Notes on sheet metal design, analysis and fabrication.
Practical articles from the SMDE engineering team on getting sheet-metal parts right: from bend allowances and FEM to nesting, buildability and material efficiency.
Articles
Design
Bend allowance and K-factor: getting flat patterns right first time
How bend allowance, bend deduction and the K-factor decide the size of a flat blank, with a worked example and a simple test bend to find the right K-factor for your own tooling.
When a hand calculation is enough, and when you need FEM
How to decide between a quick hand calculation and a finite element model for sheet-metal parts and brackets, with a worked bracket example, a decision table and the checks that keep an FEM result honest.
Designing brackets for the press brake, not just the load
The press-brake rules that decide whether a sheet-metal bracket can actually be folded: minimum flange length, hole and relief positions, bend sequence, tool clearance, grain direction and tolerance build-up.
Thickness optimisation: the easiest carbon saving in sheet metal
Why stiffening features beat extra thickness, with a worked example comparing a 3 mm flat plate against 2 mm with flanges, and how to turn the mass saved into an embodied carbon estimate.
Aluminium vs steel vs stainless steel in sheet metal fabrication
A practical comparison of mild steel, aluminium and stainless steel sheet: stiffness and weight, bending and springback, welding and finishing, corrosion and galvanic contact, cutting, and when to choose each.
Laser cutting vs punching: choosing the right process for sheet metal parts
How fibre laser cutting and CNC turret punching differ in edge quality, hole size, formed features and speed, with a comparison table and a simple guide to designing for the right process.
Perforated sheet metal in architecture and automotive design
Hole patterns, open area calculation, strength and stiffness, margins and forming for perforated sheet, with typical uses in building facades and vehicles and a table of open areas.
SolidWorks vs CATIA vs Autodesk Inventor for sheet metal design
A practitioner comparison of the sheet metal tools in SolidWorks, CATIA and Autodesk Inventor, covering features, flat pattern export, drawings, data exchange and learning curve, and why bend data matters more than the brand.
How to build sheet metal models that change size without breaking: design intent, driving dimensions, equations, configurations and a worked example of a bracket family with its flat patterns.
How a 2V geodesic dome is set out from chord factors, and how to build it from formed sheet-metal struts or flanged triangular panels, with the flange angles, hub details and tolerances worked through.
Sheet metal fabrication from concept to packing: the full process
The nine stages a sheet metal part goes through, from concept and detail design to DXF files, cutting, bending, welding, coating, assembly and packing, with the checks that matter at each step.
