Last Update: 13 November 2019

Revision 1.0
SOLIDWORKS® Standard
SolidPractices: Sheet Metal

3DS.COM © Dassault Systèmes | Confidential Information | 06/27/2017 ref.: Document_Reference |

Table of Contents

1) PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................... 5
2) BEST APPROACH TO MODELING SHEET METAL BODIES ............................................................................. 6
3) SHEET METAL ARCHITECTURAL CHANGES IN SOLIDWORKS 2013 .............................................................. 7
4) VERIFICATION ON REBUILD ....................................................................................................................... 8

5) CUT-EXTRUDE WITH NORMAL CUT OPTION .............................................................................................. 9

6) ZERO GAP AND SELF-INTERSECTION ........................................................................................................ 11

7) AVOID SELF-INTERSECTION WITH EDGE-FLANGE ..................................................................................... 12

8) DESIGNING SHEET METAL FROM THE FLAT.............................................................................................. 13

9) BOUNDING BOX AND GRAIN DIRECTION ................................................................................................. 16

10) SHEET METAL MIRROR FEATURES ........................................................................................................... 17

11) SWEPT FLANGE: TWO DIFFERENT FLAT PATTERN OPTIONS ..................................................................... 18

12) LOFTED BEND “BENT” MANUFACTURING METHOD ................................................................................ 20

13) LOFTED BEND “FORMED” MANUFACTURING METHOD ........................................................................... 22

A) BEND LINES ................................................................................................................................................. 22
B) APPLICATION OF LOFTED BEND LINES ................................................................................................................. 23
14) FLAT PATTERN DRAWING VIEWS............................................................................................................. 24
15) SKETCHED BEND FEATURE AND BEND RELIEFS ........................................................................................ 25
16) IMPROVE FLAT PATTERN PERFORMANCE IN COMPLEX PARTS WITH FEATURE PATTERNS ...................... 27
17) ALTERNATIVE WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THE FLAT PATTERN ................................................................. 28
18) IMPORTANT SHEET METAL OPTIONS....................................................................................................... 31

A) THE MULTIBODY SHEET METAL OPTION ............................................................................................................... 31

B) THE ‘SIMPLIFY BENDS’ OPTION ......................................................................................................................... 31
C) THE ‘MERGE FACES’ OPTION ........................................................................................................................... 32
19) BEND ALLOWANCE IN SOLIDWORKS ....................................................................................................... 33

A) ROUND BENDS AND BEND ALLOWANCE .............................................................................................................. 33

B) BEND ALLOWANCE CONTROL OPTION ................................................................................................................. 33
C) FLATTEN LENGTH CALCULATION USING BEND DEDUCTION ........................................................................................ 35
D) BEND DEDUCTION FOR ANGLES LESS THAN 90 DEGREES BETWEEN FACES ..................................................................... 37
20) SHEET METAL FORM TOOL ...................................................................................................................... 38
21) BEND TABLES .......................................................................................................................................... 41

A) WHY TO USE BEND TABLES .............................................................................................................................. 41

2
 B) HOW TO USE SOLIDWORKS BEND TABLES ........................................................................................................ 41
C) BEND TABLE AND BEND ANGLES OTHER THAN 90 DEGREES ...................................................................................... 41
D) RULES FOR BEND TABLES AND GAUGE TABLES ....................................................................................................... 42
E) HANDLING BEND TABLE COMMON PROBLEMS ...................................................................................................... 44

22) RECREATE TEMPLATES THAT PRODUCE OLD SHEET METAL ARCHITECTURE PARTS ................................. 47
23) NORMAL CUT WITH THE ’OPTIMIZE GEOMETRY’ OPTION ....................................................................... 48

24) ALWAYS REMOVE “SELF-INTERSECTION” ................................................................................................ 49

25) FLATTENED MASS .................................................................................................................................... 50

26) CALCULATING THE K-FACTOR FOR SWEPT FLANGES ................................................................................ 51

27) NORMAL CUT ‘OPTIMIZE GEOMETRY’ OPTION ........................................................................................ 52
28) TAB AND SLOT FEATURE IN ASSEMBLY COMPONENTS ............................................................................ 53
29) ADD PUNCH TABLE TO DRAWING VIEWS OF DERIVED SHEET METAL PARTS ........................................... 54

30) TURN ON OR TURN OFF OVERRIDE DEFAULT PARAMETERS .................................................................... 55

31) 3 BEND CORNER RELIEFS ......................................................................................................................... 56

32) NORMAL CUT STANDALONE FEATURE..................................................................................................... 57

33) LINKING MATERIALS AND SHEET METAL PARAMETERS ........................................................................... 58

3
 Revision History
Rev # Date Description
1.0 Nov 2019 Revised for use by customers and reset as document version 1.0

Note
All SolidPractices are written as guidelines. You are recommended to use these documents
only after properly evaluating your requirements. Distribution of this document is limited to
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks employees, VARs and customers that are on active
subscription. This document may not be posted on blogs or any internal or external forums
without prior written authorization from Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.

This document was updated using version SOLIDWORKS 2019 SP04. If you have questions
or need assistance in understanding the content, please get in touch with your designated
reseller.

4
1) Preface
This SolidPractice document walks you through many situations that you can encounter when
using the SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal functionality.

The document provides a general description of the most common sheet metal “problems”
and misunderstandings, and compiles issues reported in over 3000 service requests from
sheet metal customers.

Your Feedback Requested

We would like to hear your feedback and also suggestions for new topics. After reviewing
this document, please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey. Your feedback will help us
create the content that directly addresses your challenges.

5
2) Best Approach To Modeling Sheet Metal Bodies
SOLIDWORKS has specific sheet metal features that allow the creation of sheet metal bodies
very quickly. However, in some circumstances, when the design demands certain types of
geometries, the user has the option to use non-sheet metal feature tools and then use the
Insert Bends or “Convert to Sheet Metal” features.

When designing with sheet metal, it is important to think about the best approach to model or
design a part. At times, it may appear quicker to use non-sheet metal features (boss-extrude,
etc.), and then insert bends or convert to sheet metal. However, these options are problematic
and the least flexible.

When designing sheet metal parts, the order preference for use of feature tools are as follows:

1. Use sheet metal features such as base-flanges, edge-flanges, miter flanges, etc.

2. Use the Insert Bends feature.

3. Use the Convert to Sheet Metal feature.

When using the Insert Bends or Convert to Sheet Metal features, apply the features as early
as possible during the part design phase. When possible, insert bends or convert to sheet
metal immediately after creating the first body feature.

6
3) Sheet Metal Architectural Changes In SOLIDWORKS 2013
Effective with the release of SOLIDWORKS version 2013, there is a revision to the
architecture for the sheet metal functionality. With this release, the sheet metal
FeatureManager® design tree appears as follows:

If you are using an older part template and the sheet metal FeatureManager tree does not
look like this, you must recreate your part template.

7
4) Verification On Rebuild
Activating the Verification on rebuild option (Figure 4) and pressing Ctrl + Q to force
regeneration of the model catches most feature problems immediately after creating a feature.

As a best practice, force regenerate the model after creating each feature.

Figure 4

8
5) Cut-Extrude with Normal Cut Option
It is a recommendation to activate the Normal Cut option for most cut-extrude features that
you apply to sheet metal bodies, even when this does not seem required needed. The only
time that you must not use this option is when there is a specific reason for it. For example, if
the material removed by a normal cut is more than expected, or if you need a specific beveled
edge.

In addition, whenever possible, create sheet metal holes by using the Cut-Extrude feature.
This is because the Normal Cut option is not available for the Simple Hole feature and the
Hole Wizard feature.

The next image (Figure 5) depicts a cut-extrude without the normal cut option. Notice that
apparently, the Normal Cut option is not required in this case. Inside the cutout, there is an
edge-flange on both sides of the cut. Zooming in to one side of the edge flange (Figure 5a)
reveals the appropriate reliefs. The edge flange on the other side (Figure 5b) does not have
the proper reliefs. Figure 5c shows the flat pattern for the part. Notice the irregular area at the
center of the part.

9
(Figure 5d) shows the same part. However, in this case, the normal cut option is active.
Notice that the bend reliefs appear on both sides of the normal cut (Figure 5e & 5g). The flat
pattern (Figure 5f) is now correct.

10
6) Zero Gap and Self-Intersection
One of the most common misunderstandings when working with sheet metal is the zero gap
issue.

A zero gap means that two faces "fuse" to each other (Figure 6 & 6a). This is why
SOLIDWORKS displays the message “...the part self-intersects...” This message only
appears if the Verification on rebuild option is active.

The solution for this type of problem is to create a very small gap (0.001 mm) between the
faces. This separation is typically negligible for any sheet metal part, but not for
SOLIDWORKS.

Figure 6

Figure 6a

11
7) Avoid Self-Intersection with Edge-Flange
As shown in (Figure 6a), one of the most typical situations for self-intersection is when
applying an edge flange on a cut-extruded area. There are two basic approaches to avoid self-
intersection. The first approach (Figure 7a) is to create a small gap at each side of the edge
flange.

Figure 7a

The second approach takes advantage of the Offset option within the edge flange
functionality. When active, this option automatically creates reliefs at the flange sides (Figure
7b)

Figure 7b

12
8) Designing Sheet Metal From the Flat
When designing sheet metal parts from the flat, it is important that every feature you create
have the proper reliefs, and that these reliefs belong to the feature you create. You must either
create the bend reliefs before the bend operation (that is, create the feature), or create the
reliefs with the feature.

For example, the following image (Figure 8) shows the part before applying an Edge-Flange
feature to that edge.

Figure 8

The next image (Figure 8a) shows the area after applying the Edge-Flange feature. Notice
that the area has an improper relief.

Figure 8a

13
(Figure 8b) shows the application of a manual relief by removing the “spiked” material using
a cut-extrude in a downstream feature. However, SOLIDWORKS is a feature-based
parametric modeler, which rebuilds from the top-down. Therefore, when the modeler
rebuilds, because the Edge-Flange feature is above the Cut-Extrude feature, the user
encounters a self-intersection problem.

Figure 8b

Figure 8c shows the proper way to handle this problem. The first solution is to avoid the
problem altogether, either by creating an Edge-Flange feature with the bend outside of the
flange position (if possible), or by creating conditions for the edge flange that do not need
reliefs.

The other option is to use the automatic Edge-Flange reliefs (Figure 8c) and then use the cut-
extrude feature to remove the “spiked” piece.

14
Figure 8c

15
9) Bounding Box and Grain Direction
The bounding box algorithm finds the smallest area in which to enclose the flat pattern for
the part. At times, the direction of the bounding box is not very effective (Figure 9). When
this occurs, you can specify the bounding box in any direction by using a sketch or an edge in
the Grain Direction option in the FeatureManager (Figure 9a).

Figure 9 Figure 9a

16
10) Sheet Metal Mirror Features
The sheet metal Mirror feature simplifies modeling by using existing features (Figure 10).
However, to ensure that the mirror feature produces the right results, you must understand
how the mirror feature performs in the flat pattern.

After creating a mirror feature, it is a recommendation that you flatten the part and compare
the mirror bend region with the parent counterpart (Figure 10a).

Figure 10

Figure 10a

17
11) Swept Flange: Two Different Flat Pattern Options
There are two options to create a flat pattern from a swept flange body (Figure 11):

Figure 11

 The default flat pattern (Figure 11a)

Figure 11a

18
 The flat pattern with Cylindrical/Conical Bodies (Figure 11b):

Figure 11b

19
12) Lofted Bend “Bent” Manufacturing Method
The Bent manufacturing method for lofted bends became available with the release of
SOLIDWORKS 2014. This manufacturing method generates "true" bends and bend lines,
and is the preferred method to create lofted bends if you require flat pattern and bend line
accuracy.

Unlike the Formed manufacturing method, the Bent manufacturing method does not require
sketched filleted corners (Figure 12).

No round corner needed

Figure 12

However, be aware that if bend lines merge to a point, the feature will break the corner
automatically (Fig 12a).

Figure 12a

20
When the Refer to endpoint option is active, the system tries to find a solution to the
problem by automatically "rounding" the bend area (Figure 12b).

Figure 12b

The Bent manufacturing method for lofted bends is only available on parts with the new
architecture. This is why you cannot reuse sketches from a lofted bend part created prior to
the release of SOLIDWORKS 2013 to create this new feature.

21
13) Lofted Bend “Formed” Manufacturing Method

a) Bend lines

For lofted bend parts to display bend lines, the part must meet the following prerequisites:

 The planes of the two sketches are parallel (Figure 13a1).

Figure 13a1

 The sketches have an equal number of linear and non-linear segments (Figure 13a2).

Figure 13a2

22
  For each linear sketch segment in the first sketch, there is a corresponding parallel
sketch segment in the second sketch (Figure 13a3).

Figure 13a3

b) Application of lofted bend lines

If a lofted bend part complies with the requisites, there is a uniform distribution of bend lines
across each bend region (Figure 13b).

Figure 13b

23
14) Flat Pattern Drawing Views
When creating flat pattern drawing views, particularly of older parts, it is important to edit
the flat pattern feature and ensure that you select the appropriate fixed face.

SOLIDWORKS only processes a true flat pattern drawing if the system creates this view
automatically by using a flattened derived configuration. This is an important distinction.
Some users create a derived configuration, unsuppress the flat pattern, and then create a
frontal view of the part in this configuration. Although this drawing view is very similar to a
flat pattern drawing view, the view is not a true flat pattern drawing.

Effective with the release of SOLIDWORKS 2013, the new architecture includes updates to
the sheet metal bend line notes in flat pattern drawing views. The updates “repair” a number
of issues from the earlier versions of SOLIDWORKS. If you encounter any issue with bend
line notes in flat pattern drawing views, SOLIDWORKS Technical Support can repair these
parts and drawing files and convert them to the new architecture.

24
15) Sketched Bend Feature and Bend Reliefs
When using the Sketched Bend feature, give extra consideration when folding a tab if the
sketched bend sketch is close to the edge (Figure15)

Figure 15

The Sketched Bend feature does not create automatic bend reliefs. This can be particularly
troublesome when using the Bend Centerline, Material Inside, or Material Outside
(Figure 15a) feature bend options.

Figure 15a

If the Sketched Bend feature sketch line is close to the edge, and if the feature bend radius is
large, there is a possibility for the feature to “bend” adjacent edges also. (Figure 15b)

25
 Figure 15b

In a worst-case scenario, this problem of “over bending” occurs when using the Material
Inside option (Figure 15c). In such cases, when you create the sketched bend feature, the
position of the Sketched Bend Line is at the outer face of the bend. Therefore, the Sketched
Bend Line Distance must be equal to or greater than the Bend Radius plus the part thickness.

Figure 15c

26
16) Improve Flat Pattern Performance in Complex Parts with Feature
Patterns
It is a best practice to activate the Verification on rebuild option. However, when this option
is active, the system spends additional time checking for interferences. You can significantly
improve the performance of the flattening operation by deactivating the Verification on
rebuild option.

27
17) Alternative Way of Thinking About the Flat Pattern
Assume that you have a cylindrical part with many patterned cutouts (Figure 17), and that it
will take a few minutes to create the flat pattern. When it is necessary to perform this
operation multiple times, this can adversely affect a user’s productivity.

Figure 17

When considering this cylindrical part, determine if it is necessary

to see the full extent of the pattern features.

An alternative way to think about this is “Where does the user

really need to display the cutout pattern?”

If it is only necessary to see the cutout pattern detail in a flat

pattern drawing view, then it is probably only necessary to display
the pattern in that drawing view. Follow these steps:

1. Suppress the feature pattern in the folded state (Figure

17a).

Figure 17a

28
 2. Create a flat pattern drawing view (Figure17b).

Figure 17b

This automatically creates a flattened derived configuration (Figure 17c).

Figure 17c

3. Recreate the feature pattern in the derived configuration (Figure 17d).

Figure 17d

29
After these steps, the following items appear in the FeatureManager tree. The feature pattern
is unsuppressed in the default configuration while working in this state (Figure 17e).

Figure 17f
Figure 17e

When working in the flat pattern state, the software switches to the flat pattern derived
configuration as shown in (Figure17f.)

In the folded state, the feature pattern is suppressed, and the newly created feature pattern in
the derived configuration is unsuppressed.

30
18) Important Sheet Metal Options

a) The multibody sheet metal option

This option (Figure 18) does not apply to multibody sheet metal parts after SOLIDWORKS
2012. Effective with the release of SOLIDWORKS 2013, all sheet metal bodies display the
available flat patterns.

Figure 18

b) The ‘Simplify bends’ option

The Simplify bends option is only available for a flat pattern feature. By default, this option
is active (Figure 18b), and as the name suggests, “linearizes” the bend region. This simplifies
the cutting operation.

Because this option only

exists in the flat pattern,
when the part unfolds,
the bend region is non-
linear. This option is
typically the cause of
discrepancies in
appearance between the
flat pattern and the
unfolded state.

Fig 18b

31
c) The ‘Merge faces’ option

This option is active by default. That is, SOLIDWORKS applies the Merge faces option by
default (Figure 18c). When this option is not active, SOLIDWORKS displays the bend
regions in the flat pattern state.

This is an important option especially when working with the Bend Allowance and Bend
Deduction, etc., because it allows you to check the bend region size and determine if there is
any problem with these regions.

Figure 18c

32
19) Bend Allowance in SOLIDWORKS

a) Round bends and bend allowance

It is very important to be careful when using the ‘Bend Allowance’ feature with large round
bends. When working directly with Bend Allowance, remember that when the part is in the
flat pattern state, all of the bend’s regions have the Bend Allowance width value. Therefore,
any large round bend seems “odd” or “wrong” (Figure 19a).

Figure 19a

The solution for this problem is to edit the round bend, and manually enter the arc length of
the round bend minus the bend deduction.

b) Bend allowance control option

You can control the sheet metal Bend Allowance options (bend allowance, bend deduction,
and K-factor) from different areas of the user interface (UI). In the default installation, the
top-level Sheet Metal features control all of these options for lower level sheet metal bodies
(Figure 19b).

Figure 19b

33
In SOLIDWORKS 2013 and later, the software explicitly displays the body or lower level
sheet metal feature. This allows explicit control of the bend allowance for the body (Figure
19b1).

Figure 19b1

However, it is possible in SOLIDWORKS to narrow the bend allowance control at the

feature level (Figure 19b2). When a Bend Allowance option is controlled at the feature level,
editing the feature definition displays the Custom Bend Allowance group as active
(checked). If a Bend Allowance option is controlled at the feature level, and all bends
belonging to the feature are not specifically controlled, the feature then controls all of the
bends.

Figure 19b2

34
 The narrowest control is at the EdgeBend level (Figure 19b3).

Figure 19b3

c) Flatten length calculation using bend deduction

SOLIDWORKS always calculates the bend deduction from the virtual point created by two
adjacent flanges. The following example demonstrates the steps necessary to calculate the
flatten length by using a bend deduction.

Figure 19c

The image on the left side of Figure 19c shows a simple sheet metal part. The image on the
right side shows the sheet metal parameters that the software uses to calculate the flatten
length. The most important value for this exercise is a 3.00 mm bend deduction.

35
The first thing to consider is the sum of the sheet metal sides (Figure 19c1).

Figure 19c1

Calculations:

Flatten Length = Sum of all sides – (Bend Deduction x number of bends)

The Sum of all Sides = 20 + 36 + 72 + 45 + 45 + 72 + 36 + 20 = 301 mm

Flatten Length = 301 mm – (3.00 mm x 6) = 283 mm

After determining the flatten length, compare this value

with the flatten length obtained from the flat pattern.
The image in Figure 19c2 shows that the flat length
from the mathematic calculation is the same as the flat
length obtained from the part.

Figure 19c2

36
d) Bend deduction for angles less than 90 degrees between faces

Use caution when using bend deduction with bend angles of less than 90 degrees between
flanges. SOLIDWORKS uses the following method (Figure 19d) to calculate the flatten
length. Be aware that there may be a difference between the flatten length you expect and the
flatten length that SOLIDWORKS calculates.

Figure 19d

37
20) Sheet Metal Form Tool
Minimum radius of curvature

When designing a forming tool, it is very important to consider the sheet metal thickness on
which the tool is used. If possible, ensure that the form tool minimum radius of curvature is
below that thickness.

To understand this concept, it is important to understand how form tools work when inserted
into a sheet metal part.

As the form tool inserts into the part, the part is “shelled” and gradually thickens to its
original thickness.

Figure 20a

The form tool works without any problem when inserted in a 4.99 mm thick sheet metal part.
However, when the thickness reaches 5.00 mm, the form tool fails (Figure 20b).

Figure 20b

38
When this happens, the following message appears (Figure 20c):

Figure 20c

Checking the form tool reveals that the minimum radius of curvature is 3 mm (Figure 20d).

Figure 20d

The 3 mm fillet (Figure 20e) is the feature that is generating the minimum radius of
curvature.

Figure 20e

However, as shown in Figure 20f, this is a cross section of the part at the thickness limit.
Notice that the form tool minimum radius of curvature (MRC) of 3 mm is not a factor in the
form tool failure.

39
 Figure 20f

The next image (Figure 20g) shows the area where the failure is happening. Here, when the
part reaches a thickness of 4.999 mm, the radius shown is 0.001 mm.

Figure 20g

40
21) Bend Tables

a) Why to use bend tables

In the default installation, SOLIDWORKS assigns a single Bend Allowances value for each
part. It does so regardless of the bend angle and bend radius. Users can manually change
bend allowances per body, per feature, and per bend. This gives users finer control over those
bends. However, this is a very time consuming manual process and errors are common.

b) How to use SOLIDWORKS bend tables

SOLIDWORKS provides default bend allowances, bend deductions, and K-factor bend
tables. If your company uses specifics bend tables, the best way to adapt those tables to
SOLIDWORKS is to copy the data from your tables to one of the SOLIDWORKS default
tables. This preserves the table format and makes the process of inserting bend tables less
prone to errors.

Avoid using bend tables that use the old text file format. These tables are not embedded in
the file, and they are very prone to errors. Use these tables only if you do not have access to
Microsoft Excel®.

If you work with K-factors, it is important to use the K-factor bend table (Figure 21b).

Figure 21b

c) Bend table and bend angles other than 90 degrees

When using a bend table and designing parts with bend angles that differ from 90 degrees, it
is preferable to use multiple thickness bend tables (Figure 21c). These types of tables offer
the flexibility of using multiple thicknesses, bend radii, and bend angles.

41
 Figure 21c

d) Rules for bend tables and gauge tables

 Bend table bend radius columns should have the same values (Figure 21d).

This rule is only applicable for bend tables.

Figure 21d

42
 Bend radius must be in ascending order (Figure 21d2)

Figure 21d2

 Material thickness must be in ascending order from top to bottom (Figure

21d3)

Figure 21d3

 Gauge tables cannot contain blank columns (Figure 21d4)

43
 Figure 21d4

 Bend radius column values cannot be in blank (Figure 21d5)

Figure 21d5

e) Handling bend table common problems

About 90% of all bend table problems occur for two reasons:

 The bend table is using a non-valid format.

 The thickness of the part falls outside of the bend table parameters.

44
The first problem relates to the breaking of bend table rules discussed in section 21d.

The second problem relates to how the part parameter values “fit” within the bend table
parameters. Two of the most common issues in this area include:

Figure 21e

1) When inserting a bend table (Figure 21e1) into the part (Figure 21e), the following
message appears: “The angle of this table fell outside the bend table…”

Figure 21e1

The problem here is that the part has a 7.50˚ bend angle. The minimum bend angle for the
bend table is 15˚. This means that the 7.50˚ bend angle falls “outside” of the bend table
parameters. Therefore, the table cannot interpolate without an angle value less than 7.5 deg.
and 15 deg.

45
2) The second problem relates to the precision of the table and part.

The images in Figure21e2 depict a typical case where the part precision is two decimal
places, but the table precision is three decimal places.

Figure 21e2

Although the bend radius value in the table appears to be 0.12, the actual value is a three
place decimal value of 0.123 in. This value appears in the Excel formula bar. Therefore, the
part bend radius value with an actual precision of 2 decimal places falls outside of the table,
because there is no value between X <= 0.12 & 0.123.

46
22) Recreate Templates that Produce Old Sheet Metal Architecture
Parts
As mentioned in section 3, SOLIDWORKS 2013 introduced a new architecture for sheet
metal functionality. This change fixes a wide variety of problems. Therefore, it is very
important to use the latest SOLIDWORKS versions to create new parts.

It is a common practice to reuse parts that were created in a pre-2013 version of

SOLIDWORKS, as a template for new parts. However, doing so produces a sheet metal part
with the old architecture. This is why it is important to ensure that all “new” sheet metal parts
have the new architecture.

For example, imagine that you create a part from an existing part template. Afterward, the
FeatureManager tree looks like the following image:

In this image, the FeatureManager tree shows that the Sheet Metal and Flat Pattern features
are not contained within folders. This means that the part you are creating has the old
architecture. In this case, you must recreate a new part template from scratch. If the part
template has geometry that is necessary in a new template, then you must recreate the
geometry in the new template.

One of the benefits of working with the new sheet metal architecture is that all of the new
sheet metal features developed since the release of SOLIDWORKS 2013 work only with the
new architecture.

47
23) Normal Cut with the ’Optimize Geometry’ Option
Only use the Optimize Geometry option if the normal cut does not produce the result you
want.

48
24) Always Remove “Self-Intersection”
Section 7 recommends avoiding self-intersection. Self-intersection only displays when the
Verification on rebuild option is active.

If you encounter self-intersection after creating a specific feature, it is important to remove

the self-intersection before recreating the feature. This means that you must create the
conditions to avoid self-intersection prior to creating the feature.

49
25) Flattened Mass
A sheet metal part retains the same weight regardless of how you fold or unfold the part (the
flat pattern).

However, in SOLIDWORKS, the surface area of a part might increase or decrease depending
on the bend allowance. Therefore, a sheet metal body could have two weights. One weight in
the folded state and a different weight in the flat pattern. The regular mass displays the
weight of the part in the folded state. The flattened mass is the weight in the flat pattern state.

50
26) Calculating the K-Factor for Swept Flanges
There are improvements in SOLIDWORKS to the calculation of the K-factor for swept
flanges. However, there are some circumstances where SOLIDWORKS cannot calculate the
K-factor. For more information, see the topic “K-Factor Bend Allowances in Swept Flanges”
in the SOLIDWORKS Online Help.

51
27) Normal Cut ‘Optimize Geometry’ Option
This option is available because in some circumstances, the normal cut could produce
incorrect results. Use this option only when the normal cut fails or produces incorrect results.

52
28) Tab and Slot Feature in Assembly Components
When creating a tab and slot features in the context of an assembly, SOLIDWORKS creates
the tab feature in one component and the slot feature in another component. Because the tab
and slot features are dependent on each other to function correctly, it is important to maintain
the in-context relationship between them. Breaking external references between the
components produces a failure of the feature.

53
29) Add Punch Table to Drawing Views of Derived Sheet Metal Parts
SOLIDWORKS imports form tool sketches from a seed part to a derived (mirrored or
inserted) part. SOLIDWORKS imports these sketches when the Sheet metal information
option is active.

Figure 29

54
30) Turn On or Turn Off Override Default Parameters
When you create the first sheet metal body (such as a Base Flange feature), the feature
parameters (thickness, bend allowance, and relief) pass to the part. From that point on, all
other sheet metal body parameters that you create in that part are by default, controlled by the
part. That is, by the upper-level sheet metal feature. For example, changing the upper-level
sheet metal feature thickness changes the thickness of all bodies in the part. In
SOLIDWORKS 2017, there is a new Override default parameters document property for
New Sheet Metal Bodies.

Figure 30

As mentioned, the first body you create in the part will receive the sheet metal parameters
from the part. When you activate any of these new options, the respective “Override …”
option is also active for the second body in the part. This means that this body and all
successive bodies you create in this part will have independent parameters from the part
parameters.

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31) 3 Bend Corner Reliefs

Figure 31

3 Bend Corner Relief –Full Round Corner Full Round Flat Pattern

3 Bend Corner Relief – Suitcase Suitcase Flat Pattern

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32) Normal Cut Standalone Feature
Section 5 discusses use of the Normal Cut option when creating a Cut-Extrude feature in a
sheet metal body. However, there are times when other types of cuts are necessary when the
normal cut option is not available.

The Faces for Normal Cut option requires chamfered or beveled faces.

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33) Linking Materials and Sheet Metal Parameters
The use of this feature requires creation of the needed material in the Custom Material
folder. Upon opening the part template, you first must insert the material from the Custom
Material folder then, proceed to create the sketch and part. If you have specific materials for
sheet metal parts, you can save each of those materials in a part template.

You can use this area to work with sheet metal tables. However, most importantly, you can
create your own Thickness Range table. This area allows you to define the part Bend
Allowance based on the thickness of the part. You can create this table in place, or you can
create the table in Excel and then import it in SOLIDWORKS.

Figure 33

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