Inventor Assembly Modeling
Constraints and Joints
Assemblies rely on constraints (mate, flush, angle, tangent, insert) or joints (rotational, slider, planar, ball). Understand degrees of freedom: a component has 6 DOF; each constraint removes some. Trap: over-constraining causing conflicts. Use the Degree of Freedom display to check.
Component Placement and BOM
Place components with Place or Create. Use grounded components for the base. The Bill of Materials (BOM) structure (normal, phantom, reference) affects drawings and parts lists. Trap: forgetting to set the BOM structure correctly, leading to incorrect quantities.
Assembly Features and Patterns
Assembly features (holes, cuts) affect multiple components. Patterns (rectangular, circular) and mirrors can be at assembly level. Trap: using assembly features when part features would be more appropriate.
Rule of Thumb
Start with a grounded base component, then constrain others to it. For a hinge, use an insert constraint for the pin and a rotational joint for the leaf.
Worked Example
Assemble a bracket and base. Ground the base. Place the bracket. Use a mate constraint between the bottom face of the bracket and top face of the base (flush/mate). Then use an insert constraint for a pin hole. Check remaining DOF; add an angle constraint if needed. Verify BOM shows one bracket and one base.