Autodesk User Group International

You may not know it, but if you installed the full version of Autodesk Inventor 10, you have over 800,000 standard components at your fingertips, each with all the information you need for downstream communication. Part numbers, descriptions, even iMates, are already built into the parts created by the Content Center. The Content Center is more than just a standard part library. It provides an interface to:

Search on standard part numbers, descriptions, file names
Share standard features such as extrusions, lofts, sweeps (thus replacing the sometimes confusing iFeature interface)
Edit and customize each shape or part in the assembly to match your own company standards
Publish your existing iParts and iFeatures to the Content Center
Establish individual Favorites for quick access to commonly used parts or features

The Content Center is installed when you perform a �Complete� installation of Autodesk Inventor Series or Professional. The permissions for modifying the Content Center are set per user during the installation process. I�m sure you have seen this dialog box, but if you are like most users installing software (including myself) the Next> button may be as far as you read.

Notice the additional control CAD Administrators will have managing the library files. This setting can be saved in with your .MSI file for network deployments.

After your installation is complete, the following Content Center libraries are configured by default:

Inventor Standard Parts (Read Only)
Parker (Read Only)
My Library (Read/Write)

Each of these libraries contains the data that is needed to create part (ipt) files in an assembly environment. Additionally, standard shapes are saved and can be accessed when editing a part file. Both the part files and standard shapes are fully parametric; once inserted into an assembly, changes can be made to them to make the parts unique.

If your eyebrows just rose up to your hairline than that means that you have tried to modify a part brought in from the Content Center and a friendly reminder (often mistaken for an error message) is displayed.

The key to understanding how to modify Standard Part files is knowing where you are saving the files. All too often, a lot of Inventor data is created in a short period of time but poorly managed due to users simply saving files in default directories.

Let�s say that I want to use the Content Center to bring in a piece of 2�x2�x.25� steel tubing 12� long. But I need to cope an end or mitre a corner. If you try and make a change to the steel tubing and accept the default location to save you will get the �cannot modify the library file� dialog box. So let�s fix it.

Browse to the Steel Shapes Category.
Select the Square/Rectangular Tubes family.
Double click on ANSI AISC member.
Select the Size designation.
Type in desired length.
The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP in making this editable is what occurs after you select Insert.

The resulting dialog box that appears is the Save Copy As dialog box. In order to create the part the Content Center needs to know where to save the part file it is about to create. Take a look at the Look In pulldown. By default Inventor will try and save the files created by the Content Center in C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\Inventor\Content Center Files\R10\.

Modify Your Content Center File Save Location
If you are going to put the Content Center in production mode, the first decision to be made is to determine how your company is going to save Content Center files, and where they will be saved.

There are two methods of determining how Content Center; Global and per Project file. The global setting is managed per each Inventor installation in the Application Options under the File tab. Notice the areas to define Template, Style Library, and Content Center save locations. Each of these can be defined in this location. The downside of that method is the fact that it would have to be configured on each user�s machine. This may not be a big deal if you are flying Inventor solo, but if you are managing twenty users, the task can be very time consuming.

An alternate, more efficient way to determine where your Content Center files are to be saved is per Project file. The Inventor Project (.ipj) file can determine where each of the settings discussed previously can be saved. Saving these locations in the project file will allow users to distribute all the settings via a single file versus the manual process under Application Options.

In the following example I have mapped an F:\ to a share on a server. That share will contain my Inventor template files, Style Libraries, and host where my Content Center files will be saved.

In a non-Vaulted environment you can start to create Content Center files and this will be the READ-ONLY location that files are saved to. Remember, the Content Center file location is considered a library directory. Parts saved to a Library directory can not be modified. The importance behind this read-only location for Content Center parts is that users will create a single instance of Content Center parts, rather than all users creating multiple files of the same part. This will also significantly reduce the amount of File Resolution dialog boxes.

Content Center Summary
Both those waiting to establish part libraries and seasoned iPart veterans will benefit greatly from implementing Inventor�s Content Center. Working with the Content Center is much easier than working with your iParts due to many factors. Some companies may have established policies deleting the parent relationship between the new iPart instance and the iPart factory to avoid potential reference problems you experienced in the past.

Even better news about iParts and the Content Center is that you don�t have to throw away or discontinue using the parts that your team has been using for several releases. The Content Center allows users to publish your iParts to a custom Content Center library. Look for upcoming white papers on publishing your iParts to the Content Center.

(Discuss this Article! in AUGI's Discussion Forums.)

Submitted by Rob Cohee, business development manager for Avatech Solutions� Data Management practice. He has trained more than 800 architects and engineers in mechanical, automotive, civil, and industrial fields and has authored and co-authored Autodesk Inventor curriculum for high school and college-level students. Rob holds Autodesk Expert Certifications in Inventor, Manufacturing Implementation, and Data Management Implementation.