Design for sheet metal manufacture

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Designed for sheet metal manufacture.

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After completing this video,

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you'll be able to

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identify the various tools and terms used in sheet metal manufacture,

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use fusion to create production ready files,

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and understand the principles of bent and formed metal manufacture.

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To get started in fusion,

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we'll be looking at the file,

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sheet metal sample.F3D.

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This is going to be a quadcopter arm,

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similar to the ones we looked at for

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both drafted applications as well as 3D printing.

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When we take a look at sheet metal manufacture,

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there are a handful of things that we need to understand.

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There's some common language,

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some understanding about material properties,

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as well as the way in which parts are actually manufactured and formed.

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So,

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first,

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when we think about sheet metal,

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we have to understand that the sheet metal is going to be cut in a flat state.

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This comes from what's called a flat pattern.

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When we have a flat pattern in sheet metal,

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this is going to be the unfolded or unbent state of our part.

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You'll see there's information where the bend lines

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are and the extent of those bend lines.

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This is the start and the end of the bend.

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Once we move this to a detailed drawing,

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we'll also get information about the bend direction,

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the bend angle,

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and additional information about the bends in general.

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When we look at a part in a flattened state,

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this is how we're going to send it out for manufacture,

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generally as a DXF form.

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There are many sheet metal manufacturers now that will

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accept your file in its folded or bent state

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as a step file,

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and they'll calculate the unbending from there.

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But in general,

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we can send parts out in the flattened state as a DXF file.

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This DXF or drawing exchange format will be a

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including the bend lines if we choose to export those.

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When we think about a part in its folded state,

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we need to think about the manufacturing method that we're going to be using.

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In general,

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there are two types of manufacturing methods

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when we're talking about sheet metal parts.

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There's bending and there's forming.

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Now when we think about bending,

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there are many different types of machines that do the bending for us,

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but we can think about it as bending or

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folding our sheet metal part along a single axis.

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When we think about forming,

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we think about using a manufactured die set.

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That will be used to stamp or press the sheet metal into a complex shape.

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We think about automotive bodies,

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fenders,

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hoods,

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and the rest of a sheet metal that's used to create a car.

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Those parts are going to be formed.

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They're using manufactured or machined dyes

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that are pressed with a large amount of force,

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and they're conforming the sheet metal into those shapes.

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When we think about fusion and sheet metal manufacture,

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we're specifically focusing on bending,

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although we do have the ability to create lofted

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sheet metal parts using the lofted flange manufacturing method.

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This is a manufacturing method that

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can't traditionally be unfolded in the same way as a bent part.

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So as you prepare for the certification,

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it's important to do a little bit of research

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and understand the basics around sheet metal manufacture,

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understand things like the flattened state or flat pattern,

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understand bending,

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as well as a basic understanding around forming.

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When we take a look at some of the nuances of sheet metal manufacture,

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we need a basic understanding of materials as well.

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When we're talking about sheet metal,

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we've got sheet metal rules,

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and the rules are going to determine

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some of the parameters or factors that go into finally manufacturing our part.

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For example,

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in the basic manufacturing rule here for sheet metal,

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we have steel and inch.

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When we look at the values here,

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it's going to control the thickness of our part,

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a K factor,

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and then some of the conditions around the rips or seams that happen at bends.

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These are going to be the small areas that happen near the corner of Bentz.

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When we look at this,

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the values for thickness and K factor can be easily modified by editing the rule.

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We also have a library of different materials where we can create our own,

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or we can pick a different material that's used.

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You'll notice in some cases that the value for K factor will be the same.

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K factor changes based on the material,

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but also on the thickness of the part.

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As we look at stainless steel and we look at

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aluminum as well as we look at other values,

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for example,

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a thinner steel,

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you can see that the K factor is now 0.4,

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as opposed to 0.44.

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As we go to thicker,

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you may see that K factor value rise to something like 0.47.

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The K factor is the location of our neutral axis.

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When we bend sheet metal parts,

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let's go ahead and just take a look at this from one side.

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As we bend sheet metal parts,

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the inside is going to be compressed or shrunk,

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and the outside is going to be stretched.

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This all happens based on their location of the neutral axis.

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When a part is unbent and completely flat,

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that neutral axis sits directly in the middle at 0.5.

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That K factor value of 0.4 or 0.44 or 0.47

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is going to determine the amount of material that gets

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compressed or shrunk on the inside of that then,

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and the amount of material on the outside that gets stretched.

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And this is important because this value is used in calculations that

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control the overall length of your flattened state of your part.

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When we design these parts in fusion,

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we're designing them in their as built or their formed or bent state.

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But in order to calculate how big they need to be when they're cut,

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we need to know these values such as the K factor.

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So if this value is off,

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the flattened state of your part is not going to be the correct size.

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So while it's not important right now that you understand

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how to calculate a K factor

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or how to get that value from doing sample bends,

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it is important that you understand what the K factor means.

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It's the location of the neutral axis of that bend.

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So if you're given a value of the thickness of the part

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and you're given a value for where that neutral axis is located,

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you should be able to divide those numbers and get to the K factor value

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by dividing the location of the neutral axis and the thickness of your part.

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And you also need to understand

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that we've got flat patterns,

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and the flat patterns are going to be the flattened state of our

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sheet metal part and typically what's used to send out for manufacture.

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The flat pattern overall size and length is

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calculated based on those K factor values,

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as well as the radius value that we provide when creating the sheet metal part.

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So as you prepare for the certification,

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make sure that you do a little bit

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of exploration into sheet metal design and manufacture,

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understanding the basics of K factor,

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how different materials and thicknesses affect that value,

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as well as just some basic understanding around things

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like flat patterns and the export to DXF.

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Once you've done that,

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go ahead and move on to the next step.