Autodesk Inventor®

Using iMate—Intelligent Mating of Components
To create the hole feature:
1. On the Panel bar, click the Hole tool.
2. In the Holes dialog box, select Through All for the termination,
change the diameter to 7 mm, and then click OK.
Creating a Flat Pattern
Before you add intelligence to the hole, you should see how easily you
can create a flat pattern of your sheet metal part. Flat patterns are
basically the “flat blanks” used to manufacture sheet metal parts.
To create a flat pattern for your sheet metal part:
• On the Panel bar, click the Flat Pattern tool.
Autodesk Inventor automatically performs the required calculations for the
bending allowance and correctly displays the flat pattern as a flat 3D part. You can
also easily identify the bending lines and bending zones on the flat blank.
If you want, you can create engineering drawings using both the folded and
unfolded versions of the sheet metal part on the same drawing sheet. Flat
patterns can also be exported as AutoCAD® DWG or DXF files and can then be
imported into CAM (Computer Aided Machining) software for nesting, punching,
or even laser cutting.
Adding Intelligence to the Hole
Now, you can add more intelligence to the hole to automate the placement of other components that belong
in the hole, like a fastener, for example.
1. To go back to the 3D model, from the Window menu, choose
Clamp_complete.iam.
Note: Clamp_C:1 should still be the active part.
2. On the Panel bar, click the Create iMate tool.
3. In the Create iMate dialog box, select the Insert option.
4. Select the outside edge of the hole on the sheet metal flange, and
then click Apply.
5. Create another Insert iMate on the opposite side of the part.
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