Sheet Metal Resources#
Sheet Metal Design Guide | Geomiq - A practical introduction to sheet metal.
Technical Background#
Algorithm Sources#
The geometry and algorithms behind sheet metal recognition and unfolding.
Overall Approach
On Sheet Metal Recognition and Unfolding - A 13-part
series by the author of Analysis Situs on recognizing sheet metal features and computing flat patterns. It does not
cover hems.
| Part | Topic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Recognition via attributed adjacency graph, splitting a model into upper and lower sides |
| 2 | Flattening cylindrical bend faces, preserving contours and holes |
| 3 | K-factor and the neutral axis |
| 4 | The unfolding tree, border trihedron, flattening transforms |
| 5 | Rolled parts, terminating and consecutive bends |
| 6 | Bend sequences, tooling and collisions |
| 7 | Drilled and countersunk holes, contour compensation |
| 8 | Rolled parts vs tubes, seam-cut detection |
| 9 | Dynamic unfolding: folding simulation and collision detection |
| 10 | Non-isolated cutouts, resolved in the flat pattern |
| 11 | Bend grouping by angle, axis, radius and direction |
| 12 | Searching for feasible bend sequences by reverse simulation |
| 13 | Mapping holes between the folded and flat states |
Bend Direction Algorithm
Determining Bending Angles for a BREP -
Discussion on computational methods for calculating bend angles from boundary representation (BREP) solid models.
Attributed Adjacency Graph
Analysis Situs: Attributed Adjacency Graph - Technical
documentation on using attributed adjacency graphs for topological analysis of CAD models, a key data structure for
sheet metal feature recognition.