Unable to extrude sketch

[Kyle.Sullivan]

I am relatively new to Inventor and I keep running into this similar issue I am hoping someone can help me with. 

Sometimes after I have created a sketch I can not extrude it, sometimes it wont let me click on the profile, other times it will only let me cut away material not add it like I would like.  I am sure it has something to do with something fundamental I am doing wrong within the sketch, but I am not sure what. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

I have attatched an example of a sketch that I can not get to extrude. 

[JDMather · Accepted solution]

Your first sketch is not constrained or making use of obvious symmetry about the origin.

You might start by reading this

http://home.pct.edu/~jmather/skillsusa%20university.pdf

WorkPlane 3 is not needed.

WorkPlane 5 is not needed.

Other sketches are not constrained.

Sketch12 is sick (and I seldom ever use Projected Loops).  In this case I might use projected loop, but I often change any projections to construction and then trace overtop.  Then if something goes sick it is easier to fix. (and I know the geometry I create will actually work)

...also install Service Pack 1

[Kyle.Sullivan]

I actually just did read through that. Very helpful document. The main issue with this sketch is that I wanted to reference the bottom of the part, and the inside wall. I used the project geometry feature. Is this the only way to achieve this?  When ever I try to select the inner tab the it will only select the base of the referenced geometry. 

[Kyle.Sullivan]

I just noticed you second half of post. I will try that now, thank you for your help. 

[JDMather]

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@Kyle.Sullivan wrote:

I just noticed you second half of post. I will try that now, thank you for your help. 

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I recommend you start this one over - it is simple and will only take you 5 minutes to redo it correctly.

[Kyle.Sullivan]

I'd like to start over, but the suppressed snap fits you see fit precisely to another part and I would rather not go back and re-edit making these. 

This part and its sub-assembly were my first real part in inventor. I have definitely learned a lot since the beginning of this one that I would do differently. 

[JDMather]

When you do start over Project Geometry edges (lines) as points or Project Cut Edges.

or

put it all in sketches before you begin.

In most of my parts or at least for most geometry, all of the features can be delete without having any effect on the sketches.

If you do the tutorials in my signature you see I provide all the sketches to basically finish the part - and yet no features except for a random workplane (and these were done before I knew how to use Inventor).

[Kyle.Sullivan]

I will take a look at those, thank you. 

On a similar note, do you know of a resource that says what all the different colors of the sketches mean? Like, green- unconstrained, blue-fully constrained, ect. ?

One of my sketch dimensions is now pink?  What does this mean? Where can I find out more about the colors?

[JDMather]

Spoiler

Light color - unconstrained (and check lower left corner of screen).

Dark color - fully constrained (and ckech lower left corner of screen).

The actual colors are dependent on you Application Options settings.

Pink is sick (and note the i in circle in the browser).

If you follow the tips in that paper you should rarely ever see sick sketches.

[JDMather]

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@Kyle.Sullivan wrote:

 I would rather not go back and re-edit making these. 

This part and its sub-assembly were my first real part in inventor. I have definitely learned a lot since the beginning of this one that I would do differently. 

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I have been using this program for several years now and I still almost always start over 2 or 3 times on all part as I find that is faster than trying to work around the flawed thinking that I started out with.

If I still follow this workflow, I recommend as a beginner you do the same.

Some of my students will work for weeks on a project.

I tell them to start over.
They resist (too much work already involved and the assignment is do tomorrow).

In a last ditch effort they start over the night before expecting to just turn in what they already had done.

But they find out that the weeks of work repeated in hours - and without all of the mistakes they learned the first time through. 

This one could be constrained to the origin easily - but I recommend you start over.

[NRsutar]

I am having same problem.Can you please check the link.Its not working.

[JDMather]

1. You have replied to an ancient (in computer software years) thread.  You should have started a new thread and linked to this thread if there is useful information.

2. You should attach your *.ipt file here so that others can diagnose your problem.