3D Exercise 116
- Breno Cruz
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
In this CAD tutorial we'll use the features:
1. Sheet Metal Rule (or Sheet Metal Defaults)
This is not a feature you draw, but the foundational setup for the entire part. It dictates the global parameters that govern how the flat material will behave when cut and bent in the real world.
Core Parameters: It defines the uniform material thickness and the default bend radius.
The K-Factor: Crucially, it sets the K-Factor (or bend allowance), which is a mathematical calculation that dictates exactly how much the metal will stretch or compress when bent. This ensures your final flat pattern is the exact correct size to be sent to a laser cutter.
Reliefs: It establishes default shapes for corner and bend reliefs (small cutouts that prevent the metal from tearing when flanges are folded).
2. Fold (or Sketched Bend)
This command bends a flat piece of sheet metal along a specific, user-drawn line.
Function: You draw a straight sketch line directly on an existing flat face of your sheet metal part. The Fold command then bends the material exactly at that line.
Control: You specify the bend angle (e.g., 90 degrees, 45 degrees) and the bend direction (up or down). The software automatically applies the bend radius defined in your Sheet Metal Rule.
3. Extrude (in Sheet Metal)
While you can use a standard Extrude command, it is handled differently in the sheet metal environment to maintain uniform thickness.
Base Creation: Instead of a standard "Boss Extrude," CAD programs typically use a Face or Base Flange command to turn your first 2D sketch into a flat piece of sheet metal of the exact thickness specified in your rules.
Cut Extrude: The standard "Cut" command is heavily used to punch holes, slots, or custom shapes through the sheet metal, ensuring the cuts are perfectly perpendicular to the flat faces as they would be in a real manufacturing process.
4. Mirror
The Mirror command functions the same way as in solid modeling, creating symmetrical copies across a plane.
Application: It is highly efficient for designing symmetrical brackets, boxes, or enclosures. By mirroring flanges or complex bends across a center plane, you halve your design time and ensure perfect symmetry in the final flat pattern.
5. Fillet
Fillets round off sharp edges, but in sheet metal, they serve very specific manufacturing purposes.
Safety & Aesthetics: Used on the outer corners of a flat pattern to remove sharp, dangerous edges before the part is handled by fabricators.
Stress Relief: Applied to the internal corners of cutouts. Sharp internal corners in cut metal act as stress concentrators and can cause the material to crack or tear when the part is bent or put under a load.
All dimensions are in mm/g/s/ISO
3D Sketch
Exercise 116 - 3D practice drawing for all CAD software ( AutoCAD, SolidWorks, 3DS Max, Autodesk Inventor, Fusion 360, CATIA, Creo Parametric, SolidEdge etc.)
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Tutorial In Autodesk Fusion: https://youtu.be/K5FGixk-uVs
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