Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters

Transcription

1 TECHNICAL WHITEPAPER Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters Inventor parameters control the shape and size of all part and assembly models. Parameters are added automatically every time you add a dimension to the model but they are not intelligently named. Inventor places the familiar d1, d2, etc. variables on the dimensions as they are placed. This leads to confusion if you are trying to reuse previous parameter values in newly created dimensions especially as the complexity of the model increases. In order to make the parameters more meaningful, they are often named to describe what each parameter controls. A note here about renaming parameters, they cannot contain spaces or special characters (+ / * etc.). There are two types of parameters, Model Parameters and User Parameters. Both have their uses but User Parameters can exist even if their supporting model dimensions are erased, Model Parameters will disappear. In the parameter table shown below if all the model dimensions in the part were erased, the User Parameters would be maintained. One of the main objectives as you model multiple parts is to either copy the parameters from one part to another or share them. Copied parameters are independent of their values in the original part. Changes in the original part parameters will have no effect on the part that the parameters were copied to. Shared parameters are dependent on the original part parameters. If the original part parameters are changed, the share parameters are updated and the new part changes accordingly. In This Issue Copy Parameters Table Deriving a Parameters Table Linking a Parameters Table

2 There are five methods of copying or sharing parameters between models. They are: 1. Copying of the parameter table 2. Deriving a part into another or an assembly into a part 3. Linking parameter tables between parts and assemblies (Excel tables can be linked but is not covered here) 4. Copying and pasting features between parts 5. Copying and pasting Inventor sketch blocks between parts Of these, the first three are the main methods of copying and/or sharing parameters. This paper will cover these. Copy Parameters Table Copying parameters between parts or assemblies is a two-step process. First, open up the original Inventor model and select the Manage tab. Select the down arrow beside the panel name on the Parameters panel. This will reveal the Import from XML and Export to XML commands. Select Export to XML. You can accept the default file name, which is the <filename>-params.xml, or change the name to suit your origanization s needs. Open either an assembly or part file, return to same location and choose Import from XML. One of the best parts about this process is that the copied properties are placed in parameter table as User Parameters even if the copied properties were Model Parameters. If the parameters are copied into an existing model and some of the parameter names are the same, the model is updated to match the imported values. This process can be between parts and assemblies and assemblies and parts. Page 2 Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters

3 Deriving a Parameters Table The Inventor Derive command is only available in the part environment. The Derive command is mainly used to create shared parameters between models but it can be used to copy parameters. This will be my focus. You can derive parameters from either a part or an assembly into another part. The Derive command is a bit different for each so first we will derive from a part. Create a new part or open an existing one. Start the Derive command and browse to the part you wish to derive from and open it. In the Derive Dialog box deselect all features except the parameters you wish to copy. NOTE: In order to deselect the Solid Body, you will have to remove the check mark beside the design view link button indicated by the arrow. One nice feature of this method is that you can pick and choose which parameters you wish to copy. Click OK to finish. Checking your new part parameter table, you will see all the selected parameters are copied as User Parameters. At this point the properties are still linked (shared) with the original part as indicated by the gray background. Page 3 Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters

4 In this discussion I am talking about copying parameters so I will remove the linking to the original part. In the browser, right click on the derived part and select Break Link With Base Component. The parameters are no longer linked to the original part. Copying parameters from an assembly to a part is the same in principle but the Derive dialog box is a bit different. Start a new part or open an existing one. Start the Derive command and browse for the assembly file containing the parameters you want to copy. Open the file and Derived Assembly dialog box will appear. Select the Other tab and expand the parameters and select the ones you want to copy. As described earlier, the parameters come in linked (shared) with the original assembly. Right click on the derived assembly in the browser and choose Break Link With Base Component to create copied parameters. In both cases, you can delete the Derived part or assembly from the browser if copying the parameters was its only function. Page 4 Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters

5 Linking a Parameters Table Parameters tables can be copied using the Link command between all types of Inventor models. The main purpose of linking parameter tables is to create shared parameters to control multiple features and model conditions but it can be used to copy parameters between files. This is my main focus here. I will be copying parameters between an existing part and a new one. First, I create my new part. Next, I open the Parameters table from the Manage tab, Parameters panel. In the Open dialog, select Inventor Files in the Files of Type dropdown at the bottom. Browse for the file from which you wish to copy parameters and select Open. Page 5 Sharing and Copying Inventor Parameters At the bottom of the Parameters Table, select Link. In the Link Parameters dialog, select all the parameters you wish to copy from the original part. Please note you can copy any type of parameters that exist in the original part. You are not restricted.

6 Linking commands is mainly used to create linked (shared) parameters between files. As stated before, my focus of this discussion is how to copy parameters only. If you wish to remove the link (sharing) of the parameters in the new part you will first need to use all the linked parameters in the part model. When you have used all the linked parameters you need, right click on the linked folder and choose Delete Folder. Inventor will only retain the User Parameters that were used and remove the rest. It also breaks the parameter link to the original part. About IMAGINiT Technologies IMAGINiT Technologies, a RAND Worldwide Company, is the world s largest provider of enterprise solutions to the engineering community, including the building, manufacturing,civil and mapping industries. With 20+ years experience, and more than 45 offices throughout North America and Asia Pacific, we provide the expertise, training and support to help companies realize the full power of design technology, maximize ROI and gain competitive advantage. US/CANADA AUSTRALIA MALAYSIA Page 65 Sharing and Copying Parameters Performance Tips for Inventor Civil 3D 2012 (Part 1) IMAGINiT is a leading provider of Autodesk software solutions and the largest North American Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partner. All of our locations are supported by a vast pool of engineering resources focused on developing real-life business solutions for their local clients. SINGAPORE