Autodesk Inventor - Cut Tool in Sheet Metal

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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 see from the preview, the Cut cuts across the bend.




Flat Pattern



 Cut Normal

 In this example i am going to use a cylinder. To show what the Cut Normal option does.

Create a cylinder.

Created a plane offset from the cylinder.

Created a sketch from the offset plane. And create a circle.

Select the Cut feature. Select profile, and OK.




As you can see in the picture below. This is not a flat pattern that could be punched or laser cut. As  the Cut has not created a clean cut all the way through the metal.


Cut, with Cut Normal selected.



With Cut Normal selected the flat pattered part can be laser cut or punched. As shown in the picture below.



 Thank you for reading,

 Thomas Savage

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