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TUTORIAL: Solid - Sheetmetal Conversion in Pro/E TUTORIAL: Solid to Sheetmetal Model Conversion. Version: 2001, Wildfire, Wildfire 2.

0, Wildfire 3.0 For some reason, it is more appropriate to start a solid part first and convert it to the sheetmetal part later. This method normally being used due to the design intent or time consumed. Pro/ENGINEER offers some powerful tools to make most of the conversion happen successfully. Below is the steps to create the sheetmetal conversion. A simple sheetmetal box is being used as the sample part to show a fast and direct result. Download the example here . 1. Open the cube_start.prt file.

2. Click Applications > Sheetmetal. Menu manager will be prompted at the top right of your display.

3. Choose Shell to remove the inside material of the part. The system will then prompt you to select the face / surface which you want to remove. You can select the surfaces to be removed or you can ignore the Add command by clicking the Done Refs button. Doing this will create a hollow part as the result.

4. Next, you need to define the thickness for the sheetmetal part. Key in a value and ENTER.

5. Switch the display to the wireframe mode.

The wireframe now turned into 2 colors, green and white. The colors basically indicate 2 different side of Sheetmetal.

6. You will also get a set of Sheetmetal icons on the UI.

7. If you wish to set the default value of bend radius, clickthe link below to get more tips; otherwise you can skip this step. TIPS: Set the default bend radius for Sheetmetal part 8. Click the create conversion icon . SMT CONVERSION windows will be prompted. Choose Edge Rip and Define. Read the command at the message area.

9. Pick the edges which you want to create edge rip. For this example, 7 edges are selected. See the figure below for reference. Selected edges are in blue color.

10. Pick the OK button in the SMT CONVERSION window. The edge rips are created. Besides, Sheetmetal bend is also created automatically.

11. You can now use the create flat pattern tool

to develop the unbend

part.

Welcome to Pro/SHEETMETAL
Pro/SHEETMETAL is an optional module of Pro/Engineer. It enables you to design basic and complex parts in sheet metal.You can: Design sheet metal parts defining the volume and support structures for the components of an assembly. Add sheet metal-specific features like walls, bends, cuts, punches, notches, hems, and forms in either the formed orflat condition.

Create Bend Order tables that specify the order, bend radius and bend angle used for manufacturing. Calculate the developed length of material needed. Pro/SHEETMETAL accounts for bends of different radii and materialthickness. Flatten out the part to visualize design and manufacturing needs. Make Drawings of the sheet metal part, incorporating Dimensions, Bend Order tables, Flat Patterns and fully designedparts.Pro/SHEETMETAL, like Pro/Engineer, allows flexibility in design. Changes are made and updated parametrically throughoutthe entire design process. About Sheet Metal Parts Sheet metal parts are created in one of three fashions: Sheet Metal Mode Create the part individually. Assembly Mode Create with a top-down approach. Conversion Convert from a solid part.Sheet metal parts are solid models that can be represented in either the sheet metal form or a flat model.The parts have a constant thickness and can be modified with features. A sampling of features includes walls, cuts, rips,bends, and corner relief. You can also get information about the part, calculate its mass and analyze the engineering.To aid viewing, sheet metal parts have green and white surfaces. Side (depth) surfaces only form after successfulregeneration. The green side is called the driving side, and the white side indicates thickness.Because of the general thinness of a sheet metal part, it is recommended to select flat surfaces as references when placinga feature. If a flat surface is not applicable, edges are more convenient than side surfaces. About Sheet Metal Features Pro/SHEETMETAL offers specialized sheet metal environment features. You can create: Datum and cosmetic features Walls, cuts, rips, notches, punches, bends, unbend, bend backs, forms, and corner relief. Selected solid-class features applicable to sheet metal (chamfer, hole, round) are also available.A sheet metal wall must be the first feature in your design. After you create the wall you can add any other features to yourdesign. You do not have to create them in manufacturing order, rather, you should create them with your design intent inmind.When creating features it is recommended to select flat surfaces as references when placing a feature. If a flat surface isnot applicable, edges are more convenient than side surfaces. Note : You can utilize solid features, including patterns, copy/mirror, chamfers, holes, rounds, and solid cuts when creatingyour sheet metal designs. Suppressing and Resuming Sheet Metal Features You can suppress sheet metal features to temporarily remove them from your design. You can "unsuppress" (resume)suppressed them at any time.You can suppress features on a your sheet metal part to simplify the part model and decrease regeneration time. Forexample, while you work on one end of a shaft, it may be desirable to suppress features on the other end of the shaft.Similarly, while working on a

complex sheet metal assembly, you can suppress some of the features and components forwhich the detail is not essential to the current assembly process.

o Create a New Sheet Metal Part

1.
Click. The New dialog box opens.

2.
Under Type click Part

3.
Under Sub-type click Sheetmetal .

4.
In the Name box, type a name for your new sheet metal part.

If you want to use the default template, click OK . Pro/ENGINEER opens a new sheet metal part.

If you want to use a custom template:Clear Use default template and click OK . The

New File Options dialog box opens.Browse to the desired template. Click OK . The template file is assigned and Pro/ENGINEER opens a new sheet metal part. Note

: If an object type is not supported by a template the Use default template option is not available. For template-supported file types, if you always want to see the New File Options dialog box, set the

force_new_file_options_dialo g

configuration option to
Yes

. Remember, this configuration setting may be overridden by your system administrator in the
config.sup

file. About Sketching in Sheet Metal

Sketching in Pro/SHEETMETAL is done exactly the same as you would in any other Pro/ENGINEER module. However, keepthe following tips in mind when sketching your sheet metal parts and features:

The thicken command

The Thicken command adds material thickness to your sheet metal wall while you are still inSketcher mode. This enables you to create and fully dimension the wall when you sketch it.Then you do not need to add material to your wall later in the design process. If you change the sketch

you have todelete the thicken. Thicken is not used for Flat walls. Be sure to double check your dimensions to make sure they arelocated in the appropriate locations after the thicken.We recommend using the Thicken command, in sketcher, to dimension your extruded sheet metal

surfaces. It enablesyou to dimension the inside radii on opposite sides of a section and to properly dimension for sizing and clearance. TheThicken command prevents having to add material thickness to your dimension values.1 Sketch line2 Thicken line, which enables you tofully

dimension the wall whilesketching


To Thicken the Sheet Metal Wall:

1.
Select the type of sheet metal wall to create. Note : The Thicken command is not used with flat walls.2.Once you are in sket ch mode,

crea te the ske tch of th e wa ll sec tion.

3.
Click Sketch > Feature Tools > Thicken . Offset edges automatically add to your sheet metal wallsketch. At this point, consider converting the system dimensions to strong

dimensions to insure that your dimensioningscheme is correct.

4.
When the sketch is complete, click on the sketcher toolbar. Sheet Metal Feature Order and References The proper feature creation order and sketch

references help when modifying the part and presenting it in a drawing. Thefollowing illustrations compare the results from different order and reference choices.

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