About Sheet Metal Part Templates

You can create new sheet metal parts from a template that has predefined attributes, including material, bend relief, bend radius, corner relief, gap values, punch representations, and unfolding rules.

Sheet metal-specific commands streamline work on both the folded and unfolded model.

When you use the default sheet metal template, it applies the default material, sheet metal rule, and unfold rules to the sheet metal parts you create. You can also use another predefined sheet metal template (English or Metric for example). You can modify a predefined template, or copy and modify a template to create a custom template for routine use.

It is possible to use a part template and then convert the model to sheet metal. However, the material defined in the part overrides the material defined in the Sheet Metal Rule of the sheet metal template.

What to Include in Sheet Metal Templates

• Any model geometry that is useful as a starting point including faces or contour flange base features.
• Sheet metal styles for bends, sheets, corners, and material type. These values are the default for all sheet metal parts based on the template.
• Parameter names and values you customize in the Parameters dialog box. Establish your own parameter names, enter instructions or other explanatory text in the parameters list, or set up your own parameters.
• Change the sizes of the origin work planes to accommodate the average size of the sheet metal parts you create.
• Specify iProperties such as cost center, project name, or manager and save them as part of the template. Use iProperties to find, track, and manage files, and automatically add and maintain information in title blocks, parts lists, and bills of material.

Locations for Sheet Metal Templates

You can use any sheet metal file saved in the Autodesk\Inventor [version]\Templates folder as a template.

Files in the Templates folder appear on the Default tab of the New dialog box. Files in a subfolder of the Templates folder appear on other tabs in the New dialog box, which displays a tab for each subfolder in the Templates folder.

To add tabs to the New dialog box, create new subfolders in the Templates folder and add template files to them.