Inventor 2021 Frame Generator - some questions

[Secttor]

Hi

I'm trying to help someone with a real project and inventor frame generator could save a lot of time and efforts.

I've been playing a bit with it in the past and now I have some questions which I hope that can be..covered.

1. Which is the best/easiest procedure to follow scheketon outside dimensions for my profiles? So I wish everything inside as can be seen in my attach - going with each line setup individual is the only way?

2. In terms of BOM - in the end my goal is to get individual & total length of my profiles. any tips?

3. Starting with an extrusion and using it as skeleton is a good way to go? If I need to attach another angle for example attached to it.. I need to simply sketch a line on that extrusion and use it as reference?

4. How can I cut horizontal profiles for letting the vertical go through? I've used trim but.. is this a correct result?

Thanks for all your support.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I believe you want to use Notch treatment.

Many thanks!

[SharkDesign]

1. Turn the extrusion skeleton visibility off.

2. You need to put two types of QTY in, think the length of the individual is called base quantity or something.

3. I always use sketches and not extrusions. It's up to the user, but that's the way I prefer it.

4. Use notch.

[SBix26]

3. I use extrusion in many cases, but I extrude to a surface, not a solid.  Surface body is transparent by default, which makes it easier to work with, but also has convenient faces to add sketches for intermediate members or additional surfaces, and therefore you don't need as many workplanes.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2022.1 | Windows 10 Home 20H2
LinkedIn

[Secttor]

Thanks a lot for your fast replies!

I still have some minor issues with :

1.  The plate that I've created in the assembly is not visible in the drawing. why?

2. How can I easily place the plate on 2, 3, 4, 5 without having to constrain again etc?

3. Part list : no decimals? tried everything on edit part-list style editor but no luck yet.

[SBix26]

1. Can you Zip and attach your drawing and assembly and parts here?  I don't know why the sheet isn't showing in the Part List.  Are you sure the drawing is referencing the proper assembly file?
2. Simplest looks to be a Rectangular Pattern, with the last entity (#6) suppressed.
3. Sorry, I don't know the answer to that without digging into it.  But if you post your files, perhaps I can figure it out.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2022.1 | Windows 10 Home 20H2
LinkedIn

[Secttor]

Hi @SBix26 - thanks for your input!

1. It's not a metalsheet template - just a normal metric.ipt

2. Perfect! 😉 - the remaining detail here is to have it visible in the drawing & part-list. I must read a bit more about referencing in inventor.. probably that's it.

3. A later goal would be to attach 2 or more of such frames. I know it's possible in the assembly but how the part list will look like ?

I've attached it as .7z & is available here : https://easyupload.io/jknr6h)

[SBix26]

Note for future attachments: .zip format is the best format to use, and can be attached here directly; no need for other software, nor for cloud sites.

1. Reference is the problem here-- the BOM Structure of the plate (Tabla 01.ipt) is set to Reference, which means that it will not be included in the parts list.  Also, Reference parts will be displayed, by default, as phantom line style and will not hide other parts.  Your plate is visible in the drawing, just not easily spotted until you highlight it in the browser.  Note that components can be set as Reference in their Document Settings (as this one is), or in the assembly per each occurrence.

3. Not sure what you mean by "no decimals?"  The Qty and Unit Qty columns show three decimal places.  The Profile column (= Part Number) does not show decimals.  To change that, you will have to change how the Part Number iProperty is set by Frame Generator and/or the Content Library.

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Sam B
Inventor Pro 2022.1 | Windows 10 Home 20H2
LinkedIn

[Secttor]

Thanks a lot for your tips - really useful and helped a lot!

I'm still working with the frame generator on Inventor 2021 and reached a few problems which seems a bit weird :

A. I've created inside the .iam this L profile (with create) which I planned to constrain and multiply it (pattern) later. The ideea is that it belongs/it's inside Frame 01:1 and such operations are not allowed. How can I make it independent/exclude it from the Frame it order to work with it?

Don't tell me that I'm forced to create it separately. I don't see the difference.

B. I wish to pattern these selected profiles. Same story as above. How can be excluded in order to work with them?

Tried with promote but seems that it's sketch remains behind.. don't know how correct could be.

many thanks!

[SharkDesign]

When you say excluded, have you tried double clicking it? Does that do what you want?

You may have to double click a. Second time if you're not at the right level.

[Secttor]

For the L shape I succeeded with promote..

Double clicking goes "inside" to edit it independently. I wish to pattern all 4 profiles at once. How can be done?

I wish to maintain some constrains based on the skeleton..

[SharkDesign]

I never pattern frame Gen.
You can use the 'reuse' command to essentially copy members but you need a
skeleton/sketch to attach them to. It's very useful if you have holes in it.

[Secttor]

I understand your point of view.. but could be a lot of work to add for each-shelf again & again.. & it's not always related to profiles.. even that metal-sheet it's constrained and I wish the entire shelf (profile - metal plate - L profile) to pattern.

I don't think it could be so hard to keep everything constrained & pattern. Just my ideea..a Revit user 😗

[Secttor]

So going fully parametric with Frame Generator is not a good..ideea; at least yeat.

[SharkDesign]

I see what you're doing now, can't you put the shelf in as sub assembly and pattern that. 

This is how it would be made anyway,. They'd weld a picture frame and then put that into the main assembly.

What's the problem you have with patterning though? Works for for me. 

[Secttor]

My goal is to have an easy "maintanence" (modify almost..anything) for all it's components.. yes - sub-assembly is the solution (even you need to keep track on your own for some relations/modify lenghts in order to fit in the final assembly) but my question now is related also to the part-list : will everything be visible and calculated(lenghts) correct?

- can somehow parameters/dimensions be linked between main & sub assemblies ? In Revit in the final(main) "assembly" I can link all the subassembly parameters and make all my relations/formulas there.