Autodesk Inventor iDoor Tutorial
Page 5 - Adding Parameters and Starting the Stile
Profiles Continued
If you look at the status bar at the bottom of the window it
should read "2 dimensions needed". The top point in reality only needs
one dimension to fulfill its purpose; the dimension between it and the top
line. But we will add the other constraint somewhat arbitrarily to achieve a
fully constrained sketch. It is good practice to always fully constrain
sketches unless there is a good reason not to. So, the first step will be to
add a Vertical 
constraint between the point and the center of the top line.
The center was chosen because this point will be used later as the end point
for both of the stiles, which will be created using the lower points.
Click
the Vertical
constraint
tool and constrain the topmost point to the
center of the top line. Now, add a Dimension 
between the same point and
line, and use the Insert_Gap parameter for the distance.
The top point should now look like the image to the right, and the status
bar should indicate that the sketch is "Fully constrained".
We now have independent controls for the widths of all four gaps around
the door. In most cases, the gaps would all be the same; just as we have set
it up, but if the need arises, one, or even all of the gaps can be
different---an example of which will be shown later...
If
you do not 'get' how this will work, never fear, it will be explained as we
progress. Now its time to create the Work Plane 
that the stile profiles will be
created on. If you have not already exited out of the sketch, do so now (you
can also do this by right click: "Finish Sketch"). Open the Origin folder to
expose the origin geometry, right click on the XY Plane 
and chose "Visibility" to make it visible. You will need to rotate the sketch
so that the lower right corner is facing you, and the XY Plane
is
visible as shown. Now zoom in a bit so that you can see the lower right
point, grab the Work Plane
tool, and select the point and the XY Plane
. You
should now have a plane at the location of the point that is parallel to the
XY Origin plane as shown in the image below. If not, you screwed up and need to do
it over.....
If everything looks good, rename the new plane from "Work Plane 1" to
"Stile Sketch Plane", and make the XY origin plane invisible by reversing
the steps you took to make it visible. Now create a sketch on the Stile Sketch
Plane by choosing the ' Create 2D Sketch
' tool and clicking on the Stile Sketch Plane
just created..
| Tip: you can create a new sketch by either clicking on a visible plane in the workspace or by clicking on it's name in the browser. |