Pre Flatten Cuts

HI There,

Today I would like to talk about doing Pre flatten Cut features.

Now we know that in sheetmetal, we normally work in reverse where the Cuts are done when the plate is flat then we bend it to shape.

Now in some situations we need these cuts to be shown post bend.

Something like this

So how is this done.

I first start off with a Solid part

I added a draft angle to create the cone shape

Once I have that I used shell to achieve the desired thickness

Next is to separate the body by introducing a small cut.

This cut must have an angle

If you not have an angle, the next feature will not work.

We now need to insert bends

Select an edge along the small cut that we did

Specify all the necessary settings accordingly for sheetmetal.

You should now be able to flatten the part

Now Fold the part back and roll back the feature bar to be in between Flatten bend and Process bend

This will allow you to insert the cuts before the Flatten state.

Remember to use Link to thickness or you will face errors with the flatten state.

Next is to simply roll the Roll back bar to the end

Test the flatten state

If it does not work then there may be a missing edge or face with the flatten state

Edit the Flat pattern and you will see the image below

Reapply the edge that we initially used

This will allow you to Flatten the Part as a sheetmetal component as per normal and see the cut features before and after this state.

I hope this helps