Welcome to Autodesk Inventor Automation Academy
Get an overview of what this series is all about, why engineering automation matters, and what you can expect as you begin learning Autodesk Inventor API development, iLogic, and real-world automation workflows.
Whether you’re completely new to Inventor automation or looking to expand your development skills, this series is designed to help engineers build practical, scalable automation solutions that reduce repetitive work, improve consistency, and accelerate engineering workflows. Throughout the series, you’ll learn the foundations of Inventor API programming, object-oriented concepts, drawing automation, assembly configuration, add-in development, and much more.
Length: 0:02:42
Modeling Automation
.01
Create an Autodesk Inventor Add-In
Set up Visual Studio to communicate with Autodesk Inventor and create your first Inventor Add-In from scratch. This comprehensive beginner tutorial walks you through every step — from installing the SDK to seeing your custom button appear in Inventor’s ribbon. This is the essential starting point for anyone wanting to build Inventor add-ins with Visual Studio. No prior experience required.
Length: 0:24:36
.02
Create Basic Geometry In Autodesk Inventor
Learn how to create basic geometry in Autodesk Inventor programmatically by building a WinForm UI and triggering extrusions based on user inputs. This in-depth tutorial expands on the add-in created in the previous video, showing you how to create interactive forms and use them to drive 3D geometry creation. This is an essential video for anyone wanting to build interactive Inventor tools that let users input values and generate 3D geometry automatically.
Length: 0:46:26
.03
iLogic Assembly Configuration
Build an assembly configurator in Autodesk Inventor using iLogic snippets and rules. This comprehensive tutorial takes a break from add-in development to show you how iLogic’s built-in tools can automate assembly configuration — from adding and constraining components to swapping parts and pushing parameters. This video uses an air engine assembly example and demonstrates how iLogic snippets make complex assembly configuration accessible without deep API knowledge.
Length: 0:53:02
.04
Component Placement
Automate component placement in Autodesk Inventor assemblies using the Inventor API and an add-in. This tutorial covers how to programmatically place parts into assemblies, delete existing components, and use translation and rotation matrices for precise positioning. This video demonstrates the concepts inside an Inventor add-in, building on the WinForm and add-in skills from previous videos.
Length: 0:13:50
.05
Attributes
Explore how to read, write, and leverage attributes in Autodesk Inventor using the Inventor API and an add-in. Attributes are a powerful but often overlooked feature that let you store custom data on any Inventor object — and this tutorial shows you how to use them for data persistence, entity tagging, and automation workflows. Attributes are the backbone of advanced Inventor automation — from marking faces for dimensioning to storing configuration state. This video gives you the practical foundation.
Length: 0:16:07
.06
Add-In Assembly Configuration
Learn how to automate configurable assembly workflows by copying design assets, pushing parameters into assemblies, and controlling model variations programmatically.
Using a practical configurator example, this session walks through the foundational concepts behind scalable engineering automation workflows. You’ll see how configurable assemblies can reduce repetitive work, standardize outputs, and help engineering teams move faster while maintaining consistency across projects.
Length: 0:28:19
.07
Inventor API Object Model
Dive into the Autodesk Inventor API Object Model and the object-oriented programming concepts that power Inventor add-in development. Using a real assembly configurator workflow as an example, you’ll learn how Inventor objects relate to one another and how to navigate assemblies, occurrences, documents, component definitions, and proxies inside the API. This is a foundational lesson for anyone building Inventor add-ins, automation tools, configurators, or custom engineering workflows with VB.NET or C#.
Length: 0:20:36
.08
Inheritance Example
Discover how inheritance works inside the Autodesk Inventor API, why it matters when building automation tools and add-ins, and how Inventor objects inherit functionality throughout the API object model.
Using practical Inventor API examples, this session helps simplify inheritance concepts for engineers and developers working with VB.NET, C#, iLogic, and Inventor automation projects. If you’re trying to better understand Inventor API documentation, object hierarchies, or how different object types relate to one another, this session will give you the foundation you need.
Length: 0:42:57
Drawing Automation
.09
Drawing Automation: Adding Views
Learn how to programmatically place drawing views, control view orientation, manage positioning, and automate repetitive drawing creation workflows inside Autodesk Inventor.
Whether you’re building custom automation tools, generating drawings from configurable assemblies, or simply looking to speed up documentation workflows, this session provides a strong starting point.
Length: 0:24:37
.10
Drawing Automation: Placing Notes
Automatically place and edit notes on Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. This quick tutorial covers both general notes and leader notes, showing you how to add them programmatically to any drawing sheet. Perfect for automating standard notes, revision callouts, or any text annotations your drawings need every time.
Length: 0:04:26
.11
Drawing Automation: Adding Parts Lists & Balloons
Learn how to automatically add parts lists and balloon annotations to your Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. This tutorial covers both the parts list creation workflow and the more advanced balloon placement process. The balloon section introduces helper functions, drawing curve extraction, and geometry intents — key concepts you’ll use throughout Inventor drawing automation.
Length: 0:11:15
.12
Drawing Automation: Adding Tables
Programmatically add custom tables to Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. This short tutorial shows you the complete workflow from defining table parameters to placing the finished table on your drawing sheet. A quick and practical guide for anyone automating drawing documentation with tables.
Length: 0:04:13
.13
Drawing Automation: Adding Sketch Symbols
Automatically place sketch symbols on Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. This tutorial covers both basic sketch symbol placement and advanced symbols with prompted (dynamic) text entries. Sketch symbols are powerful for standardized callouts like keyways, weld symbols, or custom annotations — and placing them automatically takes your drawing configurator to the next level.
Length: 0:04:13
.14
Drawing Automation: Populating Title Blocks
Learn how to automatically populate title block fields in Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. While iProperties handle most title block needs, this tutorial shows you how to use prompted text entries for extra flexibility — perfect for drawing configurators and custom automation workflows. This approach gives you full programmatic control over your title block content beyond what iProperties alone can do.
Length: 0:04:02
.15
Drawing Automation: Adding Draft Views & Hatching
Learn how to create draft views and apply hatch patterns in Autodesk Inventor drawings using the Inventor API and iLogic. Draft views let you draw custom geometry that doesn’t reference a 3D model — and automating them means your cross-sections and custom views build themselves every time. Draft views + hatching is a powerful combo for automated cross-section drawings and custom engineering annotations.
Length: 0:06:01
.16
Dimensioning Based On Geometry Views
Learn how to automatically add dimensions to Autodesk Inventor drawing views based on geometry analysis — using the Inventor API and iLogic. Instead of cherry-picking individual curves, this approach uses what you know about your drawing curves (topmost, bottommost, leftmost, rightmost, circular) to intelligently place dimensions. This geometry-based approach is ideal when your part shape is predictable and you can leverage curve positions for automated dimensioning.
Length: 0:11:34
.17
Dimensioning Using Attributes
Dimension Autodesk Inventor drawing views by using model attributes to target specific faces — a powerful alternative to geometry-based dimensioning. This approach lets you pre-tag faces in your 3D model with entity names, then find and dimension those exact faces in your drawing automation code.
This attribute-based approach is ideal when you need to dimension specific features that may not be the topmost or bottommost — you can prepare your models in advance and let your automation find exactly what it needs.
Length: 0:11:42
