changing model references in a drawing to create a new version... 1

[wait]

Hi, I will try and keep this short but informative.
I am from a SolidWorks background and am just starting to use inventor 2008.
With solidworks it is possible to open an existing drawing with all its notes and added information appropriate to the project you are working on and perform a save as operation then you can open the saved drawing and point the model references to different models enabling you to create complex drawing or rather a series of similar complex drawings fairly quickly.
Does this make any sense to anyone?

Can you do a similar thing in Inventor 2008?

Any help will be fondly recieved. Thank You.

 

[aardvarkdw]

I'm not sure what you are trying to accomplish. Are you saying that you can take a standard drawing complete with dimensions, notes and such and save a copy, and then link the copy to a different model? If that is the case you could attempt to do this by fooling around with renaming and design assistant but my recommendation would be not to try unless your projects are very similar and by very similar I mean identical.

David

 

[wait]

Thanks David, I thought design assistant was the way forward.
Sam

 

[Jabberwocky]

I came in to ask this exact question. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get Design Assistant to do it. I can point the drawing towards a different .ipt file, but all it copies is the properties (part number, stock number) of that file, it still uses the original geometry and file.

Am I doing something incorrectly?

 

[wait]

Hi Jabberwocky, thanks you your input. No, I can't get Inventor to do what I want it to either. I have just resigned to accepting that this is not solidworks and I will have to take the long way round.
Sam

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yes, I haven't had much luck either. However, I did manage to get a drawing to recognize a new part file. I changed the filename in Windows Explorer (to anything really), then when you open the drawing it will ask you to resolve the link (because it can't find the file now). You can resolve the link to your new part file, even though Inventor will scold you that the parts aren't the same.

This got me at least all my drawing views and settings, but none of the dimensions came through. Still a bit better than nothing. Otherwise I've been using Design Assistant to clean up the rest of the links...