Bent Pins (round)

[cdow]

I am a new user of solid edge. The method we currently use to create a model of a bent (round) pin is to first create a sheet metal part with the material thickness set to the diameter of the pin and then to add rounded corners to make the model look like a round pin. This allows us to create a flat pattern for manufacturing purposes.

Is there an easier way to create a bent pin? I need to be able to model it bent and then un-bend it for the draft.

 

[jwillison]

Unfortunately, if you need to flatten the pin, that is the only way to do it. You can model the bent pin as a part using a swept protrusion but then you can't flatten it. We have been trying to figure out a better way here for formed wire grids but no luck.

 

[MarkS500]

If you have Xpresroute module, you could create the pin like you would a wire or pipe. You could then use the bend table command to extract the information about the flat pattern. This is from the help files:

Outputting Bend Information
The Bend Table command allows you to create an ASCII text file that contains information about how to manufacture the tube. You can output the tubes as a select set or output them all at once. The information consists of columns of data such as feed length, rotation angle, bend radius, and bend angle.

Mark