Sheetmetal Fabricators HVAC Industry through SOLIDWORKS Flatten Tool

This blog is all about a recent client who has been in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) industry, questioned if there was any possibility to take blank development for a 90 degree Elbow, Reducer, Wye connector etc. The answer is, yes. SOLIDWORKS will make this easier and provide the best results. For the next few minutes, I am going to guide you to receive the exact results. Here we go.

At first, I created a defined sketch [Path] for the required model dimension’s on one plane and I defined a profile, on another plane.

Go to Sweep-> Check the “Thin Feature” and set the thickness value [say 1.2mm]. Then choose Circle as Profile and its respective Path. Instantly you will see the Elbow profile. Click OK.

Then choose the Side Plane to make an open cut [refer image below]. This open cut is the root for blank development.

Now the next step is to create a Split Sketch for Splitting the Bodies to develop blank for each profile. After a Sketch, go to Split-> Choose the Sketch-> Choose the Bodies to Split-> Check out “Consume Bodies”-> Click OK.

Now we will see the splitter bodies [Cut List] in the Feature Manager Tree. Then go to Sheetmetal-> Insert Bend-> Choose an edge on any of the body-> Click OK. Go to Flatten-> Choose the Body which we created Insert Bend-> Click OK and you will see the instant Blank development of the same.

I would like to conclude that this blank development process will be a treasure for the Sheet Metal fabricators especially the HVAC industry. I would like to encourage you all to follow the same procedure for the other bodies and other design related to the above. Catch you on the next post – on SOLIDWORKS features. Thank you.

Note: I did this for a single body. The same procedure can be done for different body in a single design environment by using SOLIDWORKS Configuration. Try it out. Share your results in the comments below!

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EGS India

Managing Director at EGS Computers India Private Limited

E G S Computers India Private Limited, since 1993, has been in the forefront of delivering solutions to customers in the areas of Product Design and Development with SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD,Remaining Life Calculations, Validation using Finite Element Analysis, Customization of Engineering activities and Training in advanced engineering functions relating to design and development. EGS India - Authorized Reseller for SOLIDWORKS Solutions in India - Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai - Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry. For any queries on SOLIDWORKS Solutions contact @ 9445424704 | mktg@egs.co.in | Website - www.egsindia.com