InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor

Motor Bracket Model

Part Number 4710.547

Revision 16.000
September 2004

September 29, 2004

ALGOR, Inc.
150 Beta Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2932 USA
Phone:
1.412.967.2700
USA/Canada:
1.800.48.ALGOR
Fax:
1.412.967.2781
Product/Services e-mail:
[email protected]
Technical Support e-mail:
[email protected]
Internet Address:
www.ALGOR.com

Copyright

2004 ALGOR, Inc.

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose, either in part or in
its entirety, without the expressed written permission of ALGOR, Inc.
This publication describes the state of ALGOR software at the time of its printing and may not reflect the software at all
times in the future. This publication may be changed without notice. This publication is not designed to transmit any
engineering knowledge relating specifically to any company or individual engineering project. In providing this publication,
ALGOR does not assume the role of engineering consultant to any user of this publication and hereby disclaims any and all
responsibility for any errors or omissions arising out of any engineering activity in which this publication may be utilized.
This document has been designed to be printed on the customer's local computer and printer. ALGOR cannot be held
responsible for any errors incurred in the printing of this document.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

Files List for this Tutorial

In addition to this document file, the following files are referenced in the tutorial:
KnuckleShaft.ipt
LeftBracket.ipt
RightBracket.ipt
MotorMount.iam
MotorMount.idv
These files are available in the Tutorials\Models subdirectory of the installation directory.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

Tutorial Conventions
To make this tutorial easy to use, the following conventions will be employed. For the command conventions, the item (or an
example of one) that you need to perform is noted in bold on the left. To the right of the item is a short description of the
action and/or results of the action.
User Input Notation Conventions
algframe

Type "algframe" using the keyboard. Text that you need to type is noted in bold type using a Courier
font.

<Esc>

Press the <Esc> key. Some of the other keys expressed in this manner are <Enter>, <Tab> and the
function keys, for example <F9>.

<Ctrl>-c

Press <Ctrl> and the letter "c" simultaneously. Keys to be pressed at the same time are shown with a
hyphen between them.

"Enclose"

Select the "Enclose" command. The names of pop-up menus, options and buttons are bold-faced,
enclosed in quotation marks and shown as they are on the screen.

"Selection:
Shape:Point"

Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and select the "Shape" pull-out menu. Select the "Point"
command. Commands in sequences are separated by colons.

Mouse

Use the mouse to click on the specified location. FEMPRO is designed for a two-button mouse. Where
"click" or "left-click" is used, you should press the left mouse button. "Right-click" means you should
press the right mouse button. If you have a three-button mouse, you will not use your middle button
for ALGOR software.

In the tables throughout this tutorial, input instructions for using toolbars and pull-down menus are in the two left columns.
Descriptions or more detailed instructions are given in the right column. For example:
"Selection: Shape: Point"

Access the SELECTION pull-down menu and select the "Shape"

pull-out menu. Select the "Point" command to enter point
selection mode.

Other Notation Conventions

sd3.dmit, an .esx file

Filenames and file extensions are lowercase with the filename in italic.

filename.doc

Filenames that are user-supplied are in bold, lowercase italics.

\model directory

Directory names will appear in Courier type and be followed by the term "directory". (The directory
where the ALGOR software is stored is usually referred to as the installation directory).

FILE pull-down menu Pull-down menu names are shown in uppercase characters.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

3-D Motor Mount Assembly Model

In this tutorial, we will introduce you to FEMPRO's CAD Solid Model environment and InCAD capabilities. The tutorial
will go through meshing. Further work can be done in the setting up, analyzing and reviewing the results areas through later
tutorials.
You will perform the following steps:
I.

Meshing the Model Retrieve assembly and part files and bring them into the CAD Solid Model environment.
From the CAD Solid Model environment, we will go through ALGORs meshing process. Also there will be added
keystrokes to demonstrate the steps to refine the meshed model.

I. Meshing the Model

In the meshing phase, the CAD model can be retrieved from the Tutorials\Models subdirectory of the installation
directory. From here, the model will be opened in FEMPRO. The part then will be loaded to the CAD Solid model
environment. From the CAD Solid Model environment various meshing sequences will be performed.

1. Problem Description
A motor mount assembly is designed to hold a 15-pound motor. The assembly consists of a left bracket, a right bracket and a
knuckle shaft. The brackets are made of aluminum (6061-T6) and the shaft is made of steel (ASTM-A36). The motor is
mounted to the brackets with bolts. The assembly has a tension force due to the output of the motor.
For the meshing tutorial, the model will first be meshed taking the default values. Once this has been completed, the model
will be meshed again taking into account the thickness of the brackets and the number of elements generated.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

Starting FEMPRO
Start FEMPRO from the Windows taskbar.
"Start: Programs: ALGOR V16:
FEMPRO"

In the Windows taskbar, press the "Start" button. Select the

"Programs" pull-out menu and select the "ALGOR V16" pullout menu. Select the "FEMPRO" command.

FEMPRO will now appear with the "New" dialog active.

Mouse
"Inventor Assembly Files (*.iam)"

Click on the "Open" icon in the "What to do" section on the left
side of the "New" dialog.
In the "Files of type:" drop-down box, select the "Inventor
Assembly Files (*.iam)"option. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: Choosing to Open Inventor Files In FEMPRO

Mouse
MotorMount.iam
"Open"

Navigate to the Tutorials\Models subdirectory of the ALGOR

installation directory in the "Look in:" drop-down box.
Click on the MotorMount.iam file.
Press the "Open" button. (Alternatively, you could double-click
on the file name).

When you click to open the drawing file, FEMPRO will automatically open Autodesk Inventor, and access the file you
selected. FEMPRO will then perform a Direct Memory Image Transfer, and create a Direct Memory Image Transfer File
(filename.dmit), which will import the models geometry without the need to translate the file into a neutral file format. It is
also possible to add an "ALGOR FEA" command in the TOOLS pull-down menu in Autodesk Inventor. This command
can also be used to transfer the model to FEMPRO. Once the file is imported directly into FEMPRO, the model is displayed
in the CAD Solid Model environment, and Autodesk Inventor is closed.
"OK"

Press the "OK" button in the "Choose Design Scenario" dialog.

If it is necessary, access the VIEW pull-down menu and select the "Enclose" command to adjust the size of the part to the
screen. The solid model should be displayed as shown in Figure 2.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

Figure 2: Model in CAD Solid Model Environment

Generating a Mesh
"Mesh Model"

Yes
Close

Press the "Mesh Model" button in the "Model Mesh Settings"

dialog. A surface mesh will be generated at this time. Since the
"Solid" radio button is selected in the "Mesh type" section, the
solid mesh will be generated when you perform the analysis. See
Figure 3.
Press the Yes button to review the mesh results. This will show
the Mesh Results dialog. This dialog allows the user to view
the mesh results for each part.
Press the Close button.

Figure 3: Meshed Model

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

These mesh results in this first pass may be a little coarse. Now we would like to refine our mesh to obtain more elements in
areas which may be of particular concern.
"Mesh: Refinement Points:
Automatic"
"Generate"

"Done"

Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Refinement

Points" pull-out menu. Select the "Automatic" command.
Press the "Generate" button in the "Automatic Refinement
Points" dialog. We will try the default refinement setting and will
determine if we need to perform further refinement
Press the "Done" button.

After the generation process is complete, black dots will appear on the model. These represent refinement points that have
been added based on the features in that area. Approximately 9 refinement points have been added.
"Mesh: Generate Mesh"

"No"
"Mesh: Refinement Points:
Automatic"
Mouse

Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Generate

Mesh" command. The refined mesh will appear on the model.
More refinement is most likely necessary to get accurate results.
Press the "No" button when asked to view the mesh results.
Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Refinement
Points" pull-out menu. Select the "Automatic" command.
Move the slider to approximately the last tick mark to the right.
See Figure 4.

Figure 4: Move the Slider to a Finer Setting

"Generate"
"Done"
"Mesh: Generate Mesh"

"No"

Press the "Generate" button in the "Automatic Refinement

Points" dialog.
Press the "Done" button.
Access the MESH pull-down menu and select the "Generate
Mesh" command. The refined mesh will appear on the model.
There is now a refined mesh around the edges of the model and an
unrefined (coarser) mesh in the areas where the refinement points
were not placed.
Press the "No" button when asked if you want to view the
meshing results. The model will appear as shown in Figure 5.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.

Figure 5: Model with Refined Mesh

Congratulations! You have completed the InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor.

InCAD Tutorial Using Autodesk Inventor, Revision 16.000printed locally from files supplied electronically.