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Sheet Metal Cylinder - "Creating" & "Flatten" Question


vertical horizons

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I need to create a cylinder that is 30"Ø, 36.00" tall, with a wall thickness of 0.25".

I don't see where to set the wall thickness.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the procedure I followed:

  • Start a new part;
  • Go to SHEET METAL > BASE FLANGE/TAB;
  • Select the Top Plane;
  • Select CIRCLE;
  • Create a circle that is 30.00"Ø,
  • Exit SKETCH;
  • For Sheet Metal Parameters, I enter 36.00" to make the cylinder height 36.00";

This is where I get confused.

I do not know what the K-Factor & the Auto Relief are, or what they do.

 

I do not see where I would specify that the wall thickness should be 0.25".

 

Am I supposed to specify the wall thickness on this page, or is there another place to place that dimension?

 

******************************

 

Once this cylinder is created, I also need to be able to unfold (or flatten) it.

 

Sheet Metal Cylinder.jpg

 

Is there a better way to create this cylinder, that will allow me to FLATTEN it?

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I found a way to create the cylinder, but I don't know if this is the correct way to do it.

 

I sketched a circle that was 30.00"Ø.

 

Then, I trimmed out 1/8" out of the circumference of the circle, so that, now the circle was not a complete circle.

I then went to SHEET METAL, and created the 36" tall cylinder, with a 0.25" wall thickness.

 

Circle Split.jpg

 

The cylinder will now FLATTEN, and UNFLATTEN.

I just have to remember that when I need to know the length of the cylinder, when it's flattened, I have to ADD the 1/8" that I originally removed from the circle.

 

Cirle Split - End Results.jpg

 

This is the end result.

 

If this is NOT the correct method, someone please let me know.

Edited by vertical horizons
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Actually, I was just informed that, when they construct a cylinder, they will roll the steel to where the 2 ends almost meet, leaving the 2 ends 1/8" apart from each other, to allow for welding. So, I guess, until someone shows me a better way to create a cylinder, this way will have to do.

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Hi Vert,

Unfortunately, this is the correct way to do a rolled cylinder in Solidworks (e.g. creating a circle and breaking it at a point.

 

The exact K-Factor is dependent to your Brake Press tooling and forming methods. It may vary from company to company and machine manufacturer. I'll try and give the layman's terms.

 

K-Factor is the expression given to the to point in the thickness of the material where there is no-compression. the k-factor itself relates to a percentage of the thickness of the material:

e.g. 44% = 0.44, 50% = 0.50 etc.etc

 

This percentage is taken from the inside radii when formed.

 

Generally material under 3mm has a k-factor of 0.44 but then again this depends on the material used (alloy, M/S or St/St)

 

http://sheetmetal.me/k-factor/

 

http://designandmotion.net/design-2/manufacturing-design/sheet-metal-k-factor/

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