Rapid Sheet Metal Design Guide

User Manual:

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Rapid Sheet Metal

 Overview ............................................................................................................ 3

 Capabilies ......................................................................................................... 4

 Cercaons & Registraons .............................................................................. 4

 Stock Materials ................................................................................................... 5

Design Guidelines

 Uniform Wall Thickness ....................................................................................... 6

 Bends ................................................................................................................. 7

 Hems .................................................................................................................. 8

 Osets ................................................................................................................ 9

 Holes & Slots ...................................................................................................... 10

 Counter Sinks ..................................................................................................... 11

 Notches & Tabs .................................................................................................. 12

 Bend Relief ......................................................................................................... 13

 Welding ............................................................................................................... 14

 PEM Hardware .................................................................................................... 15

Design Tools

 Standard Tooling ................................................................................................ 17

Finishing

 Plang ................................................................................................................ 18

 Powder Coang & Silk Screening ......................................................................... 19

Resources .......................................................................................................................... 20

Rapid Sheet Metal began in 2001 with the mission: “Prototypes First”

and it is sll the foundaon of our business. The shop is structured

similar to an addive manufacturing facility. This approach uses 3D CAD

data to streamline the quong and manufacturing processes which

eliminates long que mes. Currently, Rapid Sheet Metal has two facilies

totaling 75,000 square feet of space servicing prototype and low

volume producon quanes.

Sheet Metal Fabricaon is the creaon of parts through forming,

bending, punching and cung sheets of metal. This guide will cover

sheet metal best pracces and ps to ensure your sheet metal parts are

opmally designed for durability, manufacturability, and end-use

applicaons.

Rapid Sheet Metal

 Laser Cung

 Punching

 Shearing

 Forming & Bending

 TIG, MIG & Spot

Welding

 PEM Hardware

 Hardware Inseron

 Rolling

 Riveng

 Basic Tool Making

 Tumbling

 Secondary Machining

 Assembly

 Plang

 Powder Coang

 Silk Screening

 Part Marking

Part Size: Max 8’ length

Rapid Sheet Metal

 ITAR Registered

 ISO 9001:2008

 Aerospace Welding

 RoHS Compliant

 Joint Cercate Program

 Central Contractor Registered

 SOLIDWORKS Cered Soluon Partner

In-House Capabilies:

Cercaons & Registraons:

CRS Galvanneal Galvanized 304 316 5052 6061-T6 C101 C110 CDA260

26 0.018

24 0.024 0.024 0.024 0.024 0.024 0.020 0.020 0.020 0.020

22 0.030 0.029 0.029 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025 0.025

20 0.036 0.036 0.036 0.036 0.036 0.030 0.030 0.032 0.032

19 0.042 0.040 0.040 0.040

18 0.048 0.048 0.048 0.047 0.047 0.040 0.040 0.050 0.050 0.050

16 0.060 0.060 0.060 0.059 0.059 0.050 0.050 0.062 0.062 0.062

14 0.075 0.075 0.075 0.074 0.074 0.062 0.062 0.080 0.080 0.080

13 0.090 0.089 0.089 0.089 0.089 0.090 0.090 0.090

12 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.104 0.080 0.080

11 0.119 0.119 0.119 0.119 0.119 0.090 0.090 0.125 0.125 0.125

10 0.134 0.134 0.134 0.134 0.100 0.100

8 0.164 0.125 0.125

7 0.179 0.179

6 0.160 0.160

0.250 0.250 0.250 0.250

Rapid Sheet Metal

Because Sheet Metal parts are manufactured from a single sheet of

metal the part must maintain a uniform wall thickness. Rapid Sheet

Metal is capable of manufacturing sheet metal parts with a minimum of

0.010” to 0.25” in thickness.

Design Guidelines

Bends in sheet metal are manufactured using sheet metal brakes. RAPID

will hold a +/- 1 degree tolerance on all bend angles. RAPID’s preferred

bend radius is 0.030”. Other standard bend radii available, some of which

will add addional cost to your part, include:

0.060”

0.090”

0.120”

0.188”

0.250”

0.375”

0.500”

0.750”

1.000”

NOTE: RAPID recommends

keeping the same bend ra-

dii across all bends when

possible. This helps mini-

mize the amount of brake

setups and keeps cost

down.

Design Guidelines

Hems are folds at the end of a part to create a rounded edge. RAPID can

form both open and closed hems as required. The tolerance of a hem is

dependent upon the hem’s radius, material thickness and features near

the hem. It is recommended the minimum inside diameter equals the

material thickness and the hem return length is 4 mes the thickness.

Design Guidelines

An oset is used to create a “Z” shaped prole in a sheet metal part.

RAPID’s oset height tolerance is +/- 0.012” top of sheet / top of form.

RAPID’s preferred oset is 0.030”. Other standard osets, which can add

costs to your part, include:

0.060”

0.093”

0.125”

0.187”

0.213”

0.250”

0.281”

0.312”

Design Guidelines

Holes and slots should be a minimum of material thickness in diameter. If

a material is 0.036” or thinner the hole should be 0.062” from the

material edge. If the material is thicker than 0.036” then the hole should

be at least 0.125” from the material edge to avoid distoron. If hardware

inserts are required the spacing should be according to manufacturer’s

specicaons.

Hole Tolerances:

Hole Diameter +/- 0.005” Unless otherwise specied

Hardware Hole Diameter +0.003”/-0.000” Per manufacturers specicaons

Counterbore & Spoacing 0.063 to 0.250 +0.010”/-0.005”

Counterbore & Spoacing 0.251 to 0.500 +0.015”/-0.005”

Counterbore & Spoacing >0.500 +0.020”/-0.005”

Machined Diameter +/-0.001”

NOTE: If using eRAPID, all holes and cut-

outs need to be a minimum of 4x the ma-

terial thickness away from the material

edge to avoid addional costs in es-

mang.

Design Guidelines

Rapid Sheet Metal oers both machined and formed countersinks.

Machined counter sinks are created with a drill press while formed

counter sinks are created with punch press tooling.

Counter Sink Tolerances:

Machined Counter Sink Major Diameter +/-0.010”

Machined Counter Sink Minor Diameter +/-0.010” 2/3 thickness

Formed Counter Sink Major Diameter +/-0.015”

Formed Counter Sink Minor Diameter +/-0.015”

Design Guidelines

Notches must be at least the material’s thickness or 0.04”, whichever is

greater, and can be no longer than 5 mes its width. Tabs must be at

least 2 mes the material’s thickness or 0.126”, whichever is greater, and

can be no longer than 5 mes its width.

Design Guidelines

Bend reliefs are implemented where a bend extends on an edge. The

relief notch is added to prevent tearing. Bend reliefs will be no deeper

than the material thickness plus the bend radius and no wider than

0.030”.

Design Guidelines

Design Guidelines

When designing a part requiring welding, it is best to not specify the

exact method or type of welding unless required for funcon. This

provides the manufacturer increased exibility when fabricang the

sheet metal part which oen results in the most economical and fastest

lead-me choice for the customer.

The three most common types of welding include Resistance Spot

Welding (RSW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (MIG), and Gas Tungsten Arc

Welding (TIG).

When designing sheet metal parts with PEM Hardware it is important to

make sure the hardware is not too close to a bend, edge or other

fastener. When designing near a bend or edge, use the Centerline-to-

Edge (C/L to Edge) value to nd the minimum distance to the outside

edge. When calculang the spacing between mulple pieces of

hardware, use the C/L to Edge formula plus ½ the diameter of the second

mounng hole.

Hardware Plang Specics

“Before” means hardware is required to be inserted before plang.

“Aer” means hardware is required to be installed aer plang.

Material Hardware

Iridite,

Chromate,

Alodine

Zinc Nickel

Plate

Black

Oxide Anodize Tin

Plate Passivate

Aluminum AC, CLS, CLSS,

FHS, SOS, BSOS Before Aer Aer

Aluminum CLA & FHA Before Aer Before Aer

Stainless

Steel

SP, FH4, SO4,

BSO4 Before Before Before Before

CRS AS, BSO, FH, S,

SO, SS Before Before Before

Galvanneal AS, BSO, FH, S,

SO, SS PAINT / POWDER ONLY

Galvanized AS, BSO, FH, S,

SO, SS PAINT / POWDER ONLY

Hardware Lengths

Hardware Type 0.25” 0.312” 0.375” 0.5” 0.625” 0.75” 0.875” 1” 1.25” 1.5”

FH, FHS, FH4, FHL,

FHLS, TFH, TFHS,

HFH, HFHS

4 5 6 8 10 12 14 16 20 24

All metric lengths are in millimeters (ex. Dash 10 is 10MM long)

Design Guidelines

Material Thickness vs. Shank Numbers

Hardware Type Thread Code Min Sheet Thickness Shank

S, SS, CLS, SP, CLA

AC, CLS, CLSS, F, FHS, SOS,

BSOS, CLA

0.03” 0

0.04” 1

0.056” 2

632, 832, 024, 032 0.091” 3

S, SS, CLS, SP, CLA

0420, 0428, 0518

0.056” 1

0.091” 2

M6, M8 0.0125” 3

F

256, 440, 632, 832, 032 0.060” – 0.090” 1

M2.5, M3, M4, M5 0.090” – UP 2

SO, SOS, SO4, BSO, BSOS,

BSO4

440, 6440, 632 0.040” IF LESS THAN 0.40” USE TSO TO TSIS (0.025”

MINIMUM)

M3, M4

SO, SOS, SO4, BSO, BSOS,

BSO4 8362, 832, 032 0.050”

FH, FHS, FH4, FHA

256, 440, 632, 832, 024,

032, M2.5, M3, M4, M5

0.040”

0.062”

.0420.

0.93”

.0518.

FEO (Locking), FEOX 440, 632, 832, 0.032. M3,

M4, M5 0.039” - 0.045”

AFTER PLATING

FE (Locking), FEX 440, 632, 832, 0.032. M3,

M4, M5 0.059” - 0.070”

Special Cases

Hardware Type Special Info Install In Stainless

PL, PLC Nylon Threads NO

TD, RAS, RSS Steel Only NO

All Panel Fasteners: PF11, PF12, PFC2 Installed Post Finishing

(This includes powder coat) NO

LK, LKS, LKA Treated w/ Black Dry Lubricant NO

Design Guidelines

Design Tools

By using standard tooling features you can be assured we have the

in-house punch tooling to create the geometry you are modeling. This

eliminates the phone calls and e-mails back and forth to match your

needs with our in-house tooling, and avoids the me and expense of

ordering custom tooling. SOLIDWORKS and PTC Creo™ users can

download a model of their specic tooled feature and immediately

integrate it into their design.

NOTE: In addion to

nave le formats, STEP

les are also available

in either SOLIDWORKS

or PTC Creo.

 Embossments

 Card Guides

 Louvers

 Lances

 Forming Tools

Plang Type Descripon Class

MIL-A-8625 Type II Sulphuric Acid Electrolyte

Standard

Class I – Non Dyed

Natural or Clear

Class II – Dyed

Specify Color: Black, Blue, Red, etc.

MIL-A-8625 Type III Hard Coat

Specialty

Class I – Non Dyed

Natural or Clear

Class II – Dyed

Specify Color: Black, Blue, Red, etc.

MIL-DTL-5541 Type I

Contains Hex Chrome

Non RoHS Yellow Unless

Specied

Class IA – Maximum Protecon, Thick

Coang

Class II – Corrosion Protecon, Thin

Coang

MIL-DTL-5541 Type II Contains Non-Hex Chrome

RoHS Clear Only

Class IA – Maximum Protecon, Thick

Coang

Class II – Corrosion Protecon, Thin

Coang

ASTM-B-633 Type I Non Chromate Conversion

SC1- Durability Mild

SC2 – Durability Moderate

SC3 – Durability Severe

SC4 – Durability Very Severe

ASTM-B-633 Type II

Colored Chromate Conver-

sion

Black or Yellow, Yellow is

RoHS Compliant

SC1- Durability Mild

SC2 – Durability Moderate

SC3 – Durability Severe

SC4 – Durability Very Severe

ASTM-B-633 Type III

Colorless Chromate Con-

version

Please Specify RoHS Com-

pliancy

SC1- Durability Mild

SC2 – Durability Moderate

SC3 – Durability Severe

SC4 – Durability Very Severe

MIL-T-10727 Type I Electrodeposited

MIL-T-10727 Type II Hot-dipped

MIL-C-13924

Class I – Iron & Steel

Class II – 400 Series Stainless Steel

Class III – Fused Salt Process

Class Iv – Stainless Steel MIL-f-495

Finishing

RAPID oers in-house powder coang and silk screening to ensure fast

deliveries. RAPID facilies are ITAR registered and we powder coat or

silk screen your parts in compliance with government regulaons. In

addion, we can order any other powder you need but it will extend

lead-mes. Silk screen colors can be matched to any Pantone number

you provide and all inks are in stock.

Finishing

eRAPID:

eRAPID is a FREE instant sheet metal part quong, ordering and design for

manufacturing feedback plugin for SOLIDWORKS.

To download the plugin go to www.erapid.com

myRAPID:

myRAPID is the RAPID customer portal. It allows you to quote mulple les at

once (instantly quong sheet metal parts), see past quotes, update contact and

shipping informaon, and order mulple parts.

Visit: rapidmanufacturing.com/myrapid

RapidQuote:

Upload 3D CAD les and our team of engineers will process your request and

send a quote out within 24 hours.

Visit: quote.rapidmanufacturing.com/

Powder Coat Library:

To see a list of powders we keep in stock.

Visit: rapidmanufacturing.com/powdercoat

CAD Tooling Library:

To download the CAD Tooling Library.

Visit: rapidmanufacturing.com/3d

Sheet Metal Design for Manufacturing – LinkedIn Group:

This group is designed for engineers who design sheet metal parts. It provides

them with an on-line forum to collaborate and discuss techniques to beer

design sheet metal parts for manufacturability.

Join: hps://www.linkedin.com/groups/8531417

Resources