Is there an easy way to "Bend" flanges on an imported part?

S_Regula

We receive many .stp files from suppliers to save hours of modeling time. Occasionally, the model received shows a part in its "manufactured" state, not its "assembled" state, such as the trim ring here:


The blue ring is manufactured with the thin tabs in the vertical position. These are bent down onto the gray insert at the time of assembly to secure the 2 components together. 

Is there an easy way to edit the imported ring to show the tabs in the bent/installed position rather than the manufactured position? I can easily remove the tabs completely with a simple extrude, but thought there might be an easy way to edit the model to show the tabs "clamping down" onto the insert to better represent the actual finished part. 

TIA!

eric_pesty

I can't tell from the picture if the tabs are planar or part of the circular profile... If they are planar you might be able to do a "move face" to rotate all the faces of the tab but I'm not sure it would work.
It might be simpler to just do a split so the tabs are separate bodies and then rotate them in the correct position. Then you and bridge the gap if you need a single body or just create a composite part if it's "good enough".
Obviously you could use a configuration to toggle these features on/off if you need to show things in either state.

wayne_sauder

@S_Regula
Have you tried this feature script? I don't know if it will work, perhaps @MBartlett21 has some input.   script https://cad.onshape.com/documents/9f116620b0f6d04445f57293/w/dc792952ee30435c90737caf/e/34838fd8e8b10578a2d8afc9

S1mon

That looks like a formed sheet metal part in reality. Onshape doesn't handle that unfortunately, so I don't think there's a way to handle this as one sheet metal part.

You could either make a small sheet metal tab part and add a bend to it (perhaps using the sheet metal fold FS mentioned above), or perhaps split the current part and transform/rotate the tab down, and optionally add a loft to simulate the bent region (basically what @eric_pesty said). It really depends on what you're trying to capture with this model.

1. Is this just for assembly documentation (visual)?
2. Do you need accurate masses?
3. Does your BOM need to show a single part for the bent/as-assembled state?
4. Do you want to be able to deliver a flat pattern of the sheet metal? 

S_Regula

wayne_sauder said:

@S_Regula
Have you tried this feature script? I don't know if it will work, perhaps @MBartlett21 has some input.   script https://cad.onshape.com/documents/9f116620b0f6d04445f57293/w/dc792952ee30435c90737caf/e/34838fd8e8b10578a2d8afc9

Thanks, but that appears to require a sheet metal model. The part I have is just a generic part that was imported as part of a full assembly STEP file. Seems like this is creating additional work that I'm trying to avoid

S_Regula

eric_pesty said:

I can't tell from the picture if the tabs are planar or part of the circular profile... If they are planar you might be able to do a "move face" to rotate all the faces of the tab but I'm not sure it would work.
It might be simpler to just do a split so the tabs are separate bodies and then rotate them in the correct position. Then you and bridge the gap if you need a single body or just create a composite part if it's "good enough".
Obviously you could use a configuration to toggle these features on/off if you need to show things in either state.

The tabs are planar in the model:

eric_pesty

It looks like some weird geometry going from planar tab to the circular edge below...
Your best bet is probably to remove that entire section, transform the rectangular part and extrude a new bit to connect them back together.

eric_pesty

@S_Regula
I just did a quick 2 min test with what I think is similar geometry and it looks like move face/rotate should work, it's working in this example (I am regularly impressed by how well the direct editing features seem to work... if in doubt, give it a shot anyway!):



https://cad.onshape.com/documents/22256e4593ac074b1c0c3a37/w/37c7291967b8fa472b237e01/e/b2e0bc674283bf7a7db84335