Community
Inventor Forum
Welcome to Autodesk’s Inventor Forums. Share your knowledge, ask questions, and explore popular Inventor topics.
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

how to select all segments of a sketch

9 REPLIES 9
Reply
Message 1 of 10
AlcoCNC
2229 Views, 9 Replies

how to select all segments of a sketch

I am very new to all Autodesk software. I am currently doing a trial on Inventor 2013 and Solidworks 2013 to decide which sofetware is a better fit for my company. I am offsetting a very complex sketch by .002" and I want to delete the original. Clicking every line and radius does not make sense to me. Please help!

9 REPLIES 9
Message 2 of 10
Curtis_Waguespack
in reply to: AlcoCNC

Hi AlcoCNC,

 

When you are offsetting if you right-click and choose Loop Select, I think you'll get the result you're after.

 

Also, regardless of Inventor or Solidwoks using a simple sketch approach will help:

http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com/2011/03/inventor-101-simple-fully-constrained.html

 

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

Message 3 of 10
JDMather
in reply to: AlcoCNC

I don't think someone who is new to software can evaluate which is best for their company.

The workflow you describe doesn't sound correct to me for Inventor or for SolidWorks.

Attach information here on what you are trying to create and I can show you how it should be done in BOTH Inventor and SolidWorks.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 4 of 10
AlcoCNC
in reply to: Curtis_Waguespack

I uploaded this file as an example. I just drew it and did an offset to show what I need to do. It has far less segments than what I am working with. The black line is the original, the green is the offset. I need to be able to loop select the original so it can be deleted or moved or copied or whatever. In SW2013 right click allows "chain select". Am I missing a setting or does Inventor not have this ability? I am importing .DWG files that need modified before I do any solids work on them. I am leaning towards Inventor but this will add many hours of work to this project.

Message 5 of 10
JDMather
in reply to: AlcoCNC

Inventor also has Loop Select (right click - it should be the default setting).

But post a finished SolidWorks file.

I would not model like this in SolidWorks or Inventor.

Edit your Inventor sketch.
Right click and select Show All Constraints.

Inventor (or SolidWorks) has to simultaneously solve all of those constraints (relations).

It is almost always better to pattern simple features rather than sketch entities.

I would wager that there will be a better way (than offset) to do the part as well.

Attach a finished part (from any progarm) for suggestions on how to most efficiently model it in Inventor or SolidWorks.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 6 of 10
JDMather
in reply to: AlcoCNC


@AlcoCNC wrote:

 I am importing .DWG files....


I recommend that you forget using AutoCAD dwg files until you learn Inventor or SolidWorks.
Start from scratch.

Once most people learn Inventor or SolidWorks they don't fool with the dwg geometry anyhow unless it is particularly complex and unless they created it themselves and know it is correct geometry.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 7 of 10
AlcoCNC
in reply to: JDMather

I have around 1500 DWG files that have the correct geometry. I need to set up a 3D file to pull in that geometry, modify it and export what I labeled "end goal" in this file as a DWG. I understand the work flow to create 3D models in both programs and I will be using which ever software we purchase to create models of many differnt things. But, we are purchasing software to automate the modification of DWG files in this way. That is the purpose of getting 3D software. I can achive this with either Inventor or SW. I think Inventor will be a better fit for our Engineering department but I still have this problem of not being able to select a loop. "Loop select" is only an option when using "offset". I am just trying to find out how to select an entire loop without having to click every segment in the loop.

Message 8 of 10
Curtis_Waguespack
in reply to: AlcoCNC

Hi AlcoCNC,

 

Thanks for the example file, that helps us understand what you're needing to do a bit better. To answer your question about selection, there is not a Chain Select option to help you delete the imported sketch.

 

Please understand that the suggestions provided are with the best of intentions. With this in mind, I've provided a couple of examples based on the file you provided. Here are a few points to consider:

 

  • Firstly, if I was required to paste in from AutoCAD, I would simplify the sketch in AutoCAD as much as possible in that program first, or if I didn't have access to AutoCAD I'd clean up the sketch in Inventor before offsetting.
  • Secondly, I'd extrude the original profile to solid or surface, and then do the offset as a 3D feature and not as a sketch feature. With Inventor or Solidworks it is always best practice to keep sketches simple and repeat geometry as a 3D feature rather than in a 2D sketch. You want to eliminate dimensional inputs and sketch constraints as much as possible so that your model is quick to create and easy to update.
  • Finally, I'd pattern the feature (not the sketch). This makes updating the model as easy as just editing the number of occurences in the pattern feature.

Using this approach negates the need to chain select or delete any 2D sketches, and creates a 3D model that is robust an not likely to error out when you attempt to make a change.

 

I've attached a couple of example files, but of course I'm just guessing as to what you're end goal is. But hopefully these will help you think about your task in a more 3D friendly method.

 

Feel free to post back with questions, or a further description of the overall task, and I'm sure others will be happy to offer more suggestions. Keep in mind that the more example files or screen shots you can provide the more likely you'll get feedback.

 

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

Message 9 of 10

Hi AlcoCNC,

I just noticed your second attachment after posting my examples.

Attached here is something similar using the methods described earlier, note that I left the construction surfaces visible for illustration, but they can be turned off.

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

Message 10 of 10
JDMather
in reply to: AlcoCNC

BTW - You don't need the workplane to split the part - you can split it directly with Sketch3.

 

Split Part.JPG


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Autodesk Inventor 2019 Certified Professional
Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Certified Professional
Certified SolidWorks Professional


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Can't find what you're looking for? Ask the community or share your knowledge.

Post to forums  

Autodesk Design & Make Report