TABLE OF CONTENTS Pro/Sheetmetal is a module in the Pro/Engineer (Pro/E) software package that is used to design sheetmetal components in the 3-D environment, convert a solid model into a sheetmetal component, and extract manufacturing data. Pro/Sheetmetal also helps you to extract information about a manufacturing process by simulating processes that involve sheetmetal.
This ReferencePoint describes the basics of sheetmetal. It describes the how to configure Pro/Sheetmetal and design sheetmetal components.
You can perform a number of processes on sheets by using Pro/Sheetmetal. You can draw malleable metals, such as steel, bronze, and brass into a sheet. You can deform this sheet or remove a part of the sheet to convert it to a shape that meets a particular functional and design requirement. The process of deforming or cutting a steel sheet is known as sheetmetal working. The raw material used in the process is known as sheetmetal.
You can deform sheetmetal by using the following processes:
Bending: Bends or deforms a part of the sheetmetal along a straight line.
Forming: Deforms the sheetmetal to take the shape of the required part.
Shearing: Removes a part of sheetmetal in the required shape. If the removed part is the useful part, the shearing process is known as blanking. If the removed part is not needed, the shearing process is known as piercing or punching.
These processes are illustrated in Figure 2-5-1:
Figure 2-5-1: Sheetmetal Working Terminology
Working with the sheetmetal is...
