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: 

"The attempted operation did not produce a meaningful result."

53 REPLIES 53
Reply
Message 1 of 54
str8zstar
13790 Views, 53 Replies

"The attempted operation did not produce a meaningful result."

Getting the dreaded "The attempted operation did not produce a meaningful result. Try with different inputs." error. At first it was just if I tried to extrude something (in a weldment currently but seems to do it across the board). It was also giving me the error when I tried to Place a Content Center file. It said it couldn't build the extrusion and gave me a red cross. I'm baffled by this error since it seemed to just start here and there, so I'd reboot IV and it would usually work for at least a while. Now, it's doing it for pretty much every operation I try (except constraints, it seems). Such a weird deal, I wonder if anyone has come across this before? I thought it was a Graphics Card issue from my experience in the past, but could it also be a software issue?

 

I'm running Inventor Pro 2013 on an HP xw8600 Workstation with Windows 7 SP1 64-bit. Intel Xeon 3GHZ CPU, 8 GB of RAM, NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600 Graphics Card with 768MB GDDR3 RAM.

 

Any suggestions?

 

I've attached the extruding & Content Center errors as well.

Tags (1)
53 REPLIES 53
Message 2 of 54
JDMather
in reply to: str8zstar

Attach a file here that exhibits this behavior.

 

Usual error is cut direction simply needs to be flipped, but your description sounds like it might be a bit more involved than that.

 

Also I have seen behavior similar to this if there is any corrupt geometry within any part in an assembly.

Go to Manage>Rebuild All (usually can narrow down a suspect file rather than having to check every one).

Dragging the EOP up and down forces a rebuild as well.

 

I am betting this is the problem in your case.


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


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 3 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: JDMather

It wasn't a specific file but something that seemed to be occuring across the board. It was in just about every file in the project I'm working on. I didn't try a wide sample set to see how far the error went, though I probably should of.

 

Though I don't think it's causing the problem, the project I'm working in is an old legacy "Shared" project type. I know, I know. It was done that way before I joined the company. If I could mass change them all to Single user projects, I would.

 

I know this is kind of a vague question but I put it out there to see if anyone could point right to the cause of the error.

 

P.S. The file I was working on specifically was a weldment .iam. How would I attach that to this posting anyways?

 

Thanks for your help!

Message 4 of 54
JDMather
in reply to: str8zstar


@str8zstar wrote:

 It was in just about every file in the project

 

P.S. The file I was working on specifically was a weldment .iam. How would I attach that to this posting anyways?


 

Hopefully it isn't a problem with your install of Inventor.
If there is a bad file anywhere referenced in any way by this project then I guessing from past experience that it could be the culprit.
Often the first and easiest step to see if it is a bad corrupt install or if it is a corrupt file is to attach the file(s) here to see if others can reproduce the issue with the same dataset.
The easiest way to attach an assembly here is to File>Save As Pack and Go (strip all of the extraneous stuff out of the resulting folder).  Then right click on the folder and select Send to Compressed (zipped) Folder. Attach the resulting *.zip file here.  If the *.zip file is too large (>1.5Meg) then open the larger part files and drag the red End of Part Marker to the top of the browser hiding all features.  Save the file with the EOP in this rolled up state (it will be much smaller) then zip and attach.

You other option is to search Google for Autodesk Clean Uninstall instructions and re-install Inventor.  But if the problem is somewhere in the project rather than in Inventor.....

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


The CADWhisperer YouTube Channel


EESignature

Message 5 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: JDMather

Ok, so I've tried a few things in the past few weeks and here's where I sit now.

 

  • I've essentially ruled out the PC being the problem. I just upgraded to a 16GB Thinkpad with a 2GB NVIDIA Quadro K1000M Video Card.
  • With the new laptop, I put a fresh install of Inventor Pro '13 on it as well.
  • Also upgraded to SP1.1 just today.

With each step, the problem didn't occur for the first little bit. Then it gradually started creeping back again. I'm fairly convinced now that it's the files themselves but I don't know what to do. Like I said, I've been working in this project since May 2012 and haven't gotten these errors until just after this past Christmas. Which initially led me to believe it was a hardware issue, not software.

 

I'm attaching an assembly I was recently working in (110070) that consistently gave me these errors. But like I said, once I get the error in one assembly/part, it doesn't matter which assembly/part I go into, the error is pervasive across the entire software. I can't do any destructive or additive operations to the geometry. I can't even import Content Center files when it gets to that point. I have to close down Inventor and restart. And after a while, it will do it all over again. The assembly I attached has two CC steel rod's floating in space. When I first tried to place them it gave me the error, saying it couldn't model the Body of the part.

 

In the attached assembly, I moved the EOP up on several of the parts to get the file size under 1.5MB like was suggested so you'll need to fix that when you open it. Also, one thing I don't think I mentioned in the previous posts was that the company I work for has used Shared "legacy" projects in Inventor since way back when. Every file was made in a Shared project type. No one uses them for what they were originally intended (an early version of Vault), so it's basically just a massive annoyance.

 

I would love, love, love to implement Vault here. I've rolled it out at several companies that I've work for in the past and feel it's the optimal way to work with Inventor across several users. However, the time that it would take to get every one of these files switched to just Single-user project types would take forever. The file structure here leaves much to be desired and unfortunately we're too busy to do anything about it right now. Such is life, eh? I've looked for a program to batch switch the project-types over but have had no luck so far.

 

Any assistance is much appreciated.

 

Regards,

Ryan

Message 6 of 54
frank.gavilar
in reply to: str8zstar

I'm currently having the same problem. After a while in assembly's and parts my inventor doesn't allow me to create new features or change old ones. It just says "The attempted operation did not produce a meaningful result." Also while trying to edit features the preview function will not display. This happens to all features I try to use. Untill I reboot the system.

 

Has anyone solved this yet?

 

Start a new sketch in a part.

Draw 2 circles

Exit sketch

Try to extrude the space between the 2 cicles to create a tube.

I can only select the inner or the outer cicle

And it won't extrude.

 

I'm using Inventor 2013 on a HP Z620 Intel Xeon workstation with a Quadro 4000 graphics card.

 

Would really like this problem solved my workflow is in shambles right now.

Message 7 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: frank.gavilar

Glad to know I'm not the only one in the Discussion Groups with this issue, though I'm sorry to hear it's affecting you too, Frank. I have spent the better part of 5 months trying to tackle this error, including extensive back and forth with Autodesk's Support department. We think we have the issue narrowed down to a few potential culprits but I'd love to hear the exact setup you have going there. Anything abnormal with the files or projects you're working in?

 

We ruled out my PC (got a new one), RAM (doubled it from 8GB to 16GB) and the install of Inventor (reinstalled 3 different times). I also changed the project type from the legacy "Shared" type to standard "Single User". We then figured it must be corrupted files in the assembly, so I began rebuilding potential problem assemblies. After rebuilding several major assemblies I seemed to get the error less, but still got it after certain assemblies were opened. Once a "problem" assembly was opened, I had to shut down Inventor to clear the error from any file or project or extrude/cut anything in any file or project that I opened in that instance of Inventor.

 

So after 5 months of debugging, testing and rebuilding files, Autodesk still hasn't fully come up with a solution for this issue. My Support Tech did his best and has now handed the problem off to the Autodesk Development team. I'm still waiting to hear back from them. But at least I have confidence that it's a major issue and not something stupid I overlooked or wasn't aware of. 

 

I personally think the error is coming from one of two places. It seems to be introduced when I have an assembly open that has a complex weldment lofted flange in it. I rebuilt this file from the original but still seem to be having issues with it. It's a "transition" shape that is rolled from two mirrored pieces of sheet metal and then welded together. So to model that accurately in Inventor, I did one lofted flange for the entire shape and then cut it in two and saved each half off as a different part number. My Support Tech said there have been issues with doing similar operations in weldments in the past.

 

It could also be coming from some old legacy files that a lot of our assemblies here call out. These files were originally created in Mechanical Desktop and then converted to Inventor .iam's and .ipt's. I rebuilt many of these files in my "problem" assemblies but who knows. 

 

At any rate, just know that Autodesk Development should (hopefully) be taking care of this. I'll pass along any nuggets of info I can glean from them (if they ever get to my issue). In the meantime, let me know if you have anything out of the ordinary going on with your projects or files.

 

Thanks!

Ryan

Message 8 of 54
tsreagan
in reply to: str8zstar

I ran into the same thing about a 9 months ago,  whenever I activated a particular project, and opened a particular assembly, most of the inventor tools used form then on had errors.  Even starting a brand new part,  creating a simple bisected rectangle and trying to extrude it.

 

I chalked it up to a corrupt assembly, or project.  A restart fixed it untill the suspect assembly was opened again.  Then everything would go screwwy again.

 

So I grabbed what i needed out of that project, created a new one,  and never opened the evil assebmly again.

 

 

The original thread,  looks like an identical problem.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Autodesk-Inventor/Inventor-2013-Strange-Errors-even-after-re-install/m...

 

T.S.

Message 9 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: tsreagan

 


tsreagan wrote:

I ran into the same thing about a 9 months ago,  whenever I activated a particular project, and opened a particular assembly, most of the inventor tools used form then on had errors.  Even starting a brand new part,  creating a simple bisected rectangle and trying to extrude it.


 

Yup, sounds about right. It all goes back to a problem assembly. The key will be figuring out what is wrong with these particular assemblies/files that is causing the error. I gave my suspicisions in my reply to Frank earlier. It definitely isn't a graphics card issue (which seems to be what other users are quick to point to). It must just be a 2013 thing as well. I only started to received the errors in 2013. Hoping 2014 will fix these problems!

 

 

Message 10 of 54
tsreagan
in reply to: str8zstar

The only thing of note, is that my problem assembly was LARGE.  It had a lot of step surface imports, that came in with 5000 or so seperate/complex face entities.

 

If others are only seeing this on large complex assemblies, then that may help narrow the problem further.

 

T.S.

Message 11 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: tsreagan

Yes, my master assembly is over 2,000 parts so that could definitely be the issue (or exacerbate the issue). The inclusion of step files is interesting as well. I have quite a few that were converted from step and I believe the MDT files were converted in a similar manner to get them Inventor ready.

 

Has anyone tried to replicate the error in 2014 yet? I don't have 2014 installed.

 

I'll be sure to include some of this information in an email to the Autodesk Support Tech. Hopefully they fix this issue in future releases/service packs!

 

Thanks,

Ryan

Message 12 of 54
Mark_Wigan
in reply to: str8zstar

i will test your files in inv 2014 and let you know what happens.

 

the only time i see that error in 2012-2013 was in a simple part, and all i had to do was fli pit, finish edit, edit and flip back again. only happened once every few weeks, and the parts were not very old.

 

ps- i am curious, have you usually got "enable quick file open" turned on in your application options... if so can you try it without this option turned on?

best regards,
- Mark

(Kudo or Tag if helpful - in case it also helps others)

PDSU 2020 Windows 10, 64bit.

Message 13 of 54
Mark_Wigan
in reply to: Mark_Wigan

i tested on inv 2014, and all seems well.

 

tested in single user, save / replace all parts to get copies of files to be able to save no problems...

 

tested in a shared project. i did a steal checkout on files ok, place content centre parts into assy ok (fasteners and steel members), extrude several cuts into parts from inside part or assembly cuts in the assy no problems.

 

i didn't see the evil message once.

 

i just uninstalled my 2012 and 2013 otherwise i would test on that as well. but maybe others could test on both 2013 and 2014 for us?

 

ps- str8zstar

would you like me to drop these files into a dropbox for you so that others can get them and not have to be concerned with shared files and rolling EOP back down? (my test files will be 2014 version now though) .

 

 

 

 

best regards,
- Mark

(Kudo or Tag if helpful - in case it also helps others)

PDSU 2020 Windows 10, 64bit.

Message 14 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: Mark_Wigan

Thanks, Mark.

 

I'm actually going about installing 2014 now. Hadn't had a chance to nab it from the Subscription Center yet.

 

Feel free to do what you'd like with the files. Autodesk has a good sampling of my "problem" files that they've been testing independently. 

 

I'll let the group know what I find when I test my files in 2014.

 

Thanks,

Ryan

Message 15 of 54
frank.gavilar
in reply to: str8zstar

I currently have 2 assemblies where I encounter the problem. One with >100 parts and one with about >250 parts. Consisting of a mix of selfmade parts sheetmetal parts, imported step files, imported inventor files from traceparts and content center files. I haven't had time to allocate the culprit parts. The two assemblies are quite different and don't use the same parts. Appart from a few fillets there is not a lot of Free form modelling happening in the assemblies.

 

Does rebuilding an assembly with the same parts solve the problem?

 

Keep up the good work and let me know if 2014 fixes anything.

Message 16 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: frank.gavilar

Frank,

You can use Task Scheduler to try to pin point which files are giving you the issue. Here's the Wiki on Task Scheduler if you're unfamiliar:

 

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Inventor/enu/2014/Help/1283-Inventor1283/3922-Task_Sch3922/3923-Get_sta...

 

I hadn't ever really used TS in the past but it proved very helpful when I was in the thick of getting these errors.

 

Still working on getting IV14 installed. Having some issues.

Message 17 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: frank.gavilar

I didn't have much luck rebuilding assembiles by themselves. I had to rebuild individual parts, unfortunately. I rebuilt parts manuallly that Task Scheduler couldn't rebuild. Take a look at the log file that it spits out and tackle each file that it can't rebuild and see if that gets you anywhere.
Message 18 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: frank.gavilar

Got Inventor 2014 up and running. Unfortunately, there was no change with the error. Since the Development team has awareness of this issue now, I'm hoping it's something they can roll into a SP or hotfix for 2014.

 

I'm going to forward this discussion to the Support Tech I was dealing with and let him know that others are experiencing the same issue. Up until my report of the issue, I don't think they had any awareness this was happening.

 

Let me know if there are any more developments.

 

Regards,

Ryan

Message 19 of 54
johnsonshiue
in reply to: str8zstar

Hi! The error message indicates Inventor encounters trouble when trying to perform modeling operation. The requested geometry cannot be made for some reason. It could be a legitimate error due to bad geometry or errorenous input. Or, it could be the modeling operation is not doing something correctly.

If you can share the files with me, I can take a further look and see where the exact problem is. I can set up a secure server for you to upload. Send me an email (johnson.shiue@autodesk.com) if you are interested.

Thanks!

 

 



Johnson Shiue (johnson.shiue@autodesk.com)
Software Test Engineer
Message 20 of 54
str8zstar
in reply to: johnsonshiue

Great, I'll email you shortly. Thanks!

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

Post to forums  

Autodesk Design & Make Report