Placing an iFeature from Autodesk Vault 2014 - New for 2014!

“Burglars know there's more than one way to skin a vault.”
James Chiles

Early this week, I had a chance to play with an intriguing new feature of Autodesk Vault 2014. 

It's the ability to add iFeatures to, and place iFeatures using Vault.

I'm going to definitely use this tool in my personal projects.  I've created plenty of features in my day, and many times, I recreate them because I'm careless and lose them, forget to migrate them, etc.  I can get creative when losing iFeatures.

Trust me!  No matter how many times I tell myself I'll be more careful, I've sent many an iFeature to the "Land of Lost Files"!  Vaulting iFeatures will definitely reduce lost iFeatures in the future.

But, is it set up to work with Vault? 

I don't claim to have all the tricks figure out.  I'm still trying some things out, but here's what I've discovered so far.  Take my ideas, modify them, tweak them, and use them for inspiration. 

The first thing I did, was choose a folder in my Vault Workspace to store my iFeatures.   I also copied my default iFeatures here, so I can use them if I want.

Why?  This will prevent this error, when trying to check in iFeatures from the default Inventor location!  This error is caused because the default iFeature location isn't located in the Vault Workgroup path.

This is an error.  Years of experience have taught me that errors are bad.

I'm also going to change Inventor's default iFeature location to match the workspace.  This will make sure that I'm always using the same iFeatures I've Vaulted, even if I don't place the iFeature directly from Vault.

First, I change the default iFeature location in Tools>Application Options>iFeature Tab.  Note that sheet metal punches are a special class of iFeature, so I'm going to change that location too.

The new locations specified in Inventor's application options

 Now, an iFeature can be checked in and out of Vault, and enjoy all the benefits of being stored in Vault!

Checking into Vault

Once it's checked into Vault, now it can be placed from Vault onto a part that needs it.

Placing an iFeature from Vault

And after that, it's just like an iFeature has been place for years!

And it's placed

And here's the video version of the process!




One thing I have noticed, is that this tool doesn't work with sheet metal punches.  So I've decided that I'll have punches Vaulted but keep them in my local workspace, using the settings I created above.  Maybe we'll see that one come in the next release!

Changing Autodesk Showcase Model Orientation After Importing from Autodesk Inventor - A Guest Video

“For many people, one of the most frustrating aspects of life is not being able to understand other people's behavior.”
Anonymous

Autodesk Showcase has a lot of tricks up it's sleeve when importing models.  But that leaves the challenge of knowing when to use which trick. 

One challenge, I know I've always faced is importing Autodesk Inventor Constraints as Behaviors in Showcase.  I don't do it often, so I find that I figure out how to use them for a scene, but then I don't use them for a while.


The next time I need to use them, I've managed to forget everything I learned, so I have to relearn it again! 

But as many a teacher has reminded me over the years, "It's not about knowing information, it's about knowing where to find information".

So here is another guest video by Marion Landry on how to use import settings in Showcase to make sure you get the results you want!  It gave me some more ideas on import tricks, and I'm sure others will find it helpful too!

Thank you, Marion!!

Controlling the Visibility of Multiple Sketches on an Autodesk Inventor Drawing

“I do a bale of sketches, one eye, a piece of hair. A pound of observation, then an ounce of painting.”
Gardner Cox

In a blog post a "few moons ago", I discussed how to get model sketches and show them on a drawing in my post: "Using Model Sketches on a Drawing in Autodesk Inventor". 

In that post, there was a comment that stated once the sketches were made visible, the option to "Get Model Sketches" was grayed out.  Which is true. 

Get Model Sketches is now grayed out

So how can the visibility of sketches if they're added to the model after the "Get Model Sketches" option is used.

Here, I've added a second, distinct sketch in Autodesk Inventor 2014.

Note the sketches are separate

When I switch to the drawing, the sketch will automatically appear on the drawing, with no further interaction.

The second sketch appears

But what if I don't want to show both sketches.  Perhaps one sketch represents a spot weld, and the other is just there for construction or a model only reference?

All that I have to do is right click on the sketch in the browser, and uncheck the "Visibility" option.  The sketch will disappear and will no longer be shown.  Showing the sketch will make the sketch visible again.

Now you see it!

Now you don't!

 Being able to control the sketches individually adds more flexibility that an "all or nothing" approach.  So take a look and see how you can use it!

That Time of the Year - Migrating Templates to Autodesk Inventor 2014 Using Task Scheduler

“Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?"
Monty Python

In a previous post, I talked about migrating Styles from a previous release of Autodesk Inventor into Autodesk Inventor 2014.

The simplest way, of course, is just to open each file in Inventor and save it.  This will migrate the files.

And it does have it's advantages.  Opening the file would allow for an "inspection".  Old styles could be inspected and purged, new styles can be added, and general clean up could be performed.

But another way to quickly migrate files would be to use Inventor's Task Scheduler.  This tool allows for the templates (and any other file for that matter), to be migrated in batch, hands off.

Note!  Before migrating any templates, make sure you've backed everything up!  I've never had a problems with migration, but you only have to be wrong once! 

 To access Task Scheduler, go to Windows Start>All Programs>Autodesk Inventor 2014>Tools.  Task Scheduler will be in there.

Finding Task Scheduler

Selecting the icon will open Task Scheduler for use.  Choosing Create Task>Migrate Files will bring up the dialog box to set up migration tasks. 

With the Migrate Files dialog open, now the settings for migration can be configured.

There are several settings that can be changed for this dialog.  Some of the major ones, and my preferences for this task

Project: The project under which the files will be migrated
Vault: Migrates the files out of Vault - Since my templates are not in Vault, I won't be using this setting
Folder icons: Are the files going to be added individually, are folders going to be added, or is an entire project going to be migrated?  I'm going to use folders

Under Task properties, it's also possible to give the task a name (I just use default), and schedule the task for a given time.  Since my templates aren't particularly large, I'm going to run them immediately.

The Migrate Files dialog.

In the dialog below, I've added the folder to migrate, and completed my settings.  I also like to click on options, and have the Task Scheduler Skip Files with Unresolved References, Purge Old Versions, and Compact Model History.  

If these were parts with features, I'd also compact the model history, but these are mostly empty templates.

Setting up options

Once the settings are ready, I can close the Migration Options, click OK, and start the migration.

Committing the migration

The migration will begin running.  For templates, this typically takes a few minutes, but it does depend on how many files are being migrated, so that has to be taken into consideration before starting.

Once the notification is completed, right clicking on the task will allow for a report to be generated that will show which files were successful, and which files failed and why. 

Finished!

But those are the steps to migrate files.  Here I've used them in templates, but they're not limited to just template files.  This is valid for any Inventor files, so remember that it's available for use!

If you prefer the video form, just take a look below!