Guest rbame Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Is there any advantage to using the sheetmetal tools to create sheet metal vs. standard shapes. I find the shapes easier to use but I know there has to be some difference? -Rodney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lohman Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 You can unfold sheetmetal, can not unfold a regular part. Need to unfold sheetmetal so that you can create views of the flat so that you can manufacturer it. There is no benefit to using sheetmetal if you do not need to unfold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbame Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 I realize that. I mean, using shapes on sheet metal and then unfolding it. Like using the cylinder (shape), instead of round (sheet metal)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lohman Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 If you put a regular shape on top of sheetmetal; when you unfold the sheetmetal; nothing will happen to the shape. So if you use negative shapes to punch holes; when you unfold it; the holes will go away. If you use positive shapes instead of sheetmetal; they won't exist in the unfolded state. It is common to have a mixture of both types. Dave Lalond builds guitar amplifier boxes that use a mixture of both (See his public case study here ). He builds the box as a regular shape (I believe) but then he wraps some sheetmetal around the box for the face behind the speaker knobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cary OConnor Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 You can use the Cut-Sheetmetal tool. Create a solid shape that defines the hole cut-out you wish to have on the sheetmetal. Place it in the desired location. Select the sheetmetal and then the solid shape. Select Cut-Sheetmetal under the Tool pull-down menu. This will create a negative shape in the sheetmetal that will allow the unfold operation to work correctly (It leaves the solid shape for reference or reuse so you can delete it if you want). I would recommend that the shetmetal part be in the Parasolid Kernel. It seems to handle complex unfolding better. - Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlehnhaeuser Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I believe the benefits to using Sheetmetal are: If you are the Sheetmetal Manufacturer and therfore could set all your machinery tolerances. If you are not the Sheetmetal manufacturer, it will provide real-world condistions and therfore help in evaluating if a part is manufacturable. Also, you'll know right away if your sheetmetal part have gaps that you may not want in the final part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schizek Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 The cut sheet metal tool is OK for some options, but it is not accurate. It cuts the sheet metal AFTER it is formed instead of before it is formed. If you cut sheet metal on a bend, it will cut into that metal at an angle and be incorrect. I really hope developers are working on providing the ability to modify a sheet metal part in either the flat or the folded state for the next release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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