Proengineer-Sheetmetal

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Pro/SHEETMETAL
Figure SM.1 Bracket and Bracket Detail Drawing
OBJECTIVES
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Model sheet metal parts and create sheet metal drawings
Create walls, reliefs, and bends
Understand and create Bend Order Tables
Produce Flat Pattern Instances of sheet metal parts
Create form features and rips
Produce Sheetmetal drawings
Pro/SHEETMETAL
This Lesson introduces how to createand work with thin-walled parts using Pro/SHEETMETAL (Fig.
SM.1). Pro/SHEETMETAL parts are similar to Pro/E parts (even though their database is actually a bit
different).Pro/SHEETMETAL
parts are a Sub-type of parts.When you create a New file, if
Part is the selected Type, you can
choose Sheetmetal as the Sub-
type. From the New File Optionsdialog box you then choose the
Template (Fig. SM.2).Sheet
metal parts can also be used in
assemblies, along with other Pro/Eand/or Pro/SHEETMETAL parts.
In addition, sheet metal parts can
contain normal Pro/E features,
such as solid protrusions, surfaces,and datum entities.
Figure SM.2 Sub-type Sheetmetal and Template options.

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Using Pro/SHEETMETAL, you can create parts in either their formed (bent) shape (Fig. SM.3) or
the flattened shape. Once created, these parts can then be formed or flattened, as required. You can also
use Family Tables to maintain the part in both states.Figure SM.3 COAch for Pro/E, Pro/SHEETMETAL, Basic Concepts, Overview
If you have COAch for Pro/E on your system, go to Sheet Metal Design and complete the lessons.
As sheet metal parts are flattened (or formed if you start with a flat state), Pro/SHEETMETAL
utilizes a "Y factor" to allow for the fact that metal is elastic and stretches as it bends.
Pro/SHEETMETAL will subtract from theactual length of the material to compensate for the elasticity.
You can substitute a Bend Table for the Y factor if you so desire. Several default bend tables are
provided with Pro/SHEETMETAL; they are based on the tables from the Machinery Handbook.
The Pro/E part database is different when you create parts using Pro/SHEETMETAL. All sheet
metal parts are by definition thin-walledconstant-thickness parts. Because of this, sheet metal parts have
some unique properties, that other Pro/E parts do no have. You may convert a solid part into a sheet
metal part, but not a sheet metal part into a solid part. The solid must be a constant thickness.
All sheet metal parts are constructed of features known as Walls. A sheet metal Wall feature is
analogous to a Solid Protrusion.When you create Wall features, Pro/E is actually doing a great deal of
work behind the scenes--it creates many
internal datum planes and automatic
alignment points that never appear on the...