"Link sheet metal styles" not working

[DRoam]

I'm having an issue using Derive with "Link sheet metal styles" checked. If I change the active Sheet Metal style in the parent, then go to the child part and hit "Update", the geometry updates fine but the Sheet Metal Style, "Thickness" parameter, etc. remain at their original values.

This results in the flat pattern not being able to generate since the geometry thickness doesn't equal the Style thickness. Also, I'm using the thickness parameter to fill out Bill of Materials information, so I need it to update properly for that as well.

Does anyone know why this is happening or how to fix it?

I'm using Inventor 2017.4.4. I've attached a master (Multibody Test.ipt) and child (Solid1.ipt) part exhibiting the problem.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Derek,

On 2017, you can create multiple solid bodies in a sheet metal part. But, all solid bodies have to have the same thickness value. It does not support multiple thickness values. On 2018, you can create multiple solid bodies in different thickness values.

When you push each solid body in the source part to a derive part, the thickness remains the same. For example, you have a 0.5mm flange in the source part. You cannot make it it a 0.12in flange by pushing the solid to a part. The flange remains 0.5mm in the derived part. Is this what you are seeing?

Many thanks!

[DRoam]

Hi Johnson, thanks for the reply! That’s not quite the issue I’m having. I’m not trying to have individual body thicknesses or make the thickness of the derived part different from that in the parent. In fact, it's the opposite. I want my derived part (Solid1.ipt) to have the same sheet metal style and thickness as the master (Multibody test.ipt), but it's not staying synced with my master part even though the sheet metal styles are linked in the Derive operation.

You can (hopefully) see this behavior if you open the files I attached. If you change the style in “Multibody test” and then update “Solid1.ipt”, you’ll see that the parameters and sheet metal style in Solid1.ipt do not update appropriately. At least that's how it's behaving for me.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Derek,

I see the issue now. You would like the source sheet metal part to drive the default (or active) sheet metal styles in the derive part, right? Unfortunately, "Link Sheet Metal Styles" option does not work like that. When the option is checked, the content of the styles are in sync. But, the active sheet metal styles may not be in sync. You will need to activate the correct styles in each derived part. This is the behavior in 2017.

On 2018, the behavior has been changed to support multi-thickness. The active (default) style only applies when you create a new solid body in sheet metal. You can then change it any other style. The style in the derived part will adjust accordingly.

Many thanks!

[DRoam]

---

@johnsonshiue wrote:

Unfortunately, "Link Sheet Metal Styles" option does not work like that. When the option is checked, the content of the styles are in sync. But, the active sheet metal styles may not be in sync. You will need to activate the correct styles in each derived part.

---

Can you explain what's included in "the content of the styles?"

To me, there are 3 sort of "layers" of what I might want to be "synced" when "Link sheet metal styles" is checked:

Layer 1: The "behavior" of the style, including actual geometry thickness, bend radii, unfold factors, etc.

Layer 2: The parameters as shown in the parameters dialog.

Layer 3: The name of the active sheet metal rule as displayed in the "Sheet Metal Defaults"

Obviously Layer 1 is the most critical, because if my Derived part doesn't even inherit the thickness, unfold factors, etc., then "Link sheet metal styles" essentially accomplished nothing.

Layer 2 is only critical if the parameters are utilized for iProperties or something, and in our case they are, so we need those to sync as well if possible.

Layer 3 really is of no concern to us. If the active sheet metal style isn't synced, but the geometry and parameters are correct, that's really all that matters.

So with that said, which of those 3 layers should be syncing when "Link sheet metal styles" is checked?

The behavior I'm seeing is that NONE of them are, including Layer 1, the most critical. If I change the style to a different thickness in "Multibody Test.ipt", then the Flat Pattern in "Solid1.ipt" stops functioning because the thickness the flat pattern is expecting doesn't match the new geometry thickness.

So why is "Layer 1" of the syncing not working? And is there anything I can do to get "Layer 2" to sync as well?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Derek,

What I meant by "content of the style" is about all the setting with respect to the style itself. It is not related to whether or not the style is default or active. It does not look like "Link sheet metal styles" option honoring what is active or what is default. It is literally on a per style basis. There is room for improvement for sure. The workflow right not is not fully-automated. Also the users need to do extra work to ensure changes are propagated to derived parts properly.

Many thanks!

[DRoam]

@johnsonshiue wrote:

What I meant by "content of the style" is about all the setting with respect to the style itself.

If that's the case, then why does the flat pattern fail if I change the style in my Master part?

For the files that I attached, it seems to me that "Link sheet metal styles" is not working at all.

Can you experiment with the attached files and see if you come to the same conclusion?

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi Derek,

The issue here is that "Link to sheet metal styles" option only link the same named styles making sure they are in sync. But, which style is active or default, is not controlled by this option. You can do a test and verify the behavior. Open the Master part and go to Manage -> Styles Editor -> Sheet Metal Rule -> 0.1875 Inch -> change the material style or any setting in the rule. Then open the derived part -> Update and then go to Manage -> Styles Editor -> Sheet Metal Rule -> "0.1875 Inch" rule should have the updated setting like in Master part. If not, it will be a bug.

But, as you can see, the given style is not necessarily active. "Link to sheet metal styles" does not change the active or default style in the derived part.

Many thanks!

[DRoam]

Ohhh I see now, so the "content" of the styles is kept in sync, but which style is active is not. That explains the behavior I'm seeing, thank you for clarifying! So there is no way to keep the active style in sync between the master and derived parts? (Aside from cobbling together some iLogic, of course).

And one more question...

---

@johnsonshiue wrote:

On 2018 [...] The active (default) style only applies when you create a new solid body in sheet metal. You can then change it any other style. The style in the derived part will adjust accordingly.

---

Does this mean that in 2018 the active styles stay linked when the "Link sheet metal styles" option is checked?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi Derek,

Yes, you got it! The styles themselves are in sync. But, the "active style"  is not. On 2018, the behavior is slightly different due to supporting multiple thickness values within a part. "Active style" becomes like default style, since you can have Solid1 using 0.1875 Inch and Solid2 using 0.25 Inch. When you use Make Components command to push the solid bodies, the rule is recorded on a per body basis. Then the rule used in source body has been changed, the derived body rule will be changed accordingly. To certain degree, the issue you are seeing on 2017 would not happen that frequently in 2018 and later. You can still override the rule in derive body leading to out-of-sync rules. But, that would not help anyway.

Many thanks!

[DRoam]

Ok, that clarifies everything for me. I guess we'll have to look forward to upgrading to 2018 to get a full sync between master and derived parts. In the meantime I might try and look into an iLogic solution. Thanks for all your help!