Building the Foundation of the Design - Autodesk Inventor 2010: No Experience Required - page 76

bend tables for your material. Working with Manufacturing may get you access to
existing data that they use, which will make things go more smoothly when it's
time to get the parts produced.
After you've established the range of options for calculating the fl at pattern,
you can use the Unfold Rule pull-down to set the default method for this rule.
Flat Pattern Punch Representation
This is another area where it's benefi cial to work with Manufacturing if you
haven't been previously responsible for generating fl at patterns.
Depending on your organization, you may have to include detailed representa-
tions of features that will be punched into your part, or only a simple center
mark for where the punch should strike, or something in between.
Inventor offers four methods, and selecting the appropriate one is very
important:
Formed Punch Feature Even though the part will be fl at, the punched features
continue to display in 3D with this option, and a center mark is displayed at the
placement origin for the punch feature.
2D Sketch Representation When you defi ne a punch tool (as discussed later
in this chapter), Inventor lets you specify a 2D sketch to use as a representation.
This sketch may be the perimeter of the feature, or it can be a symbol that an
automated programming system uses for tool selection.
2D Sketch Rep and Center Mark This displays the 2D sketch and a center mark
for where the strike is programmed to occur.
Center Mark Only If you plan to use a table to list what punches are used, you
can show where the punches need to be placed on the fl at part.
The Bend Tab
The Bend tab (Figure 2.23) controls the default radius of bends that are applied
and specifi es how to treat bends that are less than the full width of another face.
Bend Relief
Before you create a bend, it's sometimes necessary to cut a notch into the metal
to limit the distortion of the unbent portion. This is called a bend relief .
Relief Shape
This pull-down list lets you select the default relief shape for the rule. The stan-
dard shapes are as follows:
Straight Straight creates a rectangular shape.