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So far we have been in Sketch mode - this means we have only been drawing in 2D. We now want to make our 2D shape (a rectangle in this case) into a 3D Form (here it will be a cuboid).
To do this we must leave sketch mode, we do this by clicking Return on the top menu panel, it is towards the left, beside undo. Once you've clicked it your screen should look something like mine.
Notice how the options in the Panel Bar change when you go from sketch mode to part mode
To add more detail to a part in Inventor we create new sketches. These are just like the rectangle we made at the start.
There are a number of ways to create a new sketch, but we will do it like this: Click 'Sketch' button on the top menu and mouse over the top surface of your cuboid, your screen should look like mine. If you have the top surface outlined in red then you can click. If you have other sides outlined in red then your new sketch will be in the wrong place. Move your mouse so that all 4 sides of the top rectangle are red, then click to create the new sketch.
Click Return to leave Sketch view again and return to the 3D view. You will see that our rectangle has changed size but the cuboid is still 10mm thick. We want to change this.
A great thing about Inventor is the ability to view objects from any angle. Press the Free Rotate button in the menu bar (shown in the notes) and a circle will appear on screen. If you click inside this circle and drag you can spin the part around.
You can also get into Free Rotate mode by pressing F4 on the Keyboard - this is really easy and you will quickly get used to having one hand on the keyboard and one on the mouse
To draw your rectangle:
- click somewhere in the main drawing area
- release the mouse button
- move the mouse to another location in the drawing area
- then click once again.
Don't worry too much about size for now but you should try to make sure that your screen looks something like mine.