Autodesk Inventor

[#1]

Has anyone figured this out?  This would be for standard, not custom cc parts.  I read that you can save a cc part file as a template with the G_L parameter set as fractions, and then use it to replace the family template in cc, but that doesn't work (or I'm doing it wrong).  It worked once, then stopped?  I know there has to be a way of doing this.

I tried exporting values from cc as custom iProps, then tried to populate description iProp with these, but that doesn't work.  The description iProp has to come directly from cc table I think.

Example: I want L's to have description: L2 x 2 x 3/16 x 2'-0 1/2"

Any ideas?

Inv 2013, Vault 2013 basic, Vaulted CC, I have admin rights.

[#2]

Anyone?  Autodesk?

[#3 · Accepted solution]

Okay, this is actually a REALLY long and involved process to do, and it's going to require you to create your own custom CC libraries, and then you're going to need to do the save as template thing as well.  This process is NOT documented by Autodesk in any way, shape or form that I am aware of, and it took me a couple solid weeks of searching through blogs and the help files to get all the disparate pieces to come together and make it work the way that I wanted it to.

First thing, do you know the difference between expressions used in an iPart table and expressions used in iProperties?  That's key.

Once you've created your custom CC library - and for this I just copied all the structural shape libraries to new libraries under my company's name - you're going to need to edit the table for it. 

My company uses Project.Description for the part description.  Inventor defaults to use ... I think it's the family name in that field?  You'll need to create a new column, which in my case I entitled "description."  Right click on the column header and edit the column properties in a manner similar to what I've shown here:

Note the format that I've got the expression in.  This is the format that iProperty expressions use.  The CC table will not recognize it as an expression, and will handle it as straight text.  When the part is generated, this text will be dropped into the iProperty Project.Description, where it will be recognized as an expression and evaluated as such. 

(Also, I should perhaps mention that this custom CC family is based on the ANSI L (Unequal Lengths) table, and other families may have somewhat different table contents and variables used.)

Once you've fixed all this stuff, click OK however many times and back out of the content center editor, and open up a part from this family with Open from Content Center.  Make sure you open it as custom, and remember where you saved your file to. 

Now that your part is open, open up the parameters menu.  It will look almost, but not quite exactly, like what I've got here.  (I'm still using something based on ANSI L (Unequal Lengths, and in this case the size is 3 x 2 x 1/4 angle, 36-1/8 long.)

Notice the parameters that I've got marked as KEY and EXPORT.  Mark those same parameters, or any others that you want to have show up in your BOM.

Then, one by one, you're going to right click on each parameter and open up CUSTOM PROPERTY FORMAT.  Edit the options to look like this below picture.  (I think you can also click "apply to existing comparable parameters and it will change all of them at once, but I'm set in my ways and usually do each one in turn so that I can be sure it got done right.)

Click OK however many times and get back to your part, then open up the iProperties.  Check the CUSTOM tab, and it should look like this:

Now click over to the PROJECT tab, and it should look more or less like this:

Note the "Fx" button next to the description field.  This shows that the DESCRIPTION iProperty is an expression, and the results shown are the results of evaluating that expression.  If you click the Fx button, you'll see the expression that is being evaluated, which should be what you put in your column in the family table.

(There's one other change that I'd make at this point, and that's the default BOM quantity.  You don't have to do it, but if you don't then you'll find a few unpleasant surprises in your BOM and Parts Lists.  Go to the TOOLS tab, open up DOCUMENT SETTINGS, then the BILL OF MATERIALS tab, and change the BASE QUANTITY to EACH.  Now, when you do a parts list, you'll see that you'll have Qty 2 of Angle, 2 x 3 x 1/4 x 24-1/2 and Qty 1 of Angle, 2 x 3 x 1/4 x 26, rather than Qty75" of *varies*.)

Okay, close out of all the iProperty windows, and save your file again.  You're almost done, but there's one important step left.  Right now, you've made some changes to the part - those Custom iProperties generated from Parameters - that are not going to be reflected in new parts generated from this CC family.

Go back to the content center editor, find the family that you've been working with, and right click on it.  Choose REPLACE FAMILY TEMPLATE.  Navigate to the part that you've been editing, and pick that.  Assuming that you've done everything right, you should now have fractions and whatnot in your iProperties, BOMs, Parts Lists, etc.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask me.

[#4]

Wow, that is involved.  I think I'd just accept the decimal units and call it Miller time. 

[#5]

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cbenner wrote:

Wow, that is involved.  I think I'd just accept the decimal units and call it Miller time. 

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I probably would have too, but delaying Miller time for a little bit to figure out how to do this once means that in the future I can get to Miller time early a lot. 

Also, I really hate setting up all my parts and then editing the BOM and then doing the drawings and then finding out that there's changes that need to be made and then having to go back and double check all the BOM entries to make sure that I updated everything.  Doing this means that I can just do Replace from Content Center and all the BOMs are automatically updated and I don't have to worry about making sure that SKU's, lengths, etc. all agree with the actual parts. 

[#6]

Thanks for posting this.  I've updated all of my structural steel with your method and it works great.

[#7]

LT Rusty, your the man.  Tried something similiar to this, but was unsuccessful.  I will try applying this as soon as I have time.  Thanks again!