converting to sheet metal in solidworks with no fixed face

CAD magicians that can design just about anything between 0 and 20 gauge. There are plenty of phenomenal sheet metal ninjas out there. Note that using the Insert Bend function requires a thin feature of uniform thickness to function. With Insert Bends we can quickly convert our solid body to a sheet metal body that would have been fairly difficult and time consuming to create. Knowing we need an edge for our sheet metal, our revolution stopped short of 360°. There are a number of ways to finish the design and in this example we only selected to convert two of the four sides.įor our second example, we created a simple conic shape using a single line to revolve a thin-walled feature. It is possible, but which is easier? Simply select Convert to Sheet Metal and we can select our fixed face and bend edges. To create this in sheet metal would require calculating angles, repeating bends, custom edge flanges, etc.

The example shown below isn’t a very difficult solid body to create -it’s just two extrudes and a loft between faces.

There are two commands enabling the creation of a sheet metal body from a solid or surface body - Convert to Sheet Metal and Insert Bends.Ĭonvert to Sheet Metal can be quicker and easier than simply creating the model in Sheet Metal. It is a simple tool to help us work smarter not harder! We would then continue with a process referred to as converting to sheet metal. Depending on the difficulty of the design, it may be simpler to start with solid or surface bodies. To make sure you’re not the bottleneck, let’s review how we can utilize SOLIDWORKS’ full potential and not just the sheet metal functionality. There are lots of reasons that designs get delayed, pushed back or redesigned. After kicking and screaming, I would usually revisit these designs after the other side said it needs to look “pretty.” I’ve personally used sheet metal to design fixtures, shield electronics and enclose assemblies.

Converting to sheet metal in solidworks with no fixed face