Home / Non-Accredited / Graphic Design & CAD / Autodesk Inventor Essentials Course (3 days)
Quick Look Course Summary:Autodesk Inventor Essentials Course (3 days)
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Length: 3 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 21,125 EX VAT 3 Person R 13,658 EX VAT 10 Person R 9,124 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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Autodesk Inventor Essentials Course (3 days)
Your designers build parts, assemblies and production drawings in Inventor with confidence – and stop redrawing every change by hand.
Many engineering and fabrication teams own Autodesk Inventor licences that only one or two people use well. The rest keep drafting in 2D, redraw every design change by hand and only find clashes once parts reach the workshop. Practical Autodesk Inventor training changes that: one 3D model drives the parts, the assembly, the drawings and the bill of materials, so a change made once flows through everywhere.
This three-day essentials course takes new and self-taught users through the full workflow. Day one covers the interface, project setup, parametric sketching and building solid parts. Day two moves to reusable parts and features, sweeps and lofts, assemblies with constraints and joints, production drawings and exploded views. Day three introduces the tools manufacturing teams use every week: large assembly settings, sheet metal with flat patterns for laser and plasma cutting, Frame Generator and weldments.
Every topic is hands-on. Delegates work on your own licensed Inventor software, follow the facilitator step by step and then complete an exercise on their own. Send us your drawing template or a few typical parts beforehand and we build them into the practice, so the skills go straight back into your projects.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Fewer drawing errors and clashes reaching the workshop floor
- Faster design changes, because models and drawings update together
- More value from the Inventor licences you already pay for
- Consistent templates, parts lists and drawing standards across the team
For your delegates
- A clear, repeatable workflow from first sketch to finished drawing
- Hands-on practice on every topic, on the software you use at work
- Confidence with sheet metal, frames and weldments, not only simple parts
- A training guide and practice files to keep for reference
What delegates will be able to do
- Set up an Inventor project and move around the interface with confidence
- Create fully constrained parametric sketches and turn them into solid parts
- Reuse standard parts, iParts and iFeatures instead of modelling from scratch
- Assemble components with constraints and joints and manage the bill of materials
- Produce dimensioned part and assembly drawings with parts lists and balloons
- Create exploded views and animated assembly instructions
- Model sheet metal parts and export flat patterns for cutting
- Build structural frames with Frame Generator and document simple weldments
Who should attend
Mechanical designers, draughtspersons, engineers, technologists, product developers and fabrication or workshop staff who are new to Inventor or have taught themselves and want a sound method. A basic understanding of technical drawing and comfort with Windows are assumed; AutoCAD experience helps but is not required.
Course outline
Day 1 – From sketch to solid part
Inventor in the product design workflow
- How parametric 3D design differs from 2D drafting
- Where Inventor fits from concept through to manufacturing drawings
- Digital prototyping: catching problems before metal is cut
- Exchanging models with building and plant projects through BIM formats
Interface and project setup
- Ribbon, model browser, ViewCube and navigation tools
- Setting up an Inventor project file and folder structure
- Part, assembly, drawing and presentation file types
- The typical route: part, then assembly, then drawing
Parametric sketching
- Sketch constraints and dimensions that drive the design
- Fully constrained versus under-constrained sketches
- 2D and 3D sketches as the base for part features
- Starting a sketch from existing AutoCAD DWG geometry
- Sketching habits that keep models stable when they change
Building basic parts
- Application options and document settings worth changing
- Extrude, revolve, hole, fillet and chamfer features
- Work planes, work axes and work points
- Editing features and reordering the model browser
- Practice part: a machined bracket
Day 2 – Reuse, assemblies and drawings
Reusing parts and features
- iParts for families of similar components
- iFeatures for features you model again and again
- Content Center for standard fasteners and hardware
- Choosing the right reuse method for your product range
Advanced part modelling
- Sweeps along 2D and 3D paths
- Lofts between profiles for curved shapes
- Multi-body parts and when to use them
- Model parameters, user parameters and iProperties
- Adding tolerances to model dimensions
Assembly design
- Placing components and grounding the first part
- Constraints and joints that control position and movement
- Structuring a design into sub-assemblies
- Adaptive components that update with the design
- Managing and editing the bill of materials
- Design accelerators for bolted connections, shafts and gears
Drawings and annotation
- Drawing templates, styles and standards
- Base, projected, section and detail views
- Dimensions, centre marks, notes and parts lists
- Balloons and assembly drawings
- Sharing drawings as PDF or DWF with people who do not run Inventor
Presentations and exploded views
- The presentation environment and storyboards
- Moving components to build an exploded view
- Animated assembly instructions for the workshop and maintenance teams
- Publishing videos and exploded images for manuals and spare-parts sheets
Day 3 – Larger designs and manufacturing tools
Working with large assemblies
- Opening big assemblies quickly with Express mode
- Representations and model states that lighten heavy assemblies
- Performance settings and workstation tips
- Habits that keep large assembly files manageable
Sheet metal parts
- Sheet metal rules: thickness, bend radius and relief settings
- Faces, flanges, contour flanges and cuts
- Creating and checking the flat pattern
- Sheet metal drawings with bend notes and flat pattern views
- Exporting flat patterns as DXF for laser and plasma cutting
Frame Generator
- Laying out a frame on a skeleton sketch
- Inserting members from standard steel profiles
- End treatments: mitres, notches, trims and extends
- Changing and maintaining frame members
- Cut lists and bills of materials for frames
Weldment design
- The weldment environment and its three stages
- Preparations before welding
- Cosmetic welds and fillet weld beads
- Machining after welding
- Weld symbols, weldment drawings and bead reports
Putting it together
- End-to-end exercise: part, assembly and drawing
- Setting up company templates for future work
- Questions on delegates' own design problems
- Where to go next: the Inventor Advanced course
How it is delivered
Three days, 08:30-16:00. Training runs on your licensed Autodesk software at your offices (or on licensed machines you provide), anywhere in South Africa. One delegate or a group of up to about 20, each at their own workstation. Each delegate receives a training guide and practice files; exercises can use your own parts and drawing template on request. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
AutoCAD, Revit, Inventor and Civil 3D are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. BOTI is an independent training provider.
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Frequently asked questions
Can you run the training at our offices?
Yes. The facilitator comes to your offices anywhere in South Africa and trains on your own licensed Inventor installations, or on licensed machines you provide. BOTI does not supply Inventor software or licences.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to a group of about 20, each working at their own computer. Smaller groups get more one-on-one time with the facilitator.
Is the course accredited, and will delegates get a certificate from Autodesk?
No to both. It is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance. BOTI is an independent training provider, not an Autodesk training partner. Delegates who want a vendor credential can book the Certified Professional exam that Autodesk offers through Pearson VUE themselves.
What is the difference between Essentials and Advanced?
Essentials takes delegates from the first sketch through assemblies, drawings, sheet metal, frames and weldments. The Autodesk Inventor Advanced Course builds on that for experienced users. Start with Essentials if your team is new to Inventor or self-taught.
Can we use our own parts and drawing standards?
Yes. Send us a few typical parts, an assembly or your drawing template beforehand and the facilitator works them into the exercises.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
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