Design a Sheet Metal Part from a Solid

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When you create a sheet metal part, you generally design the part in the folded state. This allows you to capture the design intent and the dimensions of the finished part.

To create a sheet metal part of uniform thickness:

  1. Open a new part, and sketch a rectangle.

 

  1. Create a Base-Flange by clicking Base-Flange/Tab or Insert, Sheet Metal, Base Flange. The sheet metal features appear in the FeatureManager design tree.

  1. Now that the base for your part is created, add walls that bend from the base with a miter flange.

  1. If you want to make a cut across a bend, click Unfold or Insert, Sheet Metal, Unfold. This flattens the individual bends.

  1. Sketch a closed profile across the flattened bend, and Extrude the cut Through All.

  1. To restore the part to the bent state, click Fold or Insert, Sheet Metal, Fold.

When you create a part initially out of sheet metal you use two features: Base-Flange and Miter Flange. However, if you build a solid, then convert it to sheet metal, you need more features: Base Extrude, Shell, Rip, and Insert Bends. It is much faster to create a part as sheet metal instead of creating a part, then converting it to sheet metal.

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