Sheet 14 of 15
Flat Pattern, Bend Table and DXF for the Shop
In 5 minutes you'll read a part's flat pattern, export the DXF the laser cuts from and the bend table the press brake works from, and know what every line in them means.
- Part
- Flat Pattern, Bend Table, DXF
- Rule
- Steel 2mm
- Sheet
- t 2 · R 2 · K 0.4
- Time
- 5 min
- Status
- Open
OP 10Watch
Video in productionBuild along with the steps in OP 30 meanwhile.
OP 20Turn the part
Drag to turn, scroll or pinch to zoom. Flat shows the blank before it is bent: the same sheet, the same frame.
The model shows part A, for illustration. Your part has its own sizes: build it from the drawing in OP 30.
OP 30Build it in SolidCraft
Part A of 8. Every learner gets a part with its own sizes, so the values you check below are yours to find.
A new part has new sizes. It clears this sheet's checks and ticked steps; your quiz answers stay.
The picture shows part A, for illustration. Build your part from the drawing and the sizes listed here.
- Rule
- Steel 2mm
- Thickness
- 2 mm
- Bend radius
- 2 mm
- K-factor
- 0.4
As typed in this exercise
- Sketch Base on XY: rectangle (0, 0) to (80, 50); circle Ø6 at (20, 25); circle Ø6 at (60, 25)
- Flange: height 40
- Flange: height 15, flip
Your task
Build this Z bracket from the drawing above, then export it for the shop.
- The rule from the drawing's notes (mind its K-factor). The base sketch with its two holes, then Flange: click between the circles, so they stay holes.
- The two walls: up on the long front edge, down on the long back edge (Flip).
- Flat Pattern: read the flat length across the bends and the Bends.
- New this time: Export DXF… and Export Bend Table…. Open the CSV and read bend 1's allowance_mm.
What to write down
- Box 1: The flat length across the two bends (the Flat size row; the other side is 80 mm).
- Box 2: The number of bends (the Bends row).
- Box 3: The allowance of bend 1: the
allowance_mmcolumn of the bend table.
Type them below and press Check. In the Flat Pattern, bend 1 says Up and bend 2 says Down: that's the Flip on the back flange.
OP 40Inspect
Enter what SolidCraft shows you. Each value is checked against SolidCraft's own result, within the tolerance shown. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Stuck? Compare with the finished part
This opens once you've checked every box at least once: try it yourself first.
Open it in SolidCraft (File › Open) next to yours and compare the timeline, the rule and each feature's sizes: the first one that differs is where yours went wrong.
exercise · Steel 2mm · t 2 · R 2 · K 0.4 · all dimensions in mm, from the blank's left and bottom edgesFlat blank 80.000 × 97.796 mm · 2 bends
| Bend | Angle | Dir. | R mm | Length mm | Allowance mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90° | up | 2 | 80 | 4.398 |
| 2 | 90° | down | 2 | 80 | 4.398 |
OP 50Quiz
Q1Which file does the laser cutter need?
The laser cuts the flat blank, so it needs the DXF: the outline, the holes and the bend lines.
Q2In the DXF, which layers hold the bend lines?
Bend lines are dashed lines on BEND_UP and BEND_DOWN, so the shop can mark them or switch them off; OUTLINE and CUT are cut.
Q3What does the press brake operator read from the bend table?
The bend table lists every bend with its angle, up or down, radius, allowance and where its line is on the flat blank.
Every value is within tolerance. This sheet is done.
Sheet 15: Final project: enclosure