Advanced Sheet Metal Design Using NX Cad Challenge_6_Bracket

Bracket Design using NX CAD Sheet Metal Application:

Objectives:

• To explain the Sheet Metal features and tools used to create Bracket in NX CAD
• To create a Bracket using Sheet Metal Application in NX CAD
• To create a Drawing of the Bracket in NX CAD

Introduction:

Sheet Metal: is a term used to refer to any metal with variable thickness, which can be bent and formed into complex shapes. Although having low weight to volume ratio, sheet metals have more strength and durability than plastics and other materials. They provide great applications in industries such as automotive, aerospace, defence, construction, consumer products, among others.

NX CAD: formerly known as NX Unigraphics, is a CAD/CAM/CAE software owned by Siemens Industries Software Inc., since 2007. It is a highly versatile software, especially for product development, wherein it finds its uses right from designing the product, to simulation studies, and even provides manufacturing solutions. Here, the Student Version of NX CAD is utilized for undertaking Sheet Metal Design.

The following Sheet Metal Features and Tools from NX CAD are used while designing the Bracket:

• Contour Flange - is used to create a base feature by extruding a sketch along a vector, or by sweeping a sketch along an edge of a chain of edge.
• Normal Cutout - is used to remove material by projecting a sketch onto a solid and then cutting perpendicular to the faces intersected by that projection.
• Break Corner - is used to round or chamfer sharp corners of a tab or flange.
• Unbend - is used to flatten a bend and the material adjacent to the bend.
• Bead - is used to lift an area of a model inside a sketch that simulates a stamping tool.
• Rebend - is used to restore an unbend feature to its previous bent state, along with any features added after the unbend feature.
• Hole - is used to add a hole to a body with options for counterbore, countersunk, threaded, among others.
• Flat Pattern - is used to create a flat pattern from the formed sheet of the metal part.

Design Methodology:

The usual approach for a Sheet Metal Design is as follows:

Description:

1. Create a sketch on the XZ plane.
   
2. Use Contour Flange command on the Sketch to create a base feature.
   
3. Create a new Sketch on the XZ plane.
   
4. Use Normal Cutout command to remove material
   
5. Use Break Corner command on the four edges
   
6. Use Break Corner command on the inner edge
   
7. Use Break Corner command on the outer edge
   
8. Use Unbend command on the flat face of the part
   
9. Create bead on the unbent part using Bead command
   
10. Use Rebend command on all the unbent faces to get the final design
    
11. Create holes using the Hold command, specifying the locations for the holes
    
12. Hide the Sketches and use Flat Pattern command on the flat face of the part and import it into the drawing.
    

Images of the Bracket:

• Front View
  
• Top View
  
• Side View
  
• Isometric View
  

Drawing of the Bracket:

Conclusion:

• Hence, the Sheet Metal features and tools in NX CAD are explained.
• A Bracket is designed using Sheet Metal Application in NX CAD.
• A Drawing of the Bracket is created in NX CAD.