How to Find Materials using Inventor Region Properties

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How to find Inventor material properties

This post is going take you through and explain how you can find the material properties of a design using the Inventor Region Properties command.

Normally, we use the Region Properties tool to evaluate the area, perimeter, and the Area Moment of Inertia properties of sketch loops. It then takes all of the necessary measurements from the sketch coordinate system. The Region Properties tool then calculates the physical properties based on the selected sketch entities.

The results in the Region Properties dialog box are as follows:

  • Area and Perimeter – Cumulative area and perimeter if you select multiple sketch loops
  • Centroid Location – Display of the X and Y distances from the sketch origin to Centroid.
  • Inertia with Respect to Sketch Origin – Inertia Tensor and Polar Moment with respect to the sketch origin.
  • Area Moments of Inertia with respect to Principal Axes – Principal Moments, Polar Moments, Rotation about the Z-Axis, and Radii of Gyration, with respect to the Principal Axes.

To do all of these calculations manually would be incredibly time-consuming and labor intensive. Inventor makes it easy for you to find all this information fast. What’s more, it will reduce the risk of having calculation errors we make along the way.

Using the Inventor Region Properties Command

Now that you know what the Inventor Region Properties command is and does, it’s time to get into an example of how to use it. Follow along with the example part below and see how you can use Inventor Region Properties to find the physical properties.

Step 1

First, open the part you want to work with.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 2

Next, create a Work Plane. In this example, you see that we set the work plane to go through the first set of holes.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

To create a work plane, just simply go to the 3D Model tab > Work Features > click Plane.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

For this example, the Offset from Plane command was used to position the plane through the first set of holes.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 3

Now, create a new Sketch on the Work Plane you’ve created and hit F7 on your keyboard to Slice the Graphics.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 4

Once you are done, go to the Sketch tab > open the Project Geometry drop down menu > and click Project Cut Edges.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Then, select all of the geometry within the cross-section profile.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 5

From here, you go to the Inspect tab > click Region Properties Inventor to open the dialog the window.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 6

With the Inventor Region Properties dialog box open it will ask you to identify and select all the closed regions.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 7

In the top right of the dialog window, you will see the Dual Units drop down menu where you can select other units for Inventor to calculate the results in.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

Step 8

After you’ve finished inputting all of the necessary info into the Region Properties dialog window, all that you can do is to click Calculate. Then, in the space will display the Region Properties as below.

ketiv-ava-learning-physical-properaties-autodesk-inventor

That’s all there is to it. It’s that simple!

Now that you have gone through and seen each of the steps, you should now be able to determine physical properties for any of your designs using the Region Properties tool. So go and give it a try!

Learn more about Inventor from KETIV’s experts in Autodesk Virtual Academy. In just a day or two, you can give your team the skills and knowledge to become more efficient and innovative in their work. Our trainers are highly trained, certified by Autodesk on the latest software releases, and can tailor the course to your company’s needs.

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