Advanced Sheet Metal Design Using NX Cad Challenge_7_ Metal bracket-II

METAL BRACKET 2

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this challenge is to design the Metal Bracket 2 by taking the reference of given 2D drawing and only use the Sheet Metal Feature to design it.

INTRODUCTION

• Sheet Metal Fabrication is the process of forming parts from a metal sheet by punching, cutting, stamping, and bending. 3D CAD files are converted into machine code, which controls a machine to precisely cut and form the sheets into the final part. Sheet metal parts are known for their durability, which makes them great for end use applications (e.g. chassis). Parts used for low volume prototypes, and high volume production runs are most cost-effective due to large initial setup and material costs. Because parts are formed from a single sheet of metal, designs must maintain a uniform thickness. Be sure to follow the design requirements and tolerances to ensure parts fall closer to design intent and cutting sheets of metal.

• Bending is a process whereby a force is applied to sheet metal which causes it to bend at an angle and form the desired shape. Bends can be short or long depending on what the design requires. Bending is performed by a press brake machine that can be automatically or manually loaded. Press brakes are available in a variety of different sizes and lengths (20-200 tons) depending on the process requirements.

CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF BENDING A SHEET

The following are some terminology that are used in sheet metal. Designers need to adhere to machinery guidelines when designing for bending. Bends can be characterised by these parameters. Some critical dimensions that need to be considered when setting up sheet metal in CAD software are sheet metal thickness, the k-factor and bend radius. One needs to check that these factors are consistent with the tooling that will be used in manufacturing. This guide gives important guidelines for good design practice.