How To Create A Sheet Metal Part In Solidworks

3D CAD & Design, SOLIDWORKS Tech Tips

How to Flatten Anything in SOLIDWORKS

May 16, 2019
Marcus Brown

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal allows you to quickly and easily design folded or flat parts, but what about parts that don't have simple, straight bends? As designs get more complex and start to violate the conditions and requirements for you to use certain features, you may need to switch to a few additional techniques that allow you to create flat patterns from a wide variety of shapes. Here is our list, from simple to complex, of the best ways to create a flat pattern of almost any shape. Notice that not all of these are sheet metal designs, and not all are manufacturable with traditional methods, but the same techniques can be applied regardless of the material and production methods.

Standard Sheet Metal Features

Sketched bends, edge flanges, miter flanges; all of these standard sheet metal features work perfectly as long as you are dealing with only flat faces and cylindrical (straight) bend regions. This approach is great for new designs because it requires that you either start this way or convert to sheet metal. Take a look at any tutorial or training manual for more information on these features.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Features

Insert Bends

Insert Bends is great for an imported model that didn't start out as sheet metal but has a constant thickness. Bend radii and thicknesses are measured from the model and maintained, making this one of the easiest ways to convert any design to a sheet metal part and get a flat pattern (even if you don't have any flat faces at all). Insert Bends is a favorite way of making a cylindrical shell, just grab a straight edge instead of a flat face to define the fixed location and flatten the part.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Insert Bends

Convert to Sheet Metal

Convert to Sheet Metal has no pre-requirements, not even that the part should be already thin, so it is a great way to build complex sheet metal from blocky shapes or create a wrap that goes around another part. Tip: enable the 'Keep Solid' to build multiple sheet metal panels from the same basic shape.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Convert to Sheet Metal

Swept Flange

Although swept bends can create some very nice complex shapes, it won't help you to account for the difficulty in making the resulting shapes. Make sure the swept result is not self-intersecting and understand that there is no twist control, so if needed, use curvature combs to predict twist and keep the profile simple when possible.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Swept Flange

Lofted Bend

Most highly complex shapes that are actually formed out of sheet metal can be created using Lofted Bends, but often the trick to creating the shape lies in what you use for the profiles. The feature is limited to only 2 profiles and no guide curves, so look for opportunities to put most of the complexity into the profiles. For example, in a typical helical shape, you should use a helical guide curve for simplicity. In a lofted bend for an auger, use two helixes and loft straight across to get the final shape since guide curves are not allowed.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Lofted Bend

Flatten Surface

Flatten Surface is only available in SOLIDWORKS Premium and is really the last chance for a part to be flattened from a 3D shape in automated way. It is designed for materials like cloth or leather but can be used for metal if there will be forming involved. Upholstery, clothing, even carbon fiber layups can be calculated using this feature. A favorite example is peeling an apple with a single cut.

SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Flatten Surface

Configuration Flattening (AKA Cheating)

When you simply can't come up with another method, consider cheating. Cheating, in this case, means you don't convert the geometry directly from formed to flat, but instead create two sets of features to represent the geometry in the bent and flattened states respectively. If the flat shape was more organic, use Flatten Surface, but in this example, the geometry is relatively simple to understand and draw, but hard for the software to calculate because it has bends intersecting bends. It is important to keep in mind what the goal is for building a part like this. In most cases, it is to create an accurate 3D model for the assembly, a flat pattern for production, and a detailed dimensional drawing. This achieves them all, though with a bit of manual trickery and coordination required between the configurations.

Update: 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD 2020 Presentation

We explored this topic even more in depth at 3D EXPERIENCE World 2020. Here is a recording from that presentation.

About the author

While Marcus has been a SOLIDWORKS Applications Expert with MLC CAD Systems for over a decade, his knowledge extends into all 3 product lines MLC offers. More than once, he has held the prestigious title of the world's most certified SOLIDWORKS AE. He actively supports the user group community and is known for his improv comedy tips and tricks session. Connect with Marcus on Twitter to discuss your project.

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