Working with Gussets

Now that we have learned about a few of the standard Sheet Metal tools, we can move on to the more specialist tools. The first of these is the Gusset. Similar to the Hem tool, this is a term that originally comes from clothing. Many items, such as shirts, contain gussets. These are small pieces of extra fabric, usually triangular, that are used to add extra strength. These might be found at the bottom of a shirt at its sides or in the armpit area, or even in the crotch of trousers.

In sheet metal, gussets are also used to add strength. However, there are different things that the term gusset may refer to. Sometimes, "gusset" or "gusset plate" is used to mean an extra piece of metal that is added to an assembly to give strength, such as at the bottom of a post, as shown in Figure 6.1.

Figure 6.1: A gusset at the bottom of a metal post

However, in SolidWorks Sheet Metal, the term gusset has a different meaning and...