SolidWorks® 2007 Bible

Chapter 30. Using the Insert Bends Method for Sheet Metal Parts

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Architecture of Insert Bends

• Making sheet metal from a generic model

• Working with imported geometry

• Making rolled conical parts

• Mixing methods

• Tutorial: Working with the Insert Bends method

In Chapter 29 on the Base Flange method, I explained the co-existence of two conceptual models for the creation of sheet metal parts in SolidWorks. The Base Flange method is the newer and more powerful of these two functions. However, some functionality is available only through the Insert Bends method, and the two methods may be combined to some extent. This shows that the older method is by no means obsolete.

One of the reasons for creating a new method was that the old method was very convoluted, and required certain types of features to be put into specific locations in the FeatureManager order; this meant that the user was frequently working in Rollback mode. In the days before being able to save in Rollback mode (which is new in SolidWorks 2007), this was not only tedious but dangerous, as well. This is because without the ability to save while the model was rolled back, users were more likely to lose their work.

One of the advantages of the old method was that you were able to just use the same old SolidWorks features that you were accustomed to using for regular modeling. Of course, this same advantage frequently turned out to be a disadvantage, as well because the standard features by definition did not have any specialized ...