We have shown in the gallery below the main design stages that we take using Radan software when developing your sheet metal fabrication assemblies.
Stages 1, 2 and 3 – 3D model in Radan
On any sheet metal part expect for the simplest flat components we will use our 3D software to enable us to develop accurate cut sizes for CNC punching. The data may be in several formats from our customers including 3D SAT or STEP files, a 2D DXF, DWG or PDF file or paper drawings. You can see from image 1 the advantage of being able to “assemble” all the sheet metal work together in the software. We can check the fit of all the parts in the assembly for interference with each other, fixing hole alignment and ease of assembly. This is shown in detail in images 2 and 3. This data can be fed back to our customers if we find features that are not correct and help to trap quality issues in assembly before we have started manufacturing the sheet metal fabrications.
Stages 4 and 5 – Developed 2D flat sheet metal blank
Once the 3D images have been proven it’s easy to produce the 2D developed or “unfolded” sheet metal blanks with the correct bend allowances being calculated from the material type and thickness already set within the 3D software model. You can see in images 4 and 5 the developed 2D blanks with CNC punch press tooling allocated to the design features. The Radan software automatically matches the correct CNC tooling from our standard tool library with the design features on the blank whether they are holes, cut outs or the outer profile of the component.
Stage 6 – Sheet metal parts are CNC nested for best sheet layout
The best fit of sheet metal components, whether as single part CNC nests or mixed families of sheet metal parts can be arranged automatically within the software. Various component layout permutations can be experimented with to achieve the most economical use of the sheet metal material before a final CNC punch press program is generated or any material in punched out. This is particularly important when CNC punching out expensive materials such as stainless steel or copper or any materials where a thick gauge is required.
Stages 7, 8 and 9 – Final manufactured sheet metal fabrication
The final sheet metal work can be manufactured with confidence that it will be to the original customer’s drawing dimensions and can be assembled correctly.