Easy Inventor Name – Part Tags

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Applications Consultant, Dave Breiner
I would like to step through a process of applying Name or Part tags to an Inventor assembly using a single part with a multi-value list to control the names.
Using the example above, I can change any of the text but for this exercise I will limit it to the name and title. This can just as easily be a parts tag where you control the part number, serial number or any other filed you wish to use.
I began by creating my tag with information that will be static.
I then created a user text parameter for the name and another for the title.
For the User Parameter Name, I right click and add a multi-value list containing the names that I commonly use.
Create a sketch on the face of the part and add a Text field. In the Format Text window, select the User Parameter Name then select the Add Parameter button to the right to insert the parameter into the text field. Do the same for the Title parameter. Select each parameter in turn and apply any formatting (text style, size, bold, etc.) that you wish.
You may need to adjust some of the formatting or the size and location of the text box.
I chose to Emboss the Name and Title on my tag.
To make my name and title selection a bit easier, I created a rule to pair the correct title with the selected name. This also helps to update any changes in case someone should be promoted to President or CEO.
The last adjustment I made was to create an iLogic Form to make the selection easier. Drag the two parameters into the Form editor. Don’t forget to select the NAME TAG and at the bottom of the Properties window, set “Show on Place Component” to True.
Save the file to a location in your current project.
To test how this works, start an assembly and save the file. From the Assemble panel, select the pull down below the Place command. Select the Place iLogic Component. Browse to the file that you just saved and place it in the assembly. Click once to place a single instance of the part or continue to place additional identical parts. When finished, right click and select OK then select Done on the iLogic Form.
Continue to place Name Tags with different selections as needed.
As you place the parts, you can see in the browser that the parts are assigned a suffix and an instance number. The Dave Hampton tag is 01:1, Joslyn Tapler is 02:1 and Mark Lancaster is 03:1 & 03:2 since I placed two instances of that tag.
In a future blog I will show you how to ensure that these are unique parts by adding a serial number prefix to the part.
This type of part and placement can be used in many different ways to speed up your work process. It just takes a little upfront work to get your parts set up the way you want them.
Till Later,
Dave