1. You cannot pattern sheet metal features at this time.
2. I would construct the part as a sheet metal part, add chamfers,
etc., then add fold lines for each point. did a similar part last
week...
Dennis
tmalinski wrote:
> I am a seasoned AutoCad 2002 designer but new to the Inventor world. I
> have taken the 5.3 fundamentals course and am cramming furiously with
> hands on practice while waiting for the next available advanced course
> in my area (end of Dec). I am the senior designer in our office and
> typically work on the hotter more complex jobs for my boss. I find
> myself in the all so familiar pressure cooker trying to utilize
> Inventor and am struggling with a few things that are probably
> elementary in nature.
> I am trying to construct a complex sheet metal part that has a
> 4-pointed star like shape. Each leg of the star is identical and made
> up of various faces, folds, and extrusions. There are coined areas
> where the metal is thinned this is why I extruded and cut the leg as
> needed. So I found myself using both Sheet Metal toolbar functions
> and Features toolbar functions to shape, bend, and whittle out the
> final leg shape. Now Im left with a one legged part and have ran into
> some roadblocks that prevent me from completing the rest of the part.
> 1) How do I create a circular pattern to get four identical legs? I
> get a message that says set contains objects that cannot be
> patterned what does that mean? Is it because I combined sheet metal
> and standard functions?
> 2) I also tried to make an assembly by placing four instances of the
> legs, but that prevents me from being able to further cut and shape
> the complete assembly as if it were one part!
> Im sure this is a beginners dilemma and more of a planning or
> methodology issue than a software issue.
> Any help is greatly appreciated.
> Thanks, Tom
--
Dennis Jeffrey
CAD Associates - Fort Wayne
Autodesk ASC
(260-432-9695 x 221