Inventor HSM API

[p_krola]

Hi,

Is it possible to automate in CAM in inventor? I know that was the idea. If not, is it possible to upload the model to Fusion 360 using the API?

Tworzenie interfejsu API HSM programu Inventor - Strona 2 - Autodesk Community

[JelteDeJong]

As far as I know it's not possible to do CAM in inventor. And even if it's possible then it will not be as good as within Fusion. There for I would go for the second option. You could make an addin to upload your models any where you like.

But there is already an addin in Inventor that can send your models to Fusion. (Atleast in Inventor 2023) it is not loaded by default but you can turn it on easy like any other addon.

Im not an expert but it looks like you can go directly to the environment that you need.

[p_krola]

I have created an addon in c# that creates a sketch. This sketch will be used in the cam. The plugin you are talking about sends the model but no sketch. It would be best if I created my own logic for sending to fusion 360, e.g. in DWG format. Where can I find documentation on how to send to fusion 360 from inventor?

[WCrihfield]

Hi @p_krola.  I have Inventor CAM 2022 installed on my PC, but it too is just an ApplicationAddIn within Inventor, instead of its own standalone application, so I am also thinking that it would not have its own special API yet.  I do know that you can access the ApplicationAddIn object that represents it by code, but I would not know where to go from there, because its ApplicationAddIn.Automation property just returns a generic Object.  I have not used this Inventor CAM extensively yet, so I have not tried controlling it by code yet, because our current primary CAM package is EnRoute 7 Plus.  I was going to try snooping into its source DLL file within an iLogic rule, but it did not work as expected. 

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor CAM 2022\InventorHSMAddin.dll

[william]

Hello @p_krola 

The send to fusion interop plugin will only send solid model geometry to fusion, sketches are not supported. Surprised I couldn't find more information about this on the inventor help documentation. 

You definitely can do CAM in Inventor, we use it quite a lot. Having the toolpaths reference the sketch geometry and solid faces is really powerful. You can adjust and update your model and all the toolpaths can be regenerated at the new size.

Having said that, fusion is where all the development is happening for the CAM. While inventor CAM isn't getting much attention, it still has pretty decent capabilities. For us the benefits of having the CAD and the CAM in the same program (Inventor) far outweigh the benefits of having more advanced toolpath strategies in Fusion. Most of what we are doing is pretty basic 3 axis or 3+2 toolpaths. 

There are other ways to get your data into fusion. We publish stp files to the desktop connector drive via iLogic and they get synched to fusion. Or you could upload directly through the data panel in Fusion.