flat pattern pipe

kevin_mason558

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/94a29a29dedff317c3554ab6/w/ebca3c9928ec9770495ca6ea/e/2393a63bb2e790deb443209b?renderMode=0&uiState=65f82fa14f7b294834c6287c

i have a mitred/notched pipe.
how can i make a flat pattern of this 
i have tried to split it and extrude a sheet metal skin but this splits it into two.
have also tried splitting it against an extruded strip to split it in one piece and cant get it to work. 

i want to make an outer skin i can then flat pattern, cut and use this as a template to mark up/draw on the actual pipe to make the notches.
if this makes sense
thanks kevin.

kevin_mason558

I managed to work it. 

I did an extrude-remove of a 1mm strip through one "edge" of the pipe
then sheetmetal convert, removed All faces except the outer skin. And went to the flat pattern. 

Tomorrow I will cut a section on the plasma cutter and roll it into a ring and see how it looks 

 

bryan_lagrange

@kevin_mason558 you are probably done with this project but I had an idea for using the frame tool for your piping that you could probably try out the next time you need to create pipe wrap templates.

Since you can use custom profiles for the frame tool. What if you drew the profile of the pipe leaving a .5 degree section out.

In another part studio sketch the path for the pipe and use the frame tool and custom profile to create the pipe

Next use the thicken option on the sheet metal tool having the material set to the thickness you will cut the wrap out of and going in the direction outside of the profile with a K factor of 1

You will then get flat pattern wraps to .dxf and plasma cut.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/a73a17e6ceccc9e49a0db9a5/w/09b6eeee2486c49ea8ba4439/e/14eb5ef88e3b4a38d394f6f6

bryan_lagrange

Let me know if this helps:

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/6420cb5fac0816e5f8ace649/w/679baabf0d40e973ec6b2ad2/e/c534889eb4583b57c62326d9

kevin_mason558

@bryan_lagrange thanks for the reply
that would be useful if I was to draw the pipes out individually 
problem is I've used the frame tool to make a whole structure and there are pipes notched into one another at different angles 
I was hoping to be able to use one of those 
even if it was to copy the part and then shape it off that 

kevin_mason558

kevin_mason558

I managed to work it. 

I did an extrude-remove of a 1mm strip through one "edge" of the pipe
then sheetmetal convert, removed All faces except the outer skin. And went to the flat pattern. 

Tomorrow I will cut a section on the plasma cutter and roll it into a ring and see how it looks 

 

eric_pesty

Yep, you got it, except if you do a "thicken" instead of "convert", you don't have to remove a whole bunch of faces! Also 1mm is pretty thick (depending on the diameter of your pipe) so you could use something thinner...
Make sure you set the thickness direction to go "inside" so you don't end up with a larger diameter than you wanted.

kevin_mason558

@eric_pesty  i want the diameter larger because I will make a template out of thin steel to mark the notches on the actual pipe 
I'm trying to make a seperate layer to template basically 
thanks

eric_pesty

Got it! So going "outside" makes sense.
The comment about using "thicken" rather than convert still stands.

bryan_lagrange

@kevin_mason558 you are probably done with this project but I had an idea for using the frame tool for your piping that you could probably try out the next time you need to create pipe wrap templates.

Since you can use custom profiles for the frame tool. What if you drew the profile of the pipe leaving a .5 degree section out.

In another part studio sketch the path for the pipe and use the frame tool and custom profile to create the pipe

Next use the thicken option on the sheet metal tool having the material set to the thickness you will cut the wrap out of and going in the direction outside of the profile with a K factor of 1

You will then get flat pattern wraps to .dxf and plasma cut.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/a73a17e6ceccc9e49a0db9a5/w/09b6eeee2486c49ea8ba4439/e/14eb5ef88e3b4a38d394f6f6

kevin_mason558

@bryan_lagrange
that's great thanks.
ill probably use that next time! 

The custom frame and thicken seems like the easiest way to get what I need.