Making Sheet Metal Parts In Solidworks

Sheet metal gauge bend tables store properties for a designated material.

Making sheet metal parts in solidworks.

Sheet metal parts in solidworks are easy to make thanks to the powerful set of tools that enable users to model just about everything they can think of. Click insert bends or click insert sheet metal bends. Select use gauge table. Creating sheet metal flat pattern configurations.

Create the solid part. In the propertymanager under sheet metal gauges set options if you want to use a gauge table. These methods are explained through a truck bumper example. Create a part by sketching the part profile then extruding a thin feature part.

Solidworks includes sheet metal specific features so you can create a part as sheet metal without having to convert it to sheet metal. In the propertymanager under bend parameters. To create a sheet metal part with sharp bends. Designing a part with sheet metal specific features uses fewer features and editing tools and eliminates the use of the rollback bar.

Click convert to sheet metal sheet metal toolbar or insert sheet metal convert to sheet metal. 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. The fixed face remains in place. Drawings of sheet metal parts can also contain views of the bent sheet metal part.

There are specific sheet metal features you can use to create sheet metal bodies quickly. Learn three methods for creating sheet metal parts in solidworks and the pros and cons of each. Sheet metal gauge bend table. Select the fixed face on the model.

Open the sheet metal part for which you want to add a drawing. In this week s video tech tip we take an in depth look to one of the sheet metal features. You can create a configuration in a sheet metal part that shows the flattened part. You can adjust the size of the drawing view under scale by selecting use custom scale and typing a value.

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 format or click ok to use the default format.