Inventor - Dimensioning to intersecting edges

By Shaun Griffiths

Recently, I have seen some people struggling with dimensioning to intersecting edges of a part. Points where, for example, a corner has been rounded off. They have demonstrated several ways of trying to get around the problem with sketches etc. However, Inventor has this function built into the dimension tool.

Step 1.
Select the dimension tool and click on one of the intersecting edges, move away from the line, right click and then choose ‘Intersection’.

Step 2.
Select the next edge that will intersect, and a yellow point will appear highlighting the intersection point being generated.

Step 3.
Select anther edge or point that you wish to dimension this intersection point from.

This will leave you with the finished annotation.

To dimension between two intersection points, follow steps 1 and 2 again.

Step 3B.
Next, select another edge that will determine the additional intersection point. This should generate a dimension. When this is achieved, right click and select ‘Intersection’ again.

Step 4.
Now select the next intersecting edge, which in this case will be the top edge again, generating another yellow reference point.

Step 5.
The dimension will appear again between the two points allowing you to place your annotation.