Autodesk® Inventor ® 2025
Introduction to Solid Modeling
Chapter 1: Introduction to Autodesk Inventor
✓ Understand how the Part, Assembly, Presentation, and Drawing environments enable you to create and
document a 3D digital prototype.
✓ Understand how the five key Inventor attributes contribute to creating robust parts and assemblies that can
be easily documented.
✓ Load a project file.
✓ Open existing Autodesk Inventor files.
✓ Navigate the software interface to locate and execute commands.
✓ Use the model orientation commands to pan, zoom, rotate, and look at a model.
✓ Assign visual styles to your models.
✓ Use object selection techniques to efficiently select objects in your models.
Autodesk Inventor Introduction
• Solid modeling is the creation and manipulation of solid, three-dimensional (3D) representations of a model.
Autodesk Inventor can be used to:
Design solid 3D part models and create drawings of parts…
Part model is
referenced to create
drawing views
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
…and create 3D models of assemblies. Part → .IPT
Assembly → .IAM
Drawing → .DWG or .IDW
Models are placed relative to Presentation → .IPN
one another in an assembly.
Exploded views are created
in a presentation.
Assembly models can
be referenced to create
drawing views.
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Five key attributes to Autodesk Inventor:
• Feature-Based Modeling
• Parametric Features
• Associative
• Assembly Management
• Model Documentation
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Feature-Based Modeling
• Models are created by adding one feature at a time until the model is complete.
• Feature relationships are created as new features reference existing features.
Extrude
(base feature) Copied feature
Shell
Hole
Extrude
Drafts Fillets
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Feature-Based Modeling
1st (Base) Feature: 2nd Feature: 3rd Feature:
Extrude Drafts Rounds
A sketched feature is
created by sketching 4th Feature: 5th Feature: 6th Feature:
its shape or profile. Shell Extrude Hole
7th Feature:
Copy A pick and place feature is a feature for
which a shape is predefined (e.g., hole).
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Parametric Features
• Dimensional constraints used to define a feature’s shape are called parameters.
• Parameter values can be changed and features automatically update.
• Equations establish relationships using dimensions or parameters in the model.
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Associative
• Changes made to a model in any of the modes propagate to all other modes.
Part mode Assembly mode
Drawing mode
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Assembly Management
• Parts can be used as components in an assembly.
• Assemblies are created by constraining components relative to one another.
Models can be placed
relative to one another
to create an assembly.
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Autodesk Inventor Introduction
Model Documentation
• Model information (parts and assemblies) is used to create the required views and detail items in a
drawing.
• Drawing models are not contained in a drawing file.
• Drawings are associative.
• Two drawing formats: .IDW and .DWG files.
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Getting Started with Inventor
Home Page
• Activate projects
• Open files
• Create new files
• Open recent files
• Sort recent files
• List View/Grid View
• Additional tools
The Home page is
always available.
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Getting Started with Inventor
Project Files
• A project file specifies the locations of the files in the project and maintains the required links.
(More on projects later in the training guide.)
• Home page – Select >Settings to load and activate projects OR
use drop-down list to activate loaded projects.
• Quick Access Toolbar – Click to load and activate.
• File menu – Select Manage>Projects to load and activate.
• New/Open dialog boxes – Click Projects to load
and activate.
Projects dialog
box loads and Activate
activates projects. projects
Drop-down list
enables you to
easily activate Load projects
loaded projects. Opens Projects
dialog box.
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Getting Started with Inventor
Opening Files
• Files can be opened using the Open dialog box or from the Recent list.
• Home page – Select Open.
• Home page (Recent Files) – Double-click on a file name or right-click and select Open.
• Quick Access Toolbar – Click . Open dialog box enables you to
• File menu – Select Open. browse and open selected files.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
File Menu Quick Access Toolbar Title Bar
Ribbon Tabs
Commands
Panels
Model
Browser
Graphics
Window
Home & Graphics
Window Tabs
Status
Bar
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Interface and Commands
• Ribbon consists of tabs, panels, and commands.
• Commands are grouped in panels.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Commands
• Commonly used panels are displayed.
• To customize panels:
• Expand the Show panels list ( ) at the end of each tab.
• Right-click on the ribbon and expand Show Panels.
Use additional options in
the right-click drop-down
list to customize ribbon
appearance or dock/undock.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Graphics Window and Toolbars
• Graphics Window
• Main working window to interact with models.
Use the Documents Menu
• Multiple files can be opened simultaneously. to arrange or tile the open
windows.
• Quick Access Toolbar
• Provides quick access to common commands.
• Customizable to add more commands.
• List of Undo and Redo actions.
• Selection filter (discussed later).
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Model Browser and Status Bar
• Model Browser
• Lists features in order they are created.
• Can also be used to: Search
• Select and search for features
• Access common options (e.g., Delete or Edit) Adds available
• Edit features panels to the
• View feature information Model browser
• Reorder features (click and drag)
• Open assembly and drawing components Additional
• Create drawings options
• Investigate relationships
• Status Bar
• Displays messages related to the active tool.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Modeling Tools
• Marking and Context Menus
• Right-click in the graphics window to open.
• Top radial menu is the marking menu.
• Vertical list is the context menu.
Gesturing: Click and hold the right
mouse button and immediately drag to
the required wedge and release. Must
be done within 250ms.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Modeling Tools
• Feature Creation Controls
• Properties panel, feature dialog boxes, and mini-toolbars are used to define features.
The elements that
display in the
Properties panel
vary according to
the feature being
defined, in this Values can be defined
case a hole. in the panel or in the
entry fields in the
graphics window.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Modeling Tools
• Feature Creation Controls
• Feature dialog boxes are transitioning to Properties panels for all features.
• The mini-toolbar (only available with feature dialog boxes) is turned off by default;
to enable: View tab>User Interface>Mini-Toolbar.
The elements that display in the
dialog box or mini-toolbar vary
according to the feature being
defined.
Expands or collapses the
feature dialog box.
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Autodesk Inventor Interface
Accessing Help
• Click or Help in any dialog box, if available (context sensitive).
• Click (Advanced Settings Menu)>Help in the Properties panel.
• Hover cursor over command (tip and/or video).
• Click in top toolbar.
• Click Help on the Home page.
• Press <F1>.
• Type topic.
Local help can be installed and set as
default by enabling Installed Local Help
in the Application Options>General tab.
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Model Orientation
Navigate Panel
ViewCube
Navigation Bar
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Model Orientation
Pan
• Click .
• Press <F2>.
• Press and hold middle mouse button.
Rotate/Orbit
• Click .
• Press <F4>.
• Press and hold <Shift> + middle mouse button.
• Pivot point (PP) is based on view in graphics window:
• Full model = PP at geometry center
• Partial model = PP at nearest edge/face/vertex
• No model = PP at the cursor location
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Model Orientation
Zoom
• Click or .
• Press <F3>.
• Click or (Zoom All).
• Click or (Zoom Selected).
• Click or (Zoom Window).
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Model Orientation
Look At
• Rotate the model until the face is visible and click (Look At).
Select this surface
to be parallel to the
screen.
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Model Orientation
ViewCube
Select a side or edge
• Alternative to using (Look At). on the ViewCube.
• Select faces or edges to orient.
• Spin or rotate a view.
Return to a Home view:
• Click at top left of the ViewCube.
• Right-click and select Home View.
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Model Orientation
Full Navigation Wheel
• Alternative to using other model orientation tools.
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Model Display
• View tab>Appearance panel>Visual Style
Shaded Shaded with Edges Shaded with
Hidden Edges
Wireframe Wireframe with Wireframe with Monochrome
Hidden Edges Visible Edges Only
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Selection Techniques
Sketched Entity Selection
• To select individual sketched entities, use the left mouse button.
• To remove, press and hold either <Ctrl> or <Shift> and select the entity again.
• To select multiple sketched entities, use the Window or Crossing techniques.
Drag boundary box left to right. Drag boundary box right to left.
Window Selection Crossing Selection
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Selection Techniques
Tangent Entity Selection
• To select tangent entities (faces and edges):
• Right-click on an entity and select Select Tangencies.
• Double-click on the entity.
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Selection Techniques
Selecting Hidden Entities or Features
• When you hover the cursor over objects, a drop-down list displays all shown and hidden objects.
• Alternatively, right-click and select Select Other.
• Select an item in the drop-down list and select required object.
• Scroll using middle mouse button and press <Enter> when required object is highlighted.
Cursor was hovered in this
location to activate the
Select Other drop-down list.
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Selection Techniques
Selection Filter
• Use the Selection filter in the Quick Access Toolbar to efficiently select entities.
• Available filters depend on mode.
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Practice
Practice 1a: Open and Manipulate a Part
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