Description
A critical component of any CAD system is the ability to accurately describe a design. For mechanical CAD systems, the solid and surface geometry that's used to represent part geometry is extremely important. This class will investigate the internals of how Inventor software and Fusion 360 software represent solids and surfaces. We'll look at how solids and surfaces are constructed and modified, and how you can access this information through the Inventor and Fusion 360 APIs. We'll look at how to use the API to query and evaluate the shape of a model. We'll also cover some modeling functionality that is only available through the API. Because both Inventor and Fusion 360 both use Shape Manager for the modeling core and the APIs for both products are very similar in this area, both products are covered, along with their few differences.
Key Learnings
- Discover how Inventor and Fusion 360 represent surfaces and solids and what B-Rep is
- Understand how to use the Inventor and Fusion 360 APIs to query a model
- Understand what transient or temporary B-Rep is and discover some of its capabilities
- Understand how to create and display transient and temporary B-Rep bodies
Speaker
Brian EkinsMy work in the CAD industry has been varied and began in 1977 when I saw my first CAD system. Since then, I've developed and taught courses, worked as an Application Engineer where I modeled complex parts, built assemblies, created drawings, performed various analyses, machined parts, and customized the software. Because of my interest in customizing the software for specific tasks, I moved into the role of the Solid Edge API designer. Later, I moved to Autodesk, where I designed the API for Inventor and then Fusion 360. As part of the API designer role, I've written the documentation and many of the sample programs, taught classes, and supported those using the API's. I started my own consulting business in February 2018, where I now help Inventor and Fusion 360 users be more productive by providing apps and customizations to turn the software into a tool specific to their needs.
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