This means that you could X-Ref the 2D AutoCAD block into another AutoCAD drawing and maintain the link all the way back to the Inventor model.Īny changes in the Inventor 3D model, would update the Inventor DWG drawing file. Maintaining the LinkIf you don’t explode the AutoCAD block, then Autodesk Inventor will continue to control the block definition. The AutoCAD Design Centre is a great tool for raiding Inventor DWG’s for View Blocks. TIP : You can also insert the Block information contained in the DWG file through the AutoCAD Design Centre. If you need to edit the geometry you could explode the block now. Simply insert your desired view into model space as a block, making sure that the block is inserted at 1:1 scale. You will notice that each block corresponds to an Inventor view. Inserting an Inventor View as a Block in Model space.While in Model Space in AutoCAD, type ‘INSERT’ at the command line and check out the list of available blocks in the drop down. The Autodesk Inventor Views are available in AutoCAD as ‘Blocks’. So to get information from the Inventor drawing views, all you have to do is use AutoCAD’s ‘INSERT’ command. So how do we get at the Inventor Geometry?The trick is simple – when you know it! The Inventor Views exist in the DWG file as AutoCAD blocks. However, you may notice a little Weirdness when you look in Model space – there is nothing there!Īlthough Inventor can create perfectly readable AutoCAD DWG files, the Inventor information is kept in its own magical world – somewhere between Paper Space and Model Space. You will see that the Paper Space layout looks just like Inventor’s Sheet layout. Inventor DWG Weirdness.Inventor DWG files open up in AutoCAD just fine. The Autodesk Inventor Sheet browser – showing the Views we wish to use in AutoCAD. First we will open the Inventor DWG up in AutoCAD, and then we will hunt out the Information we need. OK, how do we go about it?The process is simple.

This is Inventor’s own drawing file format and cannot be opened by AutoCAD. TIP : You will need an Inventor DWG file – not an Inventor IDW file.

If you regularly exchange drawing files with a Client, colleague or Contractor who is using Autodesk Inventor, then you may be interested in this simple trick for Extracting 2D geometry from an Inventor DWG file. An article by Paul Munford ( The CAD Setter Out) For CAD Clues Blog.

How to explode a block in autocad 2014