IronPython scripting examples

The main goal for this page is to provide a sample repository of IronPython scripts which have been converted from the VBA macros Autodesk provides in the Inventor Programmers documentation. This will give people a head start on programming Inventor using IronPython as the scripting engine. Contributor's are welcome also.

 

Script initialization:

Each IronPython script needs a certain amount of initialization code to interact with Inventor. The code below is what I use as a template for each script I write so far:

import clr
import System
clr.AddReferenceByPartialName("System.Windows.Forms")

from System.Windows.Forms import *
from System.Runtime.InteropServices import Marshal
ThisApplication = Marshal.GetActiveObject('Inventor.Application')
clr.AddReference("Autodesk.Inventor.Interop")
from Inventor import *

For this first example, I will first show the sample VBA code provided by Autodesk, and then the IronPython script which accomplishes the same thing (minus comments). You will see that it is simpler in the respect that you don't need to define your variables first.

Example 1: Add Sketch

Public Sub AddSketch()
    ' Set a reference to the part component definition.
    ' This assumes that a part document is active.
    Dim oCompDef As PartComponentDefinition
    Set oCompDef = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.ComponentDefinition
   
    ' Get the first face of the model.  This sample assumes a simple
    ' model where at least the first face is a plane.  (A box is a good
    ' test case.)
    Dim oFace As Face
    Set oFace = oCompDef.SurfaceBodies.Item(1).Faces.Item(1)
   
    ' Create a new sketch.  The second argument specifies to include
    ' the edges of the face in the sketch.
    Dim oSketch As PlanarSketch
    Set oSketch = oCompDef.Sketches.Add(oFace, True)
   
    ' Change the name.
    oSketch.Name = "My New Sketch"
End Sub

Now, here is the equivalent IronPython script (minus the required init statements above and minus comments:

oCompDef = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument.ComponentDefinition
oFace = oCompDef.SurfaceBodies.Item(1).Faces.Item(1)
oSketch = oCompDef.Sketches.Add(oFace, True)
oSketch.Name = "My New Sketch"