Key details

Comprehensive Autodesk Inventor training for newcomers, teaching how to create production-ready parts and assemblies.

Autodesk Inventor provides a comprehensive set of 3D mechanical CAD tools for creating production-ready parts and assemblies, and then visualising, simulating and analysing how a design will work under real-world conditions.

Inventor Essentials provides a comprehensive introduction to the application, teaching you:

• The fundamental principles behind 3D parametric part and assembly design.
• The use of the tools and features available in Inventor to create production-ready part and assembly drawings.

In-class or online

This course is available in-class at eight centres or live online.

Upcoming course dates

Who should attend?

This course is aimed at designers and engineers who want to start using Inventor.

Accredited Inventor training

Armada is an Autodesk Authorised Training Centre (ATC), and our Inventor training courses are accredited by Autodesk.

Inventor courses are hosted by Autodesk Certified Instructors, with vast experience of using the application professionally. For further details, see Expert trainers.

How will I learn?

Inventor training is hands-on and practical.

Our trainers teach the necessary theory then demonstrate techniques step-by-step. You then practice the techniques taught on a computer running Inventor.

There is plenty of time to ask questions, and you can take away all the files you create.

Inventor training guide and certificate

Course delegates receive:

• A highly-practical training guide for Inventor, to refer to throughout the course, and to use as a refresher afterwards.
• An e-certificate confirming successful completion of an accredited Inventor training course. Click here to see an example of the certificate you receive.

Inventor certification exams

When you attend Inventor training, you’re not assessed and there is no exam to sit. We teach you practical skills you can use in the real world, not prepare you to sit a test.

If you want to gain an industry-recognised credential in Inventor, we offer an Autodesk certification exam that you can sit on a future date.

Exams are sat online, from your place of work or home. For further details, see Certification exam.

After course support

Following Inventor training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their Inventor trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

Prerequisites

Delegates should have a good working knowledge of Windows. Experience using an Autodesk application, such as AutoCAD or Revit, is beneficial but not essential. No prior 3D modelling experience is necessary.

Inventor version

Training is based primarily on Inventor 2025. It is relevant to users of Inventor 2020 and later.

Our guarantees to you

We offer:

• A price guarantee that you’re getting the best value for money.
• A training guarantee that you’ll learn the concepts and skills you need.

On-request Inventor training available

Inventor Essentials training is also available on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group, hosted at one of our centres, your venue or online.

On-request Inventor training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing. Please contact us for a quote.

General information

Course times

9.30am–4.30pm.

Payment

Payment for Inventor training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. All major credit and debit cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Card payments are processed by Stripe. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Cancellations and transfers

You can cancel a booking on a scheduled training course, or transfer to a later course, without penalty providing you give us 10 working days’ notice. Any fees already paid will be refunded.

If you cancel a booking on a scheduled Inventor Essentials course giving less than 10 working days’ notice, or request a transfer to a later course, a cancellation/transfer fee is payable. The fee charged depends on the notice period given. For details, see cancellation terms.

Different terms apply for the cancellation or postponement of an on-request course (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group). For details, see course cancellations.

Terms and conditions

Training course bookings are subject to our terms and conditions.

Expert trainers

Inventor Essentials training courses are hosted by:

• Carl Portman
• Andy Roe
• John Billyard

Carl Portman

Carl Portman has been an Autodesk-accredited instructor for 25 years, a College Lecturer (City and Guilds 3D modelling) for 15 years and a CAD consultant for 35 years.

Carl’s background is in engineering. He has vast design experience in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace and medical, and he continues to carry out project work for a range of clients. Projects that Carl has completed include designing complete car plants for Jaguar Land Rover.

Carl has expert knowledge of:

• A wide range of 3D design applications used in engineering, including AutoCAD, Alias, Fusion 360, Inventor and SolidWorks.
• Machining, CAM and CNC.

Away from work, Carl’s passion is motorsport, and until recently he raced motorbikes. He knows Silverstone and Brands Hatch like the back of his hand, and he has the scars to prove it.

Andy Roe

Andy has worked in CAD for over 30 years in roles including Draughtsman, CAD System Manager, Project Manager and Design Engineer.

In recent years, Andy has focused on developing and delivering training courses. He is a long-established Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), and he focuses primarily on Autodesk applications including AutoCAD, Inventor, Fusion 360, 3ds Max and Sketchbook, as well as Dassault Systemes SolidWorks.

Andy continues to undertake project work to keep up-to-date with the latest technologies and practices. He specialises in modelling complex 3D designs from prototype to production, including the development of visuals and animations for a range of engineering projects.

Industries in which Andy has significant experience include aerospace, defence and automotive.

John Billyard

John has used CAD software for over 35+ years, providing high quality engineering and architectural designs to a wide range of clients

He has provided training in the applications he uses for a similar length of time, and for the last 15 years, has been commissioned directly by Autodesk to provide consulting and training services to their corporate client base.

John hosts courses in various Autodesk applications including AutoCAD, Inventor and Vault. He also trains Dassault Systèmes’ SolidWorks, Trimble SketchUp and Epic Games’ Twinmotion.

He takes pride in keeping pace with the latest industry design tools and technologies, enabling him meet the challenges and demands of an ever changing working environment.

Course content

Getting started

• Autodesk Inventor user interface
• View manipulation
• Designing parametric parts

Basic sketching techniques

• Creating 2D sketches
• Geometric constraints
• Dimensioning sketches

Basic shape design

• Creating basic sketched features
• Editing parametric parts
• 3D grip editing
• Creating work features
• Creating basic swept shapes

Detailed shape design

• Creating chamfers and fillets
• Creating holes and threads
• Patterning and mirroring features
• Creating thin-walled parts

Assembly design overview

• Designing assemblies
• Using project files in assembly designs

Placing, creating and constraining components

• Placing components in an assembly
• Constraining components
• Placing standard components using the content center
• Basic part design in an assembly

Interacting with an assembly

• Identifying parts in an assembly
• Analysis and motion tools
• Presenting your assembly

Basic view creation

• Drawing creation environment
• Base and projected views
• Section views
• Detail views
• Crop views
• Managing views

Dimensions, annotations and tables

• Automated dimensioning techniques
• Manual dimensioning techniques
• Annotating holes and threads
• Creating centerlines, symbols and leaders
• Revision tables and tags

Annotating assembly drawings

• Assembly-centric bill of materials
• Creating and customising parts lists
• Creating balloons

Drawing standards and resources

• Setting drawing standards
• Drawing resources

Live online training

Online training lets you participate in a live Inventor course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Watch our trainer demonstrate techniques in Inventor.
• Interact by speaking, or using chat.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online Inventor Essentials courses…

• Are presented by Autodesk Certified Instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises using Inventor.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with…

• Inventor installed. If you don’t have a current subscription to Inventor, you’re entitled to a 30-day trial that’s ideal for participating in training. We’ll send you a link to this. If you’ve already used your trial, we can lend you a license for the duration of your course.
• A webcam and audio capability. If your computer running Inventor doesn’t have these, you can use a second device, such as another computer or tablet. See Hardware recommendations for live online training for further details.

If there’s anything you’re not sure about we’ll do our best to help you. We won’t be able to assist with your Inventor installation, but we can provide details for Autodesk support who’ll be able to help you with this.

We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. Then, a couple of days before your course, we’ll give you a courtesy call to make sure you have everything in place and answer any questions you may have.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time

Discounts and bundles

To make your Inventor training as affordable as possible, we offer:

• A discounted Inventor CAM training bundle.
• A range of training discounts on our scheduled (public) Inventor training courses.
• A price guarantee that you won’t get Inventor training for less.

Inventor CAM training bundle

Book:

• Inventor Essentials training (3 days), and
• Inventor CAM and CNC (2 days), or Inventor Intermediate

for £995 + VAT (classroom-based) or £895 + VAT (live online training), saving £95 + VAT in both cases.

The bundle price will be applied automatically when you add these two courses to your basket.

Training discounts

Multiple places

If you book multiple places on any courses, we can offer you:

• 5% discount if you book two places.
• 10% discount if you book three places.
• 15% discount if you book four places.
• 20% discount if you book five or more places.

This can be for several people attending one course, one person attending several courses, or a combination.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and live online training.

Concessions

We offer a 10% discount on scheduled Inventor course places to:

• Students, teachers and lecturers.
• People who work for a registered charity.
• ISTC members.

These discounts are available for both classroom-based courses and remote training.

Please call us if you qualify for a discount. Evidence of your status that entitles you to a discount may be requested.

Terms and exclusions

Only one of the above discounts can be applied to any booking.

The above discounts are not available for on-request course bookings (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group).

Price guarantee

When you book training with Armada, we want you to be certain that you’re not paying over-the-odds. So, if you book a place on any scheduled (public) course and then find the same course at a lower price elsewhere, we will match that price.

To qualify for the price match:

• The course you find must be comparable. By this we mean it must:
  • Cover the same subject.
  • Be the same duration or longer.
  • Hold the same accreditations as our course, i.e. it must be provided by an Autodesk Authorised Training Centre (ATC).
  • For classroom-based courses, be in the same region, i.e. within 50 miles of our centre.
  • For online training, be a live course, i.e. not pre-prepared e-learning content.

• The lower price must be advertised on the other company’s website.

To claim a price match, just call any time before attending your course and tell us where you saw the price.

Certification exam

Armada is an Autodesk Certification Centre offering exams that lead to industry-recognised qualifications. For Inventor, we offer an Autodesk Certified User (ACU) exam.

Whether you’re a student or a professional,  achieving Inventor ACU status validates your skillset, providing enhanced credibility and accelerated professional development.

Successful candidates receive:

• An e-certificate (PDF) from Autodesk confirming your Inventor-certified status.
• An official Autodesk-Certified badge that you can use to market your skills, e.g. on your business cards, in your email signature, on your website, etc.

To read more about the benefits of achieving Autodesk-certified status in Inventor, read Lyndsay Mann’s blog What benefits does Autodesk certification bring?

Inventor ACU exam summary

• Entry level exam to validate your knowledge of fundamental concepts and procedures in Inventor.
• Qualification: Autodesk Certified User in Inventor.
• Sat online, from your place of work or home.
• Length of exam: 50 minutes.
• Recommended preparation: Attend Inventor Essentials training, and have 150 hours’ hands-on experience using Inventor.

• For further details, and for a list of the topics and features you’re likely to be tested in, see Inventor ACU exam guide.

Approach to online exam sittings

Exam sittings are monitored by a proctor from Armada.

All you need is a computer (Windows or Mac) with:

• A strong Internet connection (min. 5Mbps).
• Screen resolution at least 1200 x 800.
• Chrome browser.

You don’t need to have Inventor installed – you’ll access Inventor on a virtual computer during your exam. No webcam is required.

Practice test

A practice test is available that reflects the questions you’re likely to be asked in your Inventor ACU exam. The practice test is taken online, from your place of work or home. The test has two modes:

• Testing mode, which replicates your exam.
• Training mode, which provides step-by-step help on questions.

The practice test can be retaken up to 30 times in a one-year period. (You’re asked the same questions each time.)

Practice tests are only available for installation on Windows computers running Inventor version 2016-2022. For further details, see www.gmetrix.net/GetGMetrixSMS.aspx.

Practice can only be purchased from Armada along with an exam.

Prices

Inventor ACU exam: £150 + VAT.
Discounted price available to Armada training delegates: £100 + VAT.

Inventor ACU exam/practice test bundle: £200 + VAT.
Discounted price available to Armada training delegates: £150 + VAT.

Inventor ACU exam retake: £75 + VAT.

When can I take my Inventor exam?

You can take your exam in one of our regular Inventor exam sessions.

Dates of forthcoming Inventor exams: 1 Nov, 21 Feb, 28 Mar, .

Exam sittings usually take place in the afternoon, at 2pm. We confirm your exam time one week before your sitting.

Booking an exam and payment options

To book an exam, please email exams@armada.co.uk providing details of the exam you’d like to sit, or call 01527 834783.

Payment for AutoCAD exams can be made bank transfer or card.

We accept purchase orders from UK-registered companies and public sector organisations.

Q and A

• What version of Inventor am I tested on?
  You can choose to be tested on the 2023, 2024 or 2025 application version.
• What is the pass mark for Inventor ACU certification exams?
  You will be notified of the pass mark prior to your exam starting.
• When do I find out if I’ve passed?
  Immediately, when you complete your exam. Your result is displayed on-screen.
• What happens if I do not pass?
  You will receive a diagnostic score report that indicates areas for improvement. You may then retake the examination as needed. Should you need to retake an exam, simply re-book. Discounted prices are available for retakes.
• Who can I contact if I have more questions?
  Email any questions you have to exams@armada.co.uk.

See also…

• Top 10 reasons to get Autodesk certified

Exam Ts & Cs

See Exam Terms and conditions.