Sheet Metal Design & Drafting
Sheet metal design and drafting turns a sketch, sample, or existing file into 3D models, drawings, and the flat pattern, the unfolded outline of each bent part. K-Display drafts each design in Chicago and checks it for manufacturability (DFM), so the part can be cut, bent, welded, and finished as drawn.
What sheet metal design and drafting produces
We build a 3D model from the sketch, sample, or file, in steel, stainless steel, or aluminum, and add an unfolded outline for cutting and drawings that carry the dimensions, tolerances, and notes a model cannot. The assembly model shows how the parts fit together and where each piece of hardware goes.
Single-source metal fabrication carries a finished drawing package through the whole route, from the first cut to the assembled unit.
The two orange lines on the unfolded outline are the two folds of the formed channel beside it. The drawing at right shows that same channel in the views bending and assembly work from.
Parts we design and draft
Design and drafting starts from a sketch, a sample, or a file that will not form as drawn. Choose it when the drawings do not yet exist or need correcting; a released drawing set goes straight to single-source metal fabrication.
- Enclosures and covers, drafted with mounting points and access openings, each panel unfolded for cutting.
- Mounting brackets, modeled to align with their mating parts from a sample or a file.
- Chassis and card cages of several parts, drawn as an assembly with the hardware and finish on each part.
- Hoppers and chutes, revised from a sample or an old file for a new installation or finish.
From the first model to released drawings
The release is two documents: the outline the laser cuts from, and the formed drawing that bending, welding, and assembly work from.
Take the dimensions
We measure the sample, or take the sketch or file, and record the mounting points, hole positions, and bends.
Model the part
We build the 3D model and the assembly, and unfold each bent part into its outline.
Check it for manufacture
We check the bends, joints, hardware, and finish against the model, and change the model wherever a bend has no tool clearance or a joint cannot be reached.
Draw and release
We draw the views, dimensions, and notes, and release the flat pattern and the drawing set to the shop.
Design for manufacturability in sheet metal
The metal along a bend stretches on the outside and compresses on the inside, so a part unfolds to a length that is not the sum of its folded dimensions. We add the bend allowance, the length of metal the bend itself uses, and a relief, a small cutout at the end of a bend, so the unfolded outline forms to the drawn size.
A hole on one flange and a mating feature on the other, the two bent-up legs of the part, line up only if both are dimensioned from one datum, because each bend adds its own variation between them. Give both from the same datum, the edge or hole every related dimension starts from, and we carry that datum into the unfolded outline.
A change made to the model and not to the drawing sends the shop two different parts. We release the model, the unfolded outline, and the drawing on one revision, and a change to any one is made in all three.
The orange band is the metal the bend uses, flat in the unfolded outline and curved into the formed corner. That strip is why the two legs do not add up to the outline.
What to send for a design and drafting quote
- Starting references
- Sketches, photos, samples, or files in SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD/DWG, Revit, DXF, STEP, or PDF.
- Function and fit
- What the part does, what it mounts to, and its critical dimensions.
- Material and finish
- Material, appearance, and finish.
- Quantity and schedule
- Quantity, delivery date, and any assembly.
- Acceptance criteria
- Requirements the finished part must meet.