Unbend complex conic Sheetmetal parts with developable and Non-developable surfaces to flat state

[Lufunofuno]

We have conic Sheet metal parts that are a combination of areas that are developable( can be flattened onto a plane without distortion-"stretching"/"compression") and areas that are non-developable. Naturally, if we remove the areas that are non-developable the rest of the part has a Gaussian curvature(value=0) and hence 100% developable and can be unbent. We do not want to remove the non-developable surfaces because they are essential to the manufacturing process for the final product. We also have parts that are completely round with no flat surface that we would like to unbend. We need the ability to unbend conic parts that have  a combination of surfaces that are developable and surfaces that are non-developable as well as the ability to unbend conic parts without any flat surfaces. both to flat (sheetmetal parts)

[MikkoHinkkanen]

Would Flatten Quilt give you a possibility to develop non-developable surfaces in these cases?

I know that the plastic strains for Flatten Quilt feature are neclected, thus the solution is at the best an rough approximation. For better solution one must calculate actual deformations and compare the strains to FLD (Forming Limit Diagram) to guarantee manufacturability. That is essentally an non-linear FEM calculation task.

[Lufunofuno]

Yes,    Flatten Quilt does work but this is currently just a workaround and as you have mentioned there is a loss in accuracy with this method.

[MikkoHinkkanen]

I assume, that you have tried sketched rip feature for edge generation (The classical way to flat conical surface)?

[Lufunofuno]

Hi sorry for the delay. I moved away from this for quite a long bit then covid came. 

My answer to my question is yes.  its the current workaround that they have been using.  its not the ideal but gets the job done

Thanks