Preparing CAD model

This subchapter explains the functional principle and operation of Autodesk^® Inventor^®.

Slow simulation Several factors within Autodesk® Inventor® slow down the simulation. Multiple opened Inventor® instances and the set visual style are among these factors. Only open one Inventor® instance at a time for the simulation. Reduce the axis and collision sensor to a minimum. Use simple parts for collision detection. Go to View>Display>Visual Style and set a simple visual style , for example "Technical Illustration" or "Shaded". Under View>Display, disable Ray Tracing.

Inventor® function Contact Solver does not work in conjunction with TE1130 Inventor® add-in. Disable the function under Inspect>Disable Contact Solver.

Principle of operation

You have two options for creating a CAD model in Autodesk^® Inventor^® with which you can use the TwinCAT 3 Interface for Inventor^®.

1. Joints:
2. Parts can be moved via joints in the CAD model. These joints have a parameter that can be defined in TwinCAT. If the value changes, the position of the part to be moved also changes.
2. Constraints:
3. A constraint specifies the distance or angle between parts. There is one parameter for each constraint in Inventor^®. This parameter value can be changed in TwinCAT. If the value changes, the position of the part to be moved also changes.

Displacement sensors

In contrast to the axes, which write parameter values, the displacement sensors read parameter values. For example, in kinematics such as delta kinematics, the position parameter of the joint, which is located in the Tool Center Point (TCP), can be read. This is used to check whether the position moved to is the desired target position.

Collision sensors

For collision detection, the TwinCAT 3 Interface for Inventor^® can be used to define sensors with which the collision between two selected components is checked and passed to TwinCAT as a BOOL variable.