HOW? Flat pattern from model or spline

[Shotout]

I have a surface model of a sheet metal part I need to come up with a flat pattern for. How can I unroll the part in Mastercam X4? Can I flatten the spline I drew around the periphery of the part? I know it will still require some tweaking but I need somewhere to start from.
Thanks

[Superman]

Have your tried the Chook----FlattenSurf.dll

try it out on an open box with various corner fillets to test the settings before accepting what Mastercam gives you
also practice on a cone with a flat top with axis running thru it

you may get different results with the construction plane running thru the box as opposed to being below the box, check both ways

[Shotout]

Originally Posted by Superman Have your tried the Chook----FlattenSurf.dll try it out on an open box with various corner fillets to test the settings before accepting what Mastercam gives you also practice on a cone with a flat top with axis running thru it you may get different results with the construction plane running thru the box as opposed to being below the box, check both ways

I tried it with no luck. I think it is picking up on the original surface it was trimmed from since some of the surfaces flatten out from 22"x1.980" (2D) to several feet long (the same overall dim of the untrimmed surface just 2D). The original surface is pulled from the inside surface of an aircraft wing with the other surfaces added to it to make the part. The others flatten out much like if you had trimmed a flat surface using a silhouette boundary chook as the trim curve. I know mc isn't really a sheet metal program but I was hoping someone might have a trick or two they'd share.
Thanks

[Superman]

Got our rep beside me

He says there is no method to "un-bend" a surface model to lay out flat that he is aware of.

Looks like a visit to a crack site ???

[Shotout]

Originally Posted by Superman Got our rep beside me He says there is no method to "un-bend" a surface model to lay out flat that he is aware of. Looks like a visit to a crack site ???

I guess I'm trying to take the software in a direction it isn't meant to go. We've test drove a couple of packages for sheet metal but they aren't any more accurate than how we do things now. Thanks for checking with your mc guy, it jives with what our reseller says. I was hoping though

[Toonz]

Much to my dismay, I learned the same thing within the last couple of months. The answer to your question/problem, unfortunately, does not lie within Mastercam. You can however flatten/unroll surfaces with Rhino. Rhino does a good job of it too. For me, certain operations are crucial to being able to flatten/unroll a surface.