Working with Images in Drawings

[CAD182T]

Hi all,

Has anyone found the best way to work with images in an Inventor drawing? (We are using Inventor 2016 currently)

Currently we just insert the image using Manage / Insert Object / Create from File

My snag with this is that you cant seem to move the image and its annotations together, say if you are happy with the annotation layout but just wanted to re position the image on the sheet.

We tried creating 'parts' with the image as a decal of which you then place a view of in the drawing which works, and does allow you to move annotations and the image as one but the colours and brightness of the image are affected because of the shading.

We are about to set off on a project that will require a lot of annotated images and wanted make sure we are doing it in the most painless way to start with,

Many thanks,

 

[Sparweb]

My suggestions, in order of preference:

A) do this in AutoCAD instead? I can do very elaborate combinations of CAD and raster graphics this way.
B) do this in Word instead? More limited in functionality, and poorer presentation, but is faster for "noobs" to figure out.
C) in Inventor, insert the image into a sketch? Associated annotations can be added to the same sketch.

(I use the OLE function in Inventor mostly for spreadsheet inserts/links to Excel, not images, so the suggestions I can offer in Inventor are limited.)

STF

 

[CAD182T]

SparWeb,

Thankyou for the response, your option A) is often my fall back in this situation! I was hoping I was missing something in Inventor, also we have a contractor on who is not so familiar with ACAD and such wanted to keep the efficiency up.

Your plan C) is something I have thought about in the past, but I can't see how to include the image in the sketch? I can't add it in the same method and "Insert Image" on the sketch tab is greyed out, any pointers?

Thanks again,

 

[Sparweb]

Sorry CAD182T,
I seem to have led you down the garden path.
"Insert Image" only works in IPT files. when those are shown as Views in a Drawing, the graphics are not shown.
The "Clipboard" can paste an image as a BMP, but once it is inserted, its edges and corners cannot be constrained in any known to man or beast.

The best you could do with Inventor is to draw an empty box border in the sketch, attaching all relevant notations to this box. Then clipboard the image into the box, and pull-to-fit the corners of the image to fit inside.

Then just pray that the next time you open the IDW the unconstrained parts of the views don't just "float away". Like they do. Unpredictably. Like today. To me.

...sorry almost hijacked your thread there...

Seriously, the path of least resistance may be to educate your contractor. Hold the guy's hand, it's not obvious where all the options and tools are, but once you get it, you can do some neat things that even Photoshop can't do.


STF

 

[Sparweb]

Almost forgot a fairly obvious alternative:

D) Convert raster to vector.

The hazard with this is from the picky perfectionists on your staff who will want to "fix" little errors in the conversion process.


STF

 

[CAD182T]

Sparweb, thanks again for your responses, had a laugh at your post glad its not just me.

I concur that ACAD looks to be the way to go in this instance,

Will trial converting some images just to see what happens,