used to relay production information directly to the CNC operator along with the post processor code.

In this whitepaper, I will not go into full detail as to the use of MBD in Inventor 2018, but will explain how to configure it to better suit your design needs.

By default, MBD includes four “Active Standards”. In the part model, you will find them under the Tools>Options panel> Document Settings command.

Without tweaking the Inventor API, these named standards cannot be renamed and you cannot add more named standards, but the configuration of these standards can be modified to suit your specific needs. Note: There is the possibility of reconfiguring one of the unused standards but you would have to communicate this to your team to make sure they use the correct profile.

Because my part model uses inch dimensions, I’ll choose “ASME” as the Annotation Active Standard. Dimensions and Hole / Thread Notes are easily added using the commands on the Annotation tab, General Annotation panel. The precision of each callout can be adjusted from the Inventor Browser or editing the callout directly. Other formatting information can also be added using the two methods.

But what if your design process requires the dimensions to be in fractional format or you want dual (inch/metric) decimal dimensions and hole / thread callouts?

If you have just installed Inventor 2018 you must ensure that all your existing Design Data and templates have been migrated to the new Inventor release before you jump into the styles configuration. The next step is to create or switch to a project file which has the “Use Style Library” set to “Read-Write”. This will allow you to save your styles changes to the Design Data library and template files which can then be applied to all models created using your standard Inventor project file.

Configuration of Model-Based Definition in Inventor 2018 2

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Caution: Before making any changes to your current Design Data and templates, it is recommended that you create a backup of your existing configuration so you can set things back to your original standards if needed.

Now start or open a drawing and access the “Styles Manager” in the drawing environment found under the Manage tab on the Styles and Standards panel. Once inside, select “All Styles” so you will see the settings for the MBD configurations.

Expand the “Object Defaults” in the left hand column and look for entries ending with “ – 3DA”. You will find one for each of the named standards mentioned earlier. Autodesk’s labels the “ASME” standard as “Object Defaults (ANSI) – 3DA” and the “ASME-mm” standard as “Object Defaults (ANSI-mm) – 3DA”.

I am going to select the “Object Defaults (ANSI) – 3DA”, then move to the default object styles callouts in the right panel. By using the drop-down arrow, you can select any existing object style to replace the defaults, thus configuring the MBD to the desired style. In the screenshot below, I am modifying the “Linear Dimension” Object type to use my pre-configured “Dimension Style” for fractional dimensions to the nearest 1/64 of an inch. Continue the same process for all desired Object Types, then “Save and Close” the dialog box with the command either at the top or bottom of the dialog box.

Configuration of Model-Based Definition in Inventor 2018 3

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The next step is to select the “Save” command located on the Styles and Standards panel on the ribbon. This save will write the style changes to the Design Data library.

Make sure that you change the “No” to a “Yes” to actually save your configuration to the Design Data. Note, sometimes there will be more than one line to be saved. Select “OK” to continue.

Next, return to the part model to test your new configuration. Select the “Update” command in the Styles and Standards panel. The “Update Styles” dialog box will appear and as before, change each “No” to “Yes” to bring all your style changes into the part model. Again, there may be more than one line to be updated. Select “OK” to continue.

This will bring up a warning that you are changing existing local styles in the part model, select “Yes” to continue.

Important: The part model can be locally saved to any model if you want to test your settings first, but the final configured styles should be applied to your template and saved so the part model styles match your Design Data library to prevent a styles library error every time you create a new part model. Do not forget to switch back to your production Inventor project file after you’ve finished your MBD styles editing.

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About IMAGINiT TechnologiesIMAGINiT Technologies, a Rand Worldwide Company, is a provider of enterprise solutions to the engineering community, including the building, manufacturing, civil and mapping industries. With over 25 years of experience, and more than 40 offices throughout North America, we provide the expertise, training and support to help companies realize the full power of design technology, maximize ROI and gain competitive advantage.

IMAGINiT is a leading provider of Autodesk software solutions and the largest North American Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partner. All of our locations are supported by a vast pool of engineering resources focused on developing real-life business solutions for our local clients.

There are a few limitations to be aware of with this release. For example, you cannot configure MBD to count same-size holes when placing hole / thread notes (we’ll discuss a workaround in a future whitepaper). Some features you can control are:

■ Dimension format (fractional, decimal, dual, etc.)

■ Hole / Thread Note format such as replacing the international symbols with “old school” callouts such as C’BORE and DP

■ Arrow type and size, text placement, etc.

■ Text fonts used

■ Default precision so you do not have to change the precision of each MBD entry (this is a real time saver)

■ Colors of all entities

Below is my model configured to show fractional inch dimensions using the method described above. I used the “ANSI-mm” standard for this configuration since I know I will never use this standard for any of my production work. By the way, if you have used one MBD standard in your part model, by selecting another from the list, it will instantly change all existing dimensions and hole / thread notes to the new standard, pretty cool!