Inventor takes a completely different approach to managing data. Theoretically, nothing limits the number of parts that you can include in an assembly, but other modelers generally bog down and become very slow when an assembly contains a few hundred parts. Inventor, however, easily handles assemblies with several thousand parts. Release 4 enhances this capability even more by letting you partially load an assembly. Another unique feature of Inventor is its adaptive assemblies.
Parametric modelers update an assembly if a part changes.
For example, when you move a bearing, the parts in the assembly move so the shaft still goes through the bearing. Inventor takes this a step further. If you change the shaft diameter, the size of the bearing changes. Other modelers accomplish this by establishing named parameters and linking them through formulas. With Inventor, you simply click on the Adaptive box.