Extend - GView/IVView/Inventor

Manipulating node properties is a fairly trivial task in OpenInventor. However, the creation of surfaces can prove challenging. While you will use Pro/Engineer to create the parts used for your final project, you should be aware of what is entailed in creating a surface or object in Inventor.

Try adding a base to the obelisk, by editing the obelisk.c++ file. You will need to modify the vertex positions, the normals, and the vertexes per surface. While normals at oblique angles can be computed, for simplicity make the plane parallel to an axis or surface. Don't forget to update the sizes of the respective matrices to accommodate the new surface.

Probably the easiest approach is to create a new surface whose coordinates are offset from an existing surface, and use the same normals as the existing surface. Once you have added a surface, recompile and examine the effects of your changes. You should see a new surface offset from an existing surface. If you cannot see the surface you created, make sure you didn't offset your surface inside the obelisk.

You can easily imagine how tedious this would be if you had to create the scene for your final project manually. Fortunately Pro/Engineer and SolidWorks can output to formats supported by Inventor, but now you know what happens when you export an Inventor file.