1EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Work PlanesSo far we have created sketch planes by:• Selecting an initial sketch plane in the front, top, or right side view• Adding sketch planes to surfaces in existing solids
Sometimes a new feature will be located on a plane that is not available on the current part. In such a case we can add work planes where sketches will be formed in order to add new features. The simplest type of work planes use the standard orthographic planes. We will later see other types of work planes and/or work features. XY, YZ, and XZ Work PlanesMany features can be developed on standard planes in the world coordinate system. These planes go through the origin, so it is helpful to have a key point in your model located at the origin. XY Plane – a plane parallel to the front viewYZ Plane – a plane parallel to the right side viewZX Plane - a plane parallel to the top view
2EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side as shown below. A work plane will be used to draw the hole.
Select Origin as center of circles
1. 2D Sketch: Create the pipe by drawing two concentric circles with their centers at the origin
Work plane
2. Extrude: Use an extrusion to form the pipe
3EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5
3. Make the right (YZ) plane visible: Expand (+) Origin in the model browser. As you pause over each plane it will can be seen on the screen. Right-click on YZ plane and turn on () Visibility.
Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
4EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5
4. Add a 2D Sketch to the YZ plane:
Select Start 2D Sketch and pick this plane
Before adding the 2D sketch After adding the 2D sketch
Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
5EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
Select Slice Graphics
The back half of the pipe is now displayed (seen more clearly in the isometric below)
5. Slice Graphics: Try to add a circle to the center of the side of the pipe and you will find that you can’t locate the midpoints or endpoints. This problem can be fixed as follows:• Right-click on the solid and select Slice Graphics. This will remove the portion of the
solid in front of the plane so that you will see only the back half of the pipe.
6EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5
6. Project Geometry: We still can’t locate the midpoints or endpoints of the pipe to add a circle so we need to use Project Geometry to project some of the pipe features onto the sketch plane. Either select Project Geometry in the Ribbon or right-click on the solid and select Project Geometry.
Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
Select Project Geometry
Pick pipe features to project onto the sketch plane (color changes to
yellow when selected)
7EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
Diagonal construction line
Isometric View
7. Draw circle We can now draw the circle at the center of the side of the pipe. A handy way to center the circle is to locate it at the midpoint of a diagonal construction line that connects endpoints.
8EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5
8. Extrude the circle Note that even through the circle cannot be seen in the view below (as it is inside the pipe), it can still be selected as the Profile.
Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
Select circle as Profile
9EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5
8. Finish the Sketch and Extrude the circle (continued) Use the following extrusion options:- Cut- Symmetric- Extents: All
Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
SymmetricCut
10EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a pipe with a hole through the side (continued)
Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of YZ Plane
9. Final Result
11EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Offset Work Planes Work planes can be created which are offset from any desired surface.Example: Create the part shown to the right using a work plane. Make all walls and the bottom of the model 0.125” thick.The basic steps are illustrated below, but are shown in more detail in the following slides.
Create basic solid
Add offset work plane
Add sketch plane, slice graphics, and
draw rectangle
Extrude (cut) rectangle
Final result
12EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)1) Create 2D Sketch of Front View2) Extrude to form basic solid (1.25” used in this example)
13EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)3) Add Work Plane
• Select Plane on the Ribbon• Select front plane of solid• Hold down left mouse button and slide the plane behind the face• Enter the offset distance (-0.125” in this case)
14EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)3) Add 2D Sketch to work plane just created4) Use Slice Graphics to only show solid features behind the plane5) Use Project Geometry to project key edges onto the work plane
Project Geometry used to project key edges
onto work plane
After adding 2D Sketch to Work Plane: After using Slice Graphics
15EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)6) Draw rectangle. Use dimensions to control two key distances from edges of solid model.
Rectangle and dimensions add to 2D Sketch
Isometric view
16EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)7) Finish the Sketch and Extrude the rectangle with the following options:
• Select Distance (1.25 – 0.125 – 0.125 = 1.00”)• Direction (behind plane)• Cut
Rectangle extruded to form box to be cut from model
Note that all walls and the
bottom are 0.125” thick
17EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)
Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of Work Plane
18EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Features in InventorRecall that Inventor models may contain various types of features, including:• Placed Features (no 2D Sketch required):
• Holes• Fillets• Threads• Chamfers• Etc
• Sketched Features (one or more 2D Sketches required):• Extrusion (based on one 2D Sketch)• Revolution (based on one 2D Sketch)• Sweep (based on two 2D Sketches) – to be covered next
19EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Swept FeaturesExtrusion – Used to project (or sweep) a profile along a linear path. Sweep – Used to sweep a profile along any path (a curved path, for example)A sweep is very useful for creating wires, tubing, etc., that follow some path. A swept feature in Inventor requires two sketches:• 2D path (along which the profile will be swept)• Profile (created in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane containing the 2D path)
Profile
Profile
Extrusion Sweep
Extrude profile along a linear path
Sweep along a sketched path
Path
20EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing (shown to the right) that follows a curved path using a sweep.
1. Add a 2D Sketch in the front view and create the following sketch (the required path):
21EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).
2. Turn on Visibility for the YZ (right) plane and add a 2D Sketch to this plane.3. Select Project Geometry and then select the lower part of the path so that you can tell where
it intersects the sketch plane.
• YZ plane made visible• 2D Sketch added to the YZ plane
Select Project Geometry from menu and then pick this line
22EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).
4. Add two circles to form the Profile. The center of the circles must be on the path. If a green dot does not appear then perhaps Project Geometry was not correctly used in the last step.
Add circles for Profile. Be sure that the Green Dot appears when locating the centers.
Draw circles from the
right view Or draw circles from the isometric view
23EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).
5. Finish the Sketch and Perform the Sweep• Select Sweep from the 3D Model menu• Select the Profile• Select the Path• Select OK
Profile
Path
Sweep appears after selecting the Profile and Path. Select OK to accept.
24EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example: Create a section of tubing that follows a curved path using a sweep (continued).
Final Result Final Result after turning off Visibility of YZ Plane
6. Final Result
25EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Additional examples using sweeps
26EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Additional example using a sweep
Triple-track window frame
27EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5ExampleThis simple desk lamp was created using an extrusion, a revolution, and a sweep.Which operation was used for each part? (Discuss and then see next slide for profiles.)
28EGR 110 – Inventor Lecture #5Example (continued)Which profiles were used for each operation?