Posts

Autodesk Inventor Shortcut Guide

Here, We have all Keyboard Shortcut Commands, One Key Shortcuts and Multi-Character Command Aliases for each category in Autodesk Inventor. Learn these to enhance your workflow. ONE KEY SHORTCUTS :  =     EQUAL / Constrains curves to equal radius or length. ;      GROUNDED WORK POINT / Creates a grounded work point and activates the 3D Move/Rotate tool. /      WORK AXIS / Creates a new work axis. ]      WORK PLANE / Creates a new work plane. .      WORK POINT / Creates a new work point. DELETE     DELETE / Removes the selected item from the model or drawing. END            ZOOM SELECTED / Zooms in on a specifically selected item. ESC            CANCEL / Closes the active tool. HOME       ZOOM ALL / Zooms to the extents of all objects in the graphics window. PAGE UP    LOOK AT / Looks at a selected entity.

AutoCAD Shortcut Guide

Here, We have all shortcut keys for AutoCAD users. One who can master these shorcuts, can manage his/her workflow faster enough. ONE KEY SHORTCUTS: Q   QSAVE / Saves the current drawing. A    ARC / Creates an arc. Z    ZOOM / Increases or decreases the magnification of the view in the current viewport. W  WBLOCK / Writes objects or a block to a new drawing file. S    STRETCH / Stretches objects crossed by a selection window or polygon. X   EXPLODE / Breaks a compound object into its component objects. E   ERASE / Removes objects from a drawing. D   DIMSTYLE / Creates and modifies dimension styles. C   CIRCLE / Creates a circle. R   REDRAW / Refreshes the display in the current viewport. F    FILLET / Rounds and fillets the edges of objects. V   VIEW / Saves and restores named views, camera views, layout views, and preset views. T    MTEXT / Creates a multiline text object. G   GROUP / Creates and manages saved sets of objects called groups. B    BLOCK / Cr

Bionic 115 The Ornithopter

Image
"Bionic115 The Ornithopter" is an ornithopter which is designed to mimic a bird both in structure and flight. It runs on a motor whose motion is converted into flapping motion using a mechanism. If can vary the twisting angle of it's wings and angle of attack while in motion. It has a special mode for Gliding to make the wings rigid with certain angle of attack. Few Pictures and a video are given below.

Mechanical Photo Frame | Autodesk Inventor

Image
This is a design concept of a Wooden Photo Frame. It is designed to have a mechanical appearance. It's stand is a combination of piston and connecting rod. And the gears are placed such that to remove and replace the photo easily. The pictures and a video are given below.

Wooden Calendar I | Autodesk Inventor

Image
This is a design concept of a simple Wooden Calendar which is designed to use as a table thing. It is very compact and easy to use. It has Date, Month and Day blocks. It is designed to stand at an angle such that the date is easily visible. An image and a Video regarding this product are given below.

Wooden Calendar II | Autodesk Inventor

Image
This is a design concept of a Wooden Calendar. It is designed to use as a table thing and for dual purpose. It has Date, Month and Day features. It can also be used as a pen holder or pencil holder. The numbers and letters are made up of dark brown wood. and the rest is made up of light cream colored wood so that the text and numbers can be easily recognized from longer distances. Locked Position

Stem Engine Crosshead Assembly Animation

Image
Crosshead is used in horizontal steam engines for connecting the piston rod and connecting rod. The figure shows the part drawings of a steam engine crosshead. The crosshead, with the help of slide block 4, reciprocates between two guides provided in the engine frame. The gudgeon pin 3, connects the slide blocks with the crosshead block 1. This acts as a pin joint for the connecting rod (not shown in the figure). The piston rod 2 is secured to the crosshead block by means of the cotter 5. The assembly ensures reciprocating motion along a straight line for the piston rod and reciprocating cum oscillatory motion for the connecting rod.

Stuffing Box Assembly Animation

Image
It is used to prevent loss of fluid such as steam, between sliding or turning parts of machine elements. In a steam engine, when the piston rod reciprocates through the cylinder cover; stuffing box provided in the cylinder cover, prevents leakage of steam from the cylinder. The figure shows the various parts of a stuffing box. At the base of stuffing box body 1, a bush 3 is placed such that the bevelled edge of the bush is at the inner side of the body. Gland 2 is placed at the other end of the body and is connected to the main body by means of studs 4 and nuts 5. The space between the reciprocating rod and the bush and the gland is packed with a packing material such as mineral fibres, leather, rubber or cork.

Non-Aligned Couplings

Image
Non-aligned couplings are used to transmit power between two shafts which are not coaxial. The following are the examples of non-aligned couplings. 1. UNIVERSAL COUPLING (HOOKE'S JOINT):  It is a rigid coupling that connects two shafts, whose axes intersect if extended. It consists of two forks which are keyed to the shafts. The two forks are pin joined to a central block, which has two arms at right angle to each other in the form of a cross. The angle between the shafts may be varied even while the shafts are rotating.

Disengaging Couplings

Image
Disengaging couplings are used when power transmission from one shaft to another is intermittent. With this, the shafts can be engaged or disengaged as and when required, even during rotation. A disengaging coupling in general consists of one part firmly fixed to the driving shaft and another one mounted with provision for sliding over the driven shaft. The part that is mounted on the driven shaft, can be made to slide at will to engage or disengage from the rotating driving shaft. The following are the examples of dis-engaging couplings. 1. CLAW COUPLING:  In this, each flange has a number of identical claws which engage into the corresponding recesses in the flange. One flange is firmly fitted to the driving shaft by means of a taper sunk key. The other one is placed over the driven shaft by two feather keys, so that it can slide freely on it. The sliding flange has a groove on the boss, into which the forked end of a lever fits. By operating the lever, the sliding flange may b

Flexible Couplings

Image
Perfect alignment of two shafts is impossible to achieve and difficult to maintain, because of inevitable bearing wear and other reasons. To overcome the trouble, flexible couplings are employed. These permit relative rotation or variation in the alignment of shaft axes within certain limits. The following are the types of flexible couplings. 1. BUSHED-PIN TYPE FLANGED COUPLING:  It is the modified version of a protected flanged coupling. In this, bolts are replaced by bushed pins. The smaller ends of the pins are rigidly fastened by nuts to one of the flanges, while the enlarged ends are covered with flexible material like leather or rubber bushes, in the other flange. The flexible medium takes care of misalignment, if any, and acts as a shock absorber. These couplings are used to connect prime mover or an electric motor and a centrifugal pump.

Flanged Couplings

Image
These are the standard forms of couplings, most extensively used. In a flanged coupling, flanges are either fitted or provided at the ends of shafts. The flanges are fastened together by means of a number of bolts and nuts. The number and size of the bolts depend upon the power to be transmitted and hence, the shaft diameter. There are two types of  Flanged Couplings. 1. FLANGED COUPLING WITH DETACHABLE FLANGES : In this, two flanges are keyed, one at the end of each shaft, by means of sunk keys. For ensuring correct alignment, a cylindrical projection may be provided on one flange which fits into the corresponding recess in the other. In the design shown in figure, the bolt heads and nuts are exposed and liable to cause injury to the workman. Hence, as a protection, the bolt heads and nuts may be covered by providing an annular projection on each flange. A flanged coupling, using these flanges is called a protected flanged coupling.

Sleeve or Muff Couplings

Image
This is the simplest of all couplings. It consists of a sleeve called muff, generally made of cast iron, which is fitted over the ends of the shafts to be connected. After properly aligning the keyways in the shafts and sleeve, a sunk key is driven-in; thus making the coupling. Instead of a single key running the entire length of the sleeve, it is desirable to use two keys, which may be inserted from the outer ends of the sleeve; thus overcoming the possible misalignment between the keyways. The following are the types of muff couplings along with their animation videos. 1.  BUTT MUFF COUPLING: In this, the ends of the two shafts to be coupled butt against each other, with the sleeve keyed to them, as discussed above. 2. HALF-LAP MUFF COUPLING: In this, the ends of the shafts overlap each other for a short length. The taper provided in the overlap prevents the axial movement of the shafts. Here too, after placing the muff over the overlapping ends of the shafts, a saddle key(

Shaft Couplings

Shaft couplings are used to join or connect two shafts in such a way that when both the shafts rotate, they act as one unit and transmit power from one shaft to the other. Shaft couplings are classified as four types. Rigid Couplings Flexible Couplings Disengaging Couplings Non-aligned Couplings In this post, I am going to give an idea about each type and few examples. 

How to Create Custom Command Aliases in AutoCAD

Image
AutoCAD is the most popular software used by design engineers even though it is a non-parametric software. The only reason behind it is it's powerful commands make the workflow as faster as our mind can think.......And Here is another technique that increases your workflow even faster. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMAND ALIASES AND COMMANDS: As the names themselves tell that Command Aliases are shortcuts for Commands. But every command does not have Command Aliases.Those Commands which we use frequently have these Aliases. But we can create our custom Command Aliases for the most frequent tools of our own. Here is the step by step process to Create Custom Command Aliases

A Simple Technique to Draw Common Tangent to Two Circles in AutoCAD III

Image
Here is another example of drawing common tangents. Watch the video to know more :)

A Simple Technique to Draw Common Tangent to Two Circles in AutoCAD II

Image
Here is another technique to draw a common tangent to two circles. The following video describes the procedure step by step

A Simple Technique to Draw Common Tangents to Two Circles in AutoCAD I

Image
Hi.. Today I am going to show you the simplest technique to draw common tangents to two circles. Basically, Circle has two types of tangents 1. Direct Common Tangents 2. Transverse Common Tangents