How To Work With Sheet Metal In Solidworks

That means you need a contour of the sheet metal to be cut known as a flat pattern.

How to work with sheet metal in solidworks.

By choosing bend table or bend calculation an excel document can be used. Select use gauge table. Drawing a simple profile and using the base flange tab tool will open up the options that can be used. To convert a solid part to a sheet metal part.

Sheet metal parameters in the bend allowance section we can select how solidworks determines where the neutral axis is the flat pattern calculation. Click on the sheet. Forming tools are parts that act as dies that bend stretch or otherwise form sheet metal to create form features such as louvers lances flanges and ribs. The real power of solidworks comes when you have to design bent sheet metal a task which looks simple but really isn t.

Before any bending you have to cut the sheet metal. Solidworks multibody part functionality lets you work with several bodies in one part to create. Click on the top plane and then create a new sketch. First create a new part.

By choosing k factor bend allowance or bend deduction from the pull down menu a specific value can be entered. Now sketch and use smart dimension to give a dimension to the design. In the propertymanager under sheet metal gauges set options if you want to use a gauge table. Click convert to sheet metal sheet metal toolbar or insert sheet metal convert to sheet metal.

Right click on the toolbar and activate sheet metal. Solidworks sheet metal tutorial step 1. Multibody sheet metal parts.