New Nesting Utility for Autodesk Inventor...
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[email protected] www.imaginit.com 800.356.9050 WHITEPAPER New Nesting Utility for Autodesk Inventor 2019 For companies that use Inventor for sheet metal design and fabrication, the long wait for an integrated sheet metal nesting utility is over. Autodesk has just released an Inventor 2019 Nesting Utility add-in as a part of their Product Design and Manufacturing Collection. The nesting utility is seamlessly integrated into Inventor 2019 and can process any sheet metal part file which contains a generated flat pattern. Sheet metal part files may be added to the nesting routine individually or automatically detected by simply selecting a completed assembly having one or more sheet metal parts (which is a real time saver) and existing DXF files can also be added to the nesting process. A new Inventor template type has been added with the extension “.inest” and can be configured to use either inch or metric units. As with all Inventor templates, the units are only for display purposes as the utility handles sheet metal files of mixed units. The main template configuration involves adding your standard sheet materials, including stock material thickness, sizes and nesting properties and is simplified by the utility. When an assembly or part is added using the “Sources” command, the sheet materials are automatically captured and added to the Process Material Library. Once populated, you can customize the material library with your company names and nesting properties and then save it into your standard nesting template file. New materials can be added manually or by repeating the automatic process and then saving over the existing nesting template. As mentioned, nesting properties for each material are configured in the Process Material Library. These properties include how nested parts will be oriented with the sheet grain, if mirroring of the part will be allowed, will the utility be allowed to flip the part in the nest process, spacing between nested parts and many others. Under each material type, different packaging options can be added to include properties such as different stock material size, material cost and trim behaviors. The next step is to define the sources to be used in the nesting operation. By selecting the “Add” icon in the Sources dialog box, Inventor sheet metal part files can be selected as well as assembly files containing sheet metal parts within the Inventor project. DXF files can also be selected from within or outside of the current Inventor project (DXF files must be assigned a material from the Process Material Library before creating the nest). In the screen capture below, the Nesting palette is shown having a sample of geometric sources. The top group is from an assembly, the next to last is a single sheet metal part and the last is a DXF file. The Properties dialog is shown for the DXF source showing the selected Material ID and other nesting orientation override settings. The properties can be configured individually for each geometry source if desired.
Transcript of New Nesting Utility for Autodesk Inventor...
[email protected] www.imaginit.com800.356.9050
WHITEPAPER
New Nesting Utility for Autodesk Inventor 2019
For companies that use Inventor for sheet metal design and fabrication, the long wait for an integrated sheet metal nesting utility is over. Autodesk has just released an Inventor 2019 Nesting Utility add-in as a part of their Product Design and Manufacturing Collection.
The nesting utility is seamlessly integrated into Inventor 2019 and can process any sheet metal part file which contains a generated flat pattern. Sheet metal part files may be added to the nesting routine individually or automatically detected by simply selecting a completed assembly having one or more sheet metal parts (which is a real time saver) and existing DXF files can also be added to the nesting process.
A new Inventor template type has been added with the extension “.inest” and can be configured to use either inch or metric units. As with all Inventor templates, the units are only for display purposes as the utility handles sheet metal files of mixed units. The main template configuration involves adding your standard sheet materials, including stock material thickness, sizes and nesting properties and is simplified by the utility.
When an assembly or part is added using the “Sources” command, the sheet materials are automatically captured and added to the Process Material Library. Once populated, you can customize the material library with your company names and nesting properties and then save it into your standard nesting template file. New materials can be added manually or by repeating the automatic process and then saving over the existing nesting template.
As mentioned, nesting properties for each material are configured in the Process Material Library. These properties include how nested parts will be oriented with the sheet grain, if mirroring of the part will be allowed, will the utility be allowed to flip the part in the nest process, spacing between nested parts and many others. Under each material type, different packaging options can be added to include properties such as different stock material size, material cost and trim behaviors.
The next step is to define the sources to be used in the nesting operation. By selecting the “Add” icon in the Sources dialog box, Inventor sheet metal part files can be selected as well as assembly files containing sheet metal parts within the Inventor project. DXF files can also be selected from within or outside of the current Inventor project (DXF files must be assigned a material from the Process Material Library before creating the nest).
In the screen capture below, the Nesting palette is shown having a sample of geometric sources. The top group is from an assembly, the next to last is a single sheet metal part and the last is a DXF file. The Properties dialog is shown for the DXF source showing the selected Material ID and other nesting orientation override settings. The properties can be configured individually for each geometry source if desired.
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The same process can be executed by right clicking on an assembly or sheet metal part in the “Model” palette and selecting “Create Nest”.
Sources can be added or removed during the nesting process, making the utility very versatile in covering production needs. Sources from Inventor files are dynamic and can be refreshed if size and shape change in the source design document.
The next step in the process is to preview the “Nesting Properties” for the source components. Most of the required information has already been filled in from the Process Material Library such as grain, mirroring, part orientation and if the part can be flipped. The quantity of each source part can be edited here if needed as well. If an assembly was selected as the source, the BOM quantity for all sheet metal parts is automatically filled in but can be modified.
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This is a good time to mention that most of the dialog boxes are very large and contain settings that do not need to be shown on a regular basis. Each of these dialog boxes can be configured to show only the information needed, then by right clicking and selecting “Save View” the dialog box layout is saved. These saved views can be retrieved at a later time or returned to the default arrangement using the same right click menu. Column view and arrangement can be included in these saved views.
The next step is to select the “Create” command and define the nesting study. The utility allows for the creation of any number of nesting studies where different materials sizes, part quantity, nesting positions and remnant minimization can be analyzed. When the final nesting pattern has been achieved, all unnecessary studies can be deleted before saving. The ability to select and add source shapes as well as add and remove material packages is allowed during this step.
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Each nesting study is assembled by material sheet thickness with the nested parts indicated below each sheet outline by number. The numbers also appear on each nested part on the sheet. Nested parts can also be configured to pick up the assigned material colors for easy identification.
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After a nest study is finalized, each sheet can be exported as a DXF or a MSI file. MSI files are used exclusively by Autodesk TruNest application for post processing and generation of cutting toolpaths. Sheets may be exported individually or as a group. Another option is to select the “Create 3D Models” command to create a sheet layout directly into Inventor as a new part file. A word of caution though; this 3D model is not connected to the nesting layout and will have to be re-created if the layout changes. If the Inventor HSM CAM add-in is installed, the exported part can be processed with the 2D Profile cutting capabilities of the application and sent directly to the cutting machinery on the floor.
Last, I want to take a brief look at a Nesting Study in the Nesting palette. In this particular example there are three nests under the nesting study with each one representing a different material thickness. Under each nest the number of stock material sheets used by the nest are represented. These are the sheets which can be exported to DXF, MSI or 3D Inventor parts as mentioned above.
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About IMAGINiT TechnologiesIMAGINiT Technologies, a Rand Worldwide Company, is the world’s largest provider of enterprise solutions to the engineering community, including the building, manufacturing, civil and mapping industries. With over 25 years of experience, and 45 offices throughout North America, we provide the expertise, training and support to help companies realize the full power of design technology, maximize ROI and gain competitive advantage.
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Also included is a report holding relevant information about the nest level, including remnant sizes, nesting efficiency, costs, and much more. Note that the report data output is in millimeters (even if you are using an inch-based template) and if you wish to save the report you will have right click on the report window, choose the “Select All” command and then right click again and choose “Copy”. You can then the paste it into an application of your choice.
The Inventor Nesting Utility adds a much-needed process to the sheet metal workflow that will save time, materials and increase the efficiency for companies that process sheet metal flat components.
