Sheetmetal > Designing in Sheetmetal Design > Using Forms > About Punch Forms and Die Forms
  
About Punch Forms and Die Forms
You can mold the geometry of a sheet metal part by referencing a punch form model, a die form model, a sketch, or a quilt. When assembling a punch form or a die form reference, make sure that the driving sides of the reference model and of the sheet metal part match. You can pattern punch, die, sketch, and quilt form features and also use them to create UDFs.
There are four Form tools:
Punch Form—Molds the sheet metal geometry by assembling a punch form model from a library of standard or user-defined models.
Die Form—Molds the sheet metal geometry by assembling a die form model from a library of standard or user-defined models.
Sketched Form—Molds or pierces the sheet metal geometry by referencing a sketch.
Quilt Form—Molds the sheet metal geometry by referencing a quilt.
Keep in mind the following points when using the Punch Form tool or the Die Form tool:
You must assign radii values for form and die geometry that are greater than the value of the sheet metal thickness, otherwise the part may fail during regeneration.
When the reference model contains a combination of concave and convex surfaces, the resulting hollows must not drop below the base plane or mating surface.
You can create a coordinate system reference within the form to define the strike point on the part during the manufacturing process.
You can set the dependency of the punch or die form feature on the reference model when you place it using Inheritance. You can set it to update automatically when the reference model changes, update it manually when the reference model changes, or be independent of the reference model. When you create a feature with No Dependency it does not update, and no notification appears, when there are changes to the reference model.