Crash course on parametric CAD systems (Autodesk Inventor)?

Birdie2000

Club Member
Looking to get some experience with 3D CAD, specifically Autodesk Inventor? Any suggestions on how to get up to speed as quickly as possible? Books/courses/websites/community college classes?
 
If it didn't have to be inventor, I could be more help where to go

theres probably some good online tutorials for a start, and maybe some downloadable instruction books
 
I do not. I've done some rudimentary work in older versions of AutoCAD over the years, but always 2D and I'm far from proficient. Quick learner though. :)

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LilMissGTO took a class at LTU for her BS degree. I think it was Solidworks though. She might be able to give you some info on what they covered/if it was helpful.

What type of parts are you looking to design?
 
My needs are twofold:

Applying for a job that has a 3D printing component and mentions experience with Inventor would be nice. They don't seem to need an expert, just some CAD experience which I have in the 2D world, but not 3D. The parts are presumably small-ish structural pieces, nothing ridiculously complicated.

Also, through my hobbies I have needed technical prints made and would like to pursue 3D printing myself at some point. I've always been interested in learning more about these kinds of software and plan to explore when I am able. Basically would like to be able to make brackets, enclosures, etc. for car and electronic-related projects.
 
Thanks! What knowledge did you go in with? Do you feel you learned a lot?

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I took the Catia V5 foundations class i think it was called. I had previous 3D modeling with 2 classes in college with Pro-E, but nothing else and I took those classes in 2011ish? The class is a week long 8-5 and designed for those with absolute zero 3D modeling experience. It only goes into creating parts, no drafting or failure analysis aspects of the class. It was definitely worth it, but if I was paying for it on my own I think I would go to a community college and take it at night for a whole semester. I think the Tata class was like 2k or something around there.
 
LilMissGTO took a class at LTU for her BS degree. I think it was Solidworks though. She might be able to give you some info on what they covered/if it was helpful.

What type of parts are you looking to design?
My class was on NX. Justin helped me out a BUNCH as did the guys at work because my professor had no clue about the program we were using. He was more familiar with the previous version of NX. Try Lynda.com and believe it or not Youtube for tutorials when someone else isn't available to help you out.
One word of advice, if you can pick up a spaceball. That device will make your life infinitely easier. As will a decent sided monitor.
 
sounds like they are looking for somebody that can open math files. If it's a 3d printing or SLA, you will likely just need how to open models, place them in space and create a stack of the multiple parts that will likely get made in an SLA machine. Or, simple location of 3d parts for a 3d printer. Does not sound like you'd be designing parts that much.

FWIW, I learned 2D ACAD 20+ years ago on R12. I learned basic solid creation, and still use it today. I am far from proficient, but I design my motor mounts, and other parts in ACAD still.
I took a 3 week class on how to use NX, and fumbled around a lot. But I got the chance to learn basic parametric design, and made a bunch of little parts from a design packet they gave us. It made ACAD look like I was using a mallet and chisel...

Any of the software will take just a lot of grind time, but you keep building knowledge by fussing..

Good luck.
 
I took the Inventor Class at InCat (now TATA) about 10 years ago. That only shows you basics. When you begin using it, things get confusing in a hurry. It takes about a year to be proficient with it if you use it nearly every day.

I've used AutoCAD every day since about 1985 and a split of Inventor 75% and AutoCAD 25% since about 2005.....I started drawing on the board in 1967 and switching to AutoCAD was pretty easy for me. While going to 3D wasn't terribly difficult, your thought process has to be different, even though the end product will look the same. Like I said, it takes a while to figure everything out...

Just my .02....grr
 
Fair enough, thanks for the input. This is really the only item on my resume that I'm weak on with regards to their listed qualifications, so I guess I'll find out soon how critical proficiency is to their immediate needs.

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A class at Schoolcraft or OCC would probably be your best bet, unless you can get your hands on a copy of the software and just buy a tutorial book. If you go that route I can help answer questions. I'm proficient with NX and Inventor.
 
Do you have a personal copy of inventor 2014-2017 at home? If so, that will get you ahead of the curve. Anything older than 2014 and you will start to notice some software differences between old and new versions. FWIW, I am proficient in NX, Catia 4,5, & 6, UG, Inventor, Solidworks, Cosmos, Nastran, and about 5 or 6 other software's. Been doing this stuff for about 20 years now. Once you learn one primary 3d modeling system they are all pretty much the same. You just look for the key words. I.e. Extrude, fillet, loft, etc.

As for learning, If you have the full package at home, they pretty much all come with built in tutorials. It's a good 1-3 days of skills learning to get you started. That way you aren't walking into an intro training course or personal training blind. Start with your basics, 2d. Work up to 3d part modeling and constraints. Then assembly constraints. Make sure to do both part drawing and assembly drawing, and then a combination of assembly and part with multiple sheets. This should only take a day or so to learn if you pick up quickly. From there, take that guy up on his personal training. Learning from people that use the system will be the fastest way. But you must know some of the nomenclature before walking in to help speed up the process.

If all they are doing is verifying quality of parts for STL outputs, fillets will be your biggest challenge with inventor. People pick up bad habits over the years and fillets, drafts, and surfacing take a hit big time to speed up the design process.

Good luck man.
 
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