Building Machines with Vention.io

Imagine what you could make if you could build industrial machines the same way you build with Legos, by rummaging around in a big bin of parts where you could find any component you wanted. That is the basic idea of Vention. Vention.io is a web-based CAD program optimized for quickly building machine assemblies.

The software is quite powerful but the idea is a simple one. Vention.io provides a large library of parts from which to build machine assemblies. Inside the browser-based CAD software, you can use these parts to build any kind of assembly you want. Then, once your design work is complete, Vention will sell you the parts for building your machine. It is like designing your own machine kit.

Starting your Machine Design

Building assemblies in Vention’s CAD software is fast and easy, as long as your know the basic mechanics of the software. In the lower left corner of the window, you will find the catalog of parts provided by Vention, along with some parts imported by other Vention users (more on that later). All of the parts aside from those imported parts can be ordered directly from Vention.

Parts are placed into the assembly by simply clicking a part in the catalog and allowing the parts to follow your cursor into the main area of your assembly.

Many of the parts in the Structural category have a drop-down selector for choosing the length of the part. For these parts, remember that it is always possible to adjust the length of your extrusions, tubes, and panels after they are placed into your assembly (more on that later as well). So don’t worry too much about not knowing exactly how long your parts need to be initially.

Connecting Parts

As you add multiple parts to your assembly, dragging one part near another will allow you to attach those parts together. Here we come to the first major trick to Vention’s software. For most parts, there are many different ways to form connections with other parts. You might find it frustrating to get parts to connect the way you want just by dragging them around with your mouse.

Instead, once you have your new part positioned close to where it will connect to your existing assembly, use the left and right arrow keys to cycle through the possible orientations for that connection.

For some simpler parts, like those in the Structural section, there may be half a dozen ways to connect to other parts. For more complex pieces, like the gantry plates in the Motion section there may be several dozen connection options.

After a part is connected, it can still be adjusted. When you select a connected part, a handle will appear that will allow you to move the part while maintaining the connection. For example, if you connect two extrusions at right angles, you can move the parts along their axes to change the connection.

Resizing Structural Elements

As mentioned in the opening section, some of the parts available in Vention’s CAD software, those in the Structural category can be resized. To resize the extrusions or tubes, first select the part you want to resize. A menu will appear with several options, a resize option among them. With this option selected, an arrow will appear on both sides of the part. Drag these arrows to adjust the size of the piece.

Importing Parts

Even though the library of parts available from Vention.io is quite extensive, you might find it is missing a few parts needed for your machine design. You might also have specialized or customized parts you wish to use. Fortunately, Vention’s software allows you to add to the parts library by uploading your own CAD files.

In the upper-left corner of the window, under the Vention logo, select CAD File Import… You can upload parts in common CAD  file formats including STEP and IGES.