Sometimes you must modify sheet metal parts or their production environments. Or, you may need to modify sheet metal parts for manufacturing in particular production environments.
Prior to production, you should check each sheet metal part to ensure its complete, correct, and optimized tool usage during production.
Different situations affect different elements:
Situation
Consequences
Change of material type
Check bending tools, stamping tools, relief tools, and sometimes punch tools.
Change in material thickness
Check bending tools, stamping tools, relief tools, and sometimes punch tools.
Change of production shop
Check and possibly modify all tools.
Modified part (for example, a stretched part, a shortened lip, etc.)
Check bending tools (via bend forces or geometric restrictions) and relief tools.
Final part check before production
Check all tools for availability, completeness, and validity in the current geometric context.
Tool optimization
Check to ensure a minimum number of required tools, and use of the least costly tools.
Imported parts lack shop or tool information
Assign materials, change thickness (Material availability, mm vs. inch, stability etc.). Assign, check, possibly modify all tools.
Use the Analyze & Redesign button to analyze your sheet metal part's manufacturability in a given shop with respect to material availability and bending, stamping, and punching tools. View detailed visual feedback and select or reject proposals for alternative designs on a feature-by-feature basis. When you accept a suggested change, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling's automatically redesigns your part, including the automatic update of dependent reliefs, and provides feedback regarding its success.
To analyze and redesign a sheet metal part,
1. Click Sheet Metal and then, in the Modify Sheet group, click the arrow next to More.
3. Select a Moved Face, which underwent a material thickness change. The New Material area shows the face's existing material and thickness. If the face lacks a material attribute, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling geometrically determines the thickness and attaches a basic material attribute.
4. (Optional) Select a new Material in the New Material area. Creo Elements/Direct Modeling takes new materials from the current shop and uses them during Analyze & Redesign.
5. Define how Analyze & Redesign handles bends.
◦ Default: Use default shop settings.
◦ Automatic: Use the proposal generated by Analyze & Redesign.
◦ Process: Select a single bend process.
◦ Color Failures: Color bends for which modification failed.
◦ Label Failures: Label bends for which modification failed.
◦ Mod Bends: Modify bends during redesign.
6. (Optional) Define how Analyze & Redesign creates new corner reliefs.
a. CornRel Type: Select a corner relief type.
b. Select a corner relief tool option from the dialog.
c. Click the Mod Relfs check box to modify corner reliefs during redesign.
7. Adjust options:
◦ Docu: Show the documentation for Analyze & Redesign.
◦ Color Feats: Color part's feature's faces according to analysis results.
◦ Dist Zones: Calculate and show distance zones around each feature. Colors other than white indicate different distance zone violations.
◦ Keep Info: Retain information from displayed in the Show Info section after completing the command.
◦ Keep Orig: Keep the original part after redesign.
◦ Check: Check the part following Analyze & Redesign.
◦ Comp Parts: Show part comparison after redesign.
8. Run Analyze & Redesign:
◦ Click Analyze to run an analysis without modifying the part. You make modifications from the analysis in the next step.
◦ Click Aly & Redesign to analyze and modify the part according to changes proposed by the analysis.
◦ Click Redesign to immediately implement all pending changes.
9. Interpret the results and make changes: View the screen showing the analysis of the selected part regarding its manufacturability in the current shop:
◦ The MATERIAL section provides information about the possible new material.
◦ The BENDS section provides information about, and ways to modify, each bend feature. Mouse over each line in the table to highlight the corresponding bend feature on the part.
▪ Click on the results in the Analysis columns for more detailed information about the Analysis process.
▪ The Alternatives column shows an overview of the analysis for all existing bend tools:
▪ Colors indicate the usability level. Check the legend at the bottom of the analysis screen.
▪ Mouse over a tool's column to display its full analysis information.
▪ A black dot indicates the tool currently used.
▪ A black triangle indicates the tool proposed by the analysis.
▪ Click the grey area below the colored tool column to change the proposed tool.
▪ Click Do change to immediately implement a proposed change.
◦ The STAMPS and PUNCHES sections provide information about, and ways to modify, each stamp and punch feature.
▪ Click on the results in the Analysis columns for more detailed information about the Analysis process.
▪ The sheet side icon indicates the side from which the punch/stamp tool is used. Its background color corresponds to the sheet surface color (Color Feats option on).
▪ The Alternatives column shows an overview of the analysis for all existing stamping and punching tools:
▪ Colors indicate the usability level. Check the legend at the bottom of the analysis screen.
▪ Mouse over a tool's column to display its full analysis information.
▪ An orange row indicates a distance violation of the tool (Dist Zones option on).
▪ Click the grey area below the colored tool column to change the proposed tool.
▪ Up and down arrows show stamp direction.
▪ A black dot indicates the tool currently used.
▪ A black triangle indicates the tool proposed by you.
▪ Click Do change to immediately implement a proposed change.
◦ Look to the bottom of the dialog for summary of the analysis.
10. Complete the operation:
◦ Click REDESIGN to immediately implement all pending changes.
◦ Click to close the dialog and keep any changes you've made so far.
◦ Click to cancel the command and discard any changes you've made so far.
Limitations
This command cannot
• propose new stamp and punch tools.
• adjust bend reliefs while changing bends.
• modify relief less bends, hems, or offsets.
• change material thickness when hems and offsets are present.
Analyze & Redesign may create self-intersecting parts when the Check check box is cleared.
Analyze & Redesign button to analyze your sheet metal part's manufacturability in a given shop with respect to material availability and bending, stamping, and punching tools. View detailed visual feedback and select or reject proposals for alternative designs on a feature-by-feature basis. When you accept a suggested change, Creo Elements/Direct Modeling's automatically redesigns your part, including the automatic update of dependent reliefs, and provides feedback regarding its success.
to close the dialog and keep any changes you've made so far.
to cancel the command and discard any changes you've made so far.