Solidworks 2011 buggy sheet metal functions
Hi all,
Having now access to a Solidworks 2011, I've been venturing into this and I'm bumping against what really seems to be buggy sheet metal functions.
This can easily be reproduced and I'd like to figure out a good work around this issue so I could finish a drawing properly.
Picture this: a very simple aluminum tank, with a square base of 400x400mm, 500mm tall and the top is also a square section of 500x500mm. The material is aluminum of 2mm thickness and the top opening (section 500x500) needs 20mm flanges in the direction of the inside and paralell to the bottom surface.
Simple isn't it?
Well, not really for Solidworks it seems, because it can't seem to make this properly in sheet metal without leaving tiny junk in corners.
I tried it different ways, by using the convert to sheet metal functions, and also simply using the rip and insert bends functions, but the results are similar, the rips aren't totally complete in the corners, leaving tiny strips of material that keeps the multibody pieces linked up as one, which prevents flattening and causes other issues.
Linked to this, I have been unable to make the flanges on the top 4 edges.
I tried the edge flanges and it refuses to make them with an error that is too cryptic with no other info to allow me to fix whatever prevents success.
Then I tried the miter flange function and this wouldn't work either.
So I'm really thinking this is a buggy sw 2011 that doesn't do the job properly.
At first I couldn't find any explanation for why it's not doing anything right, and it's only after I zoomed way in there, looking at the small corners, that I saw the left over material.
The sheet metal functions don't work right with such a simple part, and I suspect this is just due to the angles, not being 90 or 45 degrees, which confuses the math routines.
Something for the solidworks programming guys to fix.
Is there a way to work around this?
3 Answers
Is the attached file along the lines of what you're trying to do?
-Rohit<a href="http://solidwize.com" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;">
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I couldn't open that file.
sw said it was a future version, and after trying twice to open it, it crashed.
I made a quick solid of the part I need to make in sheet metal and I'm sending this along with this message.
I sized it to create the sheet metal on the outside of that volume.
That sheet metal tank is to be made of aluminum and it will of course be welded.
I don't have access to a newer sw version, so if you want to send a drawing, make sure it can be opened with the 2011 version.
that tank would be made of 3 parts, with the bottom square piece plus two halves for the rest of it.
the top end would be open but needs edge flanges on all 4 edges, turned to the inside, 20mm long, with the 45 degree joins at the corners. actually, since those would also be welded, they would have to join up leaving the V shape for the weld.
when I tried making the multi body part from that initial volume in 2 steps, starting fist with the 2 side halves and then later, with a derived sketch for the bottom, I made the bottom square part separately. This kind of worked, and avoided the miscalculations at the bottom corners, but however the top edges can't get their flanges. it won't make them at all.
you may have to adjust for the bend outside condition, but is this what you're trying to do?
