[eurikain]

Hi everyone

I have an assembly ready to be sent to cutting. I am trying to break free all the parts so I can mate them on a flat sheet and create a DXF. I have found a fairly good tutorial on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USFq703l1ao), but it does not explain how to break all the subassemblies.

I was thinking about:
1. pack and go the model (so you don't modify any original file)
2. lock all external references (to make sure nothing moves when the parts will be free)
3. go manually into top level assembly and subassemblies to dissolve mirrored components
4. go manually into top level assembly and subassemblies to remove all mates
5. set each assembly to a "flexible assembly"
6. create sheet material (wood, steel, la, whatever I am cutting it from)
7. mate all parts to the sheet
8. move parts around to find a close-to-optimized layout

Is this the correct way to go from a complete model to a flat sheet so you can create a DXF file to be sent to the cutting service ?

If not, how do you do it ?

Thanks a lot !

Cheers.

[Mike 1948]

You will have to create drawings of the 3D models. I think I would grab the individual components, not the assembly file and create a new assembly with the parts to be cut on the same flat plane. Move them around till you have the layout you want. Then create a drawing of the assembly looking down from the direction you will be cutting. Make sure it is a 1:1 scale and create a DXF file. Or you could just make individual drawings of the components also. Depending on your needs.