Autodesk Inventor - How to use Sheet Metal features

Cut Tool The cut tool is a special sheet metal feature. The Cut tool allows the user to correctly cut Sheet Metal parts. You should always use Cut on the Sheet Metal tab. Not extrude to cut on the 3D tab. Creating cuts in sheet metal, and creating cuts across sheet metal bends. Create a sketch of the profile you want cutting. This has to be a closed profile. Cut to end of Bend Radius Select the Cut feature. Select the profile, and click OK. If you have Extents as Distance, and Thickness, you can see that the Cut feature will cut the Thickness of the material. The cut ends before the end of the Radius. Which would result in the part not bending correctly. To cut to the end of the Radius place: Thickness + BendRadius. Below you will see the cut now goes the the Bend Radius. Which will bend correctly. Cut across bend Using the same profile as above. Select Cut feature. Select the profile. Then select Cut Across Bend, circled below. As you can ...

Lofted Flange: The Lofted Flange feature   creates a Flange between 2 profiles. These profiles can be open or closed profiles. To create a Lofted Flange: In this example i am going to show you how to create a square to round. Using the Lofted Flange feature. Fist create a sketch on the XY plane. Then sketch a Rectangle. Then offset a plane from the XY plane. Then start a sketch on the plane you offset. And draw a circle. Than select the Lofted Flange feature. Select the 2 profiles. Output In output you have 2 options. Press Brake and Die Formed. Press Brake To be bend on a Press Brake. Converge Converge makes bend line converge to a point. As you can see in the pictures below. Converge box UN ticked Converge box ticked Die Formed To be Die formed. Facet Control Facet control has 3 settings. These settings control the amount of bends it takes to create the square to round. The more bends, the rounder the circle at th...

Secondary Flange Features Creating Secondary Flange Features in Autodesk Inventor Contour Flange: The Contour Flange creates a Contour Flange on a face. To create a Contour Flange: Create a sketch on the edge on the Face. Sketch your open profile. Then select Contour Flange. This dialog box will open. Select whether you want to select just one edge, or a loop. Circled in the image below is: Edge Select Mode:  Which will allow you to select only 1 edge. Loop Select Mode:  Which will select all edges when you select an edge on a face. This will also apply corner seam to all corners where flanges meet. If you apply 1 Flange at a time, using Edge Select Mode, this will not apply Corner Seam. You will have to apply the Corner Seam feature after the Flange feature. Then select the edge, edges you want. Then select the offset direction you want he Sheet Metal to be. Which side of the open profile the Metal gets ap...

Secondary Flange Features Creating  Secondary Flange Features in Autodesk Inventor. Flange: The Flange feature creates a flange on a Face. The Flange feature can also create a Flange on a Contour Flange And Lofted Flange. To create a Flange: Select Flange feature. Select whether you want to select just 1 edge, or a loop. Circled in the image below is: Edge Select Mode:  Which will allow you to select only 1 edge. Loop Select Mode: Which will select all edges when you select an edge on a face. This will also apply corner seam to all corners where flanges meet. If you apply 1 Flange at a time, using Edge Select Mode, this will not apply Corner Seam. You will have to apply the Corner Seam feature after the Flange feature. Then you need to choose your Height Extends. Distance or To. With distance you just add the Distance you want to Flange to be. With To, you select a vertex. Then you can then offset from the vertex if needed. Next is F...