On freedom and constraints. (Inventor In-depth).

Cadence, June, 2003 by Wymer, Jeff

Autodesk Inventor allows you to assemble parts to create assemblies that can be tested for fit and function. The way to assemble parts in Inventor is to use assembly constraints. These constraints allow you to maintain the positions of components or their relations to one another in an assembly (such as two faces touching each other or a bolt in a hole).

Defining Degrees of Freedom

Let's first discuss the degrees of freedom (DOF) and how they impact assembly constraints. All parts initially have six DOF without any assembly constraint. The six DOF include three translational ones (linear along the x-, y-, or z-axis) and three rotational ones (angular along the x-, y-, or z-axis, as shown in Figure 1). A part or assembly is considered grounded...

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