Inventor 2019.1 and 2019.2 saw some long-awaited enhancements to the Frame Generator.
As you know when installing Inventor it defaults to the ANSI templates so that when you start dimensioning, everything is in inches. This is also true for the standards in the Frame Generator, it defaulted to ANSI every single time that you exited and re-entered the Frame Generator dialog box. This has now changed and it remembers the last standard that you used.
Another enhancement that has been introduced is that it also gives a preview of the members after you select the placement. How many times have you selected your line placement and not seen anything and because you had a momentary lapse of concentration you think “WHY IS IT NOT WORKING!!!” Oh…it is because I forgot to insert a frame size. This is now taken care of by Inventor defaulting to the smallest frame member size.
Also, notice that the preview is a nice shaded view and not wireframe anymore. All this to make Inventor a more visually appealing experience.
Multi-selection is now also available when using the Change member selection command. You will notice that when editing the sketch is also visible which can quickly tell you what part of the frame was inserted on the line.
Previews are also available for the following operations before accepting the changes.
- Mitre
- Notch
- Trim to Frame
- Lengthen/Shorten
This is fantastic as how many times have you accepted the change to find it is not the result that you want.
The final enhancement introduced in 2019.1 is the ability to copy properties from other members when changing a member. You can either copy the orientation, the frame member properties or both.
