Flattening Extension

I exported the outline in green with red for the centreline + lead in and lead out for the V cuts…

I also added location circles for rods [in black] to expedite setup on repeats, so when a new batch is requested they just just chuck on the base with rods, pop in the cutout and run…

and yes dxf has been ok for all the machine shops I’ve dealt with in the UK…

I get them to send me an example file, import into SU, delete any geometry and use all it’s quirks fro my out files…

john

Is this the sort of thing you are hoping to achieve?

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now I feel dumb… lol… whole 30 minutes???
That is very close however instead of the panels being connected they are individual for welding one at a time I guess a “V” grove could be added to the back sides to ensure they bend at the proper location however they would still have to be welded along that joint after the fact anyway. But wow that is impressive considering how long I’ve been attempting it. long and short of it is, i need individual pieces layed out that have dimensions and angles called out

A fireplace component I have been working on -

Not likely a final shape - I used unwrap and flatten - only took a couple of minutes. I am hoping to mostly eliminate welds.

Not really. I was side tracked by a video.

So something more like this?

You need to learn the fundamentals of using the Rotate tool. I didn’t use any extensions, just Rotate and Move.

Each large face from the 3D model was copied out to work on.

From here it would be a good idea to create scenes to show the parts and dimensions. Ideally you would do this in LayOut and you could even make full size patterns for all of the pieces if you did.

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Think it was only 25 minutes…but your being helped by a veteran SU guru…so don’t be too hard on yourself

With the bumper everytime i selected the faces to be flattened it would only put 1 or two down and didnt recognize the others… no idea what it is im doing wrong but ive not used that ext before

lol, thanks charlie

Wow!
That would be exactly what i have been trying to do… get all the pieces laying flat on the same plane… and at some point i have to find an ext that will allow me to put in the angles on the parts along with the dimensions that SU has built in

LayOut’s dimensioning tools are better and include angular dimensions. There is an extension available from Sketchucation that will do angular dimensions in SU.

Just Rotate and Move…
I was doing that at first this morning, seemed a daunting task try to get everything on the same plane so I assumed there would be an ext that would simplify the entire process. Obviously it isn’t as much of a process as I was making it out to be if you just flattened that entire project in 25 minutes while watching a video… I guess I have underestimated just how bad I might be with SU lol

Just something else to throw in there, I haven’t looked at your model. With the set that you made into components, if you set them all with the blue axis perpendicular to the face you could just pull them in from the component browser and they will lay out flat. This is quite handy for laying parts out on a sheet to see how best to cut them.

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and I have never needed to dimension any file I send out, except for a single reference square of an agreed size…

for me that’s usually 100mm square…

john

I thought LayOut was only for the Pro version?

It is. It doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be useful to you. And with Pro you could export a CAD file that could be used by the fabricator to cut out the pieces.

I dont know, The man I spoke with said to just send him the dimensions for all the pieces I need and he would load them into whatever program he uses for the laser table…

Box
Really like this idea…great for manually nesting parts (cnc in my case)

I wouldnt question it for a minute if i was fabricating ona daily for moeny no doubt, but to pay for the program to send out one part to the fabricator… I just cant justify it for a hobby and something I use to pass the time on occasion

Box,

Unfortunately I wouldnt know where to begin with it… So that would mean, open the component, reset the axis to the face, close the comp, repeat with all. then erase all, go to the component window and then bring them all back in one at a time moving them in as line?

I assume you downloaded the file I gave you. I had already oriented the axes so the components would layout on a plane.