We’ve recently shown you how Autodesk Inventor can help designers like yourself speed up tedious design processes by automating repetitive tasks, work more accurately and deliver outputs faster. Today, we’re showing you some practical examples of how using design automation in Autodesk Inventor can be applied in your daily design processes:

Drawing Creation:
Using automation in your CAD software, you can create a simple form for engineers to complete that will automatically generate the drawing for the specific model or component the engineer is working on. These forms might contain questions like: Should measurements be displayed in metric or imperial? By automating the creation of drawings using standard drawing templates, you can save time and increase consistency.

Standard Compliance – CAD Model Checks:
CAD model checks are often complicated to review. Using automation, you can scan for things like fully defined sketches or consistent modelling practices, clashes, and interferences. If the components overlap or clash in your model, they will clash in real life as well, which could mean a costly last-minute adjustment. Clash detection can also be used as a collaboration tool, in this case, clashing your model against another company’s model to make sure that the two designs will fit together when manufactured.

Standard Compliance: Data Checks
Data checks can easily be classified as the most tedious tasks in your standards compliance process, so why not let automation handle these for you? You can establish your engineering intent during the design phase, so you’re already set up to run a script that can tell you if all properties are filled out appropriately in your CAD models or if important information like the component’s material is selected.

Design for Manufacturing or Assembly Checks:
It often takes more time to check and review a design than it does to create it. Many people are typically involved in the process, and everyone must agree on the best design. To allow more opportunity for engineering review, gain significant time by automating the process of checking things like: can all components be manufactured from standard sizes of raw material or if there are any undercuts, deep pockets, or other features that can cause
problems for CNC.

Get started with design automation, today.
Automation tools offered in Autodesk’s Product Design & Manufacturing Collection are designed to be a scalable solution that matures as you reach your goals. Products in the collection such as Autodesk Inventor can help you easily define rules that drive custom product configurators, drawing creation, tool-paths, simulation setup, and more.

Ready to automate? Connect with our team of product specialists today!

Written By Andile Sikhakhane