To edit a sketch in Inventor, find the feature in the model browser, expand it, right-click the sketch and choose Edit Sketch. Change the dimensions or geometry, then click Finish Sketch and the part updates. Features like extrusions, fillets and patterns are edited the same way: right-click and choose Edit Feature.
Lesson 5 of my Autodesk Inventor series. Nothing comes out perfect the first time. The engineer changes a hole size, the plate gets thicker, a fillet needs to be bigger. The nice thing about Inventor is that you don’t have to redraw anything. Every sketch and feature stays in the model’s history, and you can go back and change it. In this lesson we’ll build a simple disc and then edit it every way you’ll need to:
Design a simple part
- Start a new part and sketch the shape below. If you need a refresher on sketching, see lesson 1.
- Extrude it 1/4″ and start a new sketch on the front face.
- Draw a 0.375″ circle and exit the command.
- Cut the hole with Extrude.
- Use Circular Pattern to make 3 holes around the disc.
- Add a 0.0625″ fillet with the Fillet tool.
The part is done. Now let’s change it.
How do I edit a sketch in Inventor?
Everything you did is listed in the model browser, in the order you did it. That’s the part’s history.
- Expand Extrusion1, Extrusion2 and Circular Pattern1 with the “+” signs.
- To change the shape that came from Sketch1, right-click it and choose Edit Sketch.
You’re back in the sketch:
- Make your changes, such as a new dimension value.
- Click Finish Sketch. The part updates.
How do I edit an extrusion?
- Right-click Extrusion1 and choose Edit Feature.
- The Extrude dialog opens. Change what you need, for example the distance, and click OK.
How do I edit a fillet?
- In the browser, right-click Fillet1 and choose Edit Feature.
- Make your changes in the dialog and click OK.
How do I edit a circular pattern?
- Right-click the circular pattern in the browser and choose Edit Feature.
- Change the count, angle, or anything else in the dialog.
To hide just one of the holes, expand the pattern, click that occurrence and choose Suppress.
The hole disappears, but it isn’t deleted. Unsuppress it and it comes back.
Why did my part break after an edit?
When you delete or change sketch lines, the features built on them can lose their references. Inventor marks them with an error in the model browser. Right-click the feature and edit it to pick the new edge or profile. To avoid it, change dimensions instead of deleting and redrawing lines.
Next up: Lesson 6: Making parts for the assembly.
