Introducing Sheet Metal
Sheet metal parts are those that are—as the name suggests—created from flat sheets of metal. Numerous different manufacturing techniques such as bending, cutting, and forming allow these simple flat sheets to be transformed into complex 3D parts. The popularity of sheet metal has exploded in modern times because it allows designers and engineers to take a widely available material type—the flat sheets—and use relatively low-cost tools and processes to create complex products, at an industrial scale.
The chances are that a quick look around your home, garage, or workplace will reveal dozens of items that were created using sheet metal techniques. These can range from very simple items such as right-angle brackets to more complex products such as furniture, all the way up to detailed designs such as computer or electronics enclosures. Sheet metal is also used to create very complex items such as aircraft parts or car bodywork, although the most advanced formed parts are beyond the scope of SolidWorks Sheet Metal.
Figure 1.1: Examples of sheet metal parts
The beauty of the SolidWorks Sheet Metal module is that it allows users to create these 3D shapes, then flatten them down to sheets, and export them as two-dimensional (2D) designs that can be used for manufacturing.
Another great aspect of SolidWorks Sheet Metal is that, despite the name, it doesn't have to be used for purely metal parts. Sheet Metal can be used to create any kind of flattened 3D part, regardless of the real-life material. Try to think beyond the "metal" title, and a wide range of other uses can be unlocked. For example, Sheet Metal can be used to create cardboard packaging. This can be modeled in 3D before being virtually unfolded to be printed, cut out with a die-cutter, and then turned into 3D boxes. Sheet Metal can also even be used to create items as diverse as paper origami artwork.
Figure 1.2: Sheet Metal isn't just for metal but any material, such as this cardboard packaging
Sheet Metal is a diverse set of manufacturing methods that will take your modeling and design to the next level. In summary:
- Sheet metal uses flat sheets to create 2D or 3D parts.
- Techniques include cutting, bending, and forming.
- SolidWorks Sheet Metal parts don't have to be metal!
In the next section, we'll look at how we can actually start making Sheet Metal parts in SolidWorks by creating a Base Flange that will be the foundation feature of these parts.