Autodesk Inventor - Model Reference & Replace

by Chris Turner

I have recently come across Customers who have been copying Inventor models (IPT’s) and their drawings (IDW or DWG) and have been using some challenging/time consuming techniques to maintain the correct drawing reference with the correct model. YES, I think Vault is the best way forward with this and there is the good old Design Assistant, but there really is an easier way!

In 2012 onwards and assuming you are using one Inventor Project, Inventor has a great tool called ‘Replace Model Reference’ which makes this very straight forward.

If you have a model and its drawing all doing good and you would like a different version of it with a different filename, you can do the following.

I have an example here where I have a base plate that has a drawing

What I would like is another modified base plate and a referenced drawing that needs little work.

Really easy! Just SAVE AS both files and then change the model reference.

When in the drawing, just click the MANAGE tab and do what you need to.