Flatten

[johan.degreef]

Does anyone have any tips.

I need a plotted paper to lay over the tube, so manufacturing can draw a cutting line.

Is there a way to lay 3 surfaces over these 3 pieces and make a flat sheet of it?

Many Thx, Johan

[kacper.suchomski]

Hi

Should it be one paper? Or 3?
Where should the cutting line be?
What is the top for? Will you be taking apart entire pipes?

[NigelHay]

Is this for cutting the joint faces? If the 3 sections are separate parts, you could extrude a thin (0.1mm?) slit through each one then convert to sheet metal. You could then produce flat patterns to print at 1:1 which should wrap around the tube to give the cut line.

[johan.degreef]

@kacper.suchomski 

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@kacper.suchomski wrote:

Hi

Should it be one paper? Or 3?
Where should the cutting line be?
What is the top for? Will you be taking apart entire pipes?

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- 3 seperate papers

- not important, 1 of the quadrants

- there will be 3 pipes to cut, 2 with 1 end to cut and 1 pipe with 2 ends to cut (on this last pipe, length needs to be ok so it should be a closed loop).

@NigelHay 

I know I can do this with sheetmetal, but was looking for an easier way by just using this dummy part.

[kacper.suchomski]

I don't think it could be done any easier than with sheet metal. 

An alternative is surface bodies, but the result is the same. 

This can only be complicated if, for example, you require one continuous printout. 

[IgorMir]

If you were looking for "Just do it" button - it is not there yet. But making these three individual pieces in the Sheet Metal module of Inventor would, probably, take less time, than to write to the forum about it.

Cheers,

Igor.

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@johan.degreef wrote:

@NigelHay 

I know I can do this with sheetmetal, but was looking for an easier way by just using this dummy part.

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[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi! This can be done in a multi-solid body sheet metal part. Then use Make Components command to push each solid body as a part in an assembly. In each part, create the flat pattern.

Though it can be done easily, it isn't straight forward to find the simplest solution. Here is an example. Please take a look.

Many thanks!

[johan.degreef]

@johnsonshiue 

Hello Shiue

It seems pretty neat, but I can't really see what you have done (to my piece). not much experience with thicken, rip, etc... Why did you add a thickness?

Could you lake a small video starting from scratch?

Thx

[kacper.suchomski]

Thickening each segment in both directions (in the intersection mode) guarantees the perpendicularity of cutting individual sheets.

Is it difficult to check file history using EOP? 

[IgorMir]

Thickening the surface in either direction (Middle, Up, Down) guaranties the edges will be normal to the main face.

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@kacper.suchomski wrote:

Thickening each segment in both directions (in the intersection mode) guarantees the perpendicularity of cutting individual sheets.

Is it difficult to check file history using EOP? 

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[johan.degreef]

That thickening thing is new to me...