What is Autodesk Inventor? |
Inventor is a computer software that we use to create 3D objects from 2D sketches. When you make a 2D sketch, you can add dimensions to make it a specific size. After the sketch, you extrude the object to any size to make it 3D. This software can help anyone with an idea bring their idea to real life.
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How to Make Widget #5
Step 1: Open Inventor, select "Standard.ipt, and click "create".
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Step 2: Make a 2D sketch by selecting "Start 2D Sketch".
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Step 5: Add dimensions to the sides of your sketch
Step 8: Extrude the 2D sketch 0.25 inches and select "Ok".
Step 9: On the "Front Face" of the widget, draw a 2D sketch of next section you want to remove. Add dimensions to the sketch and "Finish Sketch". Next, Extrude the 2D Sketch by 0.25 inches.
Step 10: Draw another 2D sketch on the "Front Face" of a triange to remove it from the corner. Add dimensions to the sketch. Select "Finish Sketch". Extrude the triangle by 0.25 inches to remove the material.
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Step 11: Draw another sketch of a triangle on the opposite side of the "Front Face", add dimensions to the sketch, and select "Finish Sketch
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Step 12: Extrude the 2D sketch by 0.25 inches to remove the material. Once you extrude this last triangle from the corner, you have finished Widget #5!
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Final product of Widget #5!
MakerBot of Widget #5
In MakerBot, open the Widget STL file you want to print.
- In the "Change Dimensions" button on the side, "Scale To" 1000% - In the "Change Rotation" button, click "Lay Flat" to make sure that it will print flat in the 3D printer - Select "Settings" in the right side of the options ribbon. - Quality: Standard - ✔ Raft - Extruder Type: Smart Extruder+ - Extrude Temp: 215°C |
Preparing the export the file on to your flash drive:
- Put your flash drive into the computer. - Select "Export Print File" - Before closing the pop up screen, select "Print Preview" - Your screen should look similar to the image above, but it will have your object in the print preview. |
What I Learned from using Inventor/3D Printer
After using Inventor and the 3D printer, I learned that you can take almost any idea and bring it to reality. I had never used the 3D printer before, so I made sure to follow each of the steps on the assignment sheet so that I would successfully produce my widget. Also, I learned how to scale and format my widget in MakerBot so that the dimensions matched what was on the isometric paper. All in all, I think that the 3D printer is a very cool machine.