Taking Advantage of Open Profiles in Inventor

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  Posted November 26, 2007

  by Garin Gardiner
  

  Inventor supports the use of open profiles which can often result in faster creation of features as well as survive large topology changes that would often require clean-up with closed profiles.  Take a look at the following image and notice we are using a rectangular base extrusion with a shell and a step inside. We also have a sketch that we want to use to add an additional extrusion although the lines don’t terminate at the base extrusion walls.

   

  

   

  With the extrusion tool I will you can select the open profile and select the direction you want the profile to fill.

  

   

  We might have a need to change the base shape from a rectangle to a circle. From past experience we all know this would require some clean-up with a closed profile since the base shape has changed. Since we created this with an open profile we can easily change the base shape without the need to re-define the additional features.

  

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Comments

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  February 7, 2008 08:34 AM Dennis Jeffrey

  I had no problems duplicating this example, however there were some steps left out that will help others to duplicate this great feature: Before creating the open sketch, create a work plane parallel to and above the inner step. Use this work plane to create the sketch plane. Otherwise, you will not get both legs of the new feature. When creating the sketch, do not make the bottom of the "U" shape colinear to the edge of the step, but it extend the bottom line away from the step edge.

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  April 11, 2008 02:27 AM Kimberley Herrick

  I tried to create the step using the same technique with a two line open profile but it took a few minutes to figure out why it didn't work, and the answer is in the missing step identified by Dennis in the other comment. When you create a sketch on a work plane it doesn't project component geometry onto the sketch so the only lines on the sketch are the ones you draw. If you create a sketch for the step on the internal side face of the part then it projects the face rectangle and that prevents you using the open profile until you make one of the sides of the rectangle a construction line. A good idea for a tutorial, but rather lacking in detail and proof reading.

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  April 11, 2008 08:59 AM John Everhart

  Extreamely confusing