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Table of contents
No headersComponent Authoring is for authoring custom content for use with AutoDrop and content-based Design Accelerator Component Generators. Guided step-by-step prompts are provided to prepare components with iMates and properties necessary for efficient use as functionally smart content ready for publishing to the Content Center Library.
When authoring user parts you specify:
- Content Category
- Part placement (iMates)
- Parameter and iPart table mapping
- Category parameters
What part types are available for authoring and publishing?
All standard parts available for authoring and publishing:
- Bearings
- Bolts
- Clevis Pins
- Cotter Pins
- Retaining Rings (Circlips)
- Keys
- Nuts
- Washers
On the Tools tab, Author panel, click Create iPart to prepare your parts for authoring and publishing to the Content Center Library. Each part that is transformed to an iPart Factory contains its own iPart Author table. Units of measurement for the part are set according to the selected standard. To view the Unit setting, select 
to access the Document Settings dialog box and click the Units tab.
When a user iPart is prepared:
- Use Parameter on the 3D Model tab to verify the model parameters and user parameters that are used in the iPart. We recommend that you use model equations to define the part parameters so that multiple part occurrences specified in the iPart Authoring table can dynamically update the proportions.
- Double-click table in the Model browser to open the iPart Author table. Verify all part occurrences that are defined for the iPart. Each row in the iPart Author table represents a part occurrence for the part family to publish to Content Center.
Guidelines for defining custom styles using iParts
After user iParts are authored and published to the Content Center Library, you can use them to create custom styles. For creating, authoring and publishing iParts, be aware of the following guidelines:
- Some style settings are defined while authoring and publishing parts to the Content Center Library, others are assigned as part properties. These properties include: Part material property, standard specification, and nominal sizes.
- If defining a style with a given nominal diameter, that nominal diameter must be in a row with your published iPart Author table to use that part.
Requirements for iPart Author table
The iPart Author table must contain a column for each parameter that must change to represent all the sizes of the part properly. For example, if the part contains threads, specify the columns for threads.
Use the Component Authoring command to prepare an iPart or a normal part for publishing to the Content Center Library. In the Component Authoring dialog box, items listed in red are required settings for publishing.
- Open a custom iPart in Autodesk Inventor.
- On the ribbon, click .
- Select the part Category pull-down list. The graphics and selection prompts change depending on the Category of component selected.
- Create the iMates following the tooltips and graphical guide for the specific component.
- Move to the Parameter Mapping Tab where you map the parameters to the related column name in the iPart table. Map all required parameters in the list.
- When authoring is successful, click OK.
- Click Publish Now to start the Publish Part command.
- Since you selected a category early in the process, the Content Center displays this category for publishing. For example, a bolt can now be published directly into the Bolt category, an existing subcategory of Bolt, or you can create a category under Bolt.
- You can rename the iMates as needed. These new names populate the iMate list in both the panel browser and the Component Authoring dialog box under the iMate.
Use the pull-down menu to view the list of available publishing categories. When you select a category, the graphics and selection prompts adjust appropriately to guide authoring.
When you select a category, the graphics and selection prompts change in each of the primary zones depending upon the component selected.
According to the selected category, a list of required iMates is displayed for creation or mapping. Each row represents an iMate which can be created as guided by the image or selected from available model iMates. When you select the row, the section of the list highlights turning the descriptor blue, placing the pick indicator to the left.
When the iMate is successfully mapped, a check mark is indicated at the beginning of the selection row.
Displays the graphical representation of iMate mapping. Each of the required iMates in the list is shown on the graphical representation of the part.
Enables mapping between category parameters, family columns, and template parameters.
Enables mapping of table columns to category parameters.
Lists all category parameters in a table. Required parameters have light yellow background. For each category parameter it is possible to map a table column. Select the column name and click the arrow at the end of the row. The Part Template Parameters dialog box is displayed where you can map the parameter.
All "Required" category parameters must have a column assigned to finish the parameter mapping successfully.
According to the selected category, a list of required mapping parameters is displayed. When you select the parameter, the section of the list is highlighted. The descriptor turns blue, and the pick indicator is placed to the left.
You can also enter a constant in the Template Parameters column. Then the value is used for each member in the family.
What parameters are required for each category?
To map parameters, there are certain parameters required for each category:
To display Part Template Parameters dialog box, on the Layout tab select the Parameter Category.
Assign part template parameters to category parameters during the Authoring process.
To map the parameter to a column, double-click a parameter, or select it and click OK.
The Part Template Parameters dialog displays all part template parameters that can be valid for mapping in a tree structured by parameter categories.
Valid Template parameter mapping
Only parameters that match data types can be mapped together. For example, feature suppression (Boolean) cannot be mapped to Nominal Diameter (Real).
The data type for each parameter (category, table column, and template parameter) is displayed as a tooltip.
What if the table columns are not presented in the Category Parameters tab (Template parameters mapping to Category Parameters)