Sheet Metal Design with SolidWorks | Flights To Beijing

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April 26th, 2012 by admin

The SolidWorks computer program has been designed to help engineers design sheet metal parts. Used largely to bridge the gap between designers and manufacturers SolidWorks helps to keep prices down, while increasing production times. SolidWorks makes it possible for users to produce 3d models that can then be used by fabricators to create the finished product One of many things that the The SolidWorks computer program helps engineers and manufacturers to do is to define, for purposes of each product, what exactly they mean by sheet metal. This includes details like the thickness of the metal. This allows engineers to design sheet metal components virtually before bends are made, and to determine whether particular cuts and folds are indeed practical to make. Additionally, sheet metal panels can be labeled and named to avoid confusion concerning how many of which panels to fabricate. Later, this also helps in manufacturing by ensuring that all sheet metal panels are correctly marked with information about how they fit into the overall design. The SolidWorks computer program further allows for the addition of form radius, multiple or layered extrusions and other features after the product has been fitted together in the virtual design. This helps the designer and the fabricator to align tabs, perforations or other attributes that need to line up on numerous complicated sheet metal panels. The SolidWorks computer design program allows the design and fabrication of very complicated features, allowing both designers and fabricators to verify tolerances and clearances, ensuring that the product which the engineer has designed can actually be fabricated and, eventually, assembled. The software enables to designers to put together designs using small gaps between the panels that make it possible to unfold the design. This allows design features to stand out, so that they will be seen clearly. This feature will be useful when the panels will fit together very closely in the finished product but need to be seen as individual components by the fabricator in order to assemble them properly. By far the most useful feature of the SolidWorks metal design package is that it will allow engineers to modify the design as required. The software can help designers to take into account the effects the modifications could have on the overall design which might not be immediately obvious. The obvious benefit of this is that design flaws and inconsistencies will be found prior to the commencement of the manufacturing process, potentially saving you a great deal of wasted time and money. Engineers find themselves better able to move a product from conception and modeling through to a workable design if they use solidworks cad software for sheet metal manufacturing. If the designer’s plan is clearly laid out and easy to understand, the manufacturer will be able able to produce components which will perform exactly as the designer intended, resulting in efficiency in the product’s manufacture and production. Efficient production leads to shorter production times, less material being wasted, reduced production costs all round, and higher profit margins. Marc Anderes is the VP of Operations of Maloya Laser that is dedicated to Laser Cutting and Metal Manufacturing with state-of-the-art laser technologies, for aerospace, medical, machinery, scientific and transportation needs.

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Pro/ENGINEER Forum: Unbending a Louvre

SCUBARENE
Member

Joined: 26 April 2012
Location: South Africa
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1

Posted: 26 April 2012 at 1:52am | IP Logged

Hi Everyone

I need help with a part,I need to bend a Louvre,but when I try to unbend it says "Geometry is not unbendable"

Part was created by sketching and extruding and then converting to Sheetmetal.

I tried adding a flat wall but with same result.

Working in Pro E 5

Any help is appreciated

Thx

-Sorry Picture added

Edited by SCUBARENE on 26 April 2012 at 2:27am

DealerMine Announces $1000 Photo Contest Sweepstakes for Auto ...

PORTLAND, Ore. – DealerMine Corporation, provider of the obsolescence management service for auto dealers, announces a $1,000 photo contest sweepstakes, starting May 1, 2012 and extending through July 31, 2012.

DealerMine is looking for photos capturing the funniest, most creative, non-conventional ways parts managers can come up with to repurpose their non-selling parts. As most parts professionals know, industry statistics suggest that if you haven’t sold a part within 6 months there is a 65 percent chance that the part will never sell; 9 months and it goes up to 85 percent; 12 months there’s a 95 percent chance the part will never sell *. The photo contest aims to have fun, while bringing light to the problem of idle stock and educating dealership personnel on ways they can recoup their investment and profit from their obsolete parts rather than repurposing them as paperweights or white elephant gifts.

Some traditional ways to reduce or eliminate obsolete parts include:

• Manufacturer return programs. Manufacturer return programs are one option, although these programs do not generally address the full problem and the policies change frequently. Some programs require a holding period of up to 12 months.
• Donate the parts. Some colleges with auto body repair classes will accept sheet metal parts. This is an option if you need a tax write off, but there is little to no cash value to pump back into new parts purchases.
• The city dump. Although not recommended, some dealers even choose to throw their obsolescence into the trash. One consideration here would be to at least separate out anything that has scrap metal value.
• Obsolescence liquidation services. Perhaps one of the best options. Dealers have reported selling 30 to 70 percent of their idle stock at 50 cents on the dollar. DealerMine can generally get your parts sold within a week, creating re-investment capital for your department and your dealership.

While these are the practical options, DealerMine’s contest is calling for the funniest, most outrageous ideas parts managers have considered doing with their obsolete parts.

Here’s how it works:

Everyone who sends a photo with the required information will be entered into the drawing for the Grand Prize of $500. 

Plus, from the photos sent in our judges will select five of their favorite photos, which will each win a $100 prize.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Set up a scenario for getting rid of an auto part and take a digital photo. (Nothing illegal or actually dangerous, please.) You can enter more than one photo.
2. Submit your photo through the online entry form found here or by visiting http://www.dealermine.com/submitphoto.aspx. By sending us your original photo you are giving us permission to use it in our marketing and publicity along with your name and where you work.
3. We’ll contact you if you’re a winner and then announce it to everybody in our email newsletter.

Contest Rules: To qualify, complete entries (photo and required information) must be received by midnight July 31, 2012. Entrant must be older than 18 and a current employee of an automotive dealership. Photos must be original to the entrant. Any photos found to be copied from other sources will be disqualified. All images will become the property of DealerMine and may be used for marketing and publicity purposes. Information about winner, including his or her name and position at dealership will also be publicized. 

Sweepstakes winner will be selected by random drawing from all qualified entries. Winning photos will be selected at the sole discretion of the photo-judging panel. Winners will be responsible for all taxes on prize. DealerMine contractors, employees, their immediate family members are disqualified. If fewer than 50 entries are received, judges, at their discretion, may suspend contest. Contest void where prohibited.

*Mike Nicholes, “Professional Inventory Management”

About DealerMine Corporation

DealerMine provides a web-based service to help dealerships reduce their investment in slow-moving idle parts inventory. Since 2006, DealerMine has helped dealers liquidate over 30 million dollars worth of obsolescence and manage parts inventory more efficiently and profitably. DealerMine serves over 2,000 customers today and continually strives to provide exceptional, consistent and superior products and services that help automotive dealerships create and maintain a sustainable profit center. www.dealermine.com.

MANUFACTURING GREY METAL USES MORE GREEN ...

If you think that manufacturing looks like this it is time to take another look. Quantum POP found out at our recent visit to WESTEC, that in modern manufacturing, getting efficient means getting green.

Not too long ago manufacturing was a dirty business, but more and more the emphasis is on going green. In this article we are mostly talking about the cutting of parts and pieces used to make the stuff everyone wants and everyone uses and how in a growing number of manufacturing applications there is very little to no waste and pollution.

In the olden days, when smokestacks reached to the skies, there was a lot of waste in the process of cutting and routing and drilling of parts and pieces out of metal. Piles of scrap everywhere with oils and sludge running out of pipes that often went into the landfill or sewer or areas set aside around the manufacturing plant to dump pollutants. Today however more and more of this waste is either designed out of the manufacturing process or recycles and used over and over. The result is greener  and more efficient than even 10 years ago and is still improving.

Waste is a primary culprit when it comes to pollution. but today thanks to CNC which stands for computer numeric control manufacturing techniques, much of the scrap in metal processing is eliminated from the moment the designer puts a pencil to paper or in the case of our modern CAD, CNC applications mouse to screen.

Take sheet metal manufacturing for example. In the graphic above we see a piece of sheet metal which has been mapped out for cutting by a terrific new nesting program from our friends at Solidworks which as of this writing is the leading innovator in CAD, ( Computer Aided Design) software. There are several different sizes and shapes of parts ready to be cut out of this piece of sheet metal, and so perfectly are they mapped out here, that the edge of the  sheet metal is used to form many of the parts. The result is very little scrap metal waste from each piece of sheet metal used. If the parts represented are form different products they can be labeled by the machines during fabrication for easy cataloging and storage.

Today the remaining scrap metal can be recycled. Manufacturers may be doing a better job than consumers at this because it brings down the cost of production and is very practical in as much as most metal can be recycled without any loss of quality so there is always a buyer. Often the buyer is the manufacturer because the cost is competitive with metal freshly refined from ore. Also products that are made from recycled materials are often less expensive than products made from fresh materials.

One very toxic by-product of metal manufacturing in particular are the solvents and lubricants that are used to facilitate the meta part manufacturing. Solvents clean the parts and lubricants are used in the routing and drilling that is done using traditional metal or diamond bits. there is a lot of toxicity in the solvents and lubricants and the mess ends up in the cleaning bins or even the shop floor.

 

Separation Dynamics is doing something about that. They have this very green solution for filtering out the  oils and toxic solvents used in metal part manufacturing that is so efficient that the water that remains after the separation process can be used over again so water is not wasted and in the case of mop water  it even leaves the soap in it so you can mop the floor with it again and this process can be repeated over and over until the water evaporates. The solvents and lubricants separated out from this process can be recycled and re-used and that which is not reusable stored till the toxicity is no longer an ecological factor.

But wait it gets greener still. As it turns out there are a growing number of metal-cutting processes that do not require metal or diamond power cutting tools to manufacture state of the art, precision parts and pieces. In 1905 research started in the development of ceramic cutting tools and the technology is getting very good these days. these cutting tools use heat to cut through metal so there are no piles of curly metal scraps to clean up and there is no need to use lubricants to reduce friction.

***CLICK THE PICTURE TO WATCH VIDEO*** GREENLEAF MACHINING TOOLS, REQUIRE NO TOXIC ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE PRODUCING LUBRICANTS. THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE MADE FROM A CERAMIC MATERIAL. THIS IS A HIGH INTENSITY HEAT ABSORBING MATERIAL IT DOES NOT CUT THE STEEL WHICH RESULTS IN LEFT OVER METAL SCRAP. INSTEAD THE INTENSE HEAT ABSORBED BY THE FRICTION IN THE CONTACT OF THE CERAMIC WITH THE STEEL, MELTS THE STEEL PRODUCING A PRECISION EDGE. *CLICK THE PICTURE TO SEE THE VIDEO*

The Greenleaf Corporation is a pioneer in ceramics and is applying greener solutions to industrial applications all the time.

Last but not least in our Quantum POP overview of greener trends in manufacturing is the water jet technology. As you may have guessed, this technology uses water to cut precision parts. A thin high pressure stream of water to be exact. The water is mixed with an abrasive sand and cuts so precisely that it is becoming a standard method of parts manufacturing in the aero-space and medical industry where precision is the name of the game. No lubricant no scrap other than the left over metal that could not be used. the metal of course and also the water can all be recycled. The only drawback is the process is a bit slower than the other cutting methods already described here.

FLOW technology can cut with over 90,000 psi water pressure and ultra fine sandpaper sized grit. Waterjets cut a variety materials from food and paper, to ballistic materials and inconel.

That is because the water begins to freeze and turn into crystals as you reach 110,00 psi of pressure. But don’t worry they are working on it.

One more element in the green trend is the ability to take up much less space to accomplish the same amount of production. A small shop with several employees can now produce the same amount of goods with a few machines that once took dozens of machines and twice the space.

. Bookmark the

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Prototek Sheet Metal Manufacturing News: Prototek at Design2Part ...

Contoocook, NH – April 25, 2012 - For over 37 years, engineers and product manufacturers have relied on Design2Part trade shows to find the best custom or stock parts and manufacturing services. Each D2P show features hundreds of American job shops and contract manufacturing experts showcasing their skills for design, prototypes, production runs, value added services, assemblies, and much more.

Prototek is proud to be attending this year's Design2Part exhibition to find new customers that will undoubtedly be impressed with our capabilities and customer service. We are always looking to expand, and believe it to be crucial to increase awareness of our rapid precision prototyping and production runs of both sheet metal and machined parts. Turn around time is becoming an increasingly saught after attribute in the production world, and here at Prototek, we will quote jobs in hours and are fully capable of shipping jobs in one day. We would like the pleasure to work with new customers to further expand our base and prove that we will do what ever it takes to remain at the cutting edge of the industry. We hope to see you there!

http://www.d2p.com/ShowInfo

1551 Thoreau Dr N

Schaumburg, IL 60173

May 1st & 2nd

Tuesday 9:00-4:00

Wednesday 9:00-3:30

BOOTHS 540/542

About Prototek Sheet Metal Manufacturing

Prototek Sheet Metal Manufacturing started in October of 1987 specializing in rapid prototyping and short run production of sheet metal and CNC machined parts for the hi-tech industries. Their facility is a new 40,000 sq. ft. building. Prototek currently has over 65 employees and are home to state of the art welding and bending departments, as well as plating rooms, assembly department, and much more. Prototek's niche has always been a solid commitment to on-time deliveries of quality products. They fabricate from CAD (computer aided design) files or reverse engineer from existing models to enhance functionality Prototek keeps a large, constant supply of necessary materials, sheet metal stock, machinable plastics and metal, and PEM hardware. Prototek is currently ISO 9001:2008 certified and also ITAR and DFAR compliant.

Prototek Sheet Metal Fabrication, LLC
Bruce Isabelle, CEO
244 Burnham Intervale Road
603-746-2001 (phone) ine 603-746-2002 (fax)
Monday - Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm EST
fastquote@prototek.com

http://www.prototek.com

Steve's Camaro Parts: Steve's Camaro - First Generation Camaro ...

Chevrolet Assembly - Paint Shop Operations Details

The primary function of the Paint Shop on the Chevrolet side of the plant was to paint the front end sheet metal, but there were several other unique paint systems as well that processed many other parts.

Raw Metal: The front fender outer skin and the long inner fender reinforcement were received separately from the stamping plant in order to get more pieces in a standard rack; these two parts were spot-welded together in special fixtures which established the "crown" of the fender so it matched the contour of the hood, and the raw welded assembly was then sent to the primer "Flow-Coat" line.

Sheet Metal Painting: All raw parts (wheels, brackets, etc.) and the front end sheet metal (hoods, fenders, lower fender extensions, header panels, front valances, radiator supports, inner fenders, etc.) went through a cleaning, degreasing, and hot phosphate system, then through a flow-coat booth where it was deluged with black primer from all directions and then baked. The sheet metal parts that got exterior color were pulled off the prime conveyor and loaded on another conveyor buck, in car position, for finish painting; it got a coat of primer-surfacer that was baked and lightly wet-sanded, then got three coats of lacquer, a short bake to "skin" it over, a light wet-sanding and wipe-down, then it went through the final re-flow oven at 275F for 30 minutes. Next was an in-line repair booth where Z-10/Z-11/Z-28 and D-90/DX1 stripe masking, spraying, and de-masking was done (including lower fender blackout when required), followed by another oven. After cooling, the conveyor delivered the buck carrying the color-coated parts, in the same sequence as the cars on the main assembly line, to the sheet metal subassembly area. Exterior color lacquer was supplied by DuPont, and both Fisher Body and Chevrolet Paint Shops at the same assembly location were supplied from the same DuPont-mixed lot in order to minimize any color-match problems. This wasn't an issue at Van Nuys, as their recently-consolidated Paint Shop had each car's front sheet metal on a buck just ahead of the body shell so the entire exterior of the car was painted at the same time with the same paint; that set of sheet metal eventually met up with that same body again after Body Drop on the Final Line.
Wheel Painting: The wheels were removed from the prime conveyor and placed in another conveyor system that took them through a booth where their faces were sprayed with color wheel enamel, then through an oven, and the conveyor continued to the wheel & tire assembly area where the wheels were picked off.

Small Parts Paint: All the miscellaneous brackets and small parts that only got black primer were picked off the prime line after cooling and were placed in individual containers by part number for delivery to the engine, chassis, and final line areas where they were installed.

Low-Bake Paint: Small plastic and metal parts that required color (grilles, consoles, steering columns and covers, N34 steering wheel hubs, ashtray and glove box doors, stereo speaker grilles, etc.) were received in prime from the suppliers and were painted in yet another paint system, in build sequence, baked at 150F in a short infra-red oven, and conveyed to their point of use on the Trim Line and the sheet metal subassembly area.

VE3 Front Bumpers: These optional front bumpers were received already painted from the supplier, as they required a special flexible paint and a unique process not available in the assembly plants.

Final Paint Repair: There were no paint operations of any kind after the finished car came off the Final Line, unless it needed a repair that couldn't be finished in the Paint Shop or if it got scratched during the assembly process after paint. If a spot color repair was required, it was done in an off-line prep area and spray booth with an infra-red oven which only heated the repaired surface to about 150F ("low-bake"), and final gloss of the repaired area was achieved by compounding and polishing.

© 2003-2011, Camaro Research Group

Primary Author - John Hinckley
Last Edit: 24-Mar-2009
Previous Edits: 11-Feb-2006, 07-Feb-2006, 17-Jan-2005
Original Release: 22-Jan-2004
source: www.camaro -untoldsecrets.com

www.stevescamaroparts.com

Prototek Manufacturing quick turn precision sheet metal and ...

Prototek Sheet Metal Manufacturing began in 1987 as a family owned and operated business as a supplier of quick turn precision sheet metal and machined products for the prototype markets. Today we are still a family owned and operated business, and many of our employees are from our original team. We have since launched into rapid prototyping of precision machining production as well. Our quality and turn times continue to be among the best in the industry. Serving industries such as robotics, semi-conductor, telecommunications, military, pharmaceutical, medical, computer technologies and aeronautics. Prototek’s capabilities include punching and cutting of sheet metal from 0.010″ – 0.375″ thick, forming, installing hardware, welding, machining, plating, painting, powder coating, silk screening, stamping, part marking, and assembly all under a single roof to help save our customers time and money on their finished parts while ensuring Prototek’s trademark quality! At Prototek, our punch press, 4000 watt laser, and two LC-C1 Punch/Laser combination cells run 24/7 which translates to faster turn times for our customers. Our highly qualified staff of employees take measures to ensure parts flow through our manufacturing process quickly and efficiently. Each operation goes through an in-process inspection to ensure the highest level of quality

Our website offers a live chat text module that customers can utilize to ask questions to any of our office staff. This live chat is manned during normal business hours. In addition, our customer service team is focused on answering any questions our customers may have regarding ship dates, revision changes, and order status, assuring they are satisfied every step of the way. RFQ that are sent to fastquote@prototek.com or uploaded directly through one of our websites will receive a quote within a day. Prototek Manufacturing can work with many files including dxf, stp, step, iges, pdf, Pro-E, Solidworks, Autocad and Inventor files.

A daily production meeting provides a clear line of sight of our manufacturing objectives and helps to reinforce our quick turn requirements. Our kanban system ensures we always have a complete stock of all common sheet metal types, consisting of over $120,000 of aluminum , steel, spring steel, titanium, tubing, channel, G-10, lexan, stainless, poly covered stainless, mirrored stainless, brass, copper, and much more. We also keep a very large stock of well over $10,000 in PEM hardware, as turn times have always been our niche, so we take every step necessary to guarantee our customers get their parts as quickly as possible. With our sophisticated scanning software, employees scan in and out of every job so our customer service can quickly find jobs if a customer makes a change or just wants to check up on their parts. Our suppliers are carefully chosen to meet our just-in-time needs by delivering materials within a day for those rare materials we do not stock. Prototek manufactures and ships products throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Germany, according to our customers’ rapid prototyping of precision machining requirements, utilizing trucking companies that offer next day shipping, LTL and full truck load deliveries. At Prototek we also have our own arsenal of trucks and drivers to deliver straight to your door in applicable cases.

Prototek remains the industry leader of rapid prototyping of precision machining, manufacturing and sheet metal.

http://www.dynamicsheetmetal.com

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