Enhance Your Data for Downstream Manufacturing

By

The DXF file format continues to be an important staple in the design and engineering industry, popular for its ability to facilitate collaboration for designers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders like vendors and customers. Its open format enables collaborators to easily exchange data and is widely used in CNC machining processes, such as laser, plasma, and waterjet cutting.

The ability to read DXF data is common in many CAD modeling and viewing software programs, including our xDesign sheet metal design solution, also known as xSheetMetal, which includes capabilities for exporting DXF data and the ability to include crucial manufacturing information on the file.

The xDesign sheet metal solution is fully browser-based and enables users to efficiently design sheet metal components and enclosures from concept to production.

Its “Save as DXF” functionality has many useful options that make it easy for sheet metal designers to share design intent and make the manufacturing process much smoother for downstream stakeholders.

How it works is that the 3D sheet metal model geometry can be flattened to create a blank geometry of the sheet metal part, and then exported in the form of 2D geometry in a DXF file format, which can be used to program CNC machines for cutting operations in downstream manufacturing processes.

You can use the “Save as DXF” feature to export flat pattern geometry. The data can be saved on the cloud-based 3DDrive folder or on your local drive. You can include the following details on your DXF file to ensure the design details are clear for downstream manufacturing:

Bend Lines

You can include bend lines that indicate precisely where the bend should be, which can be extremely helpful as they’ll help the operator know where to align the sheet metal blank before the bending operation. The DXF file can easily be read with a CAD viewer, and the operator can use measurement tools to verify the precise location of the bend line. The operator could then take a 1:1 print of the DXF output and lay it on the blank itself to mark the part tracing the bend lines.

Bend Information

You can also include bend line information, including the direction, angle, and radius of your bend, that was specified during the 3D CAD modeling of the sheet metal part. This will be displayed as annotation text and will give the manufacturer more information about how to fold the part.

 

User Stamp

You can also specify where the punch locations are using the user stamp option. The operator can view an outline of the user stamp profile on the DXF file and then use measurement tools to set up the punch location appropriately before the punching operation.

 

Mapped Entities

You can also include mapped entities that can be used for engraving important details, such as part number, project number, company logo, etc., which are useful for identification and traceability of sheet metal parts. This can be especially helpful to provide this information on the flat pattern geometry, so the manufacturer can add it to the sheet metal blank before it is folded, as it might be hard to engrave the information with the engraving probe once it’s bent, say, if it needs to be inside the flange.

Many modern engraving CNC machines will be able to read the DXF data, showing manufacturers where to engrave the text or geometry information on the blank.

 

Sketches

Using the sketches option, you can also include a drawing, like a construction sketch or logo, on your DXF originally drawn on the flat pattern geometry.

Check out this blog to learn more about the latest enhancements in the xDesign solutions.

Soumitra Vadnerkar

Soumitra Vadnerkar

Soumitra is a new member in SOLIDWORKS Product Management team. He manages SOLIDWORKS Inspection and SOLIDWORKS Cloud roles. He has Masters and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and has been a CAD enthusiast since he started his academics. Soumitra has 5 years of work experience in sheet metal, rubber, and plastic industries. His expertise lies mostly in stamping and injection-blow molding tool design but currently he is also improving his new skills in Product Design using SOLIDWORKS Cloud applications. Besides work, Soumitra likes to keep himself busy learning about new technologies in computer hardware and AI.