Customer Reviews

Autodesk Inventor 10 Essentials Plus

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This book is a combination reference and how-to manual for Inventor 10. The book is helpful for both the novice and the power-user who wishes to understand the new features of this version of the software. Although some of the material in the book is also in Inventor's help and tutorial system, there is also some helpful original material on advanced modeling techniques as well as basic sketching and modeling. The book makes generous and appropriate use of screen captures to aid in the understanding of the concepts presented. The tutorials are presented in clear numbered steps and there are exercises along the way to test your understanding of techniques and commands. These exercises appear to be helpful, complete, and accurate. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Inventor 10. The table of contents is as follows:

1. Getting Started - Talks about the "Getting Started" screen, reasons for which a project file is used, how to create a project file for a single user, different file types used in Inventor, and application options.

2 Sketching, Constraining, and Dimensioning - Teaches how to change the sketch and part options as needed, sketch the outline of a part, create geometric constraints, dimension a sketch, create dimensions using the automatic dimensioning tool, change a dimension's value in a sketch, and import AutoCAD DWG data.

3. Creating and Editing Sketched Features - Explains what a feature is, how to use the Inventor Browser to edit parts, how to extrude or revolve a sketch into a part, editing features of a part, editing the sketch of a feature, making an active sketch on a plane, and creating sketched features using the cut, join, or intersect operation.

4. Creating Placed Features - Shows how to create fillers, chamfers, holes, work axes, work points, work planes, and internal and external threads.

5. Creating and Editing Drawing Views - This chapter helps you understand the drawing options and styles. You also learn to create and edit drawing borders and title blocks. The creation of base and projected drawing views from a part is discussed as well as the creation of auxiliary, section, detail, broken, break-out, draft, and perspective views. You'll learn how to edit the properties and locations of drawing views and how to retrieve model dimensions to use in drawing views.

6. Creating and Documenting Assemblies - This chapter discusses the various assembly options, and the creation of bottom-up assemblies, top-down assemblies, subassemblies, and adaptive parts. It discusses how to constrain components together using assembly constraints, and how to edit those assembly constraints. Finally, you learn how to pattern components in an assembly.

7. Advanced Sketching and Constraining Techniques - This chapter shows how to use construction geometry to help constrain sketches. It also shows how to create an ellipse, 2D spline, and a pattern of sketch geometry. You'll learn how to share a sketch, utilize the symmetry constraint and mirror tool, slice the graphics window, sketch on another parts face, change the display of dimensions, create relationships between dimensions, create parameters, and finally create a part that is driven by an Excel spreadsheet.

8. Advanced Part Modeling Techniques - This chapter teaches you how to extrude an open profile, create ribs, webs, and rib networks, emboss text and profiles, create sweep, coil, and loft features, split parts or faces of parts, copy features within a part, and reorder those part features.

9. Sheet Metal Design - This final chapter is a "capstone" which builds on knowledge of the previous eight. You learn how to use the Inventor sheet metal environment, modify settings for the sheet metal design, create sheet metal parts, modify sheet metal parts to match design requirements, create sheet metal flat patterns, and create drawing views of a sheet metal part.

A well structured book that follows a logical course and is relatively easy to follow. Some illustrations are not clear and certain passages have not been fully updated from version 9.

Still the best book out there for whoever is serious about learning the essentials of Autodesk Inventor 10, the basics are well covered in detail, the examples and tutorials are to the point, and the effort is honest and impressive, the "Plus" part however, could have been expanded further, Inventor 10 has a lot of new advanced features that are of great value to the engineers and designers, hopefully the authors will get together and complete their excellent work by issuing an "Advanced" book.

This is a 750 page, 9 chapter guide to learning how to use Inventor 10.
The cover categorises the user level as beginner-intermediate, and that assessment seems realistic.

I have so far worked through 4 chapters/200 pages. Each chapter has taken about 3-4 hours to read the information, and do the exercises. The later chapters are longer. The layout is generally clear, logical and comprehensible.
The only exception is chapter one, which required several readings and revisits before I started to make sense of the file types and file organisation.

The attached CD installed and worked without a hitch.

The exercises so far are fairly easy, and interesting, and nicely demonstrate the intended points.

The user interface of Inventor 10 bears little resemblance to AutoCAD, and AutoCAD users will require an open mindset to learn how to use it. For a start, there is no command line. It is almost entirely mouse controlled, with some input from keyboard shortcuts and function keys.

The book itself has a quality feel, and despite its 750 pages, is easy to handle. The index is comprehensive. I expect that it will be a very useful reference manual.

I have used quite a few software instruction manuals over the years, and I would say that this is the most impressive one yet. Recommended.

The book is a great reference as well as a great knowledge center for the program. I am new to Autodesk Inventor but not CAD. The books helps greatly with location of the different features and how they operate. An excellent book.

I've just bought the book and have started learning Inventor 10. I started on page 1 and went on and so far it's been a great book for a person not knowing anything about Inventor. It's very educational correct, at least what I think. If this keeps up it will be a great book, so far I'm in chapter 3.
So far I can really recommend the book.