Creating Holes in Sheet Metal

craig_townsend418

I'm a new Onshape user, and trying to draw some patterns for eventual export for a vector file. I'm trying to use the sheet metal feature to create flat drawings that I then can convert to a vector file for an etching service. That said, I need to make a series of holes (or slots) in the sheet metal feature. The slots will have other parts slide into them, so that when it comes to assembly, I will have a part that is etched with a slot, and another part that is etched to fit inside said slot.

I started out with a sketch, made it into a sheet model via extrusion, and then when back and added sketch 2 to locate the locations of the slots.

What would be the best way to go about this? I've discovered the slot feature studio, but when I went to enter a slot on the sheet metal model, it wouldn't work.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/83c3b5a07a497f6bdc9a4c54/w/34b77cb6b48302dfb10ef51c/e/04e2a8152320f5fcd43d85b5

Or is it better to create slots in the assembly when I have the two parts that need to fit together?

Thanks in advance,
Craig 

NeilCooke

Your custom feature is not working because sheet metal models require specific operations on them in FeatureScript. Does the model need to be sheet metal (i.e. do you really need it in the flat state)? Does this slot need to be created by a custom feature or can you just sketch it and pattern it? The latter would be easiest.

lana

If you replace opBoolean in custom slot with booleanBodies, it will work for sheet metal bodies as well. Please see use here https://cad.onshape.com/documents/721b8ff379ad845159deecf8/w/32aca4de17e08c6faa095b6b/e/d7fe0ea5a944661574724b59
You can cut one slot opening and pattern it. 
If you want to reference assembly when placing the slots please consider https://cad.onshape.com/help/Content/in-context.htm

craig_townsend418

@ Neil,
Yes, at some point in the design process, I want to be able to convert to a flat model as that is what I will need to import to create a vector file.

@Iana,
I will read those links. Thanks. Still learning this program.

Craig

craig_townsend418

Okay, so thanks to @lana I got the slots figured out for one of the major parts, and am slowly working on using the editing in context feature to help design this build. Thanks so much, but I'm still getting a error message when I tried to enter a slot on a different part.

What am I doing wrong? Error code says "Error Regenerating" This is not a 'red' feature script notice, but a yellow one, so from what I understand about the feature script notices that means I'm doing something right...

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/83c3b5a07a497f6bdc9a4c54/w/34b77cb6b48302dfb10ef51c/e/6968cfe040559f39b34a8ac6

Sorry for the noob questions/help requests. I've only have been playing around with Onshape for a few days, and I'm blown away at how easy it is to change designs. So much easier than using Sketchup!
Craig 

NeilCooke

Hi @craig_townsend418 - I'm not sure why you need to use FeatureScript to create your slots since you must sketch the shape first anyway? Just sketch > extrude > pattern. Far easier and "guaranteed" to work.

lana

If you click on that yellow exclamation mark, you'll see more details on what is wrong:

Clicking on a line leading into your feature studio here will bring you to where the issue is:

craig_townsend418

Is it possible to cut a slot/hole on one side of a sheet metal extrude?

In this example, sketch 3 has 2 places I want to have a slot/hole on only the right side of the extrude. On the left side of the extrude the hole will be placed slightly off center. The drawing below is what I am referencing. The dashed outline is the hole on the opposite side (left side on model)
This is the screen shot of the Onshape model. I only want the hole on the right side of the sheet metal extrude (facing), while the dashed line in the drawing above will be drawn on the left side of the extrude. 

This is the OS model
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/a6946fe6a7d977480aeed4f4/w/48483e14f91c34133bbe95e0/e/4414573580ab1210b65c5d15

Or did I mess myself up completely by extruding the sheet metal instead of sketching the entire design? Or is it just a simple change in the feature code to change from extrude body to extrude face?

Craig 

NeilCooke

@craig_townsend418 - the easiest thing to do would be to create 2 sketches - one on each face you want to cut through. However, in the Extrude feature, you can use the "second direction", flip its direction and add an offset:

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/896e8bc9c75eca2ba06adbbb/w/11735c18f0e29af92bb05fe1/e/a2ba78f0db6c450cd8c3fa0c

craig_townsend418

@NeilCooke @lana

I was just thinking about this today. Is is possible to add a second feature studio labeled slot #2 and instead of having the code extrude the body, only extrude the face? Or would this second feature studio be in conflict with the original slot feature studio?

NeilCooke

You can add as many Feature Studios as you like, as long as the feature definitions have different names. However, I do think you are making this more difficult than it needs to be. A simple sketch and extrude cut (using built-in features) would not require that much extra effort.

craig_townsend418

@NeilCooke
I'm working on drawing a simple sketch and extruding it to see how it turns out. Still learning to use this program, so figuring out which way works the best might be a bit harder than a more experienced user. Thanks for the help and the reminder to keep things simpler. KISS.

BTW I'm blown away with the support on this site. Helps the hobbyist out a lot!

Jake_Rosenfeld

@craig_townsend418

I think the point that Neil is making is that you don't need to use FeatureScript at all.  The average Onshape user will never need to use FeatureScript or a Feature Studio.  All these operations can be done directly in a Part Studio with sketches, extrudes, and patterns.

https://learn.onshape.com/learning-paths/onshape-fundamentals-cad