Mastering Autodesk® Inventor® 2012 and Autodesk® Inventor LT™ 2012

Chapter 19

Plastics Design Features

When creating thin wall plastic parts, there are two popular approaches to getting started. One approach is to start with a solid and shell it out; the other is to start with a surface and thicken it. Although these methods approach thin wall features from different start points, the end result can be the same. You can also mix and match the two methods as required to achieve your design.

Typically, once you've established the base feature, you will add other plastic part features. Inventor has several specialized tools for creating plastic part features when working in the parts modeling environment. You'll find these tools on the Plastic Features panel of the Model tab. Although many of the other tools covered ...