modification of k-factor on selective bends

[Anonymous]

Hi: I am experimenting with changing the k-factor in
sheet-metal-style/unfold-method. My question is: can
you change the k-factor (or other bend parameters) on a per-bend basis, or does changing the k-factor always affect all bends? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

The k-Factor defined for the unfold method associated with the sheet metal
style is the default unfold method when creating feature. However, you can
override this at the feature level and choose a different unfold method.
Setting the unfold method for a feature in not necessarily setting it for
each bend since some features can contain multiple bends. There currently
isn't any way to assign unique unfold methods to each bend in that case.
--
Brian Ekins
Autodesk Inventor API

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response - very useful information.
Are there any plans to add this capability (to assign unique unfold methods to each bend) in future releases? Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

"However, you can
override this at the feature level and choose a different unfold method."

How do I do this using the API? If i click on a face, I can get the SheetMetalComponentDefinition and PartFeature. How can a use this to set the unfold method for this feature? Thanks

[Anonymous]

You can't do this with the API today because sheet metal features have
limited API support. This is a critical issue for us and one we plan to
address soon.
--
Brian Ekins
Autodesk Inventor API

[Anonymous]

Does that mean that there is no way to override either the bend radius or the k Factor on a per feature basis in the sheet metal mode, using the API ? I see that this is possible from the GUI though. If I cannot do this through the API, it is a serious limitation for what I need to do.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Yes, that's right. The sheet metal features in Inventor 2008 are exposed
through the API as general part features. This means they don't provide
access to any of the sheet metal specific information or information to that
specific feature type. Of course with each release we're enhancing the
functionality of the API. I can't comment on the specifics of Inventor 2009
yet. Hopefully you're participating in the beta and see what's new.
--
Brian Ekins
Autodesk Inventor API