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Announcement
July 30, 2013

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Bob Reid, Synergis Manufacturing Solutions Engineer:
Primitives were introduced with the release of Inventor 2013.  There are currently four primitives that are available: box, cylinder, sphere and a torus.  When working with primitives, the sketch and extrusion process is automated.  You first select the start place for the primitive, then the profile is created, and finally, the solid is created.  No surfaces can be created with the primitive feature, only solids.  Primitive shapes can be used to add or remove material.  Let’s go through four examples.
The Primitive feature is located under the 3D model tab, and has its own panel called Primitives.

Box Example

In a new part file, I select Box from the Primitives panel.

I am asked to select a work place to create the sketch, so I select the XY Plane:

I am asked to select the Center Point, I select 0, 0, 0 as the Origin Point:

I enter in the size of the box I want to create.

I Click Enter and add an extrude value for the box and there it is.

Cylinder Example

For this example, I continue with my existing box primitive and then select Cylinder from the Primitives panel:

The program asks me to select a plane or edit an existing sketch.  I select the top of the cube.

I then need to select the center of my circle.  I select on the top side of the box, create the circle and extrude to a distance:

To fully constrain the cylinder sketch, I can always edit the sketch and add the dimensions/constraints I need:

Sphere Example

I select the Sphere from the Primitives panel.

I am asked select a plane or edit an existing sketch.  I select my XY Plane from my origin folder:

I am asked to select the center of my sphere:

I sketch my sphere:

Hit Enter and I can now revolve my sphere.  If need be, I can activate the sketch to fully dimension/constrain my sketch:


Torus Example

I select Torus from the Primitives panel.

I am asked to select plane or edit an existing sketch; I will select my XY Plane from my origin folder:

I select the center of my Torus:

Then I select the center of the Torus section:

I then select the center of the Torus:

I click Enter, and create the Torus cut through the part:

If need be, I can activate the sketch to fully dimension/constrain my sketch:


Here is my final model showing 3 examples of primitives where material is added and 1 example where material is removed:

I hope that helps you work easier with primitives.  If you have any questions, contact us, we can help you stay ahead.
Thanks,
Bob
See some of Bob’s previous posts:

Robert Reid graduated from Middlesex College in New Jersey with a Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. With over 25 years of Industrial Machine Design, including Wire Drawing Machinery, Plastic Processing Machinery, & Packaging Machinery, Robert has held various positions within the workforce, including, Manager of Engineering; Sheet Extrusion Dept, Manager of Engineering, Chief Design Engineer. He is currently an Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert.
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