In this post I will show some framing that has an alignment leg, so that I could position and attach sheet metal panels on the frame. In the past I’ve designed machine framing that would serve as the “skeleton” for the equipment but is also required meet other needs.
The Frame Generator tool in Inventor is excellent for this type of design work but does have an out of the box limitation; whatever primary custom shape you publish to the Content Center, will be utilized to populate the framing. This is all well-and-good until one starts to add legs to a base shape.
If you look at the image below, you’ll see that by adding the legs to main shape when I miter the design together, there is no room to slide in my sheet metal panels.
To overcome this challenge without having to edit the frame members individually, and to offer myself some long-term flexibility, I add the legs as secondary features. Now the leg features will not run all the way through the miter cut and the paneling could slide past the end of the mating frame members and would not get hung up on the mitered edge of that small leg.
This is just one example of how these secondary features in a frame generator member could be very useful and save time in the assembly environment. In this post, I will cover the thought process and steps to add a secondary feature to a Frame Generator shape.
Inventor Shape Profile
Mitered Frame Corner with Legs as Part of Base Profile (Note these Legs Intersect and Leave No Room for Panel Insertion from the Ends)
Result After Adding Legs as Secondary Features
The first step in the process is to set up a part that you intend to publish to the Content Center.
For those unfamiliar with the Content Center, this is a library of standard components that can be utilized in several places throughout Inventor. One key feature of the Content Center is that users are able to post their own parts in custom libraries within the Content Center. I will not be dealing with how to set up custom Content Center libraries in this post, or even how to publish custom content, but will be focusing on how to set up the secondary features and how those features are utilized in an assembly.
Setting up a part to be published to the Content Center is pretty much the same as creating just a standard part, create a good sketch and extrude the sketch to create the solid. In this first step, I’m only extruding the square tube section and NOT including the leg. Once this is done, the Structural authoring tool, will add the necessary modifications. See the base sketch and resulting Structural authoring modifications.
Standard Base Sketch Example
Results of Structural Authoring Modifications
Close up of Additional Structural Authoring Features
New Parameters (Including One that I Created)
Note: Normally the first feature that is created in Inventor is simply called “Extrusion:1” or something along those lines, but the Structural Authoring tool has replaced the generic name with “Body”.
Once the Structural authoring tool has modified the model, there are some new features that will be invaluable to the creation of the secondary features. To create reliably controlled legs as secondary features, I am going to reference the new Start and End planes. In this example, I have created two work planes offset from the Start and End planes by the value of the parameter Leg_Notch (see the images below). Using these offset work planes as the boundaries, I extrude the leg profile Between the planes.
Tip: I recommend renaming the offset planes to keep the model browser organized, particularly if multiple secondary features are going to be added.
Creating the Work Plane Offset from the Start Plane
Creating the Work Plane Offset from the End Plane
Extrude Between Offset Start and End Planes
Tip: Turn off the visibility of all sketches prior to publishing to the Content Center.
Once the final shape is published to a custom Content Center library, we can launch Frame Generator in the assembly and add the new shape to skeletal framework. Notice that the shape populates and maintains the notching even after applying a miter cut. If one is ambitious enough, an assembly level parameter could be used (via an iLogic rule) to drive the sizing of the leg notching. In this example, I am using a simple iLogic rule, but a more robust rule could be created and then applied right to the assembly template. Also, outside of iLogic, one could edit any individual member to modify the Leg_Notch parameter value.
Initial Leg Notching after Applying Miter Cut with a Gap
Modified Leg Notching after Driving with iLogic Rule and Assembly Parameter Change
Hopefully, you can see how the secondary feature can help to expedite certain operations when using Frame Generator members in an assembly. These techniques could easily be extrapolated to apply on-center hole spacing or other operations. We have also barely scratched the surface with the custom content publishing. Utilizing iParts would allow me add different versions of this basic shape with various secondary features and parameter values to drive their position. If you desire more information or have any questions, please comment below. Happy blogging and have a most blessed day! - Pete Strycharske
Do you use any of these tips and tricks in your daily workflow? Feel free to brag about your success in the comments!
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