Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

Hello all. I am working with Inventor and have run across a problem. I would like to use the pre-generated models for Bosch aluminum stock from the Bosch website, but am having trouble importing it. I have saved it to my desktop in the appropriate Inventor format (.sat) but cannot open it. Windows keeps telling me that it doesn't recognize the format and needs to know what program created it, so I try to tell it that Inventor created it, but it won't listen. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated. Anything that works- other sites, formats, etc.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

try step or iges formats.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

Thanks. I tried .igs and that worked.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and lack of tech support
 

Hello again. Yet more problems with Inventor have occurred. Every time I try to open a part or assembly, Inventor simply closes down and gives me an error report to fill out. I have no idea why it does this. I have updated it with the three service packs offered by Autodesk on their website (although admittedly the problem did not begin until that point). Autodesk's tech support is only for those who subscribe to it, so does anyone know if FIRST gets free subscriptions? Thanks for any help.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

Did you receive any errors when you installed inventor? What you are talking about sounds like a corrupt install. Are you opening files from inside inventor or are you opening them from windows explorer?

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I have a similar problem. After I open up Inventor, if a blank part file template is the first thing I open, it closes and does the error report. If I open up another file and close it, I can then open a part file and use the program with no problems.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I am opening the files through Inventor, not Explorer. A corrupt install sounds possible (even likely), but I hope it isn't. Even if I open a blank or saved part it still shuts down. I contacted the Autodesk registration number, and they informed me that there is a number for FIRST teams, but they didn't have it. A contact at Autodesk was supposed to be provided in the package for all teams, but ours is taking some time to be located (I don't have the package, but a mentor does). Once I find the contact I will post it here for the general edification of the public. In the meantime, all suggestions are welcome.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I am forwarding the Autodesk FAQ from Streamline to your email. According to that document the contact for Inventor Installation Questions is John Elliott (503) 692-8367.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

That's interesting. I've seen the same problem occur on Inventor 11 Professional SP1 (Student Edition), build 312b. This was using Inventor's own "Open" dialog box, which appears when you open Inventor directly (i.e. without double-clicking an .ipt file, etc.).

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I would also guess that it's a corrupt install.

What would I do about a corrupt install--uninstall and reinstall? Does the install problem occur because of a problem with the copied CD, or with the one instance my installation?

Either way, it's probably easier to keep using the program the way I do. If I continue to do this, do you know if the problem would cause damage to the software, or would it be safe?

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I had the same issue. I'll bet you're running on a multiple user system, and using inventor from a non admin user. Autodesk has a fix for this on their site, if you poke around. I forget exactly where it is, but if you search their site for user related things, you should find the patch that fixes it.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

I'm running as a member of the administrators group*, under the same account that installed the program, and yet I still experience this issue. But it is a multi-user system (like every default Windows NT 5.x installation).

Also, if you want to rule out a corrupt installation, Inventor has a repair install option (look in Add/Remove Programs and select "Change"). Give that a shot, and see what happens. (But I haven't bothered to run a repair install, not wanting to mess up all of my configurations.)

*I know, you're not supposed to do this. But since I don't have an AD domain set up, I don't have access to the GPOs and other configuration options that would make this painless to live with day-to-day.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

We had the same problem. We even wiped the hard drive and reinstalled. We also installed all the service packs. Finally, we had to give up. Thankfully, if we opened files from explorer it usually worked alright. The problem seemed to be related to our video card. Check to see if your video card is supported.

Re: Autodesk Inventor and downloads
 

Thanks for all the help guys. I talked to John Elliott, the installation contact, and it turns out that my chipset on my laptop was not supported. He walked me through a way to use a generic emulator to make it work a little, but I am going to get a copy of Inventor 11, which does support my chipset.