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I have problems with flatten a hollow round tube. I can get it flat with the punch feature. But it will have its original diameter, and when you in real flatten a tube, it will become wider.
You can create the model as a swept protrusion going from round to flat (through elliptic if you want it nice). You can link the intermediate cross-sections to the original diameter with formulas, so you only have to do this once.
3D deformations in sheetmetal are not real, neither in visual representation nor in relation to reality.
Punch and die deformations make the weight grow, keep wall thicknessand can stretch as far as your imagination goes. None of them are true in real world.
If using sheetmetal doesn't protect you from doing impossible things and gives unreal results - either modeled or flatened- then what's the use of doing so ?
Modelling according to what you know will happen (tube will broaden, production will tell you how much tube is needed to go around a bend, ...) is safer in this case.
You could try to make it like Alex said, see how it looks like. If you have a production facility near by go flatten a tube and see what dimensions will have.
It's not worth to purchase EFX unless you will use it, it's mainly use in steel constructions.
Here it is an example of what it can do, there are some more on PTC site:
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