sheet metal help

[agasper]

It has been a while since I used our pro e so please understand if my question seems very novice.  I am using Wildfire 5.0 and I have made my sheet metal part. I was able to make the flat pattern. How do I get back to the formed view? Thanks.

[RaphMORIN]

You can suppress the function that unbends the part.

[agasper]

I need the flat so I can put it in the .drw. I made the part flat by going into edit setup flat state, it is laid flat as expected. I need to go back to formed part how do I do this?

[TomD.inPDX]

Flat pattern is a toggle option in later versions.

But yes, you can suppress the feature as this is what the software does.

As far as using both in a drawing, and knowing you will have a formed model in your next level assembly, the prescribed method is family tables.

In certain circumstances, you can also do this with view states where the flat pattern view is a special state by suppressing the feature.

Somewhere here I wrote a document on that...  linked below.  This method uses simplified reps.

Creo 2.0 Sheetmetal - Simplified Reps for flat pattern drawings

[agasper]

Ok, so how do I get my formed model back?

[TomD.inPDX]

That was my very reason for my alternative method... the master representation model will remain the folded part.  Only the "flat-pattern" representation will have the second "bend-back" option suppressed.

The reason I avoid the prescribed method by PTC is that I do not like family tables.

They are cumbersome at best when you don't need them for any other part of your normal routine.

And for all cases, I WANT THE MASTER REP TO BE THE REAL PART!

Therefore, I will go out of my way to not use family tables.  I can always make a separate flat pattern file for the drawing.  Oddly enough, I prefer that over family tables.

Then again, I've had good luck with the simplified rep method.  My requirement for sheetmetal is in less than 1% of my workload, if that much.  I have no family tables in a project that I am on just over a year now with well over 200 drawings and 300 parts.

As Ron describes below, the method is automated in Creo to some extent.  But it does require you to select a family table model for your 3D assemblies rather than the master rep.  In my book, PTC missed the boat on making this truly functional by segregating the flat pattern as an "aside" basis rather than forcing it to be a final feature.

[rrich-2]

What I do is make a family table of the in the part.  Place the flatten in the family table put in a part name for it.  we use the normal part number *-flat.prt then in the table turn on the flatten for it and suppress it in the basic bent part.  Then in your drawing load both the bent part and the flat part.  See the Creo3 example attached.