Teaching Inventor 2027 Intro to Modeling? Here's what you need to know.

Several important topics introduced in Inventor over the last year are now included in the ASCENT 2027 version of Introduction to Solid Modeling. To help you prepare for upcoming classes, I suggest you take some time to familiarize yourself with these updates. To help get you up to speed, here’s a brief overview of each topic and what you should know before teaching them. 

Slots (Chapter 6 and 27)  

The 2027 software release introduces the Slot feature, which is located on the 3D Model tab > Modify panel, as shown below.  

This option creates a separate Slot feature with its own parameters. Previously, you had to create slot geometry as a sketch and use the Extrude feature to remove the shape. Because the Slot feature uses similar options and settings to the Hole feature, we use the same format to describe the Slot feature in Chapter 6 of the learning guide.  

Because the Slot feature is similar to the Hole feature, it should be straightforward to teach. An additional note is that to support documenting slots in a drawing, you can select slot geometry for hole and thread notes. ASCENT’s learning guide covers this in Chapter 27. 

Slots is now included in the instructor presentation materials for Chapter 6, including a new slot exercise that showcases its application. 

Parameters Dialog Box (Chapter 8) 

To support Autodesk’s 2027 enhancement making the Parameters dialog box modeless, we updated the practices in Chapter 8 to keep the Parameters dialog box open while working with the models. This is a more efficient workflow, and our learning guide ensures that new users learn this in our introductory-level course.  

Assembly Environment (Chapter 16) 

A new addition to this chapter for the 2027 version is coverage of the Place and Insert option. This tool gives students another practical way to create assemblies. 

New content in Chapter 16 explains how to place and constrain components in a single process instead of treating those steps as separate tasks. From an instructional standpoint, the biggest shift is that you now have two assembly approaches to talk through instead of one. A new practice allows students to practice the new tool; in fact, it showcases adding single and multiple components at once. I recommend reviewing this content before your next class. 

As the instructional designer of this courseware and an Autodesk Inventor software user who updates this content every year, I believe these topics are the most important for instructors to know to prepare for their classes.  

We also made some smaller edits and incorporated feedback from our instructors. (Thank you for your feedback! We truly appreciate it.) I hope that this helps you prepare for your classes.

And don’t forget to send in your feedback for our next release.  feedback@ASCENTed.com