Expanded parts libraries for Inventor similar to Revit, incl. aluminum and wood?

[jf.monod]

Hi all !

Some time ago I bought a set of plans for a hobby DIY CNC machine which used dimensional lumber and aluminum stock in the build. (see here: http://web.archive.org/web/20170514144544/http://solsylva.com/cnc/rack_pinion.shtml)

I wanted to use these plans to teach myself either Inventor or Solidworks (no opinion on either) and see if I could modify it with a 12" longer y axis and analyze what that change would do. The Y axis is a 6" aluminum C-Channel and so 12" more of it + the longer pipe rails etc etc would add a lot of weight, requiring larger steppers, larger belts etc... I also wanted to see how much extra force the added weight would exert on the wood table.

The thing is, I am an architect, not a mechanical engineer and I use Autodesk Revit. Revit has a comprehensive library of structural sections in steel, aluminum and wood with their physical properties. Which is why I was very surprised that Inventor didn't seem to have them. It has steel, but not aluminum and certainly not wood. After spending some time figuring out how to make these parts from scratch this project lost steam because life got in the way and I had to spend way to much time doing my actual job. But if I wanted to pick this up again, does anyone know how I can download the libraries of standard aluminum and wood lumber members for Inventor to give this another go ? Does anyone know if Solidworks has this stuff either ? I imagine these things may have improved since 2011 ? Maybe ?

Thanks.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Inventor is primarily for mechanical design. We do have users leveraging Inventor for architecture. It is true that Inventor does not have as extensive pre-defined architecture related objects like Revit. You will need to either create the custom library yourself or create the parts from scratch.

On Inventor 2021, there is a new workflow allowing users to link to a Revit rvt file. When the geometry in rvt changes, Inventor will update accordingly. I am not sure if you could leverage this workflow.

Many thanks!

[jf.monod]

Thanks but that was not my question. I don’t want to use Inventor to do architecture. I was just using Revit libraries as an example. I want to use Inventor to build the machine in the link I posted. Which involves using aluminum and wood. My question was why there are no libraries of standard aluminum and wood sections in inventor similar to the steel ones ? Have you guys never used an aluminum L-angle or bar stock before ?

[JDMather · Accepted solution]

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@jf.monod wrote:

1. ... a comprehensive library of structural sections in steel, aluminum and wood with their physical properties.

2. ... It has steel, but not aluminum and certainly not wood.

3. ...how I can download the libraries of standard aluminum and wood lumber members for Inventor to give this another go ?

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1. Have you Experimented with the Frame Generator (and/or Content Center) in Inventor?

2. I suspect that if you set the Autodesk Material Library as your active Material Library - you will find many aluminum and wood materials listed.

3. For any structural profiles that aren't already in the library - I simply add my own, for example, 2 x lumber....
...for use in the Frame Generator.