VEX Inventor Library Release Log

VEX V5 Robotics Competition VRC
1

@Unionjackjz and I are proud to announce the release of the VEX CAD Library!
This library is based on the hard work done by Jordan from BNS and Sid from 5776A.

Currently there is not a dedicated place for us to talk about CAD and how to use CAD to foster rapid iteration. The pandemic has created a situation where many teams have limited access to parts and meetings, so we thought now was a good time to create a community where everyone can learn and discuss with their peers. Over time we’d like to continue updating this library with new parts that VEX releases, or fix issues that exist in the library.

If you want to join the community, or have any questions, join our Discord!

Library Download:

You MUST have INVENTOR 2021 installed for the parts to open correctly.

Take a look at the README after you download!

Thank you to the following contributors:
-Jordan
-Sid
-Yuanyang
-Jess

Sample renders:

cchannels
cchannels4096×2304 1.2 MB
wheel
wheel4096×4096 4.6 MB
fullttrobot
fullttrobot3416×4096 3.83 MB
fullttrobotfolded
fullttrobotfolded3416×4096 8.84 MB

CHANGELOG
V1.0

Electronics
-Added iInserts to all sensors
-Added V5 Vision Sensor and V5 Inertial Sensor
-Textured V5 battery capacity indicator lights
-Textured V5 brain molex battery connection

Motion
-Added missing iInserts to all Chain and Tank Tread pieces
-Added missing iInserts for all gears
-Modified pneumatic reservoir texture to reduce reflectivity
-Added iInserts to HS spacers
-Added .375” OD spacers
-New model for 4.6mm and 8mm spacers with more accurate dimensions
-New black/gray textures for 4" omni, 4" traction, 3.25" omni, and 2.75" omni wheels
-Added green texture to pulley wheels
-Added shaved bearing flats for use on edge holes
-Added new bearing flat hex retainers
-Added shaft collars without set screws

Structure
-Modified texture for aluminum angles
-Corrected dimensions, modified textures, and added missing iInserts for all sizes of C-channel
-Modified texture for aluminum chassis rails
-Modified texture for aluminum gussets
-Modified texture for steel screws
-Added aluminum screws
-Added nylon screws
-Modified texture for nylon inserts on thin and normal locknuts
-Modified texture for standoff couplers
-Corrected dimensions, modified textures for all sizes of aluminum bar/plate
-Modified textures and added missing iInserts for all standoffs
-Added license plates

2

Cool! Do the parts have the wierd circle things in the c channel holes?

3

Yes, this library does have imates.

4

All parts have iInserts. You can still use normal constraints if you want to attach parts off center.

5

Do the parts also have axes to constrain parts or is the only option imates? Thanks to y’all for making this regardless, as the two main Inventor libraries out there are great, but they both have their flaws and this seems to address most of the issues.

6

The parts do not have work axes, but the iInsert alternative would be to enable visibility of the patterned circular extrusions that are on most parts. This might be a more suitable option for lower-powered hardware, since generating iInsert glyphs can cause considerable lag.

7

I joined the VEX CAD discord. 5/5 stars would recommend. They all dropped everything to help me with a project.

8

Which CAD software do you use

9

it’s in the description

10

This update addresses some issues that existed with the first release of this library, as well as adding some new features!

The biggest change is how constraining works. For the majority of parts, there are no longer iInserts on parts because the glyphs caused significant lag in larger assemblies. Parts with naturally cylindrical holes can be constrained to like normal. The parts without round holes, like C-Channels, now have cylindrical surface extrusions in every hole that you can constrain to. These surfaces are on by default for every part. In the “View” tab of an Inventor assembly, you can turn off the surfaces on all parts within the assembly by clicking the dropdown and unchecking Construction Surfaces.

The holes were asymmetrical in 5 wides, making it so the holes were closer to the flange on one side then the other. The 5 wide has been recreated and this has been fixed.

All structure has been updated with new thicknesses! After an email with VEX Support, we were informed that the average thickness of aluminum is 0.063, whereas the previous release was based on a metal thickness of 0.0625. Steel has also been added, with a thickness of 0.046 and a new texture.

Spacers have now been set up as standard iPart factories. When placing a standard iPart, simply choose which option you would like to use when placing, and the part will change the dimensions to match. Axles have been set up as custom iPart factories. To place a custom iPart, edit the length category to the length you would like. Specify a save location - a “custom lengths” folder has been included in the axles folder for this purpose. By using iPart factories, you only need 1 file for different sizes of the same part.

Low-polygon electronics were added in an attempt to save your computer a little bit. When you move around an assembly, Inventor has to calculate every geometry inside of the electronics. The new low-polygon models are solid and won’t do this. You can replace the low-polygon electronics with the standard electronics for renders.

A series of tutorial videos going over the basics of Inventor are in the works. Stay tuned! If you want to join the community, or have any questions, join our Discord!

Library Download:

You MUST have the latest version of INVENTOR 2020 or INVENTOR 2021 installed for the parts to open correctly.

Take a look at the README after you download!

Thank you to the following contributors:
-Jordan
-Sid
-Yuanyang
-Jess
-Charlie
-Boots
-Leo

CHANGELOG
V1.1

Electronics
-Added V5 Robot Radio
-Fixed missing reference parts folder for sensors
-Added low-polygon models for radio, battery, brain, and motor

Motion
-Added center point surface extrusions for easier chain patterning
-Parameterized low strength and high strength shafts
-Added hinges cut to shorter lengths
-iPart spacers to reduce file clutter
-New high strength bore models for sprockets
-New high strength bore models for 2.75” omnis, 4” omnis, and 4” tractions
-Halfcut options for 2.75”, 3.25”, and 4” omnis
-Added 169 traction wheel
-Added 1 post and 4 post hex nut retainers
-Added HS lock bars from Robosource
-New pillow block model with flat sides
-Added rubber shaft collar

Structure
-New steel texture for all steel parts
-Updated material thickness for aluminum
-Added star drive screws/couplers
-Added VEX Aluminum 1x1 angle
-Added 1x1 angle cut from aluminum 1x3x1 c channels (normal and thick cut)
-Added 1x1 angles cut from steel 1x2x1 and steel 1x5x1 c channels (normal and thick cut)
-Added 2x2x2 U channels
-Added license plates
-New models for all C-Channels
-Added flat plate made from C-Channels

11

This is an extreme pogchamp moment.

Finally, people have realized that iMates bad.
Also iPart spacers + axles are epic.

A+! :slight_smile:

12

With the release of Inventor Library v1.1 came some new issues. None of the aluminum was textured correctly and the drive shafts weren’t saving to the correct place. We know that many people have been using v1.1, so our solution is to release a patch that you can replace v1.1 with. Instructions on how to install it are below.

This patch also has the addition of a chain generator! Chain in CAD is pretty tedious, and a lot of teams don’t add it to their CAD. @Yuanyang1727G has created a chain generator that lets you input sprocket sizes and center-to-center distance. He also made a YouTube video explaining how to use it.

DISCLAIMER: Existing assemblies with hinges will not resolve properly with the new hinges. If you are using hinges and want to avoid this, delete the hinge folder from the patch before copying.

To install the patch, download and extract the file from the Google Drive link. Then open the library and patch side by side and copy all the folders in the patch to the library. Be sure to select replace all destination files with the same name when prompted.

Previously, the FAQ was exclusive to Discord. Now the FAQ is hosted on Google Docs to be more accessible for everyone. That can be found here.

A series of tutorial videos going over the basics of Inventor are in the works. Stay tuned! If you want to join the community, or have any questions, join our Discord!

Inventor Library v1.1 Patch Download

You MUST have the latest version of INVENTOR 2020 or INVENTOR 2021 installed for the parts to open correctly.

Take a look at the README after you download!

v1.1 Patch
Electronics
-Fixed mismatched textures between V5 Brain and V5 Motor

Motion
-Fixed shaft default units being mm (now inches)
-Fixed height of surface extrusions on hinges
-Renamed hinge reference parts to resolve conflicting names when exporting
-Added thicknesses to Teflon washer
-Added shrinkwrapped wheels to improve performance
-Added shaft collar with .25" screw
-Added chain generator

Structure
-Resolved incorrect aluminum textures
-Resolved incorrect steel textures
-Fixed standoff material texture so that edges are correctly colored

13

Inventor Library v1.2 Release

This is a pretty minimal update, just wanted to tidy some things up.

With how easy the iPart spacers are to use, we have copied that over to screws and standoffs.

Shafts had an issue where they wouldn’t save to the correct location. The new shafts are adaptive and much easier to use. A video tutorial can be found here.

The chain generator has also received an update. It supports all types of chain, including flaps.

This library is NOT compatible with previous versions. If you want to update, wait until you have a new project.

If you still want the functionality of the v1.2 but are on an older version, you can download the individual files that you want from the download link. See the changelog below to see what has changed.

You can download Inventor Library v1.2 here. It’s being hosted slightly differently this time, and to download it you’ll need to right click Library 1.2 and click Download.

If you have any questions, check out FAQ here.

If you want to join the community, or have any questions, join our Discord!

v1.2 Release
General
-Cleaned file structure

Electronics
-Added 3-wire expander
-Shrinkwrapped all sensors

Motion
-Chain generator tweaks, now supports all types of chain
-Fixed LS 12T, 36T and 60T gears
-Added LS steel 12T gear
-Fixed texture for HS 12T gear
-Shrinkwrapped gears
-Shrinkwrapped sprockets
-Shrinkwrapped wheels
-Updated mecanum model
-Updated 2.75" traction model
-Adaptive shafts

Structure
-iPart screws
-Added black nylon screws/nut
-iPart standoffs

14

This is a little late… oops…

VEX CAD has had some updates recently, with the release of Inventor Library 1.3, migrating to Github, and can now be found on the BLRS Wiki!

The wiki now contains its first comprehensive chassis tutorial .

For more information, check the links below!

15

Does this library work correctly with Inventor 2022? I ask this because I downloaded this library to use with it and there are no circular constructions on c-channels as far as I can tell.

16

It works on mine. If you go to the view tab, and click on objects visibility on the far left, you can check if the construction surfaces are turned on. That will turn them on if they are off, which may be your problem

17

Any chance we will get a Spin Up update?

18

Screen Shot 2022-05-22 at 9.15.37 AM

19

@Unionjackjz @Yuanyang1727G
Any update to the Spin Up update?

20

The VEX CAD team is also proud to announce (finally) the release of version 1.4.0 of the Inventor library! The latest version implements all new C-channel and pneumatics models, iAssemblies, and new part releases from the past year.

This library is NOT compatible with previous versions. If you want to update, wait until you have a new project.

For more information about all the libraries, reference the BLRS Wiki .

If you want to join the community, or have any questions, join our Discord!

Library Download:

Sample Renders:

All Gears.40
All Gears.401920×1080 56 KB

All Gears.41
All Gears.411920×1080 64.2 KB

All Gears.42
All Gears.421920×1080 45.2 KB

All Gears.43
All Gears.431920×1080 42.7 KB

All Gears.44
All Gears.441920×1080 61.5 KB

All Gears.45
All Gears.451920×1080 52.7 KB

All Gears.47
All Gears.471920×1080 51.6 KB

All Gears.48
All Gears.481920×1080 62.1 KB

All Gears.49
All Gears.491920×1080 79.9 KB