Advanced Sheet Metal Design Using NX Cad Challenge_5_Odd Shaped Enclosure

Tittle of the project : - ODD SHAPE ENCLOSURE SHEET METAL COMPONENT DESIGN USING NX-CAD.

Objective : - Learn to design a sheet metal component odd shaped enclosure in industrial manner using software called NX_CAD.

INTRODUCTION :-

Sheet metal parts are widely used in machinery, enclosure, brackets, and automobile due to its various advantages. The parts are normally manufactured with break press. Sheet metal is nothing but the thin sheets made from metal of size ranging from 0.5 to 6mm. In this project I used NX CAD tool for designing the sheet metal bracket. NX CAD is used as design tool in more than 85% of the sheet metal industries.

DESIGN METHODOLOGY :

Simple and easy design methodology is followed during this project; only thing is that we have to just keep an eye on order of unbending and re-bending the casing. The design methodology used for this project is summarized in below flowchart.

sketch=> extrude => convert to sheet metal =>flange => jog=> unbend => bead => hole => rebend =>flat pattern => drafting.

DESCRIPTION:

• Sketch:

For creating any sheet metal surface, we have to first make a sketch. So, I started with creating simple base sketch for creating the extrude. Other than extrude, various sketches are also made on different planes or faces for creating other different part during designing.

• Extrude:

This is main feature for converting 2d sketch into 3d model. While extrusion material is added to sketch.

• Convert to sheet metal:
  This feature is used to creates a sheet metal model from generic solid body by ripping edges, cleaning up geometry and converting to a sheet metal body. First, I had selected 5 faces out of 6 in select web face section and then selected 4 edges in select bend edge and created the sheet metal body.
• Flange:

Flange is used to add extra material to the existing edge at any angle and of any size. For this project of odd shaped enclosure design, I added full flange having parameters of 20 mm length with material inside the reference edge

• Jog:

Jog feature is used to modifies the model by lifting material on one side of the line, adding a flange between two sides. First, I had created a line sketch for jog line and then I created jog having height of 20mm.

• Unbend:

Unbend feature is one of the most powerful feature in NX. In industry we have to mark all the marking and sketch on flat sheet metal before it went to actual operations, so this unbend feature allow us to do that activity in Siemens NX software. For this project of odd shaped enclosure design, I used this feature by selecting upper face as stationary face.

• Bead:

Bead is similar feature like dimple the only difference is that by using dimple we lift an area while in bead we lift the contour of the sketch. It also added to strengthen the component. For this project, two beads are applied in the position as shown in the image below.

• Hole:

Hole feature is used to generate hole with definite parameter on sheet metal in Siemens NX. We can create different types of holes using this feature, in this project I mainly used simple screw clearance hole. I first sketched 6 location points with and then hole feature is applied to all 6 points.

• Re-bend:

Re-bend feature is used to restore the unbend feature to its previous bent state along with any features added after the unbend feature. This is done by using rebend feature and selecting all the bends carefully in order they unbended.

• Flat Pattern:

Flat pattern feature allows us to covert 3D sheet metal component into 2D form in Siemens NX software. By using this flat pattern feature we can easily avoid error like interference or collision.

• Drafting:

After designing 3-d model for further process of manufacturing we have to convert the entire sheet metal component into 2D form for easy interpretation. For this project of odd shaped enclosure design a drawing is created out of the flat pattern in 1:5 scale in A4 size

IMAGES OF THE COMPONENT : -

FRONT VIEW : -

TOP VIEW : -

SIDE VIEW : -

ISOMETRIC VIEW : -

CONCLUSION:

• Successfully learn to design a odd shaped enclosure in industrial manner by using Siemens NX.
• Become comfortable with using environment of Siemens NX.