About Flat Pattern Manager Features
Use the Flat Pattern Manager tool to control the state of sheet metal and solid bodies in a part. Bodies can be flattened, removed, or left in the initial state they are in when you enter the Flat Pattern Manager. Flat patterns create a flattened version of the bodies in a part to prepare them for manufacture. To create a flat pattern manager feature, click the arrow next to 
Flat Pattern and click Flat Pattern Manager.
Flat Pattern and click Flat Pattern Manager.The flat pattern manger feature contains the flat pattern state for each body in the design. You can manually select the flat pattern of a body and change the state. The flat pattern manager feature is the last feature in the Model Tree. New features in the part are added before the flat pattern manager feature. The flat pattern manager is suppressed when you add or redefine features in a design. It is automatically resumed after the features have been added.
A sheet metal body with geometry has only one flat pattern, specific to that body. An empty, consumed, or removed sheet metal body does not have a flat pattern. When a sheet metal body with a flat pattern is consumed or removed, the flat pattern of the body is hidden. It appears again when the body, once again, contains geometry.
Flat states for the flat pattern manager follow the parameter SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_STATE for the manager and are:
• 
Flat—Flattens all bodies in the part.
Flat—Flattens all bodies in the part.• 
Initial—Keeps the flat or bent state of all bodies in the part before creating the Flat Pattern Manager. Bodies can be bent or unbent.
Initial—Keeps the flat or bent state of all bodies in the part before creating the Flat Pattern Manager. Bodies can be bent or unbent.• 
Removed—Removes all bodies from the flat pattern manager feature.
Removed—Removes all bodies from the flat pattern manager feature.Flat states for body flat patterns follow the parameter SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_STATE for the feature and are:
• Flat—Flattens the selected body.
Flat—Flattens the selected body.• Initial—Keeps the flat or bent state for this body before creating the Flat Pattern Manager feature.
Initial—Keeps the flat or bent state for this body before creating the Flat Pattern Manager feature.• Removed—Removes the body from the flat pattern manager. The body appears as consumed in the Model Tree.
Removed—Removes the body from the flat pattern manager. The body appears as consumed in the Model Tree.• 
Inherited—The flat pattern feature for this body inherits the state set from the flat pattern manager.
Inherited—The flat pattern feature for this body inherits the state set from the flat pattern manager.The flat patterns created by the flat pattern manager use the body-level fixed geometry reference set in the General tab of the Sheetmetal Preferences dialog box.
After you create a flat pattern of a body, use the 
Bounding Box Dimensions command on the View tab to toggle the display of the length and width dimensions of the unbent sheet metal body. The dimensions are associated with the SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_LENGTH and SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_WIDTH parameters. Bounding box dimensions are calculated and are accurate only in the flat state of the body.
Bounding Box Dimensions command on the View tab to toggle the display of the length and width dimensions of the unbent sheet metal body. The dimensions are associated with the SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_LENGTH and SMT_FLAT_PATTERN_WIDTH parameters. Bounding box dimensions are calculated and are accurate only in the flat state of the body.When you create a flat pattern manager feature in a part with a standalone flat pattern feature, the flat pattern feature is consumed. The consumed flat pattern feature cannot be suppressed or resumed without the flat pattern manager. Existing flat pattern representations and instances that suppress or resume the consumed feature stop working. You can create new flat pattern representations and instances for bodies to replace the outdated ones.