Editing Inventor Surface in Alias

[jeremy.cui]

Hello, New to Inventor as well as Alias. I have having a hard time with editing the form of a surface in inventor, sorry I don't have any pictures or files, but I will do my best to explain.

the surface (spacecraft concept) I got from someone was created in Inventor and was made by lofting 4 sketches. But now I am trying to find a way to add more control points or a nurbs hull with many control vertices, since the only way I know to change the shape is by playing around with the 4 sketches.

I imported the surface ipt into Alias, but I can't seem to figure out how to edit the form or add a hull around the model.

Also, is there a way to add nurbs control points in Alias then import it back into Inventor to work with it further?

[ravenzep]

Hi there and welcome,

As you have probably noticed, Alias and Inventor, although brothers, are 2 very distinct applications, and each  has its own particular use.

Inventor is what is known as a MCAD application (parametric solid modelling) and Alias is a freeform surfacing  application.

So, in practice, and relating to a car, Inventor would be best suited to design for example the power train (engine, transmission, mechanical components) whereas Alias would be used for the exterior car surfaces and interior trim.

Why is that, you may ask? Well, for exterior surfacing (the car panels), one would want the best possible quality surfaces, as the tiniest of imperfections would show up easily to the  naked eye from reflections, for example. Alias is therefore the adequate application to achieve that....Mega smooth surfaces, perfection.

On the other hand, engines are not visible, so the need for "perfection" wouldnt really make sense. Parameterization, is also welcome for such things, so  that you could change  the diameter of a hole easily without having to redesign everything back again, etc etc.

Now, delving into what you are asking, as you probably figured out already, alias can import native inventor files, and inventor can import native alias wire files. Hence, no translation is needed between both programs (STEP, Iges, DVA, etc).

To add CV hulls in alias, check OBJECT EDIT / INSERT, and chose SPAN option. Then click in the area in the model where you want those extra new CVs to be. And that s about it.

I hope this helped.

P.S. Have a look on youtube about importing alias files in inventor, because there are a couple of options you should be aware of. Both programs communicate pretty well between them.

Good luck and have fun !

[jeremy.cui]

Awesome, I got it working. Thanks for the info and the advice!

[ravenzep]

You're welcome 😉