Friendly frame generator- Use Assembly Sketch as FG Skeleton

[m.magini]

May i suggest an more friendly frame generator ?

I find little manageable the starting assembly, the part with the skeleton sketch and then All duplicates inventor creates.

[jtylerbc]

What specifically is your suggestion for making it better?  You mention that you find the current state hard to manage, but don't explain how you would want it to be changed.

Also, what do you mean by "duplicates inventor creates"?

[m.magini]

i create a part.ipt with the sketch and I insert it in an assembly.iam

I use the frame generator and Inventor ask me to save a folder named like the assemby including all the stuctural shapes (this is ok) but also another part.ipt including my initial sketch and another assembly.iam

In this way in Vault I have double sketches and double assemblies

I suggest:

Get rid of these second part.ipt and assembly.iam

The possibility creating the initial sketch directly in the assembly.iam

[ckirkCRESTLINE]

My suggestion would be the way SWX (Solidworks) handles frames, or something very similar:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-ideas/frame-generator-in-ipt-as-multibody/idi-p/6777131

Having used SWX to design a chromoly spaceframe chassis for a FSAE car, I can say it is vastly superior to Inventor's.

Workflow in SWX is:

1. Design frame using a 3D/2D sketches (and any combination of the two) in a single weldment file.

2. Place members by clicking on the frame sketch lines and going through a similar dialogue box to Inventor's, selecting section type, size, placement, etc. (can't remember how the part numbers are generated, but my suggestion would be: frame 12345's members are called 12345-1, 12345-2, ..., where the number matches their balloon on the drawing)

3. Refine tubes using frame and modeling tools similar to Inventor's. (Pace holes, create miters/copes, lengthen/shorten members)

4. Export member cutlist as needed and carry on with your drawings of the individual parts. All the bodies in the file have their own part number, but no extra file to track.

Pros:

- skeleton and members are all in single file, significantly cleaner than Inventor's assembly with skeleton part and frame subassembly with a skeleton copied from the original in the frame subassembly (seriously questionable decision)

- cut list can be exported for similar tubes with different end treatments and features which can then be separated after the members are cut

- copying a frame design to make a somewhat similar frame is extremely simple (particularly when trying to use Vault...)

Cons:

- Can be hard to find which frame file the frame members belong to if a suffix/affix part number style isn't used