Layers from Inventor to Autocad

[quentinL6HXE]

Hi everyone,

I seek some help on a problem we have in our company.

We use Autocad for 2Ds and Inventor for 3Ds.

On Autocad, we have our own template (.dwt) for the layers (Name, color, linetype, lineweight) as a base. We use Xref to organize and synchronize our work between us.

We transfer 2Ds from Inventor to Autocad and then do all the detailing on ACAD. Basically nothing is done on Inventor drawings except the export or save.

In an ideal world, we would like to use blocks from Inv as Xref on Autocad, linked and updated with a simple click from the 3D model.

We know how to bring and update the blocks from an inventor dwg into Acad, but from there we don't save time as we have to:

- Re attribute the correct layers from our Acad template.

- Also, if we want to set those blocks as Xref, on the drawing it adds one more step "Edit Xref" -> then "edit block in place" instead of "Edit Xref in place" only (as we proceed now)

Therefore, is there a way to set a layer template on Inventor similar the one of Acad and also to create a direct link between the blocks we export from inventor and the Acad Xrefs?

I hope it makes sense.

Thanks for your help,

Quentin

[Mark.Lancaster]

@quentinL6HXE

Welcome to the community..

Just so I understand your process..  Why are you using Inventor make 3D models and then use AutoCAD to make the 2D drawings from the models?  Why not take advantage of Inventor interface?  Not saying Inventor 2D drawing interface is the greatest but it seems you are do a lot of extra stuff you don't need to do.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! What AutoCAD release are you on? Do you know actually AutoCAD can create drawing views associative to Inventor parts and assemblies like in Inventor drawing? In AutoCAD, the command is called VIEWBASE. If you like detailing Inventor models in AutoCAD, that might be the best way to go. Please take a look at the following link and see if you have any question.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2018/ENU/AutoC...

Many thanks!

[mslosar]

Frankly, you're missing out, it's so much easier and faster detailing things in Inventor itself.

However, for what you're trying to do, the only way i'm aware of the export things to layers is via the export option (export ipt or iam to dwg and there is an options button there) and you can set a table up of how to translate things. 

Keep in mind though, that I don't believe Inventor works layers the same way. There isn't a set of layers for Object1 and another set for Object2 and so on.