Inventor 2014 Wish List?

[FProcp]

Maybe the sketch environment could be a little tidier?

1 - I think by default the constraint icons should be smaller so they don’t pile up on top of each other and you can’t see what they are. They appear to be much neater and easier to read in SW?

2 - In the attached sketch it shows there are 3 dimensions needed even though the lines are now dark blue in color showing they are constrained. They are really not fully constrained because the length of both those lines can be changed.

I think there should be a symbol to show those line end points are not locked down. I have drawn “x” marks on those lines to show that. Maybe that or something else would be enough to quickly show not locked. Sometimes on complex sketches I spend much time searching for lines that don’t have their ends locked to fully constrain the sketch. I often use automatic dimension to find where those naughty lines are but an x on the end would be much faster.

The sketch environment is the basic backbone of the entier program and it needs to be perfect. 

[Anonymous]

I wish I didnt have to click so many times to enter a tolerance. Attach the tolerance window to the dimension value input box.

[dan_inv09]

Both of these I've run into recently.

I tried using the punch tool but the obround does not allow you to input the values, it's just whatever sizes the person who created it had on hand or something.

And the other idea:

Constraining the last item to say the origin planes in even just a 100 or so part assembly can be really annoying (maybe even some sort of split screen kind of deal would help).

And hopefully there's an easier way that someone can help me out with: when drawing views have some parts showing hidden lines - I need to go through each view and select each new part added to an assembly to turn hidden off for them. Expanding four views of a @100 part assembly to try and select all the parts at once (because you have to wait forever each time any view has to update - it used to be bad but somehow they keep finding ways to make it worse) you are covering a lot of real estate.

(And since I'm complaining, line visibility in idw's still does not stick - it seems like it might be mostly threads, but anytime anything changes in the assembly I have to go back ad turn them all off again.)

[dan_inv09]

And

Format text in tables (parts lists, revision tables, etc.).

(and since I brought up tables, you can work around it by copying your heading text into a row and turning off the heading, but the column headings should wrap!)

[tuliobarata]

Maybe, in the assemblies the mirror could act just like in the sketch, with constraints. CUz all the time the mirror is really needed we have to put again the constraints in the mirror piece. Would be nice if you put the mirror and change one symmet. dimensional, both parts get updated.

Túlio Barata

[karthur1]

How about a PLOT STAMP tool. If the Inventor developer does not know what this is, Start Autocad and at the command prompt, type plotstamp.  Make it just like this and I will be as happy as a..... well idk, I would just be very happy.

Oh, and it cant dirty the file. So us Vault users dont have to check out/check in, just to plot a file.

[DVDM]

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@dan_inv09 wrote:

And the other idea:

Constraining the last item to say the origin planes in even just a 100 or so part assembly can be really annoying (maybe even some sort of split screen kind of deal would help).

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This is already possible. On the ribbon, go to View>Windows>New, and your part/assembly will open up in a separate window or tab. You can then tile these windows, and treat them as though they are viewports. You can use things like the contraint or measure tool between windows as well.

I agree with the request for a much better text editor. I was asked to format a note on our drawing with a numbered, indented list the same way we have them in AutoCAD, and had to tell the engineer Inventor can't do that.

The response was something like 'you're kidding!', followed by 'what else can't Inventor do?'.

Also agree with the request for better mirroring tools. We deal with mirrored assemblies a lot. Deriving into a mirror doesn't work for the BOM, mirroring the assembly suppresses constraints which then need to be meticulously recreated and linked to parent assembly, which is time consuming and error prone.

An alternative method is to use iAssemblies for creating mirrored assemblies, but there's two problems with this;

1. This concept goes way over the heads of many Inventor users.

2. iAssemblies and Vault are a royal pain in the neck and make it even more confusing to deal with.

And one more request from me; I like frame generator, it can be a very powerful tool. What it desperately needs is a way to set up a naming convention so it can automatically create unique filenames that Vault will accept. Having to rename 200 framemembers 1 by 1 before you can save your assembly is not fun.

[dan_inv09]

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@Anonymous wrote:

"View>Windows>New, and your part/assembly will open up in a separate window or tab. You can then tile these windows, and treat them as though they are viewports. You can use things like the contraint or measure tool between windows as well."

Um, I meant in the browser. I can not imagine what the assembly would look like if I had all the parts' origin planes visible to select them there - there is no way I would be able to tell what the heck I was selecting. I'm expanding the origin folder in the part and picking it there then scrolling all the way back to the top to the assembly's origin planes.

"The response was something like 'you're kidding!', followed by 'what else can't Inventor do?'."

I love that. (I think they really meant for Inventor to only be used for modeling/designing, then export to AutoCAD for a drafter to turn into a drawing.)

"Having to rename 200 framemembers 1 by 1 before you can save your assembly is not fun."

Are you using design assistant?

[DVDM]

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@dan_inv09 wrote:

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Um, I meant in the browser. I can not imagine what the assembly would look like if I had all the parts' origin planes visible to select them there - there is no way I would be able to tell what the heck I was selecting. I'm expanding the origin folder in the part and picking it there then scrolling all the way back to the top to the assembly's origin planes.

Are you using design assistant?

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So if I understand correctly, your part origin and assembly origin are the same, probably because it's based on a common skeletal sketch?

In that case I would recommend the Assemble>Productivity>Ground and root Component option. Downside is this only works for parts, not sub-assemblies.

For subassemblies, an alternative method would be to right click on the subassembly>iProperties, and under the occurence tab change the x/y/z offset values to 0. A few steps, but might still be quicker than having to browse up and down the assembly tree with large assemblies.

Regarding design assistant, I try not to use it. I prefer to rename parts in Vault, but clearly need to get the parts in there first.

Would you suggest a workflow where I accept the frame generator default file names, then use Design Assistant to rename all instances using a rename mask of some sort, then load into Vault?

[DVDM]

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@dan_inv09 wrote:

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Um, I meant in the browser. I can not imagine what the assembly would look like if I had all the parts' origin planes visible to select them there - there is no way I would be able to tell what the heck I was selecting. I'm expanding the origin folder in the part and picking it there then scrolling all the way back to the top to the assembly's origin planes.

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Actually, the split screen feature could still work here, as you can keep the assembly tree in separate states for each window. Keep one collapsed with only the origin plane node expanded, and the other window at the part origin node you want to constrain. Then click on the graphics window to toggle between the two browser states before selecting the plane to constrain to.

[Anonymous]

yes i vote for a split screen browser window also. My browser is full and everytime you insert a new part it goes to the bottom of the list. To constrain it, its usually click, click to view its origin work planes, select the one you want to use, then scroll allll the way back to the top of the browser, click, click to view the assy's origin work planes..

I vote for the assy Origin & View Reps to be locked at the top of the browser screen.

Another thing i find annoying and maybe there is a way to do this, if so please tell me...

I have my assy open in one window, then i create a new part in another window. i jump back into my assy to put my new part into. To do this it I have to click PLACE, search through explorer to find the part and place it.. i find it time  comsuming considering i know where it is.. its open in the other window!! cant i just drag and drop it into the assy or something ?

[DVDM]

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@buffs_star wrote:

Another thing i find annoying and maybe there is a way to do this, if so please tell me...

I have my assy open in one window, then i create a new part in another window. i jump back into my assy to put my new part into. To do this it I have to click PLACE, search through explorer to find the part and place it.. i find it time  comsuming considering i know where it is.. its open in the other window!! cant i just drag and drop it into the assy or something ? 

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At the top of the model tree of the part, right click on the part node>Copy, switch to the assembly and in the graphics window right-click>paste.

[Anonymous]

Oh... that simple i feel dumb now.. lol. ThankS!

[hosford]

or, just use the same process as adding a model to an idw, select from list of open files, or search for one in the explorer

[dan_inv09]

Actually it's most often just one plane with an angle constraint to get the right side up.

Both of us seem to offering suggestions based on our own assumptions of the other's workflow. I envisioned you creating the frame and the going back and changing the filenames for all the parts it generated. (For the amount I might be able to use frame generator, if I took the time to figure out what I was doing I'd probably forget and have to relearn it all by the next time.)

[Anonymous]

Another wish list item is to allow the C.O.G for a level of detail in an assembly to actually be correct on the IDW drawing!!

How hard is this? it shows in the 3d model, but not on the drawing?

Now i have to make another copy of the assembly, delete all the subassy's i dont want to see and then i can run the COG just so it appears on the drawing correctly!!

Aghhh!!!!

rant over.. Anne.

[DVDM]

Yes, I too wish that LOD had an effect on the BOM and therefore the COG.

To workaround your problem you will have to turn your assembly into an iAssembly, this should give you the COG you're after without having to create copies of your assemblies (which is dangerous as it means each assembly constraint needs to be edited seperately in each assembly).

[stevec781]

How about also allowing us to override the cog position when we override the mass.

[Anonymous]

    a. Add to the popup for a broken constraint: "Accept and Suppress Contsraint"

and/or   

    b. Add a tick box in the constraint window for constraints to be added as suppressed.

Preferably b, if I had to choose one. This would make positions much less painful to create.

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Inventor IdeaStation

You can use this link to share your ideas about how to improve Inventor with the Development Team.

[Anonymous]

Rewrite the code to work like SW.