A Review - Infinite Skills Mastering Autodesk Inventor - Surfacing by Paul Munford

“Life just seems so full of connections. Most of the time we don't even pay attention to the depth of life. We only see flat surfaces.”

Anonymous

Before diving in, I need to mention that I didn't get compensated for writing this. I was supplied a link to download the files. Beyond being supplied the training materials, I was free to form my own opinions.

Surfacing is not my strong suit.  I've always worked in what I call a “brick with holes” environment.  In surfacing, I’m what I would call conversational, I can do it well enough, but there are many I consider better than I.

In all my experience, the parts I've designed have primarily been cubic, with features created perpendicular to faces.  

So when Paul Munford asked me to take a look at his “Mastering Autodesk Inventor - Surfacing” training course from Infinite Skills, I was interested.  

And I was genuinely interested..  Paul is a big contributor to the Autodesk community. He contributes to several resources, and maintains the website, Cad Setter Outhttp://www.cadsetterout.com/.  I know him to be knowledgeable, and one of those great people who wants to share his knowledge.

So I accepted, and off I was off and running watching some surfacing training.

I’ve reviewed the interface of the Infinite Skills delivery in the past, and I think that still holds true.  I like the bookmarking, the organization of the videos.  That can be read at my previous post here, and I won’t “copy and paste” that to fill up space.  

An example of the Infinite Skills Interface

And what really mattered to me was the information provided.  I liked how Paul took the time to introduce and explain the concepts related to surfacing, how he explain terms like “isoparms” “singularities”, terms which I've read the definitions of, and forgotten them in the wasteland of disuse, are much more familiar to me know.  

Taking the time to explain these terms gives a strong foundation for someone knew to surfacing to build from.

The explanations were well done.

I also was pleased to see how Paul took time to explain many of the “whys” in surfacing.  For example, why one might use a boundary patch and trim it back instead of using a loft that might seem more obvious to the new user. (Hint: It helps avoid the dreaded singularity.)

Explaining the Singularity

I always feel like I’m obligated to find something wrong.  I hate that.  I truly do.  Plus, there’s been a couple of times where I made a rather embarrassing mistake (remember that 3Dconnexion review?   #facepalm I still feel sheepish on that one!)  

If there was anything, there were a couple of times I wasn’t completely sure of the goal we were heading toward. There were a couple of times I would have liked to see the final shapes at the beginning of the exercise, to know where we were headed.  However it did become apparent pretty quickly as Paul explained things.  So if there was a gripe, that was it.  Really. I don’t have much to criticize.

In summary, I like the course.  I learned quite a bit from watching it.  I recommend it. Most of all, I expect that I will watch it again and again.  

If you’re looking for something to hone your surfacing skills in Inventor, this is a great video to use.  For the price, it’s something that is easily within reach of the average user.  If you use Inventor and need surfacing in any capacity, this is definitely something you need to look into.

I think it will pay for itself pretty quickly.