Working with complex assemblies in Autodesk Inventor

by Chris Smith

Working with complex assemblies in Autodesk Inventor can be challenging, but with the right techniques, you can streamline the process and enhance your productivity. Here are some best practices and tips for handling complex assemblies:

Use the Right Modelling Techniques

Simplified Parts: For assemblies with many components, consider simplifying parts where possible. Use derived parts to create simplified versions of complex parts or create iAssembly/iPart family tables to reduce the number of individual part files.

Subassemblies: Break down large assemblies into smaller subassemblies. This helps with organisation and performance. Subassemblies can be reused across different projects, promoting modularity and can be simplified using the Simplify tool to reduce overall file size and complexity while maintaining links to the parent sub assembly to maintain changes and updates.

Assembly Component Patterns

Pattern Components: Use component patterns to replicate parts across your assembly. This is especially useful when you have repeated components, like bolts or supports.

Go to Pattern > Component Pattern to create a pattern of components within your assembly.

This approach reduces the number of instances you need to model manually and ensures that all components maintain the same relationship.

Use Simplified Representations

Simplified Assembly Models: In complex assemblies, you can create simplified versions of the assembly to focus on critical components. For instance, use Simplified Assembly and Level of Detail (LOD) representations.

You can use the Level of Detail feature to show only the necessary components for a specific task or to reduce complexity during analysis.

This helps improve performance, especially when working on large assemblies with many components.

Use Multi-Body Parts

When applicable, consider using multi-body parts rather than breaking the design into multiple parts. This reduces the number of components in your assembly and can simplify your overall design structure.

For example, if you have a single part made up of multiple components, you can create separate bodies within a single part file.

Manage Large Files with Vault

Use Autodesk Vault for Data Management: When dealing with large assemblies, organising your files with Autodesk Vault is a must. Vault helps manage file revisions, assembly structure, and metadata. It also makes collaboration with team members easier.

Vault keeps all your assembly data in one place, tracks changes, and ensures everyone is working on the latest versions.

Efficient Use of Constraints

Avoid Over-Constraints: Over-constraining parts in an assembly can result in unnecessary complexity and potentially slow performance. Make sure to use the minimal number of constraints required to fully define the assembly.

Use Mate and Flush Constraints: Instead of using multiple single-point constraints, use Mate and Flush to align and position parts efficiently.

Use Assembly Features

Assembly Cuts and Shared Components: Instead of duplicating parts, consider using Assembly Features to apply cuts or shared components directly within the assembly file. This is also a good working practice to show post assembly operations.

Improve Performance with Visual Styles

Use Lightweight Visual Styles: Switch to a less resource-intensive visual style (e.g., Wireframe or Shaded with Edges) to improve performance when working on large assemblies. Reserve Shaded with Shadows or Realistic for final views or presentations. Materials with a high reflectivity will also have a large effect on the performance.

Activate Automatic Update in Large Assemblies

Turn Off Automatic Updates: In larger assemblies, it’s often better to manually update your assembly to avoid unnecessary updates every time a part changes.

Assembly Design Check with iLogic

Automate Design Checks: Use iLogic to automate design rules and checks across your assemblies. iLogic can help you enforce assembly constraints, material selections, and other parameters, ensuring that your assembly is consistently designed to your specifications while removing the potential for human error.

Utilise the “Copy to New File” Feature

If you're working on a large assembly and need to isolate a part of it for specific work (such as detailed design or analysis), use the Copy to New File feature to create a copy of a portion of the assembly. This lets you focus on a subset of the assembly while keeping your main assembly intact.

Component and Subassembly Replacement

If you're working with repetitive or similar parts in large assemblies, consider replacing individual components with subassemblies that are easier to manage and more efficient to load.

Assembly Exchange: Use the Component Replace feature to swap parts and subassemblies in and out of your assembly file as needed.

Using the Promote and Demote feature to add and remove components from sub-assemblies or create new sub-assemblies.

By leveraging these techniques, you can make working with large or complex assemblies in Autodesk Inventor much more manageable. It’s all about breaking down your design, optimising performance, and using the available tools to keep everything organised.

Summary

By leveraging the available tools for parts and Assemblies in Inventor we can eliminate wasted time and effort while ensuring clean and efficient working practices to give robust and reliable assemblies.