Book Image

Mastering SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal

By : Johno Ellison
Book Image

Mastering SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal

By: Johno Ellison

Overview of this book

SOLIDWORKS© is the premier software choice for 3D engineering and product design applications across a wide range of industries, and the Sheet Metal module forms an important part of this powerful program. This book will help you to understand exactly what Sheet Metal is, why it is used, and how you can make the most of this fundamental design feature. You’ll start by understanding the basic tools, including Base Flanges and Sketched Bends, before moving on to more complex features such as Custom Forming Tools and Lofted Bends. The book covers all the necessary tools in a step-by-step manner and shares practical manufacturing tips and tricks that will allow you to apply the skills that you learn to real-world situations. By the end of this SOLIDWORKS book, you’ll have understood how to make the best use of SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal tools and be able to create a whole range of 3D models and designs confidently.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Section 1: Getting Started with the Sheet Metal Module
6
Section 2: Advanced Sheet Metal Tools
13
Section 3: Converting 3D Parts to Sheet Metal and Creating a Sheet Metal Enclosure

Getting rid of sharp corners with the Break-Corner/Corner-Trim tool

The Break-Corner/Corner-Trim tool is very similar to Fillet and Chamfer tools in that it allows square corners to be easily removed by filleting or chamfering them. This can be used to make items easier to manufacture, can be for structural reasons, or can even just make parts more user-friendly by taking off sharp corners.

To use the Break-Corner/Corner-Trim tool, perform the following steps:

  1. Continuing from the previous example, delete the Welded Corner feature so that you just have a single Base Flange (50x50x2mm) with two adjacent Edge Flanges that are 30mm high and at a 90° angle.
  2. Select the Break-Corner/Corner-Trim tool from the Corner tools.
  3. First, we can set a Break Type – either Filleted or Chamfered – and then set the Size.

Chose Fillet and set the size to 5mm.

  1. We can now select the corners that we wish to break. The corners can be left-clicked directly...