Creating Parts in Inventor

The very first step in creating 3D and realistic models of the robot is to create individual parts. The general workflow of CAD is to create a few parts, begin an assembly, create more parts or make modifications to existing ones, and finish your assembly.

1. Create a new part and begin a new sketch on an appropriate plane. For the most part, it won’t make a large difference on what planes you use but it’s advised to stay consistent.

2. Create a 2D sketch of your part. Make sure that you use the correct sizes such as bearing hole diameters, screw hole diameters, etc.

3. Once done with the sketch, you will most likely use the extrude command to create a 3Dprofile of the sketch. For some parts, you may need to use the revolve command. There are other 3Dcommands but they are mostly unused in FRC CAD.

4. Make sure that your 3Dfeatures are symmetrical about the planes as it will help you when assembling your CAD.

5. Depending on the complexity of your part, you might need to make additional sketches and add 3D features such as fillets and chamfers.

6. You may find it helpful to rename your features and sketches to a name that is easy to remember such as base, mounting holes, etc.

7. Once done, save the file with the appropriate name (refer to the naming convention document).