Inventor Tutorial 3 :

Toothrush using the loft feature

By the end of this exercise you will be able to
Use the Spline sketch tool Create new workplanes along a curve Use the Loft feature to create an organic form Use pattern feature

Task One to create the guide curve

The first task is to create a curved line using the Spline tool that will act as a guide curve for your handle Select the Spline tool and LH click to start take care to start exactly from the midpoint on the page. Click as you drag the curve out to create 4 more points or nodes, (which will show up as dots on the line) Your line should look something like the one shown below

Next use the General Dimension tool > LH click to select the nodes at each end of the line and drag up to add a dimension. Edit this dimension (by single clicking on it) to be 150mm long You will need to use Pan and Zoom tools to make your sketch fill the screen as shown below

RH click Done RH - you can now select the nodes by LH clicking on them and tweaking them to make the curve exactly as you would like it Click F6 to go to an isometric view Click Finish Sketch

John Lee @ SHU 2006

Task two to create the cross sections

You are now ready to start sketching the profiles that will form the cross sections of your handle along its length In Model panel click on Origin > Click YZ Plane A red selected workplane appears, which is perpendicular to the line you have just drawn RH click on the workplane and choose New Sketch This will take you back into the 2D sketch mode Use the Two point rectangle tool to sketch a small centred on the end of the line as shown below left. RH Click Done > RH click Finish Sketch

You now need to repeat this procedure to create a cross section sketch at each of the remaining four nodes Do as follows for each node in turn : 1. LH click to select the next node on the line it should turn red 2. In the Part Features panel at the LH side of the screen click on Workplane click again on the node and a new workplane should appear with the node at its centre as shown on right 3. LH click on the edge of the workplane to select it it should turn red 4. RH mouse click > New Sketch 5. You are now ready to draw your profile or cross section It might help you to zoom further in at this stage 6. This time, use the Ellipse tool to create a small ellipse centred on the node 7. RH click Done > RH click Finish Sketch 8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for each node changing the profile shape to suit your own design you should end up with a series of sketches looking like those on the left.

John Lee @ SHU 2006

Task three to create 3D loft

You are now ready to create the 3D lofted profile. In the Part Features panel, select Loft In the Loft dialogue box click on Sections Now select each of the cross sections in turn they should turn red when selected and their names appear as Sketch 4, Sketch 3 etc in the Loft Dialogue box Click OK to see the results.!

The workplanes will probably remain visible To remove them from view go to the View pull down menu > Object visibility and click on the tick by User Work Planes to toggle them off. The workplanes should disappear leaving you with a smooth handle shape like the one shown below.

John Lee @ SHU 2006

Task four to create the brush head

You need to create a new sketch on the rectangular end of the handle Use Pan, Rotate & Zoom to get a good view of the end Click on Sketch at the top of the screen click on the rectangular face you will now go into the 2D Sketch mode Use the Look at tool to click on the end you should now be looking directly onto the end as shown below Sketch a rectangle 16mm wide and make it the same depth as the end Make it symmetrical about the centre (you may have to draw a centre line to help you with this, which can be deleted after it has done its job) RH click > Done RH click > Finish Sketch to go to the 3D feature mode Choose Extrude and select the rectangular profile. Make the Distance 30mm (length of brush head) Click OK

You are now ready to shape the brush head Use Zoom, Pan and Look at tools to get a full screen view of the brush head

John Lee @ SHU 2006

LH Click on the rectangular face it should turn red > RH click > New Sketch Use the Line tool to design a head shape RH click > Done RH Click > Finish Sketch

In the Part Features panel choose Extrude Select Profiles to be removed holding down Shift to group them Extents > To Next Ensure Cut is selected Click OK

Use Fillet and/or Chamfer features to complete your brush body design

John Lee @ SHU 2006

John Lee @ SHU 2006