Do more with less. The mandate hasn’t changed for manufacturers. They must develop more products with increasing complexity to address customer and competitive pressures. Yet, there’s no “give” in project timelines to adopt new technologies like 3D modeling to help them win. However, some manufacturers are not only adopting 3D modeling technology, but excelling at hitting their product development targets at the same time. How is it possible?  Interestingly enough, it’s actually quite simple.  

In the world of 3D modeling, one term that comes up frequently is parametric sketching. Parametric sketching, the basis for 3D modeling in Autodesk® InventorTM software, is a type of sketching that uses parameters and equations to drive geometry. Parametric modeling captures the design intent with geometric relationships so if a designer changes one dimension, the entire model updates to accommodate the new parameter. This technology greatly reduces the amount of time designers spend modifying designs and helps get designs to manufacturing faster. This paper explains how parametric sketches are different from 2D drawings and highlights how parametric sketching can improve your design workflow.