Slot design for sheet metal: width, length and end radius
Slot design for sheet metal: minimum width by process, why a square end cracks, how length sets the stress concentration, and the drawing callouts that hold.
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Topic hub · 44 guides
Design and CAD
A drawing is a contract. These guides cover the design decisions that survive the shop floor: bend relief and corner relief, hole-to-edge distance, tab and slot, datum strategy, tolerance stack-up, STEP and DXF hand-off, drawing notes, revision control and design for coating, assembly and transport. Written for design engineers who would rather fix it in CAD than in a concession.
Guides in this topic, page 5
Design rules, CAD hand-off, bend allowances, tolerance stacks and the drawing notes that decide whether a part is made right first time.
Springback in CAD for sheet metal: compensating the model
Springback in CAD: how many degrees to compensate, why the formed model should stay nominal, and where the correction belongs instead of the model.
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Revision control for sheet metal: how a change reaches the floor
How a sheet metal revision reaches the shop floor: which files and fixtures re-issue, how effectivity is written, and the revision block that stops old parts shipping.
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Weld distortion allowance: designing for the movement
Weld distortion allowance by weld type: 0.5 mm transverse per fillet, 1 mm per metre longitudinal, 1–2° angular, and how to design a frame that absorbs it.
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K-factor in CAD for sheet metal: why model and brake disagree
The K-factor in CAD is an assumption about a die you have not chosen yet. Here is the bend deduction it produces, and how to close the gap.
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Corner relief for sheet metal: why a box corner tears
A box corner tears because two bend zones claim the same material. How to size corner relief against both bend allowances, and why a 3 mm hole is usually too small.
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Design for service: access panels and wear parts
Design for service rules for sheet metal: access aperture sizes, gasket pitch, fastener choice, panel stiffness and how to make a wear part replaceable without a grinder.
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Coating masking for sheet metal: what to mask and why
Mask the earth stud, the thread and the mating face, or rework the part. Film numbers, plug temperatures and the masking schedule that belongs on the drawing.
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