In this Snackbyte video, PROLIM Application Engineer, Brandon Carter, demonstrates the capabilities of the Flattening and Forming Command in NX 12.
NX 12 Video How to Use the Flattening and Forming Command
To recap, let’s take a look at how to use this tool to flatten and form geometry in NX 12.
Flattening
In the video, Brandon has simple geometry from a car fender. With the Flattening and Forming Command, you can flatten the curvature of the geometry, as well as any other faces.
- Select the Flattening and Forming Command, and choose Flattening from the Type drop down menu.
- Grab every face or surface of the geometry.
- Select an origin or point to hold the geometry.
- Select a vector to flatten the geometry against.
Flattening geometry provides a blank definition and gives an idea of what size it would take to create a particular part.
After using the Flattening Command, you can also add different features to the existing geometry, which is sometimes easier in a flattened state.
Forming
After Brandon creates the circles on the geometry, he runs the Flattening and Forming Command again to show how the circles and changes to the geometry will look on the formed state.
- Select the Flattening and Forming Command, and choose Forming and Reuse from the Type drop down menu.
- Select the flat pattern to tell NX what you want to form.
- If this flat pattern was created from an original formed geometry, NX will allow you to reverse the transformation back to the original form.
- Select any additional objects (like the circles in this video) to be transformed back into the formed geometry.
If you do add additional geometry or constructions to the flattened state, you’ll see how it changes to match the three-dimensional view in NX.
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