UG_BKM

NX5 Sheet Metal

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NX Sheet Metal

NX5 Sheet Metal

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Working in NX Sheet Metal

The NX Sheet Metal application provides a focused environment for the design of straight-brake sheet metal parts. Built on the industry-leading Solid Edge solution, NX Sheet Metal is intended for the designers of: machinery, enclosures, brake-press manufactured parts, and other parts with linear bend lines. It includes sheet metal-specific features such as flanges, tabs, jogs, corner conditions, and drawn cutouts, along with productivity enhancements such as automatic bend reliefs. The software also provides common modeling features typically used in sheet metal design, such as holes and slots, as well as other essential capabilities such as copy, paste, and mirror.

The application provides defaults for sheet-metal-specific properties such as material thickness, bend radius, and bend relief. You can easily change these defaults.

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Starting the application and setting preferences

Choose File→New, and on the Model page, select the NX Sheet Metal template.

The file opens in NX Sheet Metal.

In the application, you should see the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

If you do not see it:

1. Choose Tools→Customize.

2. On the Toolbars page, select the NX Sheet Metal box, then click Close.

Additional Modeling commands for creating sheet metal parts are available. If you do not see the following toolbars on your screen, follow step 1 above, and select the Form Feature and Feature Operation boxes.

NX Sheet Metal provides default values for typical sheet metal settings such as material thickness, bend allowance, bend radius, and neutral factor. You do not have to set them for each feature that you create. If you change them, they remain valid for all features in that part file. (You can override them in individual commands.)

To see what these settings are, choose Preferences→NX Sheet Metal. This brings up the NX Sheet Metal Preferences dialog, which includes those settings already mentioned, along with other bend options, and flat pattern settings.

For instructions on how to change these default values permanently, see Getting Started→Customizing NX→Customer Defaults.

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Changing the defaults

You can change the sheet metal defaults for both global and command-specific parameters.

General: global parameters

Value Entry lets you choose from three methods for defining bends in your parts: a neutral factor, a bend table, or a bend formula (see details below).

o Neutral Factor Value (the default) refers to the neutral axis—the point in a bend where the tension of the outside of the bend and the compression of the inside become neutral. This neutral axis is used when figuring the bend allowance for flat patterns. It depends on the mechanical properties of the material being bent, and is represented by a percentage of the stock thickness, measured from the inside bend radius. The default value for this option is 0.33. You can supply a value between 0 and 1.

o Bend Table points to a table that specifies a neutral factor based on values from the bend region for angle, radius, and material thickness. You create this table in a specified format and place it in a default location.

o Bend Allowance Formula lets you supply values for the standard variables. The default formula is (Radius+(Thickness*0.44))*rad(Angle).

Material Selection provides access to a material table (also provided by you) that uses the material you select to provide the parameters for your bends. If you choose this option, the choices for Value Entry are not available.

Material Thickness: The default thickness for sheet metal parts.

Bend Radius: The default radius for all bends (based on the minimum limit below which cracking or splitting occurs). You may want to change this value, depending on the type of material you are working with.

Relief Depth and Width: Bending with a tight radius or with hard materials often results in burrs and fractures on the outside of the bends. Relief notches at the edges on the bend line address this problem. The depth and width options let you apply bend relief to the source face from which the flange is constructed, by specifying how far in from the edge of the face (D) and how wide (W) the reliefs extend.

If you do not want bend relief, select None.

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Flat Pattern Treatments Treatments for inside and outside corners: Chamfered or rounded corner treatments can be used to break the sharp corners.

Corner treatment options: Inside and outside corners can be chamfered or arced. In the latter case, you can supply a radius.

Flat pattern simplify: Flat patterns created from a cylindrical face or a cutout placed across bend lines create a B-spline curve. This option converts B-spline curves to simple lines and arcs. You can specify the minimum arc and deviational tolerance for the simplified curve.

Remove system-generated bend reliefs: When you create a closed corner with no relief or when you have a bend section that is inset into the base planar region without a relief, the software creates a very small bend relief or rip in the 3-D model to separate the sides of the bend section from the inset area. This option specifies that you want to remove those small bend reliefs or rips when the flat pattern is created. The following graphics highlight these reliefs.

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Maintain holes for deformed flanges: Flattening contour flanges on curved edges stretches the flanges. Holes created across bend regions in these areas are by default deformed splines. If you want the holes to be circular, select this option.

Flat Pattern Display You can specify which entities you want displayed on your flat pattern, on which layer, and how you want those entities represented: color, line type, and line width. For example, in the following flat pattern, bend centerlines are shown in blue dashed lines, bend tangent lines in phantom red, interior features in orange-yellow, and the exterior in black.

Default callouts for sheet metal features can be displayed on your flat pattern, and you can customize those labels as well.

You can establish defaults for command-specific parameters, such as Dimple, Taper Angle, or Bead Profile Type.

To access the forms for changing these defaults, choose File→Utilities→Customer Defaults. From the applications list, choose NX Sheet Metal.

For more detailed instructions on changing customer defaults, see Getting Started→Customizing NX→Customer Defaults.

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Typical sheet metal workflow

In a typical NX Sheet Metal workflow, you:

1. Set the default values for sheet metal properties. (See Changing the Defaults for more information.)

2. Sketch the shape of the base feature, or use an existing sketch/section.

3. Construct the base feature, which is normally a tab, but which can also be a contour flange or a lofted flange.

4. Add features, such as flanges, jogs, and bends to further define the basic shape of the formed sheet metal part.

5. Apply unbends to flatten the bend areas where needed, and place holes, cutouts, embosses, or louver-type features on the part.

6. Rebend flattened bend areas to complete the part.

7. Create a flat pattern of the part for drafting and later manufacturing.

Constructing a base feature The typical workflow for construction of a sheet metal part begins with a base feature that typically defines the part's shape. In NX Sheet Metal, you normally start with a tab, but you can also use a contour flange or a lofted flange. The Tab command allows you to construct a flat feature of any shape using a closed profile.

Adding features After you have constructed the base feature, you can use the commands on the NX Sheet Metal and Form Features toolbars to complete the part by adding flanges, jogs, bends, cutouts, holes, pockets, and so on.

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Creating a flat pattern

You use Flat Solid to create a new solid body in the part file while keeping the original (parent).

The flattened body (and flat pattern) are always at the end of at the timestamp order. Every time a new feature is added onto the parent body, the flattened body is placed at the end. It updates to reflect changes in the parent.

Model History

Fixed Datum Plane (0)

Fixed Datum Axis (1)


SB Tab (3) Extrude (4)

SB Bend (5)

SB Bend (6)

SB Bend (7)

SB Bend (8) Extrude (9)

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SB Flat Solid (10)

Flat Pattern (11)

You then use Flat Pattern to create a sheet metal flat pattern for export to a machine tool for manufacturing. This step supplements Flat Solid by including extra entities such as bend centerlines, tangent lines, and other attributes that provide special machine instructions. You use Customer Defaults to specify which entities you want represented, and how you want them annotated.

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Creating sheet metal parts and features

The NX Sheet Metal toolbar has a button for each sheet metal feature. Picking the button for the feature brings up a dialog box that contains all the options and functions necessary to create it, just as in any other NX application.

Feature groupings Certain features within NX Sheet Metal have been grouped together under a drop-down list. For example, the bending features have been grouped together, as have the punching features. If you do not see a feature that you were expecting to see on the toolbar, check the drop down groups by clicking the little black triangle next to a feature button. Clicking this button exposes the rest of the features grouped with the feature shown on the toolbar.

Internal sketches Most NX Sheet Metal features include an underlying sketch that defines the feature geometry. This works as it does in Modeling, with the Extrude feature, for example. As a result, the majority of features ask you either to select a section (curve) or to sketch one.

For more information on these sketch options, see Using Sketches in NX Sheet Metal.

Dynamic interaction model Other interface characteristics should be very familiar to NX users: items such as dialogs, drag handles, and value entry boxes behave in NX Sheet Metal just as they do in the rest of the software, conforming to the dynamic interaction workflows available in NX.

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Instancing with sheet metal features

Instancing with NX Sheet Metal features takes one more step than instancing of general Modeling features. To use multiple features for an instance set, first place the features in a feature group in the Feature Set dialog box. Choose Format→Group Features to start the Feature Set dialog box. Once you place the feature in a group, you can apply a rectangular or circular instance to the feature group. Neither mirroring, nor Modeling features requires this step. For an illustration of how to use these capabilities, see Using instancing with punch-type features.

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Using sketches in NX Sheet Metal

Many features in NX Sheet Metal use sketches as part of their construction geometry. In most cases, you can either use a pre-existing sketch or create one within the feature itself. It is important to understand the differences between these two methods, and how to use and access sketches within NX Sheet Metal features.

Sketch buttons in the dialog boxes In the dialog for each sketch-based feature, you see two icons that can be used for sketches. The

Sketch Section button lets you create a new sketch as part of the feature. The Curve

button lets you select a previously-created sketch from the graphics window to use as the feature contour.

Internal and external sketches Choosing between an internal and external sketch for a feature depends on whether you plan to reuse the sketch for other features. A sketch created from within a feature becomes part of it and is not available for use by other features. The feature that contains the sketch is the only one shown in the feature tree, and you must edit that feature to have access to the sketch. In the following figure, the Tab feature is based on an internal sketch, which is therefore not visible in the feature tree.

Model History

Datum Coordinate System (0)

SB Tab (1)

If you need to use the same sketch to construct multiple features, create the sketch using the Sketcher alone, and then select the pre-existing sketch when you create your feature. This keeps the original sketch in the feature tree, and it can be referenced by other features, as shown in the following figure.

Model History


Sketch (1) “SKETCH_000”

SB Tab (2)

You can also convert an internal sketch to an internal one. In the Part Navigator, pick the feature that contains the sketch, press the right mouse button and select Make Sketch External from the menu.

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Bend parameters for sheet metal features

Many NX Sheet Metal features have standard bend parameter options:

Radius: the inside radius of the bend.

Angle is the bend angle for the feature. The value must be greater than zero and less than 180 degrees.

Bend Relief specifies whether to apply bend relief to the source face from which the feature is constructed. You can choose square or round reliefs that define the shape of the relief's interior corners. You can also specify no relief.

Extend Relief determines whether to extend the bend relief to the edge of the part.

Bend Relief Depth and Width specify width and depth of the reliefs.

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Neutral Factor is based on a calculation of the neutral axis (the point in a bend where the tension of the outside of the bend and the compression of the inside become neutral). This value is always a percentage of the material thickness as measured from the inside radius of a bend region. It can range from 0 to 1, and the default is 0.33.

Corner Relief specifies that you want to apply corner relief to features that are adjacent to the feature you're constructing.

You can chose no relief, as illustrated in the following figure.

If you do set this option, you specify how you want the corner relief applied. Bend Only applies relief only to the bend portion of the adjacent features.

Bend / Face applies relief to both the bend and face portions of the adjacent features.

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Bend / Face Chain applies relief to the entire chain of bends and faces of the adjacent features.

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Controlling bend deformation

NX Sheet Metal lets you define deformation in bend regions using the following methods.

Select a material from the material file.

Define a bend allowance formula.

Use a table of bend parameters.

Enter the neutral factor.

You can also override any of these methods by using Resize Neutral Factor on a specific bend region.

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Using a material table

One way to define the deformation in the bend regions of your part is to define a set of materials that include the bend parameter information.

To define the characteristics of the materials you can use, you must edit the sheet_metal_material_table.txt file. This file is usually in the %UGII_BASE_DIR%\ugii\materials directory. You can change the location of this file to another local directory or to a location in Teamcenter by changing the customer defaults for Sheet Metal→General on the Material Standards tab.

The materials file is a simple text file in the format of a standard comma-delimited spreadsheet. The material table is segmented from the rest of the file by a set of specific keywords: MATERIAL_TABLE and END_OF_MATERIAL_TABLE. Between these keywords is the data comprising the table.

The characteristics of the table are as follows:

The first row of the table contains the column headings.

Each column must have a unique name that is one word long. (The underscore character can be used to combine words.)

The keywords BEND_RADIUS, THICKNESS, and NEUTRAL_FACTOR are valid NX Sheet Metal feature parameters

The second row of the table is a flag indicating whether the information in that column is shown or hidden. (If a column is tagged as hidden, the data in that column does not appear in the NX Sheet Metal Material Standards dialog box and cannot be used in selecting the material.) Also, in the second row of the table, one column has a “unique” tag, which tells NX that the data in that column must be unique and will be used to tell one material from another even if the material parameters are the same. The column with the material names is usually labeled unique, although a different column could be unique (for example, a column of material ID numbers) as long as each string in the column is unique.

In the material table, the first column is a set of unique names that describe each material in the table. Each column after that contains information about the material, such as finish, thickness, default bend radius, and neutral factor.

Sometimes several versions of the same material may be required. In such cases, the information in the table can be exactly the same, except for the value in question and different identifiers in the unique column. For example, if you have a specific type of aluminum that you use (Aluminum 0421) but in several different thicknesses, your table might look something like this:

MATERIAL_TABLE

Material_name THICKNESS BEND_RADIUS NEUTRAL_FACTOR

unique show show show

Aluminum0421_T020 0.20 3.0 0.33

Aluminum0421_T030 0.30 3.0 0.33

Aluminum0421_T040 0.40 3.0 0.33

Aluminum0421_T050 0.50 3.0 0.33

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Aluminum0421_T060 0.60 3.0 0.33

END_OF_MATERIAL_TABLE

Each row of data is given a unique identifier and the value in question changes, but everything else in the table can be static.

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Select a material

To select a material:

1. Choose Preferences→NX Sheet Metal→Part Properties.

2. Under Parameter Entry, select Material Selection.

3. Click on Select Material to open the NX Sheet Metal Material Standards dialog box.

4. Use any of the displayed material parameters to filter the list of available materials. As you select options in the filters above, the materials available below are filtered. For example, if you select 3.6 for your thickness, you will only see materials with a thickness of 3.6 in the Available Materials window. You can always select any material in the Available Materials window by double-clicking it. The material then appears in the Selected Material window.

5. Click OK to select that material and its associated part parameters.

If your selections filter the Available Materials list until only one material is available, NX automatically selects that material. Confirm this by clicking OK. To change one of your selections, choose the filter option that is all dashes to clear out that filter selection and start again.

After you click OK, you are returned to the preferences dialog box, and your material is shown next to Select Material.

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Using Bend Tables

You can also control the deformation of bend regions with a bend table. Bend table data is stored in the same file as the materials data. The bend table data is a 3-dimensional table set and is segmented from the rest of the data in the file by TABLE and END_OF_TABLE tags. More than one type of table is allowed in this file, so to create a bend table, the TABLE tag must be followed on the next line by the NAME,BEND_TABLE key set. This tells NX that the set of tables in this block comprise a bend table as opposed to another type of table.

The 3D table set consists of any number of pages, each containing one standard 2D table. Immediately after the NAME line is a line showing the inputs of each 2D table. The inputs for a bend table are the thickness, bend radius, and angle. The order of these parameters is invariable, so the inputs line should state: INPUTS,THICKNESS,BEND_RADIUS,ANGLE. Pages are segmented from one another with the PAGE and END_OF_PAGE tags.

The format looks something like this:

TABLE

NAME,BEND_TABLE

INPUTS,THICKNESS,BEND_RADIUS,ANGLE

PAGE

(2D table data)

END_OF_PAGE

PAGE

(2D table data)

END_OF_PAGE

END_OF_TABLE

Each 2D table has a format conforming to the list of inputs in the header of the TABLE block. The first input signifies the value in the first column, the second input is the values in the first row, and the third input is a single value in the position of column 1, row 1.

ANGLE BEND RADIUS →

←THICKNESS

Table data (returned values)

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So, for example, in the table below a bend region with an angle of 60, a radius of 3.0, and a part thickness of 2.0 would be assigned a neutral factor of 0.43.

60 1.0 2.0 3.0

1.0 0.43 0.44 0.45

2.0 0.41 0.42 0.43

3.0 0.39 0.40 0.41

If NX does not find a value in the table, it tries to interpolate a value using surrounding values. If this is not possible, NX either assigns default parameters or returns an error message. The value returned from the bend table is the Neutral Factor for the bend region in question.

You can change the Neutral Factor value by changing the parameters of the bend region, but the value will revert to the table-driven or material-driven value during an update, if you choose one of those methods of bend definition. To override a material, or table-driven

value, use Resize Neutral Factor .

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Neutral Factor and Bend Allowance Formula

Whenever a material is bent, the material compresses inside the bend region and stretches on the outside. The Neutral Factor is based on a calculation of the neutral axis (the point in a bend where the tension of the outside of the bend and the compression of the inside become neutral). This value is always a percentage of the material thickness as measured from the inside radius of a bend region.

You could also say that the Neutral Factor is the percentage through the material where the length of the surface in the flat state is equal to the arc length of the surface in the bent state.

Since you usually design parts in NX Sheet Metal in the bent state, the Neutral Factor—in conjunction with the bend allowance formula—is used to calculate the length of the bend region in the flat state. This happens, for example, when you use Unbend or Flat Pattern.

The Neutral Factor in NX Sheet Metal is part of an internal bend allowance formula, as follows:

Neutral Surface Length = rad(Angle) * (Radius + (Neutral Factor * Material Thickness))

You can also use other bend allowance formulas in NX Sheet Metal. You can define your own formula in NX Sheet Metal Preferences so that the bend region deformation is calculated using your formula rather than the default.

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Tab

Overview How To Options

Tab constructs a flat feature on a sheet metal part. You can use this command to construct a base feature or to add material to existing faces of a sheet metal part.

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Create a tab


To create a Base Tab:

1. Click Tab . If there are no other bodies in the part file, Base Tab is selected by default.

2. Define the profile plane.

3. Draw a closed profile , or select a section from an existing sketch.

4. Pick the side of the profile you want the material to be on: accept the default (above the profile) or double-click on the drag handle to reverse the direction.

5. Accept the default thickness for the tab, or specify another. (In the latter case, deselect Use Global Value.) Here, we specify thickness of 1 mm.

6. Click OK to finish the feature.

To create a secondary tab:

1. Click Tab. . If you have already created a base feature, Secondary Tab is selected by default.

2. Define the profile plane by selecting a part face.

3. Draw an open profile in any 2D shape. If the ends of the open profile sketch are not coincident with the edges of the part, they will be extended to those edges. An arc with open ends is extended to form a circle.


The tab is assigned the material thickness of the part.

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Tab options


The following options are available for Tab:

Base Tab and Secondary Tab let you specify which kind of tab to create. If there is no body in the part file, the system defaults to construction of a base feature. If there is already a body in the part file, the system defaults to creating a secondary feature.

Curve and Sketch Section let you specify whether to construct the feature from an existing sketch or to create a new sketch from within the feature. For more information on these sketch options, see Using Sketches in NX Sheet Metal.

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Flange


With Flange, you can quickly construct simple bent or "flanged" areas. A flange consists of a cylindrical region known as the "bend" region, and a rectangular region known as the "web." Flange also has options for an offset, which creates an extension of the base feature to which the flange is attached. You can set the radius and angle of the flange and specify options for the flange width, the inset distance, and the length of the web area. You can also control the sketch that is used to define the shape of the web portion of the flange.

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Create a flange


1. Click Flange .

2. Select the edge to which you want to add a flange . If you select the top edge, the flange defaults to up, as shown; if you select the bottom edge, the flange points down. To reverse the direction, double-click on the length drag handle, or click Reverse

Direction .

3. Define the flange length: pull the up arrow (L in the figure) to the desired length, or enter the length in the input field.

4. Set flange angle (A) and offset (O), or accept the defaults.

5. Select flange options, if any.

6. Click OK to finish the flange.

You can create more complex flanges by editing the flange profile:

1. Follow steps 1 and 5 above.

2. Under Section, click Edit Sketch.

3. Draw the new profile and trim the old one. Make sure that you have a closed profile.

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4. Click OK to complete the feature.

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Flange options


Width lets you specify how you want the flange width to be measured.

Full Width Constructs the flange along the full width of the edge you select.

At Center

Constructs a flange that is centered on the edge you select. You can edit the dimensional value of the flange width and the flange remains centered. The default width is one third the length of the edge you select.

At End Constructs the flange starting at the end you select.

From Both

Ends

Constructs the flange width using dimensions from both ends of the edge you select. The default width is one-third of the edge width.

From End

Constructs the flange using a dimension from the end of the edge you select.

Flange Properties

Length Specifies the flange length. You can supply a value, an expression, a reference, and so on.

Reverse

Direction Changes the flange direction (from down to up or vice versa).

Angle Specifies the angle of the flange in relation to the base part.

Length Reference

Specifies how the web length is measured.

Inside Dimension measures the flange from the inside of the existing material.

Outside Dimension measures from the outside.

Inset

Specifies how far the flange is inset into the base part.

Material Inside : The flange is inset into the base material such that the outside face of the web area is flush with the selected edge.

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Material Outside : The flange is inset into the base material such that the inside face of the web area is flush with the selected edge.

Bend Outside : Material is added to the selected edge to form the flange.

Offset creates an extension of the base feature to which the flange is attached. You have the usual options for supplying a value.

Reverse

Direction

Changes the direction off the offset, that is, converts the extension to a reduction (negative value).

You can also modify the default bend parameters and Preview the result.

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Contour Flange

Overview How To Options Related Topics

Contour Flange constructs a flange with several contours by extruding a profile that represents its cross section.

You can use Contour Flange as the base feature of a new sheet metal part or to add a feature to an existing one. Using Contour Flange, you can construct one or more bends at any angle. With the Chain Extent option, the flange chains itself around multiple selected edges and has options for mitered corners between the different flange sections.

You don't have to draw the arcs at each bend location. Bends are added automatically using the default bend radius. You can see this in the part and profile shown above.

If you want to use a different bend radius value, draw arcs in the profile, or change the default bend radius.

You can also use Contour Flange to create wrapped features.

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Create a contour flange


To create a Base Contour Flange:

1. Click Contour Flange . Base Contour Flange is selected by default if there are no sheet metal features in the part file. If there are, Contour Flange defaults to the secondary option.


3. Draw an open profile, and select it when prompted to select section geometry.

4. Specify part thickness or accept the default.

5. Specify the width of the feature.

6. Choose options.

7. Click OK to complete the feature. The arcs at each bend location are added automatically when you finish the profile, unless you have sketched arcs in the bend areas.

To add a contour flange to a sheet metal part (that is, create a Secondary Contour Flange):

1. Click Contour Flange .

Secondary Contour Flange is selected by default because there is already a body in the part file.

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2. Select an existing section or click Sketch Section and select a part edge. The plane on which you draw the profile must be normal to the part edge to which you are attaching the contour flange.

3. Draw an open profile. It must be coincident with a part edge.

4. Choose options in the dialog box, if any.

5. Specify the width of the flange.

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Tips and techniques for contour flanges

You can only apply bend reliefs with Contour Flange when the bend section actually intersects the original edge on which you placed the flange. The figure below illustrates this. Bend relief 5 mm wide and 5 mm deep was selected for both contour flanges. Note that only the flange with the bend positioned at the edge has bend relief.

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If the underlying sketch for Contour Flange intersects the part with an arc section, the arc must be tangent to the top or bottom face of the part where it intersects the placement edge.

Any arcs that define the outer face of a bend region must have a radius greater than the part thickness.

Certain contour flange profiles produce error conditions:

o The following graphic shows an invalid three-point arc for a secondary contour flange. The problem is that the tangent line that is connected to the edge lies within the plane of the face of that edge

o The following profile, which consists of a combination of lines and arcs, does not maintain tangent continuity at the intersection of the arc and line.

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When creating contour flanges on curved edges, create the profile at the end of the curved edge for most predictable results.

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Contour Flange options


Width

Width Option

Finite Extent projects the profile a finite width to either side of the profile plane. You must supply a width.

Symmetric Extent

applies half the specified width to each side of the profile. You must supply a width.

To End Extent projects the profile to the end of the selected edge.

Chain Extent projects the contour flange along a series of edges that you select. Note that it will not chain through edges that meet at a concave corner. The following figure illustrates this. If chaining continued and included the edge where the contour flange is missing, it would self-intersect at the interior corner, causing an error condition.

Width: Specify a width (Finite and Symmetric Extent only)

Miter: You can set the following options for both the Start and Finish End of the contour flange

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Miter Corners

MIters (trims diagonally) the end at the angle you specify. Here is a flange mitered at the standard -45 degree angle.

Cutout

Normal to Thickness Face miters the end of the contour flange perpendicular to the thickness face.

Normal to Source Face miters the end of the contour flange perpendicular to the source face.

Angle sets the miter angle for the specified end of the contour flange. A negative value miters the flange inward and typically removes material. A positive value miters the flange outward and typically adds material. With some complex contour flanges, material can be both added or removed when an end is mitered.

Miter Using Normal Cutout Method

Creates miters perpendicular to the thickness face at corners and ensures that you can unbend and rebend the contour flanges in your part. Note that this method removes more material at the corners, so if you want water-tight flanges at the corners and are not concerned about creating a flat pattern of this part, you may prefer not to use this option.

Miter Interior Corners When Necessary

(Chain Extent only) Determines whether a miter should be applied, and only comes into effect when the chain edges of a contour flange span a bend region. This option for Contour Flange in NX 5 results from the new ability to flange around curved edges. To achieve behavior equivalent to NX 4, you must select only the tab edges and not the bend edges, as shown in the following figure.

In NX 5, if you select the bend edges, the Contour Flange is built across those edges as well. If the radius of the bend region being spanned is large enough, the Contour Flange fills in this

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area with a rounded bend region, as shown below.

If you select Miter Interior Corners When Necessary, the software only miters the corners spanning bend regions if the corners would self-intersect. In the figure below, the bend region on the left is too small to accommodate the flange edges, so they are mitered. The bend on the right is large enough that it isn't necessary.

The decision to miter or not is based on the length of the flange and the radius of the bend region being spanned. If the length of the flange is less than the radius of the bend region that the chain is traversing, NX Sheet Metal does not apply miters to that corner region. The radii in question are shown below highlighted in red.

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If you do not select this option, NX Sheet Metal miters the sides of the flanges, regardless of the length of the flange or the radius of the bend region being spanned, as shown in the following figures.

Corners

Close Corner

Specifies that you want to close the interior corners. Bend relief is applied when you close three inside bend corners. The following treatment options are only available if you select Close

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Corner.

Open applies no treatment.

Close closes the bent faces of the flange until the edges intersect.

Circular Cutout creates a found cutout. If you select this option, you must specify a diameter for the circle.

You can also modify the default bend parameters.

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Lofted Flange


Lofted Flange is an extruded flange that uses start and end profiles to create the basic shape. The profiles must be open and must be on parallel reference planes. Lofted Flange is particularly useful for HVAC work, as it allows for round to square transitions. You can also create conical bend regions with Lofted Flange.

A Lofted Flange can be either a base or a secondary feature. The command automatically adds bends using the bend radius property. You do not have to draw an arc at each bend location.

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Create a lofted flange


To create a lofted flange as a base feature:

1. Create parallel datum planes offset from each other. The offset distance should correspond to the length of the lofted flange you intend to create.

2. Click Lofted Flange . Base Lofted Flange is selected by default if there are no other bodies in the part file.

3. Choose a method for creating the first cross section: sketch a section on a profile

plane or select a section you've already created . Note that both cross sections must be open profiles. When prompted, select the section you sketched, then press Enter.

4. Select the start point for the first section or construct one , then press Enter.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the second cross section on the second offset plane. The start points for the cross sections (the green cubes in the following illustration) should be in line with each other so as to avoid twisting the shape. (If it is twisted, it cannot be flattened).

6. Select a material side and a thickness value (or accept the defaults).

7. Click OK or Apply to complete the feature.

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Lofted Flange options


Curve and Sketch Section let you specify whether to construct the feature from an existing sketch or to create a new sketch from within the feature. For more information on these sketch options, see Using Sketches in NX Sheet Metal.

Point Constructor and point selector let you specify whether to create a new point or select an existing one.

Lofted Flange has the standard bend and corner options. For more details, see Bend parameters for sheet metal features.

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Hem Flange


Use Hem Flange to create a feature where the material folds back on itself. Hem Flange is always a secondary feature built on a base part, such as a tab. This command gives you a variety of pre-set shapes. Along with simple open and closed hems, you can create more specialized types, such as curls and loops. The following figure shows some standard hem shapes: closed, curled, s-type, and centered loop.

The Hem Flange dialog box illustrates each type and shows the key dimensions. For example, this is the picture of the Closed type hem, and shows how the key dimension, which in this case is flange length, is measured.

You can make fairly complex shapes quite simply, and you can create hem flanges that chain around part edges.

You can also create hem flanges on curved edges.

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Create a hem flange


To create a hem flange:

1. On the NX Sheet Metal toolbar, click Hem Flange .

2. In the Hem Flange dialog box, select a hem shape from the Type list.

3. Select Edge is active. Select a part edge on which to place the hem. If you want the hem to span several edges, select one edge after another. If the hem can be built, you see a preview like this one:

4. Select inset, bend parameter, and relief options. You can change hem types and other options while still in the command and preview the result.

5. Click OK or Apply to complete the feature.

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Hem Flange options


Inset Options specify how far the flange is inset into the base part.

Material

Inside

Insets the hem flange into the base material such that the outside face of the web area is flush with the selected edge.

Material

Outside

Insets the hem flange into the base material such that the inside face of the web area is flush with the selected edge.

Bend

Outside Adds material to the selected edge to form the flange.

Bend Parameters vary depending on the type of hem you select.

Flange Length Measures the length of the flange as shown in the bitmap for that type of hem. For closed types, you only specify one length. For loop, curl, and S-type flanges, you specify two lengths.

Equal Radii Available for hems with two bends. Specifies that the radii for both bends are equal.

Bend Radius Sets the radius of the bend for a given hem. For loop, curl, and S-type hems, specify two radii.

Sweep Angle

Available for open and centered curl-type hems. Specifies the extent of the curl. The maximum value is less than 360. The figures below show two open loop hem flanges with sweep angles of 145 and 350 degrees, respectively.

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Closed Corner


Closed Corner modifies two flanges in one operation to close a corner where two flanges meet.

Note the following:

The angles of the adjacent flanges must be less than or equal to 90 degrees.

It's best to apply bend and corner relief before using Closed Corner, so that there's a clean corner to close. The corner should be symmetric, with equal bend radii and bend angles on the adjacent flanges. If there's more than one way to close the corner, edit the flanges themselves to close the corner the way you want it.

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Create a Closed Corner


1. Click Closed Corner .

2. Select the bends adjacent to the corner you want to close .

3. Use the feature dialog box to specify corner options.

4. Click OK to finish the corner.

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Closed Corner options


Corner Properties

Treatment

Specifies the way the corner is treated:

Open:

Closed:

Circular Cutout:

Diameter (For Circular Cutout treatment only): Specifies the diameter of the circular cutout.

Overlap

Closed brings the inside edges of the corner together.

Overlapping extends one edge. You use Overlap Ratio to specify the amount of overlap.

Gap specifies the amount of gap between the edges. 0.0 is the default. The following figure shows a gap of 1 mm. (The gap cannot be negative or greater than the material thickness.)

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3-Bend Corner


3-Bend Corner lets you close corners where three bends meet. The sweep angles of the bends must be less than or equal to 90 degrees, and must all be the same. Similarly, the radii of all three bends must be the same.

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Create a 3-Bend Corner


To close a 3-bend corner:

1. Click 3-Bend Corner .

2. Choose the type of corner you want: Open , Closed , or Circular Cutout .

3. Select the first outer bend.

4. Select the second bend.

5. Click OK or Apply to close the corner.

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3-Bend Corner options


Corner Properties

Treatment

Specifies the way the corner is treated:

Open:

Closed:

Circular Cutout:

Diameter (For Circular Cutout treatment only): Specifies the diameter of the circular cutout.

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Normal Cutout


Normal Cutout has edges that remain perpendicular to the planar face of the part. Normal cutouts are particularly useful when you want to make cuts across bend regions and still maintain a constant material thickness. The feature is useful when you need to Unbend and Rebend sheet metal parts, because non-perpendicular thickness faces created with Extrude-Subtract may be deformed during Unbend/Rebend operations. Normal Cutout maintains sheet metal part properties by always cutting normal to the top and bottom faces of the model. It also conforms to all other global sheet metal part properties.

In many cases, Normal Cutout lets you avoid unbending the part to model a cutout.

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Create a Normal Cutout


1. Click Normal Cutout .


3. Draw a profile, or select a section from an existing sketch.

o A closed profile defines the cutout.

o An open profile displays a direction handle that is perpendicular to the open profile and co-planar with the sketch. Use this handle to specify which side of the profile to cut. The following figure shows the effects of reversing the direction handle.

The curves of the open profile are extended tangentially until they intersect themselves to create a closed profile, or until they intersect the edge of the part.

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4. Click the type of cut you want to make: Thickness Cut or Mid-Plane Cut.

5. Define the extent of the material you want to remove. If you click Value, you can click Symmetric to specify that you want to create a cut area symmetric in both directions from the sketch plane.

6. Click OK to create the Normal Cutout.

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Normal Cutout options


Cutout Properties

Cut Method

Thickness Cut compensates for the material thickness of the part by projecting the profile onto both layer faces, inner and outer (top/bottom), then thickening the resulting surface into a solid tool, and removing the tool from the base part

Mid-Plane Cut projects the profile onto the mid-plane of the sheet metal part, then thickens the resulting surface into a tool body. Usually Thickness Cut consumes more material than Mid-Plane.

Limits

Value lets you define the extent of the cutout manually, either by dragging the depth handle or by entering the distance in the Depth input field.

Between lets you define the extent of the cutout by selecting two parallel planes or faces.

Through Next extends the cutout to the first edge encountered.

Through All extends the cutout through the whole part.

Symmetric Depth is only available if you select Value. This option creates a cut area symmetric in both directions from the sketch plane.

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Jog


Jog constructs two 90-degree bends and adds material to them to jog to a planar face of a sheet metal part.

The profile for a Jog feature must be a single linear element and can only be constructed across a planar face. The jog can be minimal: for example, a slight offset or step to provide clearance or rigidity to a part.

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Create a Jog


To create a Jog on a tab, or a planar region of a contour flange or lofted flange:

1. Click Jog .

2. Define the profile plane—select the face you want to jog on.

3. Draw a profile or pick one to serve as the Jog Line. The profile must be a single linear element.

4. If necessary, click on the drag handle to define the direction you want to jog. The drag handle should point toward the portion of the part you want to move. (The following figures illustrate the results produced by selecting different jog directions.)

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5. Specify the height of the jog.


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Jog options


Jog Properties

Height Specifies the extent of the jog.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the jog from up to down and vice versa.

Reverse

Side Changes the side of the part that moves to create the jog.

Height Reference

Inside applies the dimension from the selected face to the near side of the feature.

Outside applies the dimension from the selected face to the far side of the feature.

Inset

Material Inside positions the portion of the feature that is perpendicular to the profile plane inside of the profile plane.

Material Outside positions the portion of the feature that's perpendicular to the profile plane outside of the profile plane.

Bend Outside positions both the portion of the feature that's perpendicular to the profile plane and the bend outside of the profile plane.

Extend Section Extends the linear profile you draw to the edges of the part.


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Bend


Use this command to create a bend in a planar area on a sheet metal part.

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Create a Bend


1. Click Bend .


3. Draw a profile. The profile, which must be a single linear element, represents the approximate location of the bend.

4. Define the bend location with respect to the profile.

5. To change the default bend angle (90 degrees), drag the angle handle or enter a value in the input field.

6. Specify the side of the part to move. The direction arrow points towards the portion that will move.

To change the direction, double-click the direction arrow.

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7. Define the bend direction. To change the bend direction, double-click the direction arrow.


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Bend options


Bend Properties

Angle Specifies the angle of the bend.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the bend from up to down and vice versa.

Reverse

Side Changes the side of the part that moves to create the bend.

Inset

Outer Mold Line Profile specifies that the profile represents the line created by the junction between the planar stationary region and the cylindrical bend region in the flattened state.

Bend Center Line Profile specifies that the profile line represents the center line of the bend, and that the bend region will be distributed evenly on either side of the profile in the flattened state.

Inner Mold Line Profile specifies that the profile represents the line created by the junction of the planar web region and the cylindrical bend region in the flattened state.

Material Inside positions the portion of the feature that is perpendicular to the profile plane inside of the profile plane.

Material Outside positions the portion of the feature that's perpendicular to the profile plane outside of the profile plane.

Extend Section Extends the linear profile you draw to the edges of the part.


The following figures show how the bend is positioned differently, depending on which bend location option you choose. The extended plane going through the part is a visual aid to highlight the bend location. Note: The Bend Center Line, Inner Mold Line, and Outer Mold Line profiles need to be shown in the flattened state because this is the state in which these measurements make sense.

Bend Location Graphic

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Outer Mold Line Profile

Bend Center Line Profile

Inner Mold Line Profile

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Material Inside

Material Outside


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Unbend

Overview How To

Use this command to unbend a portion of the part so you can construct a cutout or a hole across the bend. Don't use Unbend to create the flat pattern—use Flat Solid and Flat Pattern instead. You can apply a rebend on top of the unbend feature to represent the true formed state of the model.

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Unbend a part

Overview How To

1. Click Unbend .

2. Select a planar face or planar edge that you want to remain in a fixed position.

3. Select the bend(s) you want to unbend.

Note: You can toggle (Preview) to see the unbent and rebent part.


If you create a part that intersects itself at any point during its development, either when creating it or when unbending or rebending, any further unbend or rebend operations may result in an error. If this happens, roll the part back to the step before the self-intersection and try to correct the self-intersecting condition.

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Rebend

Overview How To

Use this command to rebend a part after you've unbent it to add a feature, such as a cutout, across a bend.

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Rebend a part

Overview How To

1. Click Rebend .

2. Select a face that was unbent with the Unbend command. (You can rebend more than one unbent feature in one operation.)

You can also click (Preview) to see the rebent and unbent part.


If you create a part that intersects itself at any point during its development, either when creating it or when unbending or rebending, any further unbend or rebend operations may result in an error. If this happens, roll the part back to the step before the self-intersection and try to correct the self-intersecting condition.

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Dimple


Use this command to construct an indentation in a sheet metal part. You use a sketched profile as the dimple outline. Like Drawn Cutout, Dimple makes an indentation in the sheet metal part, using a sketched profile as its outline. The principal difference between the two is that a dimple has a bottom and a drawn cutout doesn't. Dimples can't be flattened.

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Create a dimple


1. Click Dimple .

2. Pick the profile plane.

3. To create the dimple profile, select an existing sketch, or define a new one using the options from the dialog. If you use an open profile, its open ends must intersect part edges. If you create an open profile where the curves don't intersect the outer edges of the part, the software extends the ends of the profile curves tangentially until they either intersect one another or intersect the edges of the part. A closed profile can't touch any part edges.

4. (For open profiles only) Double-click the side handle to specify the side of the profile to move during the Dimple operation.

5. Set the dimple depth.

6. Set wall, dimension, and rounding options, if any.


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Dimple options


The following options are available for Dimple:

Dimple Properties

Depth Specifies the extent of the dimple.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the dimple from up to down and vice versa.

Side Angle

Specifies the taper angle for the dimple. (The angle is measured relative to the default sidewall angle of 90 degrees.) The dimple in the following figure has a side angle of 20 degrees. The section corners have been rounded (the original profile sketch was rectangular), but there's no rounding for die or punch.

Depth Reference

Inside measures the dimension from the selected face to the near side of the feature.

Outside measures the dimension from the selected face to the far side of the feature.

Sidewalls

Material Outside specifies that the sidewalls for the dimple are constructed so that they lie outside the profile.

Material Inside specifies that the sidewalls for the dimple are constructed so that they lie inside the profile.

Rounding

Round Dimple Edges

Lets you supply values for the dimple's punch and die radii.

Punch Radius Specifies the radius value at the bottom of the dimple (P below).

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Die Radius Specifies the radius value at the base of the dimple (D above).

Round Section Corners

Specifies that you want to round any sharp corners in the profile. This option allows you to draw the profile without arcs. If you choose this option, you must supply a Corner Radius. You can't select this option If you use a circular profile.

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Louver


Louver lets you create and customize a sheetmetal venting feature.

A louver is constructed using a single, linear element. The louver depth (D) must be equal to or less than the louver width (W) minus the material thickness (T).

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You can also specify whether you want the louver ends formed (A) or lanced (B).

Louver features can't be flattened.

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Create a louver


1. Click Louver .


3. Draw a profile. The profile must be a single linear element.

4. Define the louver depth and height.

5. Specify whether you want the louver ends lanced or formed.

6. Specify whether you want rounding, and if so, supply a radius value. (In the following figure, the louver on the left has a die radius of 2 mm.)


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Louver options


The following options are available for Louver:

Louver Properties

Depth

Specifies the extent of the louver, measured from the base surface to the top of the louver. The louver depth (D) must be equal to or less than the louver width minus the material thickness.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the louver to the opposite side of the base part.

Width

Specifies the width of the louver, measured from the Cut Line to the front edge.

Reverse

Direction Moves the louver to the other side of the Cut Line (profile).

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Louver Shape Formed gives you a rounded shape with closed ends.

Lanced gives you squared-off open ends.

Rounding

Round Louver Edges

Gives you a fillet at the edge where the louver meets the flat surface. If you select this option, must supply a value for Die Radius.

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Drawn Cutout


Use this command to construct a sheet metal drawn cutout.

Like Dimple, Drawn Cutout makes an indentation in the sheet metal part, using a sketched profile as its outline. The principal difference between the two is that a dimple has a bottom and a drawn cutout doesn't. Drawn cutouts can't be flattened.

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Create a drawn cutout


1. Click Drawn Cutout .

2. Select the profile plane.

3. To create the drawn cutout profile, select an existing sketch, or create a new one. If you use an open profile, the open ends of the profile must intersect part edges. A closed profile can't touch any part edges.

4. (For open profiles only) Double-click the side handle to select the side of the profile to move during the Drawn Cutout operation. The following graphics show how the side handle direction affects the way the feature is created.

5. Set the depth of the drawn cutout.

6. Set wall, dimension, and rounding options, if any.

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Drawn Cutout options


The following options are available for Drawn Cutout:

Cutout Properties

Depth Specifies the extent of the cutout.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the cutout to the opposite side of the base part.

Side Angle

Specifies the taper angle for the cutout. (The angle is measured relative to the default sidewall angle of 90 degrees.) The drawn cutout in the following figure has a taper angle of 10 degrees. It displays rounding of cutout edges (die radius with a fillet of 2 degrees). Section corners haven't been rounded.

Sidewalls

Material Outside specifies that the sidewalls for the dutout are constructed so that they lie outside the profile.

Material Inside specifies that the sidewalls for the cutout are constructed so that they lie inside the profile.

Rounding

Round Cutout Edges

Lets you supply values for the cutout's die radius.

Die Radius Specifies the radius value at the base of the cutout. The figure on the left shows no rounding.; the figure on the right has rounded cutout edges (radius 2 mm) and rounded section corners (also 2 mm radius).

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Round Section Corners

Specifies that you want to round any sharp corners in the profile. This option allows you to draw the profile without arcs. If you choose this option, you must supply a Corner Radius.(See the graphic on the right, above.) You can't select this option If you use a circular profile.

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Bead


Bead constructs a bead feature on a sheet metal part. Beads are often used to stiffen sheet metal parts. You can specify the shape of the bead cross section and the type of end condition treatment you want. For example, you can specify whether the bead shape is circular, U-shaped, or V-shaped. You can also specify whether the ends of the bead are formed, lanced, or punched. Beads can't be flattened.

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Create a bead


1. Click Bead .

2. Select the profile plane.

3. Create a profile for the Bead. The profile can be open or closed.

Multiple elements in the profile must be tangent continuous. You can also construct a single Bead feature using multiple, separate profiles. Each profile must be a continuous set of tangent elements, but the profiles can cross each other. The radius of any arcs in the profile must be more than half the width of the bead itself.

4. Choose a bead cross-section type and specify dimensions for it. The icons in the dialog indicate how the dimensions are measured:

o For Circular: Depth and Radius. (Depth must be less than Radius.)

o For U-Shaped: Depth, Width, and Angle.

o For V-Shaped: Depth, Radius, and Angle.

5. Choose a treatment option for the ends of the bead:

o Formed (the default)

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o Lanced

o Punched

6. Specify rounding options.

7. Click OK to complete the Bead feature.

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Bead options


Bead Properties

Cross Section

Specifies the type of bead:

Circular creates a bead in a half-circle

shape.

U-Shaped creates a bead with a flat bottom and angled

sides.

V-Shaped creates an arc-shaped bead with an inside radius that

you can modify.

Depth

Specifies the extent of the bead. The bitmap image for each type shows how the depth is measured. In this figure, D indicates the

depth.

Reverse

Direction Changes the direction of the bead in relation to the base part.

Radius (Circular and U-Shaped only)

The radius of the curve on the inside of the bead. R = radius (Circular

bead in this case) .

Width The width at the bottom inside of the U-Shaped bead as shown here. W =

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width

Angle (U-Shaped only)

Specifies the taper angle for the bead. (The angle is measured relative to the default sidewall angle of 90 degrees.) In this figure, A =

angle

End Condition

Controls the shape of the ends of the bead.

Formed creates ends that are rounded.

Lanced creates ends that are cut.

Punched creates ends that are cut with a relief. If you select this options, you must specify the extent of the relief by supplying a value for Punched Width.

Rounding

Round Bead Edges Lets you supply values for the bead's die and punch radii. Not recommended when using the bead to construct a pattern feature that contains a large number of beads.

Die Radius Specifies the radius value at the top of the bead.

Punch Radius Punch Radius specifies the radius value at the bottom of the bead. Only available for U-Shaped.

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Solid Punch


Use Solid Punch when you want to create a sheet metal feature that inherits the shape from the punch type tool body.

The Solid Punch is created with a die-type or punch-type tool body. A die-type tool body models the negative (void) shape, and a punch-type models the positive shape. The following figures show the tool body and the target (the green sheet), the tool body used as a die, and finally the tool body used as a punch.

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Create a solid punch


Both Solid Punch types follow the same basic procedure.

1. Click Solid Punch .

2. Select a Type: Punch to model a positive shape or Die to model a void.

3. Select a target face (the face first touched by the tool body).

4. Select a tool body.

5. If the tool does not intersect the tool body, select a Csys or point to define the from location on the tool and a Csys or point to define a to location on the target. The following figures show the locations of the From Csys on the tool body and the To Csys on the target, then the result (in this case, a Die type punch).

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6. (Optional) Select Pierce Faces from the tool body. These faces will be removed from the target.

7. Enter a thickness value if the Infer Thickness option is not selected.

8. (Optional) If you do not want the tool to be visible once you create the punch feature, select Hide the tool body.

9. Select other options.


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Solid Punch options


Solid Punch Properties

Thickness Specifies the thickness of the solid punch.

Infer Thickness Specifies that the solid punch thickness should be inferred from the target solid.

Auto Centroid Creates a point at the centroid of the solid punch intersection curves. You can use this point for manufacturing purposes.

Hide the tool body

Hides the tool body once the punch has been created.

Rounding

Round Solid Punch Edges

Applies die blends to the non-g1 edges between the solid punch and the target body. If this option is on, you must supply radius values.

Die Radius The radius of the “inside” rounded edge where the punch meets the target (D in the figure below).

Punch Radius

The radius of the “outside” rounded edge where the punch meets the target (P in the figure below.). In general, Punch Radius is the Die Radius plus the thickness.

Constant Thickness

Blends sharp edges with constant thickness on the tool body.

The following figures illustrate the difference.

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Constant Thickness off

Constant Thickness on

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Edge Rip

Overview How To

Use Edge Rip when you want to rip along corner edges, for example when converting a solid model to a sheet metal part. Edge Rip can also be used any time you need to separate two parts of a model so that they can act independently. Use this command if you want your edges ripped as a separate activity, rather than as part of the Convert to Sheetmetal process.

An additional feature of Edge Rip lets you rip along a linear sketch. You could use this capability, for example, to separate two parts of a flange and bend one of them.

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Rip an edge

Overview How To

To rip the edges on a part:

1. Click Edge Rip

2. Select the edges you want to rip.

3. Click OK to complete the operation.

To rip along a linear sketch:

1. Click Edge Rip .

2. Select an existing section or sketch one on the face of a part.

3. When prompted for the Section, select the line you sketched, as shown.

4. Click OK to rip along the line.

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You can now treat the two parts of the flange as separate surfaces, for example by creating a bend along one section of the original flange.

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Convert to Sheetmetal


Use Convert to Sheetmetal to convert plain solid models created in the Modeling application to NX Sheet Metal models.

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Convert a solid model to a sheet metal part


1. Click Convert to Sheetmetal .

2. Select the part you want to convert.

3. Select a planar base face (preferably one that has tangent continuity with the other faces in the model, or that will have after you rip edges).

4. Select the edges that you want to rip .

5. Click OK to complete the conversion.

If you unbend or flatten a part and then use Convert to Sheetmetal, you cannot rebend the areas that were previously unbent.

Tips and techniques for using Convert to Sheetmetal Successful conversion of a model into sheet metal largely depends on the topology of the part and the base (seed) face you select. A face that has tangent continuity with other faces in the model gives better results after conversion. You can use the edge-rip option to achieve tangent continuous faces.

For example, in the part shown below, the red faces can never be tangent continuous to each other. The green faces are tangent continuous to rest of the body, but not to the corners of the

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box. So, after selecting a green face as the base, you would select edges to rip that make the remaining body also tangent continuous (in this case, the back corner edges).

The following graphic shows the part after conversion. Note that picking a red face as the base face wouldn't have produced as good a conversion.

Here's another example of a part where the selecting a red face as the base face wouldn't produce a good conversion.

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Convert to Sheetmetal options


You can specify whether you want bend relief applied to the bends in the part, and if so, what type and dimensions. For more information on this topic, see Bend parameters for sheet metal features.

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Control individual bend regions

Overview How To

You can control the geometry of individual bend regions. You can change bend angle, bend radius, and the neutral factor of a given bend. There is a separate command for each type of change, and the modifications appear as separate entities in the Part Navigator, as shown below:

Model History


SB Tab (1)

SB Secondary Contour Flange (2)

SB ResizeBendAngle (3)

SB ResizeBendRadius (4)

There is a separate command for each type of change. These capabilities let you change individual bends in features such as contour flanges and jogs that create multiple bend regions. Also, when you bring in parts with the Convert to Sheet Metal command, you can modify individual bend regions to suit the demands of the part. You no longer need to go back to Modeling, revise the part, and reconvert it.

For manufacturing, you can visualize parts with bends in interim states, showing, for example, a 90-degree flange first at 45 degrees and then rebent to the full 90 degrees. Since these features are in timestamp order, you can hide and show the direct edit features to display the model in various states of forming.

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Resize bend radius, bend angle, and neutral factor

Overview How To

To change bend angle, bend radius, or the neutral factor of a bend, you follow the same general procedure.

1. On the NX Sheet Metal toolbar, click one of the following buttons:

o Resize Bend Radius .

o Resize Bend Angle

o Resize Neutral Factor

2. (For Resize Bend Angle only). Select Face is active. Select a non-thickness face to remain stationary when you change the bend angle .

3. Select Bend is active. Select the bend(s) you want to modify.

4. Supply a new parameter value for angle, radius, or neutral factor.

5. (For Resize Bend Angle only). Select the Keep Radius Fixed check box if you do not want the radius to change with the change in angle. If the radius stays fixed, the web length must change.

6. Click OK or Apply to make the change.

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Flat Solid

Overview How To Related Topics

Flat Solid allows you to create a flat representation of the part in the same file as the formed sheet metal part. The flattened version of the part is associative to the formed version. When you flatten a sheet metal part this way, a Flat Solid feature is added to the end of the Model History in the Part Navigator. If the part contains deformation features, they are retained in their formed condition. If the sheet metal model changes, the flat pattern automatically updates to include the new feature.

Model History

Fixed Datum Plane (0)



SB Tab (3) SB Flange (5) SB Flange (7)

SB Closed Corner (9)

SB Edge Rip (13)

Sketch (17) “SKETCH_...

SB Flat Solid (18)

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Create a flat solid

Overview How To Related Topics

1. Click Flat Solid .

2. Select a face that you want to orient upward.

3. Select an edge to define the X axis and origin.

4. (Optional): Select Move to Absolute CSYS to move the flattened representation of the part to the model space coordinate system.

5. Click OK to finish the flat representation of your part.

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Flat Pattern


Flat Pattern lets you create a solid or wireframe flat representation of a 3D sheet metal part. You can include annotations for bending, punching, or cutting manufacturing instructions. Included are facilities for automatic bend region annotations, and options for the line color, layer, and font used for the various line types (outline, bend centerline, bend tangents, and so on). You can then export the flat pattern through a translator to a cutting tool for the manufacture of the part.

Note: The recommended translator for exporting flat patterns to tools is 2D Exchange. Choose File→Export→2D Exchange.

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Create a flat pattern


1. With your part displayed, click Flat Pattern .

2. Pick an upward face to orient the flat pattern . This face can either be on a formed sheet metal body, or on a Flat Solid body. The normal direction associated with this face is used to specify the “UP” direction for bend regions.

Note: Flat Pattern needs a Flat Solid body as the basis for the flat pattern curves. So if you select a face on a formed sheet metal body as the base face for the Flat Pattern, a Flat Solid feature will be automatically created as the basis for the Flat Pattern curves. When you create a Flat Solid, the face you select on the formed sheet metal body will be used as the placement face for the Flat Solid and the base face for the Flat Pattern. As a result, this placement face eventually defines the “UP” direction for the bend region annotations on the flat pattern.

3. Click OK to create the feature.

4. To see the FLAT-PATTERN, in the Part Navigator, click to expand Model Views, then double-click the FLAT-PATTERN view.

Edit a flat pattern To edit the orientation or placement of the flat pattern, you must edit the orientation of the flat solid feature that it references. This is true both for flat patterns created from flat solids and those created from a formed sheet metal body. The flat pattern is simply a grouped set of curves and associated annotations. You can add, remove, or edit curves in this group. However, any time you update the model, the curves associated with the flat pattern will be regenerated and will overwrite any changes. To make permanent changes to a flat pattern, you must first make a non-associative copy of the flat pattern curves and then edit that set of curves.

Export a flat pattern Exporting a Flat Pattern through a translator requires a proper translator license. This license is not included as part of NX Sheet Metal.

You can export a flat pattern as follows. With the part file that contains the flat pattern open:

1. Choose File→Export→2D Exchange. Select the Files tab.

2. Under Export to, for Output As, select DXF or DWG, and specify where you want to save the new file.

3. Select the Data to Export tab. For Export, choose Selected Objects. Then in the graphics window, click on the Flat Pattern group. (It should all highlight at once.)

4. For (the second) Export, choose Selected View, select FLAT-PATTERN from the View List, then click OK to export.

You can also use Save As to save your flat pattern:

Choose File→Save As, specify a name and a folder location for the file, and for Save as type, select DXF or DWG.

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Flat Pattern options


Because most companies have standards for their flat patterns, you may want to establish default settings for flat pattern curve display and annotation. See the following topics for instructions:

Set Flat Pattern Display options

Use Flat Pattern Custom Callouts

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Set Flat Pattern Display options


NX Sheet Metal provides display options for a wide range of curve types, including bend lines, bend tangent lines, inner and outer mold lines, and so on. You can establish defaults in Customer Defaults, and you can change settings for each part individually in sheet metal Preferences.

To change the Customer Defaults for Flat Pattern:

1. Choose File→Utilities→Customer Defaults→Sheet Metal→Flat Pattern.

2. Select the Curves tab to manage which curves will be displayed and how. Each curve type has a box with an Enabled check box, the feature name, a color box to choose the color, and menus for line font style and width. There is also a box to specify the layer.

o To change the color, click in the color box. The color palette displays. Click a color, then click OK.

o Set line type and line width for the curve you want to display by choosing from the Font and Width lists.

o Set the layer by typing in a new value, or accept the default (1).

o Repeat these steps for each type you want to display on your Flat Pattern.

3. Select Enabled for each type you want displayed. Then click OK

To set non-default display options for Flat Pattern in a part file:

1. Choose Preferences→NX Sheet Metal.

2. Choose Flat Pattern Display.

3. Under Curves, change color, font, and width in the same way you did it in Customer Defaults.

4. Select the line types you want displayed and clear the check boxes for the ones you don't want visible.

5. Click OK to set the options.

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Use Flat Pattern Custom Callouts


NX Sheet Metal has six templates that you can use to create callouts for display on your flat pattern. You can customize them and control their availability in the Customer Defaults file. Each callout has the following:

Name: specifies the name of the callout as it appears in the NX Sheet Metal Preferences dialog. You can change this name.

Object Types: indicates the types of objects to which particular callouts can be associated, in order of preference. For example, Bend Radius would be associated with Bend Center Line first. If bend center lines are not shown on the flat pattern, it would be associated with the second item in the list, Outer Mold Line, and so on. You cannot change the object types, but you can control their display on the flat pattern by:

o Making them unavailable in Customer Defaults.

o Turning them off in NX Sheet Metal Preferences.

o In the Object Types field, changing the order of the types or deleting ones that you don't want to display.

Content: specifies the text that appears in the callout in your flat pattern. You can change portions of this, for example, displayed name, and number of decimal places. In the following flat pattern, we changed Bend Radius to R and Bend Angle to A.

Available: controls whether the callout is visible on the NX Sheet Metal Preferences dialog.

Enabled: controls whether the callout is created by default on your flat pattern.

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NX Sheet Metal Template Defaults for Custom Callouts

Name Object Types Content

Bend Radius Bend Center Line, Outer Mold Line, Inner Mold Line Bend Radius = <!KEY=0,[email protected]>

Bend Angle Bend Center Line, Outer Mold Line, Inner Mold Line Bend Angle= <!KEY=0,[email protected]>

Bend Direction Bend Center Line, Outer Mold Line, Inner Mold Line Bend Direction= <!KEY=0,[email protected] "up" "down">

Aerospace Sheet Metal only

Hole Diameter Hole Diameter Hole Diameter = <!KEY=0,[email protected]>

Joggle Runout Joggle Line Joggle Runout = <!KEY=0,[email protected]>

Joggle Depth Joggle Line Joggle Depth = <!KEY=0,[email protected]>

For each part file, you can create six new callouts in Customer Defaults. NX Sheet Metal remembers up to five sets of six new custom callouts. After that, it won't accept any new ones.

To customize the default callouts, choose File→Utilities→Customer Defaults→Sheet Metal→Flat Pattern→Annotations. You see six Custom Callout templates. For each callout template:

1. (Optional) Change the name that is displayed on the NX Sheet Metal Preferences by typing a new one in the Name box.

2. Customize the callout that is displayed on the flat pattern by changing the text string in the Content box. For example, to change Bend Angle to BA, you would type the following: BA = <!KEY=0,[email protected]>.

3. Repeat steps 2–3 for as many of the Custom Callout templates as you want to have the option to display.

4. Select Available for each callout that you want to have show up in Preferences. Select Enabled for all the callouts that you want to have appear by default on your flat pattern. (You can disable their display in Preferences on a per file basis.)

5. Click OK to save your changes. You have to start a new NX session for these defaults to take affect.

Customizing callout display in a sheet metal part file Once you create custom callouts, they are listed in Current callouts in part on the Flat Pattern Display tab in NX Sheet Metal Preferences. Enable the ones you want to see and disable the ones that you want to hide. If you don't, you may have two sets of callouts for each feature, your customized label and the default.

Formatting custom callout text To create your own custom callouts in NX Sheet Metal, you can use the special keyword language shown in the default callouts. A key looks like this:

<!KEY=0,[email protected]>

These keys get resolved into values from the individual bend regions. The above key is an angle key and will be replaced by the angle value of the associated bend region. All keys begin with a <!KEY=0 tag that specifies the beginning of a key to be replaced. The next section consists of an integer, a period, and another integer, which defines the format of the number that replaces the key. If this section is 2.3, then the number that replaces the key will be in the format XX.YYY. As

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an example, for angle values, the possible range is 0 to 180, so you would logically specify 3 for the first digit, and for the second, the number of decimal digits you want displayed.

Following the number format is an @ sign and then the actual name of the value to replace the key. For NX Sheet Metal, possible values are UGS.angle, UGS.radius, and UGS.direction. These would be replaced, respectively, with the angle, radius, and direction of the associated bend region.

The default direction key is slightly different than the normal angle and radius keys. The direction key is a text-only key, so the number format is ignored. Also, the direction key is a conditional key, in that it shows one of two values. The first value is the “true” value, and the second value is the “false” value. The default direction key looks like this:

Bend Direction = <!KEY=0,[email protected] "up" "down">

Carriage returns are also allowed in the definition of an annotation (the text string that appears in the Content box). Here are the annotation definitions with carriage returns for a bend region with an angle of 30, radius of 5, and a down direction:

Annotation definitions: A = <!KEY=0,[email protected]> R = <!KEY=0,[email protected]> <!KEY=0,[email protected] "up" "down">

Resulting annotation: A=30.00 R=5.00 DOWN

You can also combine annotations. For example, you could create a callout that combines bend angle and bend direction with the label Bend. The annotation definition would be:

Bend = <!KEY=0,[email protected]><!KEY=0,[email protected] "up" "down">

The resulting annotation (with a bend angle of 90 and an upward bend) would be:

Bend = 90.00 up

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Sample sheet metal workflows

In the following sections, you will find typical sheet metal parts that you can construct easily with NX Sheet Metal.

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Creating a simple part

Use this basic tutorial to become familiar with NX Sheet Metal. The part you create here is not necessarily a real world part, but it will expose you to the interface and the main features included with the application. Many feature options are not covered here. The object is to give you a quick idea of the possibilities available to you, and to get you started.

To do this exercise, you need to understand:

How to use dialog boxes and drag handles.

How to create basic modeling features such as holes and bosses. (See the Modeling help in the NX Documentation library.)

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Setup

1. Open a new metric part file and enter NX Sheet Metal. Make sure that the Form Feature and Feature Operation toolbars are turned on. Refer to Starting the application and setting preferences for more information.

2. Set your sheet metal preferences. On the Preferences menu, choose NX Sheet Metal. Set the preferences as follows:

o Material Thickness: 2 mm

o Bend Radius: 5 mm

o Relief Depth: 3 mm

o Relief Width: 3 mm

o Neutral Factor: 0.330 mm

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Create a base feature

You can use either the Tab or the Contour Flange as the base feature in a new part. Which one you use depends on your design intent. For this tutorial, you will use the Tab. Like many features in NX Sheet Metal, the Tab is sketch-driven: its geometry relies on a sketch for its profile.

1. Click Tab .

2. You need to sketch a profile for your tab. Click Sketch Section .

3. In Sketcher, accept the default XC-YC sketch plane.

4. Sketch a rectangle 150 mm by 50 mm and click the flag to finish the sketch. You now see a wireframe preview of your tab.

5. Click OK to accept the default thickness value that you set in Preferences and to complete the feature.

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Add a flange

The basic bending feature in NX Sheet Metal is the Flange. It creates a cylindrical bend region attached to a planar web region. You use the drag handles to create it.

1. Click Flange .

2. Select an edge from which to build the flange. In this case, select one of the long edges on the tab.

3. Use the drag handles to set the length and angle of the flange. Experiment with them and notice how as you move their position, the value changes in the dynamic input box, and the solid preview updates. Use the handles to set the following parameters:

o Flange length: 30 mm

o Flange angle: 45 degrees

Click OK to complete the feature The software creates the flange with the bend radius that you specified in the Preferences dialog and the length and angle that you specified using the drag handles.

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Add a contour flange

Contour Flange is similar to Flange, in that you create a bending feature off an edge. However, Contour Flange allows you more control over the bend and web regions because you create a contour sketch that defines those regions. For this example, you create a hem flange.


On the Contour Flange dialog, you can either create a section inside the feature ,

or select a pre-existing sketch as the contour flange profile .

2. Click on the second selection step (Sketch Section) and notice that the system defaults to selecting an edge as input. Make sure that your selection intent drop-down list is set to Single Curve.

3. Rotate your part and select the bottom edge of the tab as shown below. Drag the origin of the CSYS to the end of the edge as shown and double-click any of the directional handles so that they point in the same direction as those in the figure.

This tells the software that you want to sketch on a plane perpendicular to that edge, with a position at the end of the edge, and instructs the software how the sketch plane should be oriented.

Click MB2 to accept the edge you’ve chosen. The software takes you into a captive Sketcher environment.

4. Draw the sketch shown below. Make sure that the arc is tangent both to the line you sketched and to the side edge of the part as shown in the figure.

o Arc radius: 1 mm

o Line length: 30 mm

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5. Exit the Sketcher. You see a wireframe preview of the contour flange. If necessary, double-click the drag handle to reverse the direction of the flange so that it looks like the picture below.

6. Use the width drag handle or the entry box to set the width of the flange to 75 mm, as shown below.

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7. Click OK to create the contour flange.

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Add bends

The Bend feature in NX Sheet Metal works just like the SMBend feature in the Sheet Metal Design software. You sketch a line profile and the software bends the part around that line.

1. Click Bend .

The Bend dialog displays, and the software defaults to face selection for the sketch plane.

2. Select the face highlighted in the figure below as the placement face for the sketch.

3. Create a single line sketch as shown in the figure below. This horizontal line stretches from beyond the part edge across the bend region on the first flange. It's positioned 30 mm from the top edge.

4. Click on the flag to complete the sketch. You see two directional handles and one angle handle. Double-click on the directional arrows (if necessary) so that they point as shown in the figure.

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5. Set the angle of the bend to 45 degrees by either dragging the handle or typing in the entry box. Complete the bend by clicking OK.

Notice how the software rips the bend region of the original flange because the new bend feature intersects it. Rather than giving you an error, the software assumes you want this result and rips those bend regions automatically.

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The workflow for making cuts

The typical workflow for making holes or similar cuts in NX Sheet Metal is to unbend any bend regions that the cuts will intersect, make the cuts, and then rebend the bend areas. You'll see this workflow in the next three sections, where you use the Unbend, Hole, and Rebend features.

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Unbend a part

The Unbend feature allows you to flatten specific bend regions on your NX Sheet Metal part.

1. Click Unbend .

The Unbend dialog displays.

The first thing you have to specify in the Unbend dialog box is a planar face to stay stationary. All the bending operations happen around that face and that face will be anchored in space.

2. Pick the face as shown in the graphic below.

3. Pick the bend region you wish to unbend as shown.

The software gives you a preview of the unbend action.

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4. Click OK to finish the unbend operation.

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Add a hole

The Form Feature toolbar contains features borrowed from Modeling that can be used on NX Sheet Metal parts. In general, features that take away material, such as a hole or pocket, can be used to remove material from the bend regions or planar areas of a sheet metal part. Features that add material, such as a boss or pad, should only be used on the planar regions.

1. Click Hole on the Form Feature toolbar.

2. Select the flattened bend region face as the placement face.

3. Create a hole as shown in the following figure:

o Diameter: 25 mm

o Distance from end of flange web: 32 mm

o Distance from the side of the bend region, at the bottom: 40 mm

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Rebend the part

Rebend is the exact opposite of Bend. It returns a bending feature to its original bent shape.

1. Click Rebend .

2. Select the bend region that you wish to bend again, as shown below. Because the bend region was cut into two pieces by the hole, you can select either piece of the original bend region. The software treats the two separate pieces as a whole.

Rebend gives you a preview of the operation where the original unbent solid turns transparent and the preview is solid.

3. Click OK to finish the feature. The results are shown below.

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Notice that the sides of the hole have distorted properly, just as if the bend had been placed across the hole during manufacturing.

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Generate the blank shape

Use Flat Solid when you're making drawings of the flattened blank shape created by your sheet metal part.

To create a flat solid, you need to click on two items in the graphics window.

The first is a planar reference face, and the second is a linear reference edge. These references allow you to position the flat solid body for export to a machining tool.

If you enable Move to Absolute CSYS, the placement and X-axis references that you selected are used to reposition the Flat Solid body at the absolute coordinate system. If you disable it, the reference face of Flat Solid feature is held stationary. The images below show this. In each image, the pink face is the selected reference face and the blue solid is the resulting Flat Solid body. In the first image, the option is disabled; in the second, it is enabled.

Flat Solid is always applied to the end of the model tree, so it's always at the last feature in timestamp order, unless you create a Flat Pattern (which is always after Flat Solid). Any changes made to the 3D formed model are automatically reflected in the Flat Solid, and in the Flat Pattern as well.

To create a Flat Pattern feature:

1. Click Flat Pattern .

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2. Select a planar face from the Flat Solid to use as a basis for the Flat Pattern. Click OK to create the Flat Pattern.

The Flat Pattern feature is created in a special FLAT-PATTERN view that you can add to a drawing. To see the FLAT-PATTERN, in the Part Navigator, click to expand Model Views, then double-click the FLAT-PATTERN view.

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Creating wrapped features

You can also use the Contour Flange command to construct features that are wrapped around a cylinder, like parts made by rolling perforated material. To construct a wrapped feature:


2. Sketch a profile arc that has an included angle of slightly less than 360 degrees. There must be a slight gap where the ends of the rolled material meet, or the part won't unbend.

Keep this in mind when defining the material side for the contour flange. Make sure the material thickness doesn't cause the gap to close.

3. Set the width of the contour flange.


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After you've constructed the contour flange, you can unroll it using the Unbend command.

1. Click Unbend .

2. When prompted to select a non-thickness face or linear edge, select one of the edges of the part, as shown.

3. When prompted to select bends, click anywhere on the body of the part.

4. If the Preview button is selected, you see the unrolled state of the part.

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You can add features, such as a pattern of holes, to the flattened part, then use the Rebend command to re-roll the part. Then you can fill the small gap by adding a protrusion.

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Using instancing with punch-type features

It's a common requirement when designing parts to have an array of louvers, dimples, or drawn cutouts. However, due to the construction method used on these features internally, they aren't available for instancing. The following example illustrates how to use punch-type features in an instance array.

1. Open a new part and create a rectangular Tab on the XC-YC plane with sides of 100 mm and 250 mm. Make sure that the longer side is aligned with the XC axis, and the shorter side aligned with the YC axis.

2. Click Louver . Create a sketch for the louver as shown below.

3. When you exit the sketch, you get a solid preview of the Louver feature. Change the End Options to Formed-End Louver. Use a Depth value of 5 and a Width value of 10.

4. Click OK to complete the Louver.

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5. To apply an Instance feature to the Louver, you have to include it in a Feature Set. From the menu, choose Format→Group Features. Notice that the Louver feature is included in the list of features available to group.

6. Choose the Louver from the list and give it a logical unique name. (We chose LouverGroup(7) because the Louver feature name was SB Louver (7).) Click the right arrow (Add) to add the Louver to the Feature Set.

Once you've created the Feature Set with the Louver in it, you can instance the Feature Set.

7. Choose Insert→Associative Copy→Instance.

8. Choose LouverGroup(7) as the feature set to instance. Create an instance set with three copies along the X-axis at a distance (Offset) of 80 mm apart, and three copies along the Y-axis at a distance (Offset) of 30 mm apart. (Depending on how your part is aligned with the XC and YC axes, you may have to make one or both of the Offset values negative.)

You can use this same technique when instancing Dimple, Bead, and Drawn Cutout features. You can also use it to instance Flange features as well, but you need to be careful when positioning instanced flanges so that they Boolean to the base solid properly.

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Using Normal Cutout

You can use Normal Cutout to create cuts where the thickness faces always maintain their perpendicularity to the top and bottom faces of your part. This means that you can apply cuts to your model in the formed state, and they will appear as if they were cut while the part was in the flattened state. The following example illustrates the power of this command.

1. Open a new part and create a Contour Flange feature using a Z-shaped sketch as shown below. The legs of the Z are each 100 mm long and are 250 mm apart.

2. Give the Contour Flange a Width value of 100 mm.

3. Create a sketch on the face shown below.

4. Create a square sketch on that face with side lengths of 50 mm and fillets in the corners with radii of 3 mm.

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5. Create an Extrude-Subtract feature using the sketch and extending it through the entire part.

Notice that the cut in the center section of the part didn't maintain uniform thickness because the thickness faces aren't perpendicular to the top and bottom faces.

6. Undo the Extrude feature and create a Normal Cutout using the same sketch. Make sure that the Direction vector points to the interior of the sketch, and drag the Depth handle so that the cut extends through the entire part.

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Notice that the cuts made in the center region of the part now maintain their uniform thickness, as would be expected on a sheet metal part.

7. Create an Extrude-Create feature using the same sketch as before. Extend the Extrude through the entire part. Notice how the cut made in the center region by the Normal Cutout left enough room for the extrusion to pierce the part without interfering with the sheet metal solid.

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Making cuts like these while the model is in the formed state is useful when creating your part within the context of an assembly. When other bodies need to intersect your sheet metal part, you can simply use wave-linked bodies and intersection curves as inputs to the Normal Cutout feature to create voids in your part that are the proper size for the other bodies to extend through.

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Using punched features

Punched features such as Louver, Dimple, Drawn Cutout, and Bead have certain restrictions on the profiles they allow. The following guidelines should assist you in creating successful punched features in NX Sheet Metal.

Dimples and drawn cutouts The profile you supply for dimples and drawn cutouts has certain restrictions with regard to the part thickness and fillets in the section sketch. When applying thickness to the model, the direction of thickening and the fillet radius you choose affect the software's ability to create the feature. Consider the example below where the radius in the corners is 2 units.

If you specify a part thickness of 3 units and a thickness direction towards the outside of the section, the result would be as shown in the following graphic.

However, if you specify a part thickness of 3 units and a thickness direction towards the inside of the section, the result would be as shown in the following graphic.

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Notice how in the interior corners the model has degenerated and four blend faces from the first example are now missing. To create the feature properly, the software must have both an interior and exterior face for those corner regions. The situation illustrated above would be an error condition, and the software would be unable to create a Dimple or Drawn Cutout in this situation.

Louvers The Louver feature has a similar restriction on the profile. Once again, this restriction is due to the disappearance of a face in the model.

Suppose we have a dimple profile that is 50 units long and 15 units wide, as shown below.

If we increase the Width of the Louver to 20 units, the face between the two radii on the sides becomes smaller. If we increase the radius to 24 units, it becomes even smaller still.

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Finally, when the Width becomes one-half the length of the section sketch, the face disappears and we get a degenerate model. This is an error condition, and the Louver feature won't build.

So, when creating a Louver, make sure that the Width is less than one-half of the section sketch line.

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Similarly, the Depth of the Louver must be less than the Width value minus the Part Thickness value. If this condition isn't met, the spherical sides of the Louver can't maintain their spherical nature and the feature won't build.

Beads As with the other punched features, the values given to the Bead feature can sometimes cause degenerate geometry. Each of the different bead types is shown below along with a discussion of the items to look for when choosing values for the various options.

V-Shaped Bead

The V-Shaped Bead feature has restrictions on the radius of the Bead in relation to the part thickness. The radius value must be greater than the part thickness. As shown in the examples below, when the radius equals the part thickness, a face on the inner side of the top of the bead disappears.

Circular Bead

The Circular Bead feature has restrictions on the height in relation to the radius. To maintain a circular section, the height of the feature must not exceed the radius. Otherwise, new faces would have to be added, and the feature would then become a U-Shaped Bead instead of a Circular Bead.

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U-Shaped Bead

The U-Shaped Bead feature has restrictions on the rounding you can apply to it. It's possible to supply values that prevent the rounding from being applied. It's a little harder to create this error condition than the previous examples, but certain combinations of Side Angle, Width, Part Thickness, and Depth may result in a condition where the rounding fails. This condition is fairly rare, however, and a simple adjustment of any of these values should correct the problem.

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Using lofted flanges

You can use Lofted Flange to create transition regions between two different profiles. Lofted Flange is similar to Contour Flange, but it has two profiles instead of one, which gives you more control over the shape of the sheet metal in between. The following example illustrates how to create a square-to-round transition using this command.

1. Open a new part and create a U-shaped sketch feature on the XC-ZC plane as shown below. Each leg is 100 mm long, and the legs are 150 mm apart. The fillets placed in the corners have a radius of 5 mm.

2. Create another sketch on a parallel plane at a distance of 200 mm. This sketch should be an arc with the ends at each endpoint of the original sketch. Drag to find the third point of the arc where the ends of the sketch are both tangent to the two side curves on the original sketch, as shown below.

3. Click Lofted Flange and select the square section as the Start Section. Select one endpoint of the section as the start point, as shown below.

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4. Select the arc section as the End Section, and the endpoint of that sketch shown below as the end point. You should get a semi-solid preview of the part.


Tips and techniques for lofted flanges

When creating sections for a Lofted Flange, ensure that they contain the same number of elements whenever possible. When creating transitions such as the square-to-round transition above, this isn’t possible. However, transitions for sections with similar shapes, such as square-to-square, must contain matched elements.

Unlike Contour Flange, where you can allow the software to create the bend regions according to the default bend radius, you should include the bend radii in the section sketches for the Lofted Flange. Bend regions for the start and end sections usually have different radii.

When including radii in your section sketches as fillets, those radii must be larger than the part thickness if you want them to define the outer bend region faces. If your radii are too small, you won't see a solid preview, and the feature won't be created.

The two sections used in the Lofted Flange feature must be created on parallel planes, and any line segments that are mapped to each other must be parallel. This is

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necessary in order for the finished product to be flattened with the Unbend or Flat Solid command.

Arc-to-arc mapping requires that both arcs have the same arc angle. The arcs don't have to be concentric.

Lines can only be mapped to lines or points. Arcs can only be mapped to arcs and points. Lines can't be mapped to arcs. In the above example, the line segments in the square section are mapped to points on the arc section.

As a general rule, the start and end sections must have the same number of segments. However, the software will attempt to map lines or arcs to points to resolve conflicts.

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Flattening lofted flanges

Only lofted flanges that consist of planes, partial cylinders, and partial cones can be flattened. Lofted flanges that contain ruled surfaces cannot. The type of geometry constructed depends upon how you draw the profiles. A lofted flange is constructed by mapping the faces between corresponding profile elements. The following are examples of how arcs and lines are lofted into varying shapes of Lofted Flange sections.

Two lines are lofted into a planar section.

Two arcs of the same radius are lofted into a cylindrical bend region.

Two arcs of differing radii are lofted into a conical bend region.

A line can also loft into a point to create a triangular planar section. However, this can only happen in conjunction with other section curves. A simple set of sketches consisting of a line and a point won't create a Lofted Flange.

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An arc can also loft into a point to create a conical section. Once again, this can only happen in conjunction with other section curves.

If the two profiles have the same number and type of elements, and each element on the first profile maps to the same element type on the second profile (line to line, or arc to arc), in most cases, you can flatten the lofted flange.

Ruled surface examples Any lofted flange that contains a ruled B-surface can't be flattened. A B-surface face is constructed when:

The start and end section lines have a different relative angle.

Two section arcs have different start angles, end angles, or total angles.

An arc is mapped to a line.

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Showing both formed and flat solids on a drawing

With NX Sheet Metal, you can show views of your solid part in both the formed and unformed states:

1. After completing your NX Sheet Metal part, create a Flat Solid feature in your part and move it to a different layer.

2. Create a Flat Pattern feature using the Flat Solid feature as the base body.

3. Enter the Drafting application and create views of the formed solid part.

4. Click Base View and choose FLAT-PATTERN from the list of available views.

5. Add the flat pattern view just as you would any other part view.

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Note that for the flat pattern view to be visible, the layer that the flat pattern curves were placed on (according to your Customer Defaults) must be a visible layer. If you are placing the flat pattern view and do not see any resulting geometry, check your layer settings.

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NX Sheet Metal

Commands and options

Roles added in

Menu path Toolbar information and comments

Redo

Essentials and Advanced

Edit→Redo Added to the Standard toolbar.

General Datums and Points list


– Moved next to Sketch on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Flange


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Flange

Moved to the Flange list on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Hem Flange


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Hem Flange

Added to the Flange list on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Bend


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Bend

Moved to the Flange list. Not available by default on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Jog


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Jog

Moved to the Flange list. Not available by default on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Resize list Essentials and Advanced

– Added to the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Resize Bend Radius


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Resize Bend Radius

Added to the Resize list on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Resize Bend Angle


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Resize Bend Angle


Resize Neutral Factor


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Resize Neutral Factor


Flats list Essentials and Advanced

– Added to the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

Flat Solid


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Flat Solid

Moved to the Flats list on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

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Flat Pattern


Insert→Sheet Metal Feature→Flat Pattern

Moved to the Flats list on the NX Sheet Metal toolbar.

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Caveats

General

In certain assembly views, the sketches underlying sheet metal features become visible even if they are not external sketches. The only workaround at this time is to hide them.

Journal replay does not work when you open the Preferences dialog box. However, replay of NX Sheet Metal features works correctly.

Sometimes “//Used by” is shown in the expression field.

Sometimes planes are visible after playback of NX 3 Sheet Metal part files.

If you use the Essentials (Recommended) role, the text below the buttons for both Resize Bend Radius and Resize Bend Angle says Resize Bend. The ScreenTips are correct.

Bend Table Lookup/Bend Allowance Formula

To use Bend Table Lookup, the first NX Sheet Metal feature in the feature tree must use at least one Global Value (other than Neutral Factor).

Because contour and hem flanges can have more than one bend (and therefore more than one value for neutral factor), the neutral factor values provided by the bend table or bend allowance formula do not display in the command dialog boxes or in the Part Navigator Details for contour and hem flanges. Instead, you see the value stored in NX Sheet Metal Preferences.

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User-driven enhancements NX 5 also delivers hundreds of user-driven enhancements:

Multi-body support for modeling operations

Blend, hollow and taper improvements

Enhanced Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) and 3D annotation support

Enhancements to drafting templates to increase drafting productivity

New drafting productivity tools such as embedded drafting standards

Adobe PDF generation

New Assemblies mating conditions

Enhanced straight brake sheet metal, including the use of bend tables as well as calculations for flat pattern generation

A number of new cut patterns for rapid tool path generation in NX CAM

The introduction of a new module for Automated extraction path planning and enveloping

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Documents

UG_BKM