Fundamentals of

Solid Modelling using

Inventor 7

George Smyrnakis Session 05

 Chapter 6:
Adding Placed Features to Parts

In this chapter, you will:

• Learn about placed features and when and why they

are used.

• Become familiar with the following placed features:

-Holes - Chamfers - Fillets - Patterns - Shells

• Create a variety of placed features.

 Introduction to Placed Features
In this chapter, you learn about the usefulness of placed features. You
discover some key differences between sketched features and placed
features, and where and why each one is used.

Hole, fillet, and chamfer features Patterned hole features and shell feature
Hole Features
With Inventor, you can create different types of holes using the following
modeling operations:
• Drill
• Counterbore
• Countersink
Custom thread and end options can be specified in these hole
operations.

Examples of drilled, counterbored, countersunk, and tapped holes

Hole Features
You specify the location of a hole using one of two placement options:

• Sketched Hole: Center Before selecting the hole option, you

can sketch center points for the holes you need.

• Sketch geometry: The center points of arcs and circles and

the endpoints of any sketch geometry can be selected as hole
centers.
The Hole Dialog Box
When you select the Hole tool, the Hole dialog box is displayed. There
are four tabs in this dialog box.
The Hole Dialog Box
On the Size tab, you can specify a standard screw size.

On the Options tab, you set the profile of the drill point. If the profile is
an angle, you enter the angular value. This tab is unavailable if the hole
termination is Through All.
Exercise 6-1 Placing Holes And Thread Features
(Demonstration to follow)
Fillet Features
Fillet features consist of fillets and rounds. Fillets add material to interior
edges to create a smooth transition from one face to another. Rounds
remove material from exterior edges. You can create constant radius
and variable radius fillets and rounds.

You can use the All Fillets and All Rounds selection modes to apply
fillets to multiple edges as shown in the following figure.
Fillet Features
The corner style can be set to either rolling ball or blend.

When you create variable radius fillets and rounds, you choose
between a smooth blend from one radius to another and a straight
blend between radii.
The Fillet Dialog Box
When you select the Fillet tool, the Fillet dialog box is displayed. There
are three tabs. On the Constant tab, you select multiple edges with
different radius values and apply one of five selection modes.

The Select mode options are:

• Edge Single edges or chained edges
• Loop Closed loop on a face
• Feature All edges on a feature
• All Fillets All remaining interior edges and corners
• All Rounds All remaining exterior edges and corners
The Fillet Dialog Box
On the Variable tab, you select a single edge that may be a
multisegment edge, and then specify a start and end radius. You can
add points along the edge, and define their relative distances from the
start point and their radii. You can control how different size radii are
blended with the Smooth radius transition option.
The Fillet Dialog Box
On the Setbacks tab, you can control the appearance of vertices where
three or more edges converge.

Use the Setbacks tab in the Fillet dialog box to first identify a vertex you
want to change. For each vertex you identify, you can specify a setback
amount for each edge entering that vertex.
Chamfer Feature
Chamfers are similar to fillets, except that the edge is bevelled rather
than rounded. When you create a chamfer on an interior edge, material
is added to your model. When you create a chamfer on an exterior
edge, material is cut away from your model.

When you create a chamfer, you can specify one of three operations:

- Distance- - Distance and Angle- -Two Distances-

The Chamfer Dialog Box
When you select the Chamfer tool, the Chamfer dialog box is displayed.
You can select the type of chamfer as discussed previously.

The More button expands the dialog box and displays the Edge Chain
and Setback options.

• Edge Chain Chains together any edges that are tangent to the edge
you select and includes them in the chamfer.

• Setback Defines the corner appearance for equal distance chamfers.

The left button creates a milled corner and the right button creates a
point as shown in the following figure.
Exercise 6-2 Adding Chamfer and Fillet Features
(Demonstration to follow)
Shell Features
Adding a shell feature to a part provides a convenient way to remove
material by offsetting existing faces to create new ones on the inside,
outside, or both sides of the part.

When you start the shelling process, all part faces are selected and a
default thickness is applied. You can exclude faces one at a time from
the shell feature, and control wall thickness for each face on your part.
Exercise 6-3 Creating a Shell Feature
(Demonstration to follow)
Pattern Features
The Rectangular Pattern and Circular Pattern feature tools let you
create a rectangular or circular array of features, making the design of
parts like the ones shown below much easier. You can also use the
Mirror Feature tool to mirror one or more features across a plane and
even create non rectangular patterns.
The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box
When you click the Rectangular Pattern tool, the Rectangular Pattern
dialog box is displayed. From this dialog box, you can select the
features to be patterned and define the column and row values. You
can also click the More button to expand the dialog box and display the
Creation Method option.

Pattern termination methods include:

• Identical All occurrences use an identical termination.
• Adjust The termination of each occurrence is calculated individually.
The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box

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The Rectangular Pattern Dialog Box
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
When you select the Circular Pattern tool, the Circular Pattern dialog
box is displayed. In this dialog box, you select the features to be
patterned, the rotation axis, the number of features to pattern, and the
angle. The More button displays the Creation and Positioning Methods.

Feature creation methods include:

• Identical All occurrences use an identical termination.
• Adjust to Model The termination of each occurrence is calculated
individually.

Positioning methods include:

• Incremental Occurrences are created at increments of the specified
angle.
• Fitted Occurrences are created within the specified angle.
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
The Circular Pattern Dialog Box
The Mirror Feature Tool and Dialog Box
The Mirror Feature tool creates a mirror image of one or more features
about a plane. The plane can be an existing work plane or planar face.

When you select the Mirror Feature tool, the Mirror Pattern dialog box is
displayed. From this dialog box, you can select the feature or features
to be mirrored and the mirror plane.

Feature creation methods include:

• Identical Creates identical mirrored features, regardless of the
termination plane.
• Adjust to Model Creates mirrored features that terminate on a
specified plane.
Exercise 6-4 Creating Pattern Features
(Demonstration to follow)