How To Work With Sheet Metal In Solidworks

The real power of solidworks comes when you have to design bent sheet metal a task which looks simple but really isn t.

How to work with sheet metal in solidworks.

Click on the sheet. In the propertymanager under sheet metal gauges set options if you want to use a gauge table. First create a new part. Solidworks multibody part functionality lets you work with several bodies in one part to create.

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

Select use gauge table. Right click on the toolbar and activate sheet metal. Using forming tools with sheet metal. Before any bending you have to cut the sheet metal.

Multibody sheet metal parts. Solidworks sheet metal tutorial step 1. That means you need a contour of the sheet metal to be cut known as a flat pattern. By choosing k factor bend allowance or bend deduction from the pull down menu a specific value can be entered.

A common favorite is sketching out the profile and using the base flange tab tool see figure 2 that is usually located first on the sheet metal ribbon. Sheet metal parameters in the bend allowance section we can select how solidworks determines where the neutral axis is the flat pattern calculation. Now sketch and use smart dimension to give a dimension to the design.