Unfolding

On this page

Bring a curved design closer to a flat blank

A formed plate starts as flat material. Unfolding helps your application calculate a planar shape from curved sheet geometry and show how flattening affects it.

Use it in material preparation, formed-plate workflows, and tools that connect a 3D design with a 2D blank.

How it works

Select curved sheet geometry and choose calculation detail. The component creates a planar result and reports deformation across the sheet. Map required points and lines into that flat view. Your application can compare shape and strain with its production rules before accepting a blank.

Understand deformation as you flatten

Some surfaces flatten through bending. Others need stretching or compression. For these cases, Unfolding minimizes deformation energy and provides strain information to help assess a result.

The approximation is most accurate for small distortions. Choose acceptance criteria that reflect your material and production process.

Transfer reference marks and boundaries into 2D

Map points and lines between a curved plate and its planar representation. This helps transfer reference marks, boundaries, or other geometric details used during preparation.

Review strain at selected points and adjust mesh-generation settings to study the flat result. PLY and VTK output can support further review or processing.

Compare a flat result with production needs

A usable blank needs a clear outline and a deformation level suited to the material and forming process. Strain information helps users identify areas with greater stretching or compression. Transferred points and lines can keep preparation marks and other reference geometry available in the planar view.

Review these items before accepting output. A geometric flattening result provides input for production planning; your application’s material, allowance, and equipment rules determine whether the proposed blank suits its manufacturing process.

Give planners an earlier view of blank preparation

A curved plate can look straightforward in 3D while requiring significant stretching or compression to form from flat material. If planning starts from an outline alone, teams may miss regions needing closer review before ordering material or preparing a forming process.

An application can calculate a proposed flat shape and show its strain distribution alongside mapped reference marks. A planner can review the outline with manufacturing engineers and compare local deformation with the material and process rules they use. Geometry and strain give that discussion specific regions to examine.

Your application can retain the source shape, calculation settings, and accepted result with the job. Cutting preparation follows through suitable contour and export tools. Production engineers apply forming allowances and material rules before using the reviewed blank in manufacturing.

Fit blank preparation into your process

Combine unfolding results with your material rules, bend allowances, and machine preparation. Use CAM Library for later contour work and CAD exchange interfaces for source data.

Share a representative curved plate and explain how your team accepts a blank. We can help plan checks around shape accuracy and deformation.