Autodesk 466B1-05A761-1304 - AutoCAD Inventor Simulation Suite 2010 Getting Started page 11

When you create or open an assembly file, you are in the assembly
environment. Assembly tools manipulate whole subassemblies and assemblies.
You can group parts that function together as a single unit and then insert
the subassembly into another assembly.
You can insert parts into an assembly or use sketch and part tools to create
parts in the context of an assembly. During these operations, all other
components in the assembly are visible.
To complete a model, you can create assembly features that affect multiple
components, such as holes that pass through multiple parts. Assembly features
often describe specific manufacturing processes such as post-machining.
The assembly browser is a convenient way to activate components you want
to edit. Use the browser to edit sketches, features, and constraints, turn
component visibility on and off, and do other tasks. In the following image
of an assembly, two of the components display an icon indicating they are
part of a contact set. Components that belong to a contact set behave as they
would in the physical world.
Presentation (.ipn) Files
Presentation files are a multi-purpose file type. Use a presentation file to:
Create an exploded view of an assembly to use in a drawing file.
Create an animation which shows the step by step assembly order. The
animation can contain view changes and the visibility state of components
at each step in the assembly process. You can save the animation to a .wmv
or .avi file format.
Components of Digital Prototypes (file types) | 5