Better iPart Factories

[Krieger1356]

I use iPart/iAssemblies for almost all of the parts I make in Inventor and there are a few improvements that need to be made.

Improve the custom parameter feature. The way custom parameters are done now completely invalidates the most useful features of iParts. iParts are great for having one source file that has all of the permutations you need, all saved in one convenient location. Custom Parameters do not allow for automatically generated part names or part numbers and they have to be manually saved each time (the file path doesn't even default to a useful location ie. the source file path). 

Having the ability to create a short iPart table with say, Width and Depth but have it so a user could input the length would be extremely useful. This is possible now but the user has to manually set the location, part name, and important parameters such as part number manually. Why can't Inventor automatically generate parts when a custom parameter is input? 

Currently if I want everything automatically generated for a part with variable width, depth, and length I need a discrete row for each permutation. More often than not, this drives up the number of rows into the hundreds if I want fine increments for any of these parameters. Shown below is an example of a simple sheet metal part we manufacture, I have some standard depth values and lengths in 1" increments. Even with only 1" increments the table is over 500 entries long. I would like a finer increment but it makes the table too long and slows down the process of placing one of these in an assembly. I would like this table to only have depth as a fixed parameter and have length be variable, while maintaining the part number and description.

Large Table Example

The same idea goes for parts that need to be made from multiple materials. If I want a part that can be made from either steel or aluminum I would need to create a hundred or so rows with a column set to steel and another hundred or so set to aluminum. It would be much better if I set up all of the permutations for size and have it so that material can be input later by the user.

I have done some diving into the forums to see if I was just missing something but I couldn't find any posts that resolved this issue. If I missed anything feel free to comment or maybe some of these features exist without my knowledge. Or if someone has a better idea for how to deal with this issue feel free to comment.