Linking Materials and Sheet Metal Parameters in SOLIDWORKS

Sheet Metal features in SOLIDWORKS have always been user-friendly. They’ve always been consistent. Also, whenever there is an enhancement to the core Sheet Metal Features, it’s always something useful.

Materials in Sheet Metal are extremely important. If you are choosing between building a part out of Aluminum or Stainless Steel – you aren’t just choosing a material. You’re choosing tooling, bend radius values, and a plethora of other design requirements that are unique to your company. SOLIDWORKS  now allows you to link typical Sheet Metal Parameters to any custom material, so you can use those parameters again and again.

To link a parameter to a Custom Material to a Sheet Metal part, all you have to do is edit that Material – and expand to the Sheet Metal tab.

When you assign a custom material to a sheet metal part, you can link the sheet metal parameters to the material. If you change the material, the sheet metal parameters also update.

To link materials and sheet metal parameters:

1. Open a sheet metal part.

2. In the Feature Manager design tree, right-click Material and click Edit Material.

3. In the dialog box:

a) Right-click Custom Materials and click New Category.

b) Right-click New Category and click New Material.

c) Set the custom material properties on each tab as required.

d) Click the Sheet Metal tab.

Options on this tab are available for custom materials only.

e) Select Thickness Range.

f) Click Add twice.

g) For each row in the table, set the following:

Thickness ranges must be continuous; there cannot be a gap in the range. For example, you cannot define a range from 0 to 3 and define the next range from 4 to 6 because the range between 3 and 4 is not covered.

h) Click Apply and Close.

                                                         *** Thanks for Reading ***

Breakdown the Challenges in Sheetmetal Products Design Using SolidWorks Solutions

Sheetmetal Product Design

SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD allows you to quickly create sheet metal part designs using simple design tools, saving you time and development costs. In this blog, you can learn the various methods and benefits of utilizing Sheetmetal Design Tools.

Three Ways to Start your Sheetmetal Design

•Design Sheetmetal from 2D Drawing

•Design Sheetmetal from Solid

•Design Sheetmetal using Standard Tools

Design Sheetmetal from 2D Drawing

Dwg/DXF Input

3D Model

Blank Development

Design Sheetmetal from Solid

SolidModel

Convert to Sheetmetal

Blank Development

Design Sheetmetal using Standard Tools

Sheetmetal Model

Blank Development

Fabrication Drawing

Design Automation Tools for Repetitive Tasks

Automate repetitive task by simply capturing the driven variables and control it using a simple form like structure. To create new and variants in products you just need to specify the required inputs in the form and it automatically generates design and manufacturing outputs.

• Capture and re-use your design knowledge
• Maintain design rules to minimize problems and the cost of manual mistakes
• Automate the creation of design and drawings whenever needed.

       Manufacturability Analysis Tools

          Design for Manufacture Xpress allows engineers and designers to check the feasibility of       design for manufacturing upfront during the design stage

•        Sheet metal checks – Hole diameters vs. Available tooling, Hole-to-edge distance,           and Hole spacing bend radii
•        Standard hole size checks – Checks hole vs. Available tooling

            

                                           

Estimate Material and Manufacturing Cost during the Design Stage

Manufacturers can automate their quoting process with the help of SolidWorks costing. You can also easily track costs during the design stage to ensure your projects stay on target to meet your profit goals. Calculate the cost based on the template inputs like material, labor, machine, operation, and setup costs.

• Upfront cost estimation tool and eliminate the need to “Redesign for Cost” later.
• Make design decisions based on material and manufacturing costs.
• Instant update of costing whenever there is a design change
• Publish costing reports for instant RFQ response to the supplier.

Benefits of Sheetmetal Product Design using SolidWorks Tool

• Specific Sheetmetal design tools enable product design faster than ever
• Design reuse tools that save time by automating model and drawing creation
• Calculate entire cut list for the different multibody sheet metals for fabrication
• Directly convert it to DXF/DWG for the Sheetmetal CNC machining operation.
• Estimate exact blank development for fabrication
• Built-in cost estimation to help hit manufacturing cost targets and speed quoting

Stay safe and productive everyone!

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How Engineering Product Data Management plays vital role in Sheet Metal Industry ?

Product Data Management

Product

Anything that you design, develop, manufacture and make profit out of it.

Data

Files related to product design, development, manufacturing and process info.

Management

• Organizing the product & process info.
• Conquering the key challenges faced related to design data management area.
• Taking the process towards the destination with the flow.

Key challenges faced by the sheet metal industry related to engineering data management

1. Security of intellectual property.
2. Data leakage, deletion, modified.
3. Data Duplication.
4. Track & Locating legacy design data.
5. Version management.
6. Redundancy due to old revision in the shop floor.
7. Errors,time consumption,chaos due to manual Engineering Change Management.
8. Tons of drawing hard copies, ledgers, files, documentation requires space and individual to maintain it.
9. Pending of design approvals due to absence of authority.
10. Open access of design info to all stakeholders.
11. Control access of info sharing with internal & external stakeholders, suppliers, customers.
12. Robust to locate & track the info globally.
13. Searching a solution to build collaborate & concurrent working environment.
14. Impossible to revise MBOM (Manufacturing Bill of Material) from EBOM (Engineering Bill of Material) as BOM modification happens frequently at this stage before send it to the purchase department.

SOLIDWORKS Product Data Management

SOLIDWORKS Product Data Management Solutions

Vault (Centralized repository) protects the intellectual property (Design data & info).

• Most of the cases, their own machine acts as the server. Even in any exceptional case their server will be placed within their own location. So, there is no possibility of data leakage.
• Every individual needs authorization to access their info (Prevents data modification and deletion).
• Powerful search & reuse tool helps to track & locate the legacy design data with ease.
• Capture & Records all the design changes made from designers and make him aware of design changes made.
• Release only updated drawings to the shop floor (Rework is eliminated utterly).
• Avoids error due to manual process, automation of (ECR, ECN, ECO) process.
• Electronic info transfer (Utterly paperless), E-documents, E-files saves space, manhandling to maintain and to move it.
• Possible to approve and provide comments to the drawings with the electronic gadgets through E-drawing application. (As, it streamline the approval process).
• Controlled access provided to different person based upon their departments, roles & responsibility (Individual can able to access the info within their boundary).
• Possible to connect with suppliers, vendors, customers and restrict the info.
• Track & Locate the design info globally.
• Share,collaborate the design info and work concurrently from any part of the globe.
• Edit, compare, add EBOM & MBOM.

Summary:

• Optimize design cycle & throughput time.
• Reduces non-value added activities and the cost involved in it.
• Makes the product reaches the market faster (5x).
• Ease of use, as it is integrated with windows explorer interface.
• Simple installation.
• Implementation can be done within a month of time.
• Increases product & process quality.
• Possibility to integrate customized module based on client request through API.