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Onshape enhancement wish list
bryan_lagrange
Member, User Group Leader Posts: 825 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here
is my list for sheet metal features needed in no specific order:
When getting the call out for the bend direction have the ability to select inside or outside of the complimentary angle you would need to have listed. We use the trumpf press brake so it requires the inside angle for the bend. Many CAD systems automatically go with the outside bend.
Formed features such as louvers, dimples, etc.
A) for these features you don't need the feature in the flat but something like a cross hair for CAM purposes.
For louver there could be a drop down list
of what would appear in the feature. If you have a punch and program
for a louver then a cross hair would work. If you form the louver at
the press brake (like we do) then I would need a line that is the
length of the louver at the opening of the louver (we cut a kerf
width laser slit here before forming the louver).The ability to have regular cutouts that don't go through the the entire metal show in the flat pattern. Before Solid Edge had an etch command I would do a regular cut only .005" deep. This would give me geometry in the flat pattern. Another instance is if I have to recess an area (something similar to a counter bore) I need to have this feature in the flat to have geometry for the mill. Or have an etch command that would show sketch entities in the flat when etch is selected.
Ability to unfold and a cut out and then fold back.
Closed corner with no relief. Best for thin material to make water tight corners with minimum welding needed. Closed corner still has a relief section in the flat but I am looking for no relief,
More flange options. When placing the flange on an edge you can have the ability to do the full length of the edge, start from a particular end with a set length or start in the middle.
If I receive a flat pattern .dxf with bend lines I would like the ability to drop the geometry in the model and click on the sketch entity that is a bend line to recreate the formed feature.
The ability to upload a sheet metal model from another CAD software and convert it to sheet metal in Onshape. I would have the ability to then set the K factor, bend radii, and thickness and generate a flat that will work with the bend parameters produced by my press brake.
Cross brake would be nice but not a big necessity. A work around would be to draw a sketch of the cross brake and have the ability to view that sketch in the flat pattern and propagate to the .dxf file.
Loft flange (not high on my list) but sometimes I do encounter a time where I need to do a loft for duct work and have a flat pattern created.
Flatten cone shapes and get triangulation bend lines. ( I don't do a whole lot but maybe 6-8 times in a year so it is not big on my priority list).
Having to have multiple radii in a profile and get a flat pattern. Example would be a pipe clamp bracket.
Possibly have the ability to change K-Factor on a part with multiple bends. Sometimes I have different tool and die setups to create a part and it would be nice to have the bend allowance for the different tooling combinations within the part instead of the one to generate the most accurate flat pattern I can.
The ability to modify the flat such as add features. When holes land in the area near a bend that will cause distortion I put a kerf width laser slit here, This relieves the material during bending thus keeping a round hole. Would be nice to set parameters for tool and die combinations that would automatically add this feature in the flat when too close to the bend (wishful thinking here).
I would also like to have the ability to set a parameter for minimum flange length for a punch and die combination. This would instantly alert the user that the flange is too small with the current punch and die parameters set.
Bend gusset. Another nice feature to have to show in the 3D model for depiction but does not need to show in the flat pattern. Not high on my priority list since this is another feature I do not use regularly.Hem command to instantly create a hem but I can accomplish this with just a contour flange.
Not high on my list but a color code on the bend line to quickly see if it is up or down. ( Example: red = up, blue = down)
Other non related sheet metal features I personally would like:
Import solid edge .psm files. I know you can change the extension from .psm to .par and it will import, but when you have an assembly with many .psm files this would be not an efficient way to import the assembly.
Ability to add hyperlinks in a drawings to link to other documents and files.
More sketch capabilities and editing capabilities in drawing. I have a lot of .dwg files sent from customers and would like to be able to import, see the layers, remove all unnecessary layers, and then export .dxf geometry to be sent to CAM software. Sometimes I need to make edits so more sketch entities such as rectangle, circle, polygon, oval, oblong, trim/extend, explode text, and exploded entities. This would save me time by staying on one tab with out having to copy paste in the model tab to do edits or use another CAD software
Single line font
The ability to set the permission levels on each tab in an Onshape document.
Example: I send the link to the Onshape Document to my laser operator on the shop floor. I want my operator to be able to view an measure on the model and drawing, read/write access for the .dxf file, and read only for related documents attached such as MTRs, Purchase Orders, etc.Pro Plan give permission to a Free plan to measure and leave comments on a 2D drawing. There is a way to measure the Onshape part by the free user but not a way to measure a drawing.
There are still shop guys that are more comfortable interacting with a 2D drawing than a 3D model.
I would like to have a free user be able to add a comment to the 2D draft or click on a smart dimension icon and be able to take measurements.
Being a small job shop we can't afford seats for everyone in the shop but if the guys on the shop floor could use a free account and take measurements on the 2D drawing (in case I forgot to place one) and make a comment like a text block (if there is a press brake program they saved for a part) and add it to the drawing. This way information is captured and shared and there is no altering of the model or drawing until I (Pro user) makes it.REFER TO POST: https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/8529/pro-user-sharing-with-a-free-user#latest
Onshape APP Request:
CNC cam (nesting) for laser, water jet, plasma, punch: The one company that I see pop up and that we use is SigmaTek (Cam software we use) (https://www.sigmanest.com/). I can export into a neutral .dxf but it would be more powerful to not have to save as a another file type (which I need to keep tabs on and won't automatically update). Staying in one native format also allows for changes to be updated automatically. It would be nice to have it work in the Onshape environment like it does for SolidWorks (http://www.solidnest.com/solutions/)
Another software provider of this form of CAM that I think will be a good choice is Metamation (http://metamation.com/)
CNC cam for press brakes: Again I will suggest SigmaTEK and Metamation since they both offer bending software.
Comments
It got lost in much of the excitement that was our announcing Simultaneous Bill of Materials and Release Management And Approval Workflows, but being able to import a .psm files was included in release 1.77. You can see it in the changelog.
Twitter: @BryanLAGdesign
I have made a custom feature that does this.
You can try it here.
IR for AS/NZS 1100
I have made a custom feature that allows you to set bend allowance or bend deduction when you create the sheet metal model.
You can find it here.
IR for AS/NZS 1100
I tried your nice HEM-feature. Thank you for that.
Switching between Inner and Outer hem did the opposite of my expectations.
So, do I not understand the meaning of the two words or is it perhaps a bug?
Thank you for the detailed list. We continue developing Onshape sheet metal functionality, so you'll see some of these requests satisfied in not very distant future.
I wish I had the FS skills that some of the designers here in the Onshape forum. The punch and die combination is something no other software out there offers so I was shooting for the stars with this one.
Can't wait to see the next set of sheet metal updates.
Twitter: @BryanLAGdesign
For me here are some extra comments
- Tapped hole, counter sunk call out on a non-finished sheet metal part. Important for my workflows.
- Turret Punch Tool Library ie. embosses, louvers, etc. Not a big one for me ATM but would be If I had a shop with a turret punch.
- Ability to unfold and a cut out and then fold back. Absolutely required, I constantly want this functionality.
- Closed corner with no relief. More flange options. Yes something not quite right here for thin sheets
- Partial flange with end settings. Yes, It would save doing a move face.
- Create from a .dxf with bend lines. Also a dream of mine, no way at the moment to even do a sketch bend which would be a good start.
- The ability to upload a sheet metal model from another CAD software and convert it to sheet metal in Onshape. Here I would also like to have a replace functionality so if a part is used in an assembly it is replaced or takes the Id of the old part after converting to sheet metal.
- Cross brake would be nice but not a big necessity. Split face while maintaining a flat face would work, does not need the true form, just something to call out in the drawing and give a visual indication on the model.
- Loft flange, I have been doing these with a standard loft then sheet metal covert, when doing the standard loft, you have to ensure that the segments on each sketch are equal in number and parallel across corresponding segments. It would be nice to have a tool to build these straight from sheet metal, not a big use tool for me but would be a big one for those doing duct work.
- Flatten cone shapes and get triangulation bend lines. If I need this I would just use the previous method with the standard loft, It would be a nice project for someone to do with FS.
I'd also like- Use of the onshape bend table to roll through the fold sequence with the folded state display in the flat pattern view as you roll down the table.
- A method to establish backstop setting off an outer flange after it has been folded. When doing multi-folds off 1 edge of a part, operators like to or have to take a backstop setting off a flange that is already formed. It would be nice to spec this automatically in the drawing and not manually calculate.
- I'd like to add a flange to a ripped edge for lap joint. ie when creating a sheet metal part from a solid box and I'd like to place a lap joint, joining flange on the ripped corners, currently, I don't think this is possible to added a flange to these edges.
I am sure @mbartlett21 could program some of these easily in FS, he just did a Sheet Metal Overcut here, which is going to save me heaps of time. I would however like the overcut incorporated into the sheet tab feature, that might be one for @Jake_Rosenfeld to take care of.Twitter: @onshapetricks & @babart1977
Outer means that the bend ends at the edge you select
IR for AS/NZS 1100
Our resident tabster is actually @emmett_weeks , but in either case "Corner overcut option in Sheet Metal Tab" would make a great improvement request.
Twitter: @onshapetricks & @babart1977
We're always happy to hear ideas for new functionality and comments on current missing functionality. Please never feel like you're asking too much! At the end of the day you're the one using Onshape, so all feedback about your experience is valuable!
Maybe good to clarify my expectations:
Inner - The Hem is formed ‘underneath’ the selected surface, either it remains “inside” the envelope of the original sheetmetal part.
You can also say; “Below” the selected surface.
Outer - The Hem is formed ‘on top’ of the selected surface, either it steps “outside” the envelope of the original sheetmetal part.
You can also say; “On top” of the selected surface.
@john_mcclary
Would making the enum parameter say 'Start condition' as well help?
IR for AS/NZS 1100
in solidworks they dont name it anything just show where the bad lies relative to the sheetmetal edge
I don't think I can do Pictures in the dialog.
Maybe I should create an improvement request
IR for AS/NZS 1100
@john_mcclary
You mean you want it to use the icons like above?
ps.
Also noticed, SW doesn't check for collision.
See intersecting parts
IR for AS/NZS 1100
Enum parameter is a list where you can select different values: e.g. '
Start condition is just my name for how the hem starts
IR for AS/NZS 1100
@H_d_V
I have pushed V 2.3.
Link here: https://cad.onshape.com/documents/9190d114354a31d33ed2eb4f/
Please give me feedback
IR for AS/NZS 1100
Excellent! Much more clear.
Thank you.
I have a silly question though. Why is there no inner outer option for closed hem?
Honestly I would probably always use inner anyways...
I think that, because people don't really know what the bend radius or inner height is going to be, they would never use that option anyway.
Do you want that option?
I can add it if you want
IR for AS/NZS 1100