Flat View, Sheet Metal, Flipped? 2

[badgerdave]

Hoping someone can shed some light on this. Whenever I make a drawing of a part, the flat view comes in as the back view. Is this a drafting standard that I am ignorant of? It's not a huge deal to change the view in the property manager, but any bend notations are lost when the angle is switched.

I've attached a simple sheetmetal part with just a couple holes so it's easy to tell right and left.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

The orientation of the flat depends on which face is selected as the Fixed Face in the Flat-Pattern1 feature. By default, the Fixed Face is shown in the drawing view.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

...but any bend notations are lost when the angle is switched.

If I use the Flip View option in the SM Property Manager, the bend line notes remain visible. (SW2011-SP3)

 

[DesignerGuy16]

The bend notations go away when changing the default view of the flat pattern, but you can just as easily add your own custom bend notes. I do this on occasion.

James Spisich
Design Engineer, CSWP

 

[badgerdave]

I don't know how I missed the Flip View button, but it is amazingly helpful!

I also tried going back to my Base-Flange and reversing the direction of the initial extrusion, that seemed to work too, but this is much easier.

Thanks!!

 

[gp13]

My advice is NOT to use the 'Flip View' button unless you are reversing the fact that someone already used it. That's fixing the result, not fixing the cause.

The way I ALWAYS go about fixing the problem is what CBL suggested. Make sure the face selected in the 'Flat-Pattern1' feature (the last feature in the tree, not your 'Base-Flange' feature) is the face you want shown in the flat view. Only after you confirm that is correct should you use the 'Flip View' button to fix the problem if it still persists.

It may seem nitpicky, but doing it properly helps prevent problems down the line. We run into this problem quite frequently where an engineer just flipped the flat view because the part was being cut backwards. It's a temporary solution, and any new drawings derived from the original part will show the wrong side. Our flat views generate DXFs which are cut automatically, so if it's wrong in the drawing, it's wrong in the factory. That can lead to a LOT of scrap...