topic Bolted connection to slots in Inventor Forum

Bolted connection to slots

IB55 — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 19:46:53 GMT

It is very common to have slots instead of holes for expansion or adjustability of the connection. Can inventor design bolted connection through slots?

Re: Bolted connection to slots

blair — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 21:06:07 GMT

I guess you could use the Linear option

Re: Bolted connection to slots

blandb — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 19:27:42 GMT

This is kind of a cheating way of doing it, but you could make a circular cut at the center of your slot that is just say a .001 larger than the slot. Then you could use the "Concentric" method using the circular cut-out as the reference. Just a thought.

Re: Bolted connection to slots

blair — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 19:49:22 GMT

Or use at a Point but as with the sketch, they both add geometry to the model. Most likely, you will have a hole on the other side of your model so I would use it to "anchor" the hole.

The Bolted connection does require starting and ending planes and then a location point, I've never seen very many slot/slot connections.

Re: Bolted connection to slots

IB55 — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 20:40:16 GMT

Blandb that is a very good trick, not exactly what I was looking for but your idea can be very useful. I was more hoping to get some ideas how to customise bolted connection tool so it will create slot (or slots) in bolted parts. If I have to create slots in addition to the bolted connection then all the productivity associated with the bolted connection is lost.
Thank you all for your ideas and suggestions.

Re: Bolted connection to slots

LukeEngineering — Thu, 11 May 2023 09:52:10 GMT

For anyone comming here through g00gle.

Use the Joint feature, or if you don't want any joints in you assembly:

In the part with the slot: Make a Work Feature point with the "Center Point of Loop of Edges".

In the assembly: Put your bolt/washer at the plane with a constrain and then add a constraint to the centerline of the bolt and the specified point.

It still is some work to add all the points.