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SHEET METAL

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Comments

  • andrew_troupandrew_troup Member, Mentor Posts: 1,584 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A surface flatten tool which worked for compound curved surfaces would be even more awesome!

    @billy: Could you put more clarity and detail around your plea for "trimmed surface from sketch"?
  • brucebartlettbrucebartlett Member, OS Professional, Mentor, User Group Leader Posts: 2,137 PRO
    edited August 2015
    Spot on @billy, this is what we need. I use to use UG back around 2002 and remember doing flat patterns which came out as a closed ploylines/spline, was very handy until I moved over to SolidWorks and have done sheetmetal here ever since. I think a simple flatten tool would be a good start.Hence my request here: 
    https://onshape.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/205069037-Flatten-Part-Good-Start-for-Sheet-Metal

    @Labern Gave me a good little challenge last week with a flatten using solidworks, can't wait to do this with Onshape. https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/1338/help-with-flatten-sheetmetal#latest


    Engineer ı Product Designer ı Onshape Consulting Partner
    Twitter: @onshapetricks  & @babart1977   
  • caroline_readcaroline_read Member Posts: 31
    +1 for Sheet Metal

  • dennis_20dennis_20 Member Posts: 87 EDU
    @billy, That is pretty interesting and I can see how it would work for you.  A lot of sheet metal requires bending with an inside bend radius less than 1.5 * material thickness.  I think you have to be somewhere around 3 * thickness to have a neutral axis in the middle of the part.  This would be necessary for the flattening of the bent section, where the flattening radius would be in the middle of the thickness, as in your example.  With a true sheet metal function this bend allowance is easily handled with bend deductions or k-factors resulting in dead-on flat patterns.  Many bends are done with the inside bend radius less than the material thickness and a k-factor of less than .35.

    I agree the surfacing functions are needed in OS, but we will still need a set of true sheet metal capabilities.

    I vote yes for the surfacing, but another yes for the sheet metal capability.

  • billy2billy2 Member, OS Professional, Mentor, Developers, User Group Leader Posts: 2,014 PRO
    Dennis you're absolutely right, it's better to use the unfold algorithm to add the fillets. I typically don't add the fillets:



    The convert sheet metal feature in SW added a larger radius:


    We tried making this part out of aluminum which kept cracking in the corners so we switched to 316 SS. The part is much thinner now and has a tighter radius.

    We also need to add notches to show where the bend goes:


    So this is probably a more accurate part:


    The irony about all of this is that I fixed this layout to show you the updated bracket and how it's really made. I'm working on a local copy of the database and the master is located at the company on a NAS drive. I probably won't take the time to thread this back into the master layout. Everything I did will be deleted.

    If this was Onshape, I would have done all this work in the only, single, master database and the master layout would be in a better state. I think this illustrates the beauty of one database and one place to get things done.



  • X3msnakeX3msnake Member Posts: 2
    +1 For sheet metal and Unfold
  • matthew_powersmatthew_powers Member Posts: 1
    Absolutely will need sheet metal.  +1 from me.
  • derek_wardderek_ward Member Posts: 63 EDU
    +1 for sheet metal!  A must need feature.  
  • peter_hallpeter_hall Member Posts: 196 ✭✭✭
    +1 for me with sheet metal. I absolutely need this and would like to think it's on Onshape's list of additions. However at the moment I think there are higher priorities. If sheet metal is 1-2 years away not sure what I am going to do to fill the gap while waiting.  
    Well you said that in March 2015 , so what did you do to fill the Gap while waiting? I know it is not Onshape to give any dates for improvements, however maybe on Sheet Metal they could make an exception. After all it is something which is of fundamental importance for most design engineers worldwide.
  • joseph_la_rocquejoseph_la_rocque Member Posts: 4
    +1 for us at Words and Robotics. We need the sheet metal capability for designing robot chassis.
  • seth_roskoseth_rosko Member Posts: 11 PRO
    Flatten/ Fold is a must- really hoping for this!
  • ross_desilvaross_desilva Member Posts: 1
    Would really like to have sheet metal on OS. We make a lot of agricultural machinery and most of our machines have a lot of SM parts compared to machined parts. You are doing a great job OS team. Keep it up :smile:
  • cliff_simmscliff_simms OS Professional Posts: 4 PRO
    +1 for sheet metal 
  • janos_horvathjanos_horvath Member Posts: 24 ✭✭
    +1 for sheet metal. Please OS hear our prayers! :smiley:

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