Protolabs Sheet Metal Design

Protolabs is the world s fastest source for custom prototypes and low volume production parts.

Protolabs sheet metal design.

Get an interactive quote with free design analysis within hours. This guide will help you improve manufacturability of your design by providing best practices for hems countersink holes slots bends and more. During the sheet metal fabrication process thin sheet metal stock is placed on a flat bed where a laser cutter 1 draws programmed part patterns. Sheet metal thickness ranges from 0 024 in.

A press brake creates a bend by pressing sheet metal into a die with a linear punch so design does not allow the creation of closed geometry. A key early step in integrating nuts pins studs and other connectors into your part design is to consider sheet metal and hardware compatibility selecting the connector material to make sure it works with the type of sheet metal being used. With our online quoting platform and. Sheet metal fabrication need a crash course in sheet metal part design.

Once the parts are deburred they move to the press brake 3 where they are formed into the final geometries. Sheet metal tolerances are far more generous than machining or 3d printing tolerances. Our digital approach to manufacturing lets us ship sheet metal prototypes and production components to you within days. 0 609mm to 0 138 in.

In this webinar we ll show you which part features increase production risks and how to reduce that risk through design iteration. Depending on the part geometry a sheet metal punch 2 can form additional features. Specialized design elements might look great and sometimes there are good reasons for them but taking them out of your models and aiming for simplicity is good practice. Because sheet metal parts are manufactured from a single sheet of metal the part must maintain uniform wall thickness.

This is probably the easiest and most obvious of the tips to help you cut costs on sheet metal parts. You re bound to encounter a few twists and turns when designing parts for sheet metal fabrication. How to reduce sheet metal design risks and production costs. Avoid elaborate design elements for sheet metal fabrication.

Sheet metal finishing.