Helical design

3D Design Sheet Metal / Machine Welded
1

Hi all

I'm looking to design a spiral part with a flat bottom using SolidWorks.

The idea: a metal strip that winds up in a spiral, with a laser cut press before rolling.

By "cheating" I manage to model the spiral in 3D, but I can't get the sheet metal press (flat DXF).
Capture

My goal is therefore to obtain the own press of this spiral strip for laser cutting.

Do you have a method for modeling and unfolding this type of geometry?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

3

Draw the propellers for each end of the sheet:
image
Then you turn each propeller into a 3D sketch:
New 3D sketch then selection of the helix and convert the entities.
Principle to turn a propeller into a 3d sketch:
SLDWORKS_7Wb0hBzjfn
Do the same in a new 3d sketch for the 2nd 3d sketch.
Click on transition fold, then select the 2 3D sketches:
SLDWORKS_s7gOMsgbc4
For the sheet to be unfoldable, it will be necessary to split this sheet for turns that are not too long (which does not cross when unfolded as here)

For the walls you do the same with a new propeller offset in height for propeller/spiral 1 and the same for propeller 2.

And the same method with sheet metal, transition bend and selection of the 2 sketches.

@Coralie keenly the restoration of the old tutorials, it would have saved me from reexplaining a tutorial already made by me, a few years ago!

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4

Hello @Morgan_Blondez ,

Attached is a proposal in sheet metal, SW 2022.
image

SpiralSheetHelix.SLDPRT (301.1 KB)

5 Likes
5

Hi @m_blt ,

Can you add a screenshot of your treeview for those with an even older version than yours?
Did you convert the 3D part to sheet metal or to make the part directly to sheet metal?

6

Hello @froussel ,

No worries, here's the object. In colour to better identify the stages...

image

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7

@sbadenis@m_blt Thank you very much for your help, I now know how to do this typology, it's very useful to me!:pray:

8

It's not 100% sure that it will work on your geometry (and I can't test since I'm under 2020), but sometimes it's possible to unfold the part by selecting the edge.

Below is the example for a rolled sheet:
image

Select the edge that will give the end treatment to the part to be unfolded:
image
Solidworks automatically creates sheet metal / bend / unfold and unfolded state functions
image

9

Hello @Morgan_Blondez

You probably meant " topology ".

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