SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 29: Using SolidWorks Sheet Metal Tools

FIGURE 29.24

Applying the Corner Trim Relief options

Forming Tool feature

Forming tools in SolidWorks enable you to place features that are not formed on a brake press.
These are features that are not straight-line bends, but rather punched, drawn, formed, lanced,
sheared, or otherwise deformed material.

One of the important things to understand about forming tools is that they do not stretch the

material in the SolidWorks part in the same way that happens in a real-life forming operation. In

real life, material is thinned when it is punched, stamped, or drawn. In SolidWorks, the thickness

of a sheet metal part remains the same, regardless of what happens to it. For this reason, you need

to be careful when using mass properties of sheet metal parts or doing stress analysis of parts that

have formed features. You might consider taking your part weight from the Flat Pattern rather than

from the formed sheet metal.

SolidWorks installs with a library of fairly simple forming tools that you can use as a starting point

for your own personal customized library. You can also examine some of these tools to see how

they create particular effects. You find this library in your Design Library in the Task pane. Some of

the more interesting forming tools are the lances and louvers.

Creating forming tools

Forming tools are essentially a part that is used as a tool to form another part. One flat face of the

forming tool part is designated as a Stopping Face, which is placed flush with the top face of the

sheet metal part. You can move and rotate the tool with the Modify Sketch tool, and you can use

dimensions or sketch relations to locate it.

Creating forming tools is far easier than it used to be. This section of the chapter gives you the

information that you need to effectively create useful forming tools, addresses the limitations and

unintended uses of forming tools, and provides a couple of hints for more complex forming tool

creation.

To create a forming tool, click the Forming Tool button on the Sheet Metal toolbar. Figure 29.25

shows the PropertyManager interface for this tool.