Parts Lists from Frame Generator

[MikeKovacik4928]

Hi All

Can you do a parts list when you use frame generator

Here is what I get when I use any of the options available

indicated in the screenshot below

And none of them is the  accurate usable one which you would get 

if you did the parts in the normal manner without frame generator.

None of the notched lengths are correct - indicating only the length before notching!

None of the same members are grouped together, they are all indicated as separate one off members!

Even the nothching is not done properly ! Look at the little thin web left between the web and flange!

I like frame generator's quick notching and mitering and quick placement of the members using skeletal lines,

even though it seems sometimes not to notch how you want it sometimes!

I definitely would like a proper materials list though! Is that possible using frame generator.

It seems frame generator has some downfalls along with its advantages!

Mike Kovacik

Inventor 2018

South Africa

[YannickEnrico]

Frame generator doesn't recalculate the length when you use notch.

Also, if you have two x miter in the same end, it'll calculate the cut length based on one of them.

For your parts list, you might also want to look at the following properties:

Item QTY = Amount of pieces
Base QTY = Length of pieces per piece
QTY = Total combined length

So as an example

Item QTY = 3
Base QTY = 100 mm
QTY = 300 mm

[pcrawley]

When you place the first balloon, or place the first Parts List on a drawing, you get the option for "Structured" or "Parts Only" BOM Settings.  In your first image (where all the parts are Item 1) you've used "Structured".  The reason everything is Item 1 is because you have a parent assembly with a Frame subassembly - and according to the Parent assembly, the Frame subassembly is Item 1.  Therefore, wherever you place the balloon on that subassembly, you should get the same number.  If you go to the BOM Editor and right-click the "Structured" tab, you'll find an option for "First Level" or "All Levels".  You have "First Level" selected, therefore all parts in that subassembly will be given the same item number.  Set it to "All Levels, you'll see the drawing's Item numbers change to 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc.

If you use Parts Only (as you did in your second image) - that's where you'd expect to see individual item numbers for all "Parts" (as the name suggests).  What you are possibly missing is the setting in your Bill of Material that groups "identical" frame members.  See "Part Number Row Merge":

(You can see the three Qty columns here as described by @YannickEnrico 👍)

A word of caution here:  Part Number row merging just merges the Parts if it sees the Part Number iProperties are identical.  Frame Generator typically creates a Part Number containing the section shape and cut length (G_L).  Therefore, the default behaviour will group same section + same length, so you can run into problems is when multiple parts are the same section and length but have a different hole pattern in them.

Once you have Row Merging enabled, you should find your Parts List updates correctly.

You're right about notching - especially with "C" sections and "I" sections, but you're using the "Basic Notch" function which simply subtracts one profile from the other.  Use a "Custom" notch profile to get the result you need:

When I first started using Frame Generator, I did wonder about the apparently limited notching capabilities but having worked for a few companies who all notch differently (in the workshop), I can see why there's no "one size fits all" solution to getting it right.

As for cut lengths:  They are correct 99% of the time.  @YannickEnrico was correct regarding two cuts on one end of a frame member and G_L only reporting the first - but that was fixed a few releases ago and it works fine in 2024.  For the notched members however, I use a very short iLogic routine to calculate the finished length of the part.  Happy to share it if you want it.

I also notice your Parts List is showing cut lengths to 3 decimal places.  You either have a very good workshop, or they haven't come back to you complaining about it yet.  There's a post over here that shows you how to make it right: Frame Generator Cut List - Item, Merged, Grouping, Equations, etc. - Autodesk Community - Inventor

 

[YannickEnrico]

Thanks for enlightening me on this update. I actually thought it was working as intended due to how the cut length may be calculated on the saw.

[pcrawley]

(and apologies to @MikeKovacik4928 for hijacking this discussion!)

@YannickEnrico - just to make sure we're on the same page - the update I mentioned regarding "double-cut" length calculation happened somewhere around 2020 I think.  The situation they fixed was this:

The diagonal member in this frame needs more than one cut to make it fit into the corner:

 

 This is where the cuts would be made, and the un-cut length is 2000mm.

In previous releases of Inventor, it would calculate the new cut length based only on the first cut.

Now it works as it should.  In this image you can see the measured part is now 1904mm:

And this is the BOM entry: