Default for Inventor 2015 is DWG

[kstate92]

http://beinginventive.typepad.com/being-inventive/2014/04/dwg-the-default-file-type-for-inventor-201...

Anyone else see this posting?  I assume this was done for a reason.  Perhaps the starting point of phasing out the idw format?

[Ray_Feiler]

I hope not. Could be just another nail in the coffin for us.

[mcgyvr]

Has anyone seen any concrete info on why one would choose one vs the other?

All I know is that I don't like dwg because thats what Autocad uses and #2 an Inventor drawing saved as a DWG is larger in size than an exact drawing saved in IDW format..

That setting has been in the application options for years now.. I really think Autodesk has an internal "rule" that X amount of default settings must be modified/touched each year..

[kstate92]

I just wonder if the long-term plan (and I mean like 3-4 years out) is to integrate AutoCAD and Inventor (and Fusion) together.

[Ray_Feiler]

Those are the only two reasons we use IDW.

[mrattray]

Your link is broken. I think this is what you wanted: http://beinginventive.typepad.com/being-inventive/2014/04/dwg-the-default-file-type-for-inventor-201...

The primary reason we use IDW here is to avoid confusion between Inventor files and AutoCAD files. We still use AutoCad very heavily and have oodles of legacy data. Also, many of our customers expect to recieve approval drawings in AutoCAD format. In these cases I save an export of the Inventor idw as dwg in the same folder with the same name (the drawing number). I would be extremely agravated if I lost the easy differentiation.

[dgorsman]

Try doing a P&ID or electrical schematic in Inventor.  🙂  Not everything is a mechanical design, nor is it even a physical object.

[mrattray]

I've done electric schematics in Inventor before. I decided afterwards that it was easier in AutoCAD; but it really wasn't that bad in Inventor, either.

[mcgyvr]

I used Autocad for 5+ years doing double sided/multilayer PCB layout (routing traces/holes,etc..)... Boy was that an absolute PITA... 

I NEVER understood why Autodesk would try to move people to DWG extension for Inventor..

DWG is Autocad..

IDW is Inventor..

That should be set in stone like the 10 Commandments for all you "sinners" out there.. 

If you want to be able to open Inventor drawings in Autocad then allow Autocad to open/access IDW files.. DON'T make them the same extension.. 

[jletcher]

Soon Inventor will be Autocad..........

 Everyone is asking for it go read all the idea section post.........

  But at least in 2015 they stayed with the goal of added clicks....

Boy do I miss Inventor......

[pcrawley]

Like most things in Inventor, there are some good reasons to do things a particular way.  The DWG/IDW discussion is no different.  (File-size is clearly not one of them though!)

Firstly:  In Inventor, there's no immediately apparent difference in behaviour or functionality between the two.  So there's little opportunity for complaint there.  If you're an IDW fan, you probably don't even have a DWG template anyway.

Next:  In an Inventor DWG, you can right-click a view and move it to "Modelspace" - the first noticeable difference between the two formats.  This means that the view will appear in modelspace when you open it in AutoCAD.  Typically, when you open an Inventor DWG you only get to see data in Paperspace (I know you can change that - I'm just talking defaults).  By making your object available in Modelspace you actually get some geometry you can utilise in other AutoCAD drawings, use for XREF's, or "steal" (using Design Centre) etc.

Lastly:  This isn't a "reason" to use Inventor DWG's, it's just a fact... The Inventor DWG is identified by Windows in a different way to an AutoCAD DWG, so if you use the double-click from Windows Explorer method of file management (yuck), you'll still get the correct application start up.

Glad to see jletcher has taken his negativity pills again today.  My mother once told me that if I didn't have anything useful to say, then I shouldn't say anything at all.

I don't have a problem with using DWG's or IDW's.  I prefer IDW's just because they look different in Windows Explorer.  The fact that Inventor 2015 has defaulted to DWG's shouldn't be that big a deal anyway - not for those who have structured their Project fles, Design Data, Templates etc.  Those people will notice during their testing period and make an educated decision about what they should do.  For those who just "bung it on" and start bashing out drawings - will they even know - or care?

[LT.Rusty]

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@dgorsman wrote:

Try doing a P&ID ... in Inventor.  🙂  Not everything is a mechanical design, nor is it even a physical object.

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Been there done that.  And then stopped trying and used AutoCAD P&ID instead.  *shudder*

[jletcher]

1st off Peter you don't know me, nothing in any of my post are negative I am stating the facts and truth.

 Go look in the idea section everyone is asking for things in autocad to be in Inventor. 2nd the main reason you will lose IDW is because of that. The way Inventor does drawings will not allow some of the functions everyone in the idea section is asking for in the drawing environment. So my guess is they will move to DWG to get what everyone is asking for or maybe a blend of the two but it will change...

  I can understand that American is going in the tubes but I still have freedom of opinion..

I would say that is a bad saying I was always told those that say nothing get nothing and anything is useful in a conversation negative or positive...

[Ray_Feiler]

(File-size is clearly not one of them though!)

Locally Gigabytes / Terabytes = yes

Nationally Petabytes / Exabytes = maybe

Globally Zettabytes / Yottabyes = not so much

[brian.cranston]

We switched to Inventor DWG when it first arrived and never looked back.  The ability to feed downstream AutoCAD users automatically was the biggest reason.  We have press programmers (sheetmetal) and vendors that can open our DWG directly instead of asking an Inventor user to convert to some other format.  When you open an Inventor DWG in AutoCAD (or LT), all they have to do is insert the desired view block into modelspace and off they go. The second reason to switch is to give non CAD users the ability to view in Trueview instead of the ultra basic Inventor Viewer.

I do have to educate new users and vendors using the following paragraph.  I have an email template ready to go when the question arises.

"Most of our design work is done in Autodesk Inventor and we leverage the Inventor DWG file for drawings.  If you send them one of our recent drawings, it is probably an Inventor DWG file.  These files will open in any AutoCAD package, but the geometry will not be editable.  However, each view is stored as a block in AutoCAD.  Once the end user opens the file in AutoCAD, they should use the “INSERT” command to select the desired view and then “EXPLODE” it to start working with the geometry."

-Brian Cranston

LSI Industries

Design Engineer/CAD Admin

[jletcher]

Wow look at that they are doing a survey on IDW vs DWG..

 Who would have known LOL...

To many ideas asking for Autocad tools in Inventor so it will be Autocad..

 Just don't understand why. They could have just made Autocad parametric instead of making Inventor and turning it into Autocad..

 Could of saved billions in development..

[Curtis_Waguespack]

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jletcher wrote:

They could have just made Autocad parametric ...

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Hi jletcher,

Just as an FYI, AutoCAD has had parametric abilities since 2010:

http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/acadblog/autocad-tutorial-use-parametric-constraints-to-constrain-mo...

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[jletcher]

I was thinking more for dimensions and formulas but yes it does have the constraints..

  Was happy to see this when added to Autocad..

[kstate92]

Then there's this:

http://www.autodesk.com/suites/autocad-design-suite/included-software

Which was in a Design News Product Info email about Morgan Motor Company.

Notice anything missing?

[Curtis_Waguespack]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I was thinking more for dimensions and formulas but yes it does have the constraints..

  Was happy to see this when added to Autocad..

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Hi jletcher,

You can add forumals to dimensions/parameters in AutoCAD also:

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WS73099cc142f48755-1257e12111bf108800e3e42.htm,topicNumber=d0e58939

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com