Transforms a solid model to a sheet metal model. The transformed body has sheet metal model attributes attached to it as if it were created using sheet metal features. The solid model must have a constant or near constant material thickness. There can be no circular connectivity paths between faces.

This command simplifies imported model workflows, because you can use sheet metal features to modify the part. Once transformed, you can add sheet metal features to the body, such as flanges, tabs and so forth. You can also flatten the model, edit bend angles, edit bend radius, and add features to the model.

You can use the command to rip edges in models that contain fused corners. If you try to transform a part that contains fused corners, upon transformation of the face selection, you must split an edge or curve. To complete the part transformation, click the Rip Step button on the command bar, and then click the edges or curves to split.

If needed, the command uses the bend radius specified on the Options dialog box to round the model edges. In some cases, such as a partial flange or interior flange that contains round corners and sharp corners, the command adds bend relief to the model so the model can be successfully converted to a sheet metal part.

If there are no sheet metal features in the file, the material thickness is computed from the selected solid model based on the material thickness setting on the Options dialog box. When the feature updates, the material thickness value updates based on the changes to the solid. If more than one transformed feature exists, the first feature in the tree structure sets the value.

As with the Save As Flat command, all features are transformed except planes, partial cylinders, and ruled surfaces. All other geometry is stored as deformation features. Unlike the Save as Flat command, features such as interior loops and spline faces are not removed from the model. The faces appear in the model as deformation feature faces.