USING A SHAFT COMPONENTS GENERATOR FOR MODELING TYPICAL PARTS IN THE AUTODESK INVENTOR PROGRAM

Abstract

Modern technologies for the design, refinement and manufacture of machine-building parts require preliminary development of their computer models. The possibility to develop 3D models is provided by the appropriate application programs. Autodesk Inventor is one of the most efficient and widespread of these. It allows specialists to create parametric models of parts that provide for the wide range of possible geometry variations. "Design wizards" ("generators") of Autodesk Inventor are essentially ready-made parametric models for constructing a shaft or gear, spring or cam of arbitrary geometry required by the designer. They provide a user-friendly interface for creation and further edition these commonly used parts in mechanical engineering. The work clarifies the possibilities and provides algorithms for using the Shaft Component Generator (Shaft Design Wizards) of Autodesk Inventor for 3D modeling of fittings, covers, body parts, plugs and other parts, the outer contours of which contain sections of cylindrical, conical or regular polyhedral forms, in case these areas are located along a common axis. Recommendations are given and the expediency of using the proposed approach when modeling details of the specified geometry is substantiated. Analyzed and identified the advantages of the Shaft Component Generator for creating chamfers on polyhedrons, external grooves and grooves for the exit of the grinding wheel compared to building these standard features directly in the 3D modeling environment of Autodesk Inventor. Approbation of the proposed algorithms for using the "Shaft Component Generator" has revealed their high efficiency. It was applied for a large number of different geometric models. The proposed approach can significantly reduce the number of required operations and the time spent on developing and further editing models, and greatly simplifies the modeling process itself. The obtained results have successfully introduced into the educational process of KhNAHU and can be used both by other technical educational institutions and by professionals whose activities are related to 3D modeling.