Creating Custom Profile Notch- Frame Generator

[amarinXG8V6]

Good morning everyone,

We design structural systems that utilize HSS tube members. In order to reduce confusion and "jigging" time for the welders we have created interlocking features for the commonly used tube members. The frames we create are 3 dimensional by nature and require what I will call "cross members" in either height, width or length of the framed assembly. The intent is to use Frame Generator to create the different frames we produce since we provide a custom product. I was able to author a couple of structural shapes that take care of the corner conditions as those are the same every time (2 interlocking features in the corners that fit together). I called the corner conditions Notch style A and Notch style B. These didn't require me to define custom notches as I built the notches into the parts and simply authored a style A and style B end condition frame member. The part that I'm having a hard time with is defining a custom profile notch for the "cross members". Since these members can be virtually anywhere in the frame assembly, ideally I would like to be able to define the custom notch condition in the cross member. Where ever the cross member goes, the custom notch follows. The problem is that the custom notch has 2 profiles. One is used to create the custom notch in the cross member itself and the other is used to create the cut in the frame member that is perpendicular to the cross member. Is this something that I can do with frame generator? Essentially have (2) custom notch profiles defined in 1 HSS member that cuts the custom notch profile in both the member that it is defined in as well as the other members that it ties to. 

Note that I'm drawing the frame skeleton via the center points of the HSS members.

[Gabriel_Watson · Accepted solution]

I think you're only allowed to have one custom notch per frame type. And in setting a custom notch you can also pick a smaller or different profile than the section of that part. So, if you set your custom notch for the cross members to apply to other parts the way you want, you can also set a different notch profile for the frame members. Then you would need to apply the notch twice to test this out.
See the video below on how to configure custom notching, and see if you can get a simple testing done. I believe it should work because the custom notch disregards the overlapping area... it only cares about the profile that needs to be cut. Therefore you can cut one side, then cut the other side.
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor/learn-explore/caas/screencast/Main/Details/20246014-...

[amarinXG8V6]

Thank you for the video link! That is also what I was thinking. I was able to get it to work on the tube frame that I was working on however I will apply this double custom notch logic to some aluminum framing that I will need to work on. When I tried to do this double notch concept of the tube frame I had issues because the cross tubes could be intersecting the traversing tube in all 3 axis. What I ended up doing was authoring the cross tube with the end condition built in and then only created the custom notch on the cross tube for cutting the traversing tube. So everywhere that the cross tube was placed, I could add a custom notch in the traversing tube. This worked great.

[Gabriel_Watson]

Nice, thanks for explaining how things worked out in the end. I just thought there would be no issue with the multi-axis intersections, as the notch tool always seems to cut without looking at the orientation. The problem why this may have not worked might be because the traversing tubes are sometimes intersecting the cross tubes at a region that's not their "tip". Anyhow, it's hard for me to elaborate further without testing myself. If you say it did work best the other way around, I'll believe that.

[EdvinTailwind]

This link is no longer working, do you know if it's available elsewhere?

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/inventor/learn-explore/caas/screencast/Main/Details/20246014-...