Solidworks has assembled a great set of tools for working with sheet metal.
Designing sheet metal parts solidworks.
I m gabriel corbett and let s dive into my course on linkedin learning and start designing sheet metal parts in solidworks.
The sheet metal specific features make it easier and faster to create a sheet metal part than designing a part then converting it to sheet metal.
Select a face as the fixed face for the sheet metal part.
There are specific sheet metal features you can use to create sheet metal bodies quickly.
Under sheet metal parameters.
That means you need a contour of the sheet metal to be cut known as a flat pattern.
However it s up to us as designers to use these tools to create parts that can be easily and efficiently manufactured.
Sheet metal gauge bend tables store properties for a designated material.
When you create a drawing of your sheet metal part a flat pattern is automatically created.
Sheet metal gauge bend table.
Set the sheet thickness and default bend radius.
Creating sheet metal flat pattern configurations.
Solidworks includes sheet metal specific features so you can create a part as sheet metal without having to convert it to sheet metal.
Drawings of sheet metal parts can also contain views of the bent sheet metal part.
Gabriel sheet metal is a complex industry and understanding the basic process and fundamentals is essential to designing parts that are easy to manufacture.
You can create a configuration in a sheet metal part that shows the flattened part.
Drawings of sheet metal parts.
When using the insert bends and convert to sheet metal features it is best to apply them as early as possible during part design preferably right after you create the first non sheet metal feature.
When creating sheet metal parts the order of design preference is.
Sheet metal features such as base flange edge flange and miter flange.
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Multibody sheet metal parts can consist of multiple sheet metal bodies or a combination of sheet metal and other bodies such as weldment bodies.
However in some circumstances when the design requires certain types of geometry you can use non sheet metal feature tools then insert bends or convert the part to sheet metal.
Convert to sheet metal feature.
Practice while you learn with exercise files download the files the.
The real power of solidworks comes when you have to design bent sheet metal a task which looks simple but really isn t.
Drawings of sheet metal parts can also contain views of the bent sheet metal part.
Before any bending you have to cut the sheet metal.
You can create a configuration in a sheet metal part that shows the flattened part.
Select keep body if you want to keep the solid body to use in another convert to sheet metal feature.
