Sheet metal cone unfold and cutout

[hclmed]

Following up on https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/sheet-metal-cone-unfold/td-p/9128284  thread, including the solution from @jhackney1972 with the new loft flange operation, I'm now wondering how the flattened sheet metal can allow cutouts that remain in place when the flat pattern is finished. Is that a limitation of the loft method, or is there a specific mode that needs to be invoked to allow cutouts to persist after the sheet metal is unflattened?

[Warmingup1953]

I see no reason why not

[hclmed]

It looks like I was missing the difference between flatten, which doesn't seem to retain the cutouts or other features applied to it when unflattened, and unfold, which does retain the cutouts after being refolded. The only mystery remaining now is why the length/diameter of the cone gets halved when unfolded.

[jhackney1972 · Accepted solution]

Features, such as cutouts, that you want to add to the sheet metal development, in the flat state can be made easily using the Unfold command.  The video will show how.  One thing I did not do in my video was to remove the small extrusion I used to create the Unfold area selection.  You can remove this using the Offset Face command.

Features in Sheet Metal Cone.mp4

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[hclmed]

Not sure what you're doing differently. When I apply cutouts in flattended mode, they don't persist for some reason after unflattering, as shown in my attached flattened and unflattened views. (I think my diameter halving is something unrelated that I'm tracking down). After generating the cone using the lofted flange, were you able to apply a cutout to the FLAT PATTERN SOLID, then FINISH FLAT PATTERN and retain the cutout? The cutout's gone when I do exactly that.

[TheCADWhisperer]

Unfold/Refold. Not Flat Pattern. 

[jhackney1972 · Accepted solution]

Message #4 video uses the Unfold/Refold method of creating a flat layout that you can edit.

[Warmingup1953]

Do you want a circular hole in your plasma cut sheet or a hole through your cone made by a cylinder?

[hclmed]

Ok, I see that unfold and refold allows cutouts to the unfolded surface that remain when folded, and that allows what I want to do. But I still wonder how the unfold/fold procedure differs from the flatten/flatten procedure. Also, it looked like @Warmingup1953 was able to save his cutout during a flatten/unflatten sequence based on the button visible in his screen grab. Just hoping for a better understanding of the difference between the two.

[Warmingup1953]

The other point is that I have found this forum tends to be more suitable to air perceived or real Software issues rather than other forum's  stated purpose: Fusion 360 Design, Validate & Document

[TheCADWhisperer]

@hclmed 

After you do the Unfold - modeling operation - Refold, THEN create the Flat Pattern.