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Mirror sheet metal part -> inherit Sheet Metal Defaults from original

Mirror sheet metal part -> inherit Sheet Metal Defaults from original

When creating a mirrored version of a sheet metal part in an assembly, the mirrored part doesn't inherit the the Sheet Metal Rule, thickness and unfold rule of the original part.

 

This is very annoying because without manually editing it, I'm unable to generate flat patterns. When I modify the thickness of the original part, I also have to edit the settings of the mirrored part again.

16 Comments
thyzsz
Contributor

Great idea!!!   And on top of this, it would be great that the mirrored part also creates a flat pattern if the the original part already have one. Reference plane should be the same as the original part.

 

Now, i have to open the parts and create the flats one by one.

 

Its also very annoying that the parts always has to 'open' when creating a flat pattern. why is it not possible in the 'edit' environment.  Or just create the flat, without showing it every time.

guido_66
Advocate
Indeed, the mirrored part should also have a mirrored flat pattern. We do a lot of engraving on our sheet Metal parts, so the flat patterns are not identical.
dan_szymanski
Autodesk
Status changed to: Accepted

Accepted idea [6476]. Thanks!

guido_66
Advocate
Great! Thinking a bit further: a mirrored part is basically a derived part. So if the master part is a sheet Metal part, the parts derived from it should inherit the sheet Metal settings. This also would come in handy when creating multiple sheet Metal parts from one master part. Changing the sheet Metal settings in the master would also modify al the derived parts. Basically, I would like a derived sheet Metal part to have a "inherit from base component" setting by default, while keeping the possibility to select another setting in every derived part.
Anonymous
Not applicable
X2! It would make sense for the mirrored part to inherent the sheet metal rules. If I mirror a part that is different from default thickness, I have to manually change the thickness in sheet metal defaults before it will generate a flat pattern correctly.
Anonymous
Not applicable

Would be nice to be able to mirror a sheet metal part and be able to flatten it by inserting bends, otherwise it is a pretty picture and still have to draw the same part twice basically.

DRoam
Mentor

You're in luck because this is already possible Smiley Happy You can still create a Flat Pattern for the mirrored part by deriving it into its own part file. In fact, you can even still use the "Unfold" and "Refold" tools to un-bend specific bends in the mirrored part.

swalton
Mentor

My current (Inventor 2014) workflow:

1. Create the source part.

2. Create the mirror part with either the mirror command in an assembly or with the derive command in a new part.

3. Edit the derive node to include the source sheet metal parameters in the mirrored part.

4. Edit the Sheet Metal Defaults in the mirrored part to use the source part's values and material.  This is the step that makes the unfold command work.

 

I would like the mirror/derive command to automatically pull the sheet metal parameters and materials from the source part into the target part.  Less manual work (mistakes) for me.

 

 

Martin.vanecek
Contributor

Hi

 

Now after mirroring in assembly, must for each mirrored-sheetmetal-part

  • open
  • correct sheetmetal style
  • create unfold
  • return to main-asm

 

in sheet metal environment, in function "make part" is one of option available, in assm nothing.

 

Need unfold for iproperties (max size of unfold)

 

Please add two new option to component mirroring:

  • Link Sheet metal styles
  • After mirror create unfold

new optionnew optionoption in sheetmetal environmentoption in sheetmetal environment

swalton
Mentor

In addition, it would be very helpful if Inventor would copy and update any idws of the source part to show the mirrored part.

inv.ideareview
Autodesk
Status changed to: Gathering Support

Sheet metal multi-body is supported from Inventor 2016, and the style will be synced to the derived part when making derive workflow. For sheet metal part mirror, we just need to check on the option "Link sheet metal styles" in the mirrored part. Does it work fine for you?

Please see the attached image.Mirror for Sheet Metal Part.PNG

inv.ideareview
Autodesk
Status changed to: Accepted
 
JasonMayes
Advocate

How has this not been addressed yet??

JasonMayes
Advocate

@inv.ideareview

regarding...

"Sheet metal multi-body is supported from Inventor 2016, and the style will be synced to the derived part when making derive workflow. For sheet metal part mirror, we just need to check on the option "Link sheet metal styles" in the mirrored part. Does it work fine for you?"

 

No, this does not work for me. We very seldom mirror just a single ipt file. We normally will create a complete left or right version of a design with structural and sheet metal parts. We then mirror the assembly. All of the mirrored sheet metal parts that were designed as lefts or rights then have to be opened and sheet metal rules applied and flat patterns created. Another issue with the "mirror" is what I currently have listed in the forums...

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/mirroring-custom-parts-created-by-content-center-jumbl...

Anonymous
Not applicable

As per Jason Meyes, we use the mirror part function in large assemblies. As it stands we have to go to each part, drill into 'edit derived part' and tick the 'link sheet metal styles' box. This is, for large assemblies, extremely time-consuming.

 

If this was a tick-box in whilst performing the mirror function, it would alleviate the hours of lost time and lost revenue. Clearly the ability to do this isn't an issue, as the box is there to start with. Why not put it as an option at the head-end of the process?

 

 

dan_szymanski
Autodesk
Status changed to: Implemented

This idea has been implemented within Autodesk Inventor 2020. Special thanks to everyone who cast a vote for it.

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