Unfold surface (21)
Unfold surface (21) unfolds welded plates. The unfolded plates are created to a location that you have defined. Use Unfold surface (21) to unfold triangular plates created with, for example, Triangles generation (19). You can also create assembly drawings from the unfolded plates.
Objects created
-
Unfolded plates
Use for
Situation |
Description |
---|---|
|
Unfolded triangular plates |
Limitations
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Unfold surface (21) only works with contour plates. Do not use Unfold surface (21) to unfold beams or polybeams.
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We recommend that you use the same position-in-depth settings for all plates.
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In some cases, an error can occur when unfolding complex surfaces that have holes. You can use the Do not refine edges option on the Big plate tab to prevent this.
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Unfold surface (21) preserves anti-material cuts, line cuts, and bolts. Edge chamfers are not preserved.
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The plates should be neighbors with no gaps between them.
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The plates must be welded as neighbors. Welds must not have zero size.
If the weld size between the triangular plates is set to 0.0, Unfold surface (21) unfolds only one triangular plate, not all the welded triangular plates.
If needed, you can create breaks in the unfolded shape using the weld sizes. For example, if the default weld size is 5.0, but one weld gets size 0.0, a break is created to the unfolded plate.
Option |
Description |
---|---|
1 |
Unfolded form |
2 |
Unfolded form |
Selection order
-
Select a location for the unfolded plate.
-
Select a triangular plate.
The unfolded plate is created to a location you have defined.
Plates tab
Use the Plates tab to define the thickness of the unfolded plate and whether the properties of the triangular plates are used in the unfolded plate.
Option |
Description |
---|---|
Replace |
Thickness of the unfolded plate. If you do not enter any value, the thickness of the triangular plates is used. |
Option |
Description |
Default |
---|---|---|
Pos_No |
Prefix and start number for the part position number. Some components have a second row of fields where you can enter the assembly position number. |
The default part start number is defined in the Components settings in . |
Material |
Material grade. |
The default material is defined in the Part material box in the Components settings in . |
Name |
Name that is shown in drawings and reports. |
|
Class |
Part class number. |
Option | Description |
---|---|
Zero welds |
Select whether to ignore the plates that are connected by zero welds or not. |
Unfolding by |
Select how the plates should be unfolded:
|
Profile |
Select the second column of the check boxes if you want to use the properties of the triangular plates in the unfolded plate. If you are unfolding a plate created with Rectangle to circle (17), and want to maintain the assembly position numbers defined in Rectangle to circle (17), clear the second check box next to the Profile option. |
Name |
|
Material |
|
Class |
Big plate tab
Use the Big plate tab to define the type and the accuracy of the unfolded plate.
Option | Description |
---|---|
Merge points |
Define the accuracy of the unfolded plate by adding or removing points. Select whether the points in the resulting unfolded plate are merged or not. |
Merge limit |
If you want to merge points, define the limit for the merging. The points that are closer to each other than the set limit are merged.
|
Attach with |
Select how the final plates are connected. |
Unfolded plate type and offset
Option |
Description |
---|---|
Type |
One plate
One plate is created.
|
Plates
Plates are welded together.
|
|
Both
Both one plate and a plate with welds are created.
If you select Both, you can define the distance between the plates using the Offset option. |
Offset
Define the distance between the unfolded plates.
Do not refine edges
This option prevents errors that may sometimes occur when unfolding complex surfaces that have holes.
Parameters tab
Use the Parameters tab to define the weld reference text in an assembly drawing.
Text in drawings
Option |
Description |
---|---|
Prefix |
First part of the text that is shown in assembly drawings, for example, Angle=. |
Format |
Format in which the size of the unfolding is displayed. |
Postfix |
Last part of the text that is shown in assembly drawings, for example, degrees. |
UDA tab
Use the UDA tab to copy the original numbering and user-defined attributes (UDAs) from the original plates to the unfolded plate.
Option | Description |
---|---|
Set following parameters |
Copy the properties of the original plates to the UDAs of the unfolded plate. Enter the name of the UDA for each property that you want to copy. |
Copy following UDAs |
Define which UDAs are always copied from the original plates to the unfolded plate. |
Surrounding rectangle tab
Use the Surrounding rectangle tab to calculate the length and width of the smallest rectangle around the unfolded area or the big plate.
The example image below shows the dimensions with green arrows.
Option | Description |
---|---|
Calculate surrounding rectangle |
Select one of the following:
|
UDA to put length UDA to put width |
Enter the user-defined attributes (UDA) for length and width that are used in the surrounding rectangle. The calculated length and width cannot be saved if you do not enter the UDAs. Note that you have to enter both UDAs to save the calculated dimensions. |
Rectangular plate |
The rectangular plate has the same thickness, part position number, material, name and class as the unfolded plate. Define the UDAs for the plate on the UDA tab. |
Offset |
Define the perpendicular offset to the unfolded plate. By default, the offset is zero. |
Rectangular plate properties
Option |
Description |
Default |
---|---|---|
Pos_No |
Prefix and start number for the part position number. Some components have a second row of fields where you can enter the assembly position number. |
The default part start number is defined in the Components settings in . |
Material |
Material grade. |
The default material is defined in the Part material box in the Components settings in . |
Name |
Name that is shown in drawings and reports. |
|
Class |
Part class number. |