Inventor LT™ Include 3D modeling in your engineering workflow

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Available stand-alone or together with AutoCAD LT in AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite.

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Add 3D mechanical CAD into 2D workflows with part-level parametric modeling.

3D mechanical design can be a beautiful and rewarding field of work, especially these days when there are so many computer programs which can speed up the drawing process. No matter how much imagination you have, there’s just no way to visualize complex parts and components on paper or in your head.

Specially designed software lets you create accurate representations of your desired specs. It also lets you perform accurate calculations for weights, densities, and more. Let’s have a look at one of the more user-friendly 3D mechanical design applications, Autodesk Inventor LT.

Who is it for?

Inventor LT is mainly used by mechanical engineers. It has plenty of tools and a simple user interface. Although it has fairly high system requirements, you can still perform tasks in decent time if you meet the minimum but not the recommended requirements.

Inventor LT might also be for you if you’re eager to learn. As opposed to Inventor (which is a bit more advanced), there’s not much of a learning curve with Inventor LT if you possess the technical know-how.

You should also use Inventor LT if you need to save and export your designs in multiple formats. Last but not least, Inventor LT is probably your best bet if you’re on a tight budget.

The program doesn’t cost as much as some of its competitors or as much as the full Inventor option. This and its subscription plan make it ideal for small businesses and freelancers.

Ease of Use

Inventor LT should be simple enough to learn even for entry-level mechanical engineers. The program has support for multiple languages and an easy-to-follow user interface. Only the tools and functions may take some getting used to.

If you’re completely new to digital 3D mechanical drawing, don’t worry. There are plenty of tutorials out there including one within the application itself.

Also, just because Inventor LT looks like a stripped-down version of Inventor, don’t assume it’s that limited. There’s still a learning curve and the variety of tools can be intimidating if you don’t know what to look for.

While a complete beginner might find it overwhelming, a mechanical engineer with decent experience will quickly learn all of the program’s functions. It’s even easier if you have some experience with Inventor prior to using Inventor LT.

Features

Here’s a quick overview of what Inventor LT lets you do:

• 3D mechanical design
• Direct editing
• Free-form modeling
• Saving in DWG file format

DWG drawings are essential in most fabrication applications. The ease of use and compatibility with multiple formats make Inventor LT one of the fastest applications you can use.

The complexity of your 3D mechanical designs is only limited by your knowledge. Inventor LT has plenty of tools you can use to design to your customer’s specifications. Even the weighting is quite accurate.

The free-form modeling allows you to create challenging designs. It also allows you to edit solid bodies and surfaces. For this you have to use the Convert command.

Free-form objects can also be further modified just like any other solid model. They can be flattened and aligned, and you can even join vertices. This back and forth compatibility is part of the reason why Inventor LT is a powerful 3D mechanical design tool.

What Inventor LT can’t do is let you create, analyze, and edit entire assemblies. The design documentation is also a bit thin, but sufficient for parts fabrication applications.

Subscription

Inventor LT comes with three subscription plans: monthly, annual, and triannual. Of course, due to the limitations of the program, you might also need other licenses. If that’s the case then perhaps choosing a bundle or something like the AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite is better.

This way you can get two or more licenses for the programs you need at a lower cost. Buying standalone licenses can add up to quite a lot, especially if you’re a freelancer.

System Requirements

Inventor LT can be taxing on your system. You need a 64-bit operating system, preferably Windows 10. Windows 7 SP1 works just fine but Windows 10 has better resource management. Inventor LT doesn’t support Mac or Linux.

Your CPU has to be clocked at at least 3.0 GHz. The program runs on 2.5 GHz but it slows down the workload a lot. You should also have a minimum of 4 cores and multi-threading enabled.

The RAM requirements are a bit higher than what you would see on other Autodesk products. 12 GB of memory is recommended but we all know how the story goes. Always shoot for more than the recommended value.

When it comes to GPU specs, things can get pricy. A 4GB GPU is the way to go if you want to fully utilize Inventor LT. DirectX 11 compatibility is a must but a bit redundant as it’s hard to find 4GB GPUs without this feature.

If you want to work in high detail you’ll also need a large display. 4K projects at 3840 x 2160allow you to use up to 200% scaling without losing detail.

An MS-Mouse should also be used to expand your range of motion and workload fluidity. If you’re working with spreadsheets, and you will, Microsoft Office is also mandatory. Excel and Access should be installed locally.

Last but not least, you will need around 15 GB of disk space for Inventor LT. Do factor in the amount of projects you will be running as they all add up. Using an SSD or an SSHD is also recommended to speed up your read/write processes.

Quick Comparison: Inventor LT vs. Inventor

Inventor LT is almost like a stepping stone for Inventor. Inventor lets you create professional-grade designs with advanced engineering and editing tools.

In addition, Inventor lets you work on sheet metal design, electrical systems design, tube and piping design, and design documentation.

Inventor LT lets you do 3D mechanical design and free-form modeling. However, it doesn’t have the necessary tools to allow you to create full assemblies. Creating parts is fine but for finishing entire mechanical systems, you will need more help.

How should you choose between the two? If your job is not that complex, you don’t need to pay almost five times more per year for the full Inventor.

Inventor LT is capable enough for anything that requires importing and exporting of CAD data, as well as the creation of 3D parts and objects. It also lets you create DWG drawings with ease and send them directly to your customers.

Inventor is not for everyone. Due to the large array of tools and extra features, even the simple tasks can take more time than needed. The user interface is a bit complicated and completely unnecessary if you don’t need to draw complete mechanical systems.

Final Verdict

Should you use Inventor LT as your main design tool for 3D mechanical parts? Well, you could always use the free trial and see for yourself. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s probably the best choice for small projects.

As long as you don’t have to design electrical systems, piping, sheet metal, or complex mechanical systems, Inventor LT has everything you need. The pricing is fair and the subscription plan is flexible.