How would I draw 1" expanded Metal!

[Cosmic Traveller]

Anyone have any ideas as to how you would produce expanded metal in Inventor! Maybe I should just hatch it in on the dwg! I'm not sure with this one! TIA!
Paul

[jonathan.landeros]

Anyone have any ideas as to how you would produce expanded metal in Inventor! Maybe I should just hatch it in on the dwg! I'm not sure with this one! TIA!
PaulUnless I had a really big need to draw truely accurate expanded metal, I'd use a transparent texture or a hatch. Anything else would likely be too time consuming and resource hungry unless you were actually manufacturing the expanded metal.

If I had to create the expanded metal, you might try the rib tool. I put together a quick example (I had to get a little tricky to get it to generate (hence the suppressed 'border'), but I think it gets the point across.

[Cosmic Traveller]

Hi Jonathan! I'm not sure but did you upload a "Hatch Pattern Dwg" for me! Sounded like it! But nothing has shown up! I'll try & create one the way you suggested! I am assuming that this would be done in the actual drawing file as opposed to the assembly or part files!
Thanks!
Paul

[jonathan.landeros]

Hi Jonathan! I'm not sure but did you upload a "Hatch Pattern Dwg" for me! Sounded like it! But nothing has shown up! I'll try & create one the way you suggested! I am assuming that this would be done in the actual drawing file as opposed to the assembly or part files!
Thanks!
PaulPaul, try this. I tried zipping the file. I'm working on a hotel wireless, so I'm not sure that I got a clean upload.

[mikef.nosler]

We just use the standard hatch feature that is available in the library. We have to use expanded metal around here for walkways, and the file sizes were too intensive for actual modeled expanded metal. Looks the same and just called out on a leader in our final drawings. We just then spec it out how we would buy it from McNichols.

If I had to draw it I would create a model much like John did and extrude it as a part file to the size you needed, but I would use patterns to make the pain a little more tolerable!

Good luck!

[Cosmic Traveller]

Thanks Jonathan I got the file O.K. Sorry for taking so long with the reply, as I lost my hardrive recently! Just having to re-install Inventor again! I will try it as soon as I can! Have a good one!

[robert.templeton]

Mr. Paul,

I have attached a file that I generated as an experiment a few years ago. You would need to adjust some of the geometry to fit your specific expanded metal. When you increase the length or width of the sheet, it does keep my computer busy. I added an extrusion to the part to generate a solid plate the size of the expanded metal sheet; if you unsuppress it, it improves the performance. For most projects, I would use a texture instead of the more correct model.

[Cosmic Traveller]

Thanks! I have finally figured out how to use the "texture" which is all I need! Have a good one!
Paul