What is Inventor?
Autodesk Inventor is a computer aided design software used by engineers to design products. The software helps illustrate and present designs with incredible accuracy. Autodesk has been around since the beginning of CAD software, and were one of the first companies to distribute it.
How to Make a Widget
Step One- Create a sketch based on the dimensions of the widget
Step Two- Finish the sketch using the finish sketch button found at the very end of the toolbar. Select an isometric view of the sketch. The isometric view will make the next step easier.
Step Three- Select the extrude button, then enter an extrude value of 4. The widget is 4 inches long so you choose 4, but if you wanted a different depth then change the value. After entering the value, you can either hit enter or the green check mark in the bottom of the extrude menu.
All Widgets
3D Printing Widget W/Makerbot
Printing Process
Final Printed Widget
What I Learned
I have experience with inventor so most of the things I learned were on the 3D printing side of the project. I had no experience with Maker-bot, and so I learned how to print my 3D designs, and how to re scale them in the software in order to fit the print dimensions. I also learned a lot about weebly and how to format my website to explain my steps.