Create a Material Cut List in Autodesk Inventor® 2008/2012

Creating a Material and Cut List with Parameters
Dimensional parameters in Autodesk Inventor provide a very powerful way to produce an automated cut list. In this tutorial, I will provide some tips for including dimensional and material properties into a parts list.

Preparation Steps
Before we get into a discussion of parameters to be used for a cut list or other automatic annotation, we will first need to make sure that your part files include the proper values needed.

Sketch dimensions
Sketch dimensions are transferred to the parameter table as they are created. In order to follow along, either download this 2008-2010 version file, or create your own similar part.

You will notice in the above illustration that we have an overall height of 2 inches, but we do not have an overall dimension for the width of the part. if we are going to create a stock list, we will need that overall width dimension.

Expand Extrusion1, and double-pick on Sketch1.
Add a driven dimension to represent the width of the part.
Finish the sketch.

This process completes the addition of dimensions that will be converted to parameters.

Create and Edit Parameters
Open the Parameters dialog box by selecting Parameters from the Part Features toolbar, or from the tools pulldown.
In 2010 and later. access Parameters from the Manage tab.

Examine the parameters D7 and D10 in this example. These two parameters represent the dimensional values of the height and width of this part. However, we will be machining this part, so the actual stock dimensions will be larger than the part to allow for machining.

It will be necessary to create three user parameters to allow for representing the stock size. Let's assume that we want to allow an additional .5 inch in both directions for stock size.

Create User Parameters
User Parameters are created by selecting the Add button in the lower left corner of the Parameters dialog. Pick the add button each time you want to create a new user parameter.

Create a user parameter named StockAdd. in the equation column, change the value to .5 in.
Create a user parameter named StockHeight. in the equation column, change the value to .d7+StockAdd.
Create a user parameter named StockWidth. in the equation column, change the value tod10+StockAdd.
Check the Export Column for the StockHeight and StockWidth rows. This allows the values to be exported and used in other areas.

Your completed parameter list should look like this:

Pick Done to exit the Parameters dialog.

If you go to File > iProperties > Custom tab, you will see that the two exported parameters have been converted to custom properties.

Close and Save the part file.

Add Stock List to Your Style
The Style and Standard Editor allows you to create variations on the parts list to suit your needs. The newly created style may be stored in your template, or added to the styles library. In this example, we will add the new style to a blank drawing file created from your template.

Access the Style Library Editor from the Format pulldown.
Select the appropriate local style, and make it the active style. The active style will show as bold text.
Expand the parts list portion of the style and RMB on the Material List.
Create a New Style, and name it Stock List.
With the Stock List selected in the left column, move over to the area named Default Columns Settings.
Pick on Column Chooser.
In the Parts List Column Chooser, pick on New Property.
Add StockHeight and StockWidth, Pick OK.
Your custom properties have been added to the new Stock List .
Verify the layout of your new Stock List , then select Done to exit the Styles editor. You will be prompted to save the changes.
Save this IDW/DWG into the appropriate template folder as a new template. Give it a new name.

With your project file set to "Use Styles Library= No" (for testing purposes only), create a new IDW file, and insert the Param1.ipt sample part, modified in this tutorial. Once you've proven your new style, you may reset your project file to"Use Styles Library= Yes", and update your style.

Use The Created Stock List
To insert the Material list , Simply select Parts List, and then before placement, Select the Stock List style from the dropdown in the upper right corner of the Inventor screen:

The finished material list is shown below. You may modify column widths and content in the Styles and Standards editor.

If you create a new IPT template, with the user parameters saved, then it's a simple matter to redirect the height and width properties to a different parameter value. Each IPT must have a custom parameters available in order to create an assembly materials list.