Converting to Sheet Metal and Repairing

Use the SMCONVERT and SMREPAIR commands.

To convert 3D geometry to a valid Sheet Metal part

A sheet metal part can be created from any 3D solid geometry, whether created in BricsCAD or imported from another CAD system. However, the geometry might not be a valid sheet metal model: missing bends and reliefs or thickness faces which are not orthogonal to the flange faces. BricsCAD Sheet Metal contains a dedicated toolset to convert such geometry to a valid sheet metal part and add all missing sheet metal features.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Convert to Sheet Metaltool button () on the Sheet Metal toolbar.
    • Click the Convert to Sheet Metal tool button () on the Sheet Metal ribbon bar.
    • Choose Convert to Sheet Metal in the Sheet Metal menu.
      You are prompted: Select 3D solids or [Entire model] <Entire model>:
  2. Select the 3D solid to convert.
    You are prompted: Select 3D solids or [Entire model] <Entire model>:
  3. Press Enter to convert the 3D solid to a sheet metal part.

The properties of the sheet metal part display in the Mechanical Browser for Sheet Metal.

Note: Converted bodies can be unfolded or exported to .DXF or .OSM file formats for processing by a CAM system.
In some cases it might be necessary to fix converted bodies before unfolding/exporting:
  • Create missing reliefs: SMRELIEFCREATE command.
  • Convert hard edges to bends or junctions: SMBENDCREATE and SMJUNCTIONCREATE commands.
  • Split flanges and lofted bends: SMSPLIT command.
  • Repair sheet metal bodies: SMREPAIR command.

To repair a Sheet Metal part

A sheet metal part may have inaccuracies in geometry and topology or sheet metal design issues. This is often the case for imported parts which are designed in geometrical kernels different from ACIS.

Examples of such problems are:
  • Thickness faces, which are not perpendicular to the flange/bend faces.
  • Lofted bends are not tangential to the adjacent flanges/bends.
  • Wrong bends.
  • General ACIS issues.

Such problems can prevent editing operations from being executed successfully.

The recommended workflow to fix such problems is:
  • Run the DMAUDIT command to fix general modeling issues.
  • Run the SMREPAIR command.

To repair a Sheet Metal body

Sheet metal bodies with thickness faces, which are not perpendicular to the flange/bend faces, can not be correctly manufactured using traditional tools.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Repair Sheet Metal tool () on the Heal panel of the Sheet Metal ribbon tab;
    • Click the Repair Sheet Metal tool () on the Sheet Metal toolbar;
    • Choose Repair Sheet Metal in the Sheet Metal menu;
    • Type SMREPAIR in the Command line.
      You are prompted: Select flange face or lofted bend face to repair or [switch on Local repairing/Scan for lost details]:
  2. Select the face to be repaired.
The same model before ... ... and after applying a repair operation:

When the model has wrong bends SMREPAIR transforms them to regular bends:

Wrong bends, which have a non-tangential connection with the flanges. Correct bends after repairing.

Form features are translated to the new repaired model:

Model before repairing. The form feature has not been changed, while a hole, which is not a form feature, is orthogonalized.

To repair a Sheet Metal body with lofted bends

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Click the Repair Sheet Metal tool () on the Heal panel of the Sheet Metal ribbon tab.
    • Click the Repair Sheet Metal tool () on the Sheet Metal toolbar.
    • Choose Repair Sheet Metal in the Sheet Metal menu.
    • Type SMREPAIR in the Command line.
      You are prompted: Select flange face or lofted bend face to repair or [switch on Local repairing/Scan for lost details]:
  2. Select a face of a flange or a lofted bend. The selected face provides the surface to be thickened.
    Before After
    The lofted bend is not tangent to the flange. Unfolding is impossible. Notice the difference in the connection of the blue lofted bend with the top flange, which is smooth now. Unfolding is possible.

Option: If the SmRepairLoftedBendMerge user preference is ON, adjacent lofted bends with a tangential connection are merged to a single lofted bend.