We create a lot of cylindrical sheet metal parts as part of an overall assembly and often want to add etch marks for locating other parts to assist the fab shop. Naturally these need to be created in the rolled configuration and carried through to the flat pattern for the laser to etch. Our current process is to create a cut-extrude as a means to achieve this due to the sketch alone not being transferred to the flattened sheet.

This works, however, it has caused problems in the past when either the programmer or the nesting software misses that these are to be etches only and actually cuts the profile. Beyond that, I just don't like showing a cut feature that isn't really a cut if I don't have to. I'm still a SW rookie so when I say I've tried everything I can think of, that probably doesn't scratch the surface (no pun intended) of what SW is capable of.

If it has to be, then so be it. But maybe there is a better way?

Rob