Folded Plates

You can create 3D folded plates of any shape by joining different plates together.

Create folded plates by joining plates

A relation is created between the two joined plates. The relation is represented as a red line along the common interval of the connected edges. Several different relations can be placed on one edge of a plate.

There are two methods to create folded plates:

With position adjustment

Two selected plates are aligned with a defined angle. The first selected plate is the main plate and the second selected plate is joined (moved) to the first one. The plates are realigned using the entered angle.

To access the command

Ribbon: Objects > Plates:

Command line: _AstorFoldedPlateExtend

To create a folded plate

1. On the Objects tab, Plates panel: Click .
2. Select a plate to connect near an edge.
3. Select a second plate to connect near an edge.
4. On the command line, input the angle value and press <Enter>.

• The two plates are joined.

Without position adjustment

Two plates are stretched or shortened along a line and joined. This method keeps the angle between the two plates.

Note:

• Deleting the connection breaks the folded plate but the plates are not returned to their original location.
• Deleting a folded plate part deletes the entire folded plate.

To access the command

Ribbon: Objects > Plates:

Command line: _AstM4FoldedPlateConnect

To create a folded plate

1. On the Objects tab, Plates panel: Click .
2. Select a plate to connect near an edge.
3. Select a second plate to connect near an edge.

• The two plates are joined.

Unfold folded plates

For detailing, it is important to define one of the plates as main element and to check if the created folded plate can be correctly unfolded.

Define a folded plate main object

For detailing, it is important to define the folded plate piece that is the main part. Any plate from the created folded plate can be defined as the main plate.

To access the command

Ribbon: Objects > Plates:

Command line: _AstorFoldedPlateSetMain

To define a folded plate main object

1. On the Objects tab, Plates panel: Click .
2. Select the folded plate main object.

After a numbering, you can visualize the main part of the folded plate using the command AstM4CommMarkMainPart.

Check unfolding

After creating the folded plate it is necessary to check if the created folded plate can be correctly unfolded in drawings and in BOMs. Additionally, the unfolded representation can be displayed.

To access the command

Ribbon: Objects > Plates:

Command line: _AstM4FoldedPlateCheckUnwinding

To display the unfolded plate

1. On the Objects tab, Plates panel: Click .
2. Select the folded plate to display unfolded.
   • The command line displays the checking result (if the folded plate can be correctly unfolded).
3. On the command line, type Y (Yes) to confirm the display of the unfolded representation and press <Enter>.

• The unfolded plate is displayed using a green contour.

Modify the folded plates

You can split or merge folded plates like any other plates. See Plates.

You can create contours and holes on the folded plate. They cut through the relation adjacent to the fold they are on.

You can modify the relation between the two plates in the Folded Plate Relation dialog box.