Sketch will not work

[tomGKJVK]

Hello,

I'm coming over from Fusion and I'm finding Inventor inconsistent and difficult to use.  One of the things is that I cannot get it to create a sketch.   When I click 2D sketch and select a flat plan to create the sketch, it does not create.  I try right-click and hit OK and it just exits out of the sketch tool.  Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Sometimes I can get this to work by closing the software and reopening.  Then it works like I expect it to.

[JDMather]

I have not that it works any differently.

Can you create a Screencast Recording of your steps?

The same steps done in both programs...

[tomGKJVK]

I cannot create a screencast now because I restarted Inventor and it is working.   I have to wait for the problem to come back.

I'm guessing it is a bug because I am using the same process.  A restart fixed it.

[JDMather]

What are your system specs?

Have you installed all Updates for Inventor?

[tomGKJVK]

No updates for Inventor are available.   There's an updates for Inventor CAM and Autodesk licensing, but I don't think those would be related to sketching issues.  I'll install them when I'm not in the middle of a project.

Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit

Intel Core i7 2.67Ghz quad core

8GB Ram

AMD Radeon HD 5670 1GB VRAM

There's another problem that comes up sometimes where it just won't let me select any geometry on the model.  Lines, faces, etc.  Restarting Inventor also fixes this.  

[JDMather]

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@tomGKJVK wrote:

There's another problem that comes up sometimes where it just won't let me select any geometry on the model.  Lines, faces, etc.  Restarting Inventor also fixes this.  

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Can you create a simple square sketch, then Extrude it into a cube and attach the *.ipt file here.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Tom,

The behavior does not sound right to me. Could you share a file or take a snapshot of the behavior?

Many thanks!

[tomGKJVK]

The problem reoccurred today and I was able to take a screencast.

https://autode.sk/2FXMIiY

Can anyone see if I'm doing something wrong?

[JDMather]

The only thing that I can tell from that video is that you have an imported body with no green quality check mark.

Attach the *.ipt file here.

[tomGKJVK]

I’m sorry, I can’t share the file.  I know that would be easier. 



Yes, the file has been imported from a STEP file, but we’ve been using this IPT file for over a week.  We’ve done lots of work on it, saved it.  Programmed in CAM.  It’s about once a day this problem seems to come up.  When we restart Inventor and reopen, it works fine. 



Does inventor constantly reference the STEP instead of actually import the data?   Could this be because the STEP file was imported from a file server, and maybe it’s dropping connection?

[JDMather]

You can reference a STEP or convert the STEP.

I am not at my Inventor machine at the moment to check, but from your browser I think you have converted.

Right click on Base 1 and select Repair.  (See if you can figure out how to run those tools.)

Also try Manage>Rebuild All.

If those steps don’t work, then I would try the InventorReset Utility.

I would also verify that you have Update 2 installed. 
If you Attach a blank file here I can verify this.

[tomGKJVK]

I did the repair and I have a green check mark now.  It didn't appear to find anything wrong - at least it did not notify me and nothing looks different.  

Time will tell if this resolved the problem.

[tomGKJVK]

I closed Inventor and reopened.   Now, every tool is greyed out and I can't do anything.  3D Model, Sketch, CAM, and everything else.  Not sure what I did to cause this.  After I "Repaired"   I saved it, closed it.  Then came back a few minutes later and reopened it.   Any ideas?   Thanks.

https://autode.sk/2TJjLzA

[tomGKJVK]

Closed and reopened again.   Everything's back.  Just a little perplexed.  Probably some quirk I don't understand about Inventor, but I never have these issues in Fusion.  

[Xun.Zhang]

Hi @tomGKJVK,

Have you worked with Inventor with UAC off or run as administrator? It seems you are not sign in Windows as admin role? Is it the case?

Again, if you can provide a simple sample step file (import and delete some of geometries) to us at least, then, we can take a closer look.

Or send it via Email: xun.zhang@autodesk.com.

The data is confidential and only for investigation purpose.

Hope it helps!

[tomGKJVK]

Hi Xun,

The user account I'm on is an administrator account.  This is where I'm experiencing these issues.

I have tried Inventor on my team's other accounts, but I get "Unable to activate license" and it won't load the CAM extension at all.  I've followed the article on checking permissions but have yet to resolve this issue.     Not too worried about that right now because I can "Run as Administrator" and get them around the problem.

I will upload a modified file tomorrow when I get in.

Thanks.

[Xun.Zhang]

Good to know that, thanks!

Please do not hesitate to contract us for any questions.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I took a quick look at the video which shows the model. I don't believe Boundary Patch is the best choice of tool here. I think you want to plug the holes right? There is a better command to use. Go to Modify -> expand the panel -> Delete Face -> check Heal option -> pick the cylindrical face of the hole. You will see the hole will be gone.

Many thanks!

[tomGKJVK]

Just wanted to note - since doing the repair and getting the green check mark, I haven't had the sketch problem or the problem where I can't select geometry.    Will follow up if this problem reoccurs.    

Thanks for your help.

[tomGKJVK]

@johnsonshiue We don't want to modify the model.  The patch gives us a surface we can select for machining purposes without modifying the model to ignore the hole for certain operations.