Sheet Metal Flat Model Export

john_mcclary

Is there a way we can add an option to not include bend tangents on flat sheet metal parts?

It is a major pain to program sheet metal in mastercam with all of these unnecessary intersections.

When selecting an outside edge for example, mastercam will automatically trace around the part until it comes across an intersection. When that happens the user needs to click the next edge to continue the path. Not a big deal for most people, but our programmers are a bunch of princesses that need you to hold their hands while petting their hair and singing them a Disney song just to get them to do the extra 10 clicks per part...

Take this part for example:


each bend has two tangent lines which means each corner has 2 intersections.

So what does that mean for the programmer:
5 clicks per intersection, each question mark is mastercam asking which direction to continue.


What they are used to from solidworks exports is this:
red showing the removal of the tangent lines. Now it is only one click.


This is so stupid, but they complained to the owner this morning. And now that may be the nail in the coffin for us switching to OnShape

mlaflecheCAD

Export the flat pattern to dxf as a tab in Onshape, convert to drawing by right mouse clicking the tab option, delete the entities that are extraneous, and export that tab as dxf again.  I have tested this and it works well for me.

john_mcclary

That's just moving the workload back to the design team. With more steps!

The point is to reduce workload.
The tangents are not necessary on export. Can they be removed?

john_mcclary

Sorry If I sound aggressive. I just got out of an argument with my boss and the programmers about this...

owen_sparks

john_mcclary said:Not a big deal for most people, but our programmers are a bunch of princesses that need you to hold their hands while petting their hair and singing them a Disney song just to get them to do the extra 10 clicks per part...

Thank you for making a tedious day rather more bearable.  Quote of the day to you sir.

Owen S.

lana

@john_mcclary
half-a-step shorter workaround than what @mlaflechecad  has proposed: export dxf/dwg, import in sketch, extrude sketch https://cad.onshape.com/documents/c7ef644ed4de91bf0875d77a/w/a422fc4ce00d3d2d1296a415/e/cc2e3118965f88892a5aab49

ilya_baran

Another option is a custom feature I just wrote (with Lana's help) that creates a flattened object without the extra edges (you can export the dxf from a face of the result).  Two caveats:
1. You have to select a face of the flat pattern to use it.
2. It "finishes" the sheet metal model, so it must be the last feature. (UPDATE: that no longer happens, thanks to another suggestion from Lana)

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/d075777b23239493791a6871/v/8668ea90f8ca4d2ecc91fcaa/e/904c42aa0d85c24083eeed8f

philip_thomas

@john_mcclary - looks like Ilya/Lana just made you Queen of the Princesses!

john_mcclary

I suppose I am acting the part...

john_mcclary

I can't seem to get it to flatten, It just extrudes the top face

suggestions?

I would be satisfied with this workflow if its just one feature on the tree, let's get this working

ilya_baran

You have to select the face in the flat view, not on the bent model -- is that what you're doing?

john_mcclary

Ok, missed that note.

Hey, this works!

Huge thanks everyone! Our programmers are happy again, so am I.

tony_rhodes7712

Onshape developers had a real chance of providing a great sheetmetal functionality that would outshine both Solidworks and Inventor, instead they have incorporated the worst sheetmetal functions of inventor (which is utterly useless for sheetmetal) and some of the good functions of Solidworks. Hence they have ended up with SM tools that are ok for producing basic sheetmetal parts, but try to model any thing with more complex geometry and you will really struggle. I have been using Solidworks to create complex sheetmetal for 17 years and onshape is not even close to matching it for useability.

Shame on you Onshape 

owen_sparks

Hi @tony_rhodes7712

I feel compelled to come to Onshape's defense here.

(1) The current features in SM are OS's first round introduction.  They introduce new stuff pretty much every 3 weeks and have done so since launch.

(2) A whole bunch of the staff came from solidworks, including a certain chap by the name of Jon Hirschtick who founded and was the CEO of solidworks.

(3) In the thread you've inserted your comment into not one, not two but three Onshape staff have jumped in to help the original poster with their issue, and came up with a solution the same day.

(4) There is a great improvement request system whereby we as users can tell OS what we want, and if voted upon (again by us) then they make it a priority.

I'm sure in a way all feedback is good, but please try not to offend the devs, many of whom we're on first name terms with!  All suggestions of how to make stuff better is more than welcome.

Happy CADing,

Owen S.

brian_jordan

^^^ What he says.

john_mcclary

Yes the dedication and support you get with onshape's staff is worth it weight in uranium.

Not only did they solve this same day. The whole thread was solved within couple hours! And this was something so trivial to most people. Yet they still answered the call for the 1 cnc programmer that complained to my boss. They have always been there with prompt decisive service since I have been modeling with onshape.
All i have ever gotten out of solidworks is a "Thank you for showing us this bug. Unfortunatly this may not be fixed until 2018."    And all that was said in feburary, where they had plently of chances to put it in a servicepack but didn't. Still havent... and it's in linear sketch patterns. Something that has caused parts to be manufactured with holes that mis-aligned. not just a quality of life improvement like this.

But it is true, there are some short commings with Onshape sheetmetal. But give it time. Solidworks didn't get it right even after a few years. Onshape sheetmetal is only a few months old.

lana

@tony_rhodes7712
It would help greatly if you could enumerate functionality you need, examples of sheet metal models you are looking to build would help even more. We hope Onshape sheet metal functionality will match your needs in near future.

tony_rhodes7712

Sorry guys if my comments have offended anyone I can assure you they were not meant to. It is frustration on my part that software developers see sheetmetal solely for building electrical cabinets when it is so much more.
I apologise to the Onshape staff.