10.12.

2018 Articles - Design for Manufacturing: Guidelines for Sheetmetal Fabrication | MetalForming Magazine

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DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING: GUIDELINES FOR SHEETMETAL FABRICATION

By: Usha B. Trivedi

Usha B. Trivedi is an engineer with Hi-Tech iSolutions LLP, based in India with offices in Santa Clara, CA;
www.hitechos.com.

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Monday, January 1, 2018

Perfect sheetmetal-fabrication designs—those that

avoid engineering change orders (ECOs)—evolve
only when designers take care to consider the
capabilities of the equipment on the shop floor. For
example, a designer may assume that hole and shaft
diameter should match, thinking that a 50-mm-dia.
shaft should fit into a 50-mm-dia. hole punched into a
sheetmetal cover. However, the shaft will not fit into
the hole; in fact, it will just sit on the circumference of
the enclosure. To allow the shaft to sit on the hole
seat, the hole and shaft both require dimensional
limits and tolerances, based on the type of fit needed
—clearance fit, interference fit or transition fit. In
addition, when punching the hole, the tooling will
create impressions on the sheetmetal, potentially
leaving excessive burrs. This is one example of how reality can deviate from ideal conditions.

Overlooking these
considerations can lead to
ECOs, and wasted time and
money. Here’s where
fabricators appreciate the
benefits of CAD models that
adhere to design-for-
manufacturability (DFM)
guidelines. Let’s look at some
common DFM guidelines that
rule sheetmetal-fabrication
processes.

Distance between two

pierced holes, and
between holes and
sheet edges (Fig. 1)

When piercing several holes

in a sheet, shear stress
generated in the workpiece
tends to reduce material
strength. Even if the
fabricator manages to punch
the holes, part integrity will
be less than ideal. To avoid
workpiece failure, DFM
Fig. 1—DFM guidelines recommend a minimum Fig. 3—Dimples on the sheet? Take care when
guidelines recommend a
distance (D1) from hole to the plate edge equal to punching near them, and don’t space the
minimum distance (D1) from
at least the plate thickness (T); a safe design zone dimples too closely together.
hole to the sheet edge equal of 1.5 to 2T is recommended.
to at least the plate thickness
(T); we recommend a safe
design zone of 1.5 to 2T.

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10.12.2018 Articles - Design for Manufacturing: Guidelines for Sheetmetal Fabrication | MetalForming Magazine
Also, when piercing multiple
holes, we recommend a
spacing between holes (D2)
greater than 2T. This extra
clearance between the tool
and previously pierced holes
will leave them unaffected.

Minimum distance
between the bend and
Fig. 2—Guidelines for avoiding hole deformation during bending.
hole (Fig. 2)

When a workpiece is to be formed, minimum hole size relates to material thickness and bend radius. Maintaining a
minimum distance between the bend line and the hole of twice the workpiece thickness plus the bend radius will
avoid hole deformation during forming (Fig. 2A). Higher punching loads will cause the workpiece to undergo
permanent deformation, reducing strength and load-carrying capacity.

Distance between two consecutive dimples, as well as dimples and cutouts (Fig. 3)

While assigning
form features such
as dimples on
sheetmetal,
fabricators must
take care when
assigning the
features. Cutouts
in the workpiece
can cause the
material near the
dimples to fracture
during punching.
To avoid such
fractures, maintain Fig. 4—Bend relief protects against edge tears. Fig. 5—Sufficient bend radius protects against excess
a distance (D1) stress.
between the
cutout edge and the dimple of 4T plus the inner radius of the dimple.

Here, as with piercing, when the form station lacks sufficient clearance between the previously formed dimples and
the successive dimple, the previously formed dimples can become flattened. To eliminate distortion, we recommend a
minimum distance (D2) between two dimples of 4T plus the dimple radius.

Other D F M F e a t u res

Other DFM guidelines we recommend to sheetmetal-

fabrication designers are those related to bend relief, to
avoid the springback effect in the material. Overlooking the
importance of these features not only will increase the
number of ECOs but also will result in increased scrap and
related costs.

Providing bend relief (Fig. 4) near the bends in the

workpiece will avoid tearing at the edge of the material and
also provide clearance to ease any downstream operations.
In addition, providing a sufficient bend radius (Fig. 5) near
the bends will ensure that the workpiece material does not
undergo stress beyond its maximum limits and will not fail
prematurely. Providing accurate bend-radius calculation also
helps in reducing stress concentration near the bend. Fig. 6—Collars provide extra stiffness to the sheetmetal at
flanges, especially near pierced areas.
Lastly, collars (Fig. 6) provide extra stiffness to the
sheetmetal at flanges, especially near pierced areas. Collars will balance shear stress caused by the piercing
operation. MF

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Posted by: sheet metal fabrication companies on 4/11/2018 2:53:16 AM - URL: https://www.sngmetals.com/

Hey, Wow yours sheet metal,automobile post very great.Thank you for share this post.

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