Yet another AutoCad Inventor Question...

[modular93fox]

hurm, So I have started an IPT file, kinda got one of the middle Y pieces laid out as a 3d Tube... with a wall thickness of .1 (just a number for 3d). Ive managed to get one of the angles somewhat right. Now that I have this part, I am at a loss on how to get this into a flat pattern.. im going to play with it just a few more minutes which will probally turn into another hr... ha.
clint

edit:
found this neat tutorial on the rip tool which i think i need to use once i get the tube in the right shape... problem is when i apply the tutorial to the tube drawing, I cannot apply points to the tube becuase its round... sob

[Rhino]

found this neat tutorial on the rip tool which i think i need to use once i get the tube in the right shape... problem is when i apply the tutorial to the tube drawing, I cannot apply points to the tube becuase its round... sob

I ran into this issue last night. To use the rip tool you need to create a new 2d sketch on the surface you want to split, project geometry from the underlying object, then place the points on the edges of the object, along that projected geometry. This creates a break in the surface, similar to what is happening by adding the flat geometry to the loop.

So far I haven't had much luck in getting a flat pattern out of anything I've converted to sheetmetal. Starting with a new sheetmetal part works much more reliably for me.

EDIT: Also, I don't believe you're leaving a metal ribbon in that component. I think it's either an unconsumed sketch, or you've set the visibility in the sketch consumed by the extrusion.