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I hope you found this SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal tutorial helpful. I also created a Named View, so all my views were the same orientation and size and showed my model as I wanted to see it.įor the First Operation (Figure 1), I showed the Flat Pattern with my Named View in configuration 1 using the Flatten Icon in the Sheet Metal tab in the Command Manager.įor the Second Operation (Figure 2), I used the exact named view in configuration 2 and suppressed Flatten-2.įor the Third Operation (Figure 3), I used the exact named view in configuration 3 and suppressed Flatten-2.įor the Fourth Operation (Figure 4), I used the exact named view in configuration 4 and suppressed Flatten-2.įor the Fifth Operation (Figure 5), I used the exact named view in configuration 5 and suppressed Flatten-2.įigure 6 shows a possible drawing sheet with Flat Pattern and the 5 configurations of the Progressive process. My simple example has only four Sketched Bends, done in a single sketch. Having the PropertyManager area on the left split so that both the Configuration Tab and FeatureManager Design Tree tab display is handy.įor each of these operations, you will need to expand Flat-Pattern and then Flat-pattern1, to be able to see the Flatten- through however many bends are listed to manipulate the various bend operations as necessary. Make your configuration names meaningful so they are easy for someone else later. In my example, I made five configurations and just used numbers for the names. Set upĮstimate how many operations you will need, and make a new Configuration for each separate operation. We need to make configurations for each operation and use the individual SketchBend(s) listed under the Sketched Bend feature to make this work.
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The part I am using in this tutorial was first made by making the flat pattern and then using a single sketch to make one Sketched Bend feature. This is addressed to some degree in our SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Training course.
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Documenting those operations has been an issue over the years, as most folks don’t know where to go to make it work. Many companies that use SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal also do Progressive Bend Operations.
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