Protolabs Sheet Metal Design

Because sheet metal parts are manufactured from a single sheet of metal the part must maintain uniform wall thickness.

Protolabs sheet metal design.

Sheet metal tolerances are far more generous than machining or 3d printing tolerances. With our online quoting platform and. During the sheet metal fabrication process thin sheet metal stock is placed on a flat bed where a laser cutter 1 draws programmed part patterns. 0 609mm to 0 138 in.

This guide will help you improve manufacturability of your design by providing best practices for hems countersink holes slots bends and more. Erapid is a solidworks add in developed by protolabs that provides instant pricing and design for manufacturability dfm feedback for sheet metal parts. In this webinar we ll show you which part features increase production risks and how to reduce that risk through design iteration. Depending on the part geometry a sheet metal punch 2 can form additional features.

A press brake creates a bend by pressing sheet metal into a die with a linear punch so design does not allow the creation of closed geometry. Specialized design elements might look great and sometimes there are good reasons for them but taking them out of your models and aiming for simplicity is good practice. Sheet metal finishing. A key early step in integrating nuts pins studs and other connectors into your part design is to consider sheet metal and hardware compatibility selecting the connector material to make sure it works with the type of sheet metal being used.

Once the parts are deburred they move to the press brake 3 where they are formed into the final geometries. Get an interactive quote with free design analysis within hours. Protolabs is the world s fastest source for custom prototypes and low volume production parts. Avoid elaborate design elements for sheet metal fabrication.

Our digital approach to manufacturing lets us ship sheet metal prototypes and production components to you within days. How to reduce sheet metal design risks and production costs. Determining material compatibility of sheet metal and hardware. You re bound to encounter a few twists and turns when designing parts for sheet metal fabrication.

Sheet metal fabrication need a crash course in sheet metal part design.