Inventor Train Project
Define a Problem
For this project, we had to model a train in AutoDesk Inventor. The purpose of this project was to learn and better understand the different views for dimensioning and presenting parts. This project also helped us learn some more complex inventor skills as well as build our knowledge of the design process.
Generate Concepts
I first started buy watching youtube videos on how to make each part. The videos were really helpful for this project as they took some of the confusion out of making complex shapes/parts. I also looked at my friends parts and they gave me some tips on how to do some things easier.
Develop a Solution
Construct and Test Prototype
Evaluate the Solution
When I asked my parents about the train, they said it was really cool how i made it from scratch and put all the pieces together. One thing they said was that it wasn't colorful and so did some of my classmates. I had a fully assembled train that was colored, but it didn't save right so i had to make another one but didn't have time to color it that's why some parts have color and some don't. this project was alright. It wasn't my favorite, but i didn't hate it. Next project I'm definitely going to make sure i save everything correctly and try to be more efficient while working on inventor.
Present Solution
I had some fun in the making of this project. For the most part, i do enjoy making things in inventor. Some projects are harder than others, and this project wasn't too bad. You Tube really helped me in the making of this it showed a detailed tutorial of how to make each part and assemble it. Whatever issue i had, youtube always had an answer for it. One problem i did have though, was in the assembling stage. Constraining some of the parts were difficult such as the axle screw but after studying a tutorial and playing around with the constraints, i was able to properly constrain all the parts. Learning the different views was somewhat difficult but nothing the internet or a friend couldn't help me with. One thing i think i wasted time on was the section views in the wheel and stack. I think i wasted time in making the idw files because i remade the shape completely when i could've used the original shape and just revolved only some of the way around. One thing i also learned in this project was unilateral, limit, lateral, and general tolerances. These describe the degree of variance from the original dimension to where it can still function correctly. We used different tolerances for each part and learned how to calculate them. Overall, I'm happy with how the project came out. If i had more time, i could've made another final assembly that was colored but grey is fine for now. This project was moderately fun and I'm interested what the next one will be