Glad to hear you are getting close! Congratulations, you are mostly correct:

For both apron lengths, I added a driven dimension in the Tenon_Profile_Sketch ( the aprons should be projected into there). The dimensions go from the tip of the tenon to the end of the apron half. I called them Side_Apron_Half and End_Apron_Half, and their equation is simply multiplied by two as you had guessed.

When you need a driven dimension like this, its best to do the whole thing in one fell swoop. If what you need isn’t in any particular sketch, project it into the one that is closest, or create a new one and do it there. Wherever possible, project sketch geometry, not faces or edges of solids.

I will likely go back and split the top into separate boards –the number of which changes based on size, then output that to a glue-up schedule. Good luck finishing up!

Mark

I’ll have to do a new post on where to shut things off and what can be safely shut off. The draft posts just keep piling up –but that’s a good thing!

Setting up a model for automated output is a royal pain in the ass, but the end results can save enormous amounts of time. If you are a small manufacturer and are only going to make one or two of an item, you shouldn’t go through all of this. Just make a drawing and dimension it –hell, maybe even just get a dimension or two off of the screen. I just built a house that way.

The coordinate scheme was for CNC placement if I remember correctly. I’m hoping to get someone with more CNC experience to guest post soon.

Mark

I basically end up with a similar ending to what you have but instead of using iLogic, I just open up my parameters after I double click the part in the browser. I then used the link button and selected the multi body ipt file used right before "make components". This created the ability to select the multi body part parameters from the little arrow selector in the equation part of the parameters dialog box.

Also on the last dialog box of "make components" , I messed around with the "include parameters" button which I essentially selected all of the named parameters to be placed into the single part files, which made it messy, but quick. It's a trade off if you have a great naming system that is easy to remember what the hell your parameters are referring to. If it's for a multiple user environment, probably not a good idea.

BTW, why does my assembly view and modeling view selection keep changing in the browser? It keeps changing back to assembly and I can't figure out why.

C:UsersPublicDocumentsAutodeskInventor 2012Templates

Create a new folder there with whatever name you wish, and save any custom parts in that folder (or copy and paste other templates to test it out). Now go to Inventor and start a new document. Your folder will be a tab in the "New File" dialog, and parts placed in the folder are now templates that can be used throughout the program. I create these for clients, and archive them between jobs for said client. Pretty slick.

I noticed on one of your later videos that you had a parts list with grain direction and you indicated it with z+. I hope someday you could explain your method. I too would need to know in the shop which way the grain is going, but I default myself to "length" = "with grain", but it does get confusing.

I didn’t even think of that. I don’t get that pop up –I have it shut off like many of the other useless pop ups. I just select them on the ‘other side’ which retroactively selects them for export back in the part. Maybe someone will comment with another take on this, but I am inclined to tell people to just shut off the message as I have done.

I’ll run some quick tests tomorrow to see if there is any utility beyond exporting to XML. I don’t think there is. Thanks for the heads up Kent, and please share your technique. I love new stuff!

Mark

Coming soon though.

Mark

The shared parameter I think you are referring to is just a parameter passed down to any number of parts, or possibly a FX part which is used in a similar fashion to an external spreadsheet, but in this case it is an internal (derived) file shared by anything from a small project to a company-wide standards file. I created a draft post so that I remember to write about this.

And yes, the drop-down uses the full titles. I would prefer a truncated version with the full title in a mouse-over tool tip, but it doesn’t have that capability as of yet…..and I just noticed it is not displaying as expected in Chrome. …..back to work.

Got a 3d mouse for Christmas and love it. The fine tuning is incredible. I’m still messing with the settings a little. I have the small one. Must be around 70-80 if I remember rightly.

I can’t wait until the details of the parts list, the BOM, and how it all connects. I figured it out late last night and want to see if there is a more automated way. I hope you take a minute to discuss the shared parameters you mentioned once. I believe I asked how you controlled your iDoor in the iCab opening.

And thanks again for your dedication. I’ll stop emailing you lol. I’ll put up any questions on your q&a. I saw the drop down today. The length of the titles seem long. I assume that you have some type of automated attributes.

The "to demonstrate something that needs demonstrating" referred to bringing code up from the part level where it was used for development purposes, to the top level assembly where it is better suited in many cases. Also, I may convert the top to multiple boards for a glue-up schedule. Most likely I’ll add on to this tutorial here and there whether it makes sense or not to do so in the wild. Somebody will be able to extract something out of anything, so it’s best to just keep shoveling it out there.

Not sure if anyone noticed, but there will now be lists for all series tutorials. The Shaker Table is there, and future series will be there as well.

Back to work. The code summery will be out there tomorrow.

Mark

Run Rule – Where Rule Lives – Rule’s Name =

iLogicVb.RunRule("Hanger Bolt:1", "Hanger Bolt")

Mark

I also agree with this. It forced me to take a look at the code and try to figure it out myself. I got most of it but was stuck on the iLogicvbRunRule part. The wording was identical, but something was just not connecting. It is all set now. I have a short squat coffee table looking model. I can't wait to find out what I just did though lol.

Congratulations, and thanks for the complements! I’m glad you could turn potential frustration into a learning experience. There seems to be a lot more giving up than forging ahead these days. It also shows you will likely ‘get’ code in general. Some people just don’t. Ever.

As for the problems posting code, I found a plugin that will allow real code to be pasted into the articles, along with the correct syntax highlighting. The problem is that it is unlikely that the syntax highlighter will recognize iLogic code (yet). iLogic is based on Visual Basic, but I’m pretty sure there are differences, and I may need to tweak the plugin’s code. The other problem is that the plugin is no longer supported by the original author –but it is being held in life support by a couple of guys.

Wish me luck.

Mark

What a great lesson! I had the same errors as the others did, but I just assumed that you were attempting to inspire critical thinking and problem solving skills, and worked my way through it last night. I actually learned a lot more this way than if the code had copied correctly the first time!
The fact that I was able to do this is testament to the quality of the tutorials here, as this is my first exposure to utilizing code.
Thanks to you Mark!

Jerry

As I was writing the code explanation for the next post, I realized I forgot a small chunk of code that I inserted in the Min/Max code of the Layout Part. It is not needed to run the code here, but what it does is forces the part to update itself if it is not doing so. Mine needed it, but I now comment the two lines out and the model is still running fine.!

Whatever…… I posted the code up above with the rest of the code as well as an explanation on how to use the snippets window to insert it. If your model is updating fine, forget it.

Mark

Hmmmmm. There appears to be a problem here. Look at the text version of the code, and you will see that the code reads “Overall_Size <= Size_Unit” in each of those lines in the large code block. It doesn’t make a lick of sense without it, and will not work! Great catch!

I’m going to do some testing and see if WordPress, Word, or Expression Web is stripping out parts of the code. All three like to “fix” things for you, and could be the culprit. In fact, WordPress was so bad until the latest major upgrade that it was barely useable for anything beyond text.

I’ll post whatever I find, until then there is a text version linked to in the article itself just above the code, and one in a comment above as well. Thanks again!

Mark