Design Consideration For Sheet Metal Fabrication

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR SHEET METAL FABRICATION

    Engineers who design sheet metal casings and components often end up redesigning them in order to manufacture them. Studies have shown that manufacturers spend 30-50% of their time, while 24% of errors are due to manufacturability. The reason behind these preventable engineering errors is often a large gap between the way sheet metal parts are designed in a CAD program and how they are actually manufactured in the shop floor. Ideally, the design engineer will be familiar with the typical tools used to make sheet metal parts, while also designing using the sheet metal Settings available in the CAD program.

    The more you know about the manufacturing process during the design phase, the more successful the manufacturability of the part will be. However, if there are problems with the way certain features are designed, then a good manufacturing vendor should be able to point out those problems and come up with good alternatives to fix them. In some cases, suggestions may.

    Same time and unnecessary cost. Here are some considerations when designing sheet metal for manufacturing:

    Sheet metal fabrication is most cost effective when using standard tool sizes rather than expensive custom tools that need to be made specifically for the job. If individual parts become too complex, consider welding or riveting together parts that can be made using standard or generic tools.

    Since bending stretches the material, features such as holes, cuts, inserted hardware, etc. should be kept away from bending to prevent hole deformation. To help understand this rule, remember "4T", which means that features located four times the thickness of the material are far away from any bending.

    The bending machine creates bending by pressing the sheet metal into the die using a linear punch, so the design does not allow for the creation of closed geometry.

    Sheet metal tolerances are much greater than machining or 3D tolerances. Factors that affect tolerances include the thickness of the material, the machine used and the number of steps in the manufacturing process. Suppliers usually provide detailed tolerance specifications related to their workshops and machines.

    A uniform bend radius, such as 0.030 inches (industry standard), should be used at each bend of the part to reduce multiple sets and speed up production.

    Welding thin materials can cause cracking or warping. Consider other joining methods when working with thin materials.

    When installing PEM hardware, consider material thickness and manufacturer's minimum requirements.