Topic: Autodesk
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Introduction to Autodesk Inventor API and Customization for Dummies
Autodesk has exposed Inventor's API (Application Programming Interface) for programmers to extend the functionality of Inventor to custom requirements. It gives the power to developers to make tailor made Addins / Plugins for Inventor.
Before briefing about the API and how to customize Inventor, let us understand why we should go for Customization. Consider a situation where a CAD professional has to go through some 10 steps to achieve a task in Inventor and if the task is done repetitively, it could be programmed by using its API to do the repetitive tasks on its own, thus saving a lot of time and resources. Let us consider a simple example to understand the need for customization by taking a simple example of modeling a Cube, whose volume (length * breadth * height) is a constant value and you have a requirement of all variants of it for the following conditions. (This example is just for the sake of understanding, though you seldom come across these types of requirements) .
n the above program flowchart, we start with assigning values to L,B and H variables and then check the conditions in the Decision Box. If the condition is true, we follow the steps listed in the bottom-most process and go back to Decision Box. This process (loop) continues until the Condition is returned falls (for the 11th time, when H < 5) and stops the program with End. Though the program looks fairly simple, it does save a lot of time. The only time spent would be to code this program and comparatively small duration of its execution.
Inventor API is a COM (Component Object Model) based Object Oriented API. It is exposed through a set of objects and you can use valid methods and properties of these objects to create new objects and query and edit existing objects. To use its API, we should be familiar with all the various objects it supports and understand how we can gain access to a specific object. Main components of the object model are shown in the diagram below.
Source: www.smallguru.com
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