FreeCAD Logo FreeCAD 1.0
  • English Afrikaans Arabic Belarusian Catalan Czech German Greek Spanish Spanish Basque Finnish Filipino French Galician Croatian Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Kabyle Korean Lithuanian Dutch Norwegian Bokmal Polish Portuguese Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovak Slovenian Serbian Swedish Turkish Ukrainian Valencian Vietnamese Chinese Chinese
  • Features
  • Download
  • Blog
  • Documentation
    Documentation index Getting started Users documentation The FreeCAD manual Workbenches documentation Python coding documentation C++ coding documentation Tutorials Frequently asked questions Privacy policy About FreeCAD
  • Contribute
    How to help Sponsor Report a bug Make a pull request Jobs and funding Contribution guidelines Developers handbook Translations
  • Community
    Code of conduct Forum The FPA GitHub GitLab Codeberg Mastodon Matrix IRC IRC via Webchat Gitter Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Calendar
  • ♥ Donate

Donate

$
SEPA Information
Please set up your SEPA bank transfer to:
Beneficiary: The FreeCAD project association
IBAN: BE04 0019 2896 4531
BIC/SWIFT: GEBABEBBXXX
Bank agency: BNP Paribas Fortis
Address: Rue de la Station 64, 1360 Perwez, Belgium

While Stripe doesn't support monthly donations, you can still become a sponsor! Simply make a one-time donation equivalent to 12 months of support, and you'll gain access to the corresponding sponsoring tier. It's an easy and flexible way to contribute.

If you are not sure or not able to commit to a regular donation, but still want to help the project, you can do a one-time donation, of any amount.

Choose freely the amount you wish to donate one time only.

You can support FreeCAD by sponsoring it as an individual or organization through various platforms. Sponsorship provides a steady income for developers, allowing the FPA to plan ahead and enabling greater investment in FreeCAD. To encourage sponsorship, we offer different tiers, and unless you choose to remain anonymous, your name or company logo will be featured on our website accordingly.

from 1 USD / 1 EUR per month. You will not have your name displayed here, but you will have helped the project a lot anyway. Together, normal sponsors maintain the project on its feet as much as the bigger sponsors.

from 25 USD / 25 EUR per month. Your name or company name is displayed on this page.

from 100 USD / 100 EUR per month. Your name or company name is displayed on this page, with a link to your website, and a one-line description text.

from 200 USD / 200 EUR per month. Your name or company name and logo displayed on this page, with a link to your website and a custom description text. Companies that have helped FreeCAD early on also appear under Gold sponsors.

Instead of donating each month, you might find it more comfortable to make a one-time donation that, when divided by twelve, would give you right to enter a sponsoring tier. Don't hesitate to do so!

Choose freely the amount you wish to donate each month.

Please inform your forum name or twitter handle as a notein your transfer, or reach to us, so we can give you proper credits!

This documentation is not finished. Please help and contribute documentation.

GuiCommand model explains how commands should be documented. Browse Category:UnfinishedDocu to see more incomplete pages like this one. See Category:Command Reference for all commands.

See WikiPages to learn about editing the wiki pages, and go to Help FreeCAD to learn about other ways in which you can contribute.

ExtendBySketch
Unfold
SheetMetal

SheetMetal AddFoldWall

Menu location
SheetMetal → Fold a Wall
Workbenches
SheetMetal
Default shortcut
C F
Introduced in version
-
See also
None

Description

The SheetMetal AddFoldWall command folds a sheet metal plate (blank) at a chosen line.

It can be used with a pre-cut blank to

  • create a perforated bend zone
  • leave planar sections within the bend area and beyond e.g. tabs. (needs gaps in the bend line)

Pre-cut blank and bend line with two gaps → perforated bend zone with some still planar geometry

Usage

(Prepare a sketch for the bend line (segments) on the face to be bent)
  1. Select the face to be bent.
  2. Press Ctrl and select the sketch containing the bend line (segments) (preferably in the tTree View) to add it to the selection.
  3. There are several ways to invoke the command:
    • Press the Fold a Wall button.
    • Select the Sheet Metal → Fold a Wall option from the menu.
    • Right-click in the Tree View or the 3D View and select the Sheet Metal → Fold a Wall option from the context menu.
    • Use the keyboard shortcut: C Then F.
  4. A Fold object is created and the Fold on sketch line properties Task Panel opens:
    • Optionally press the Base Object button and select a different face.
    • Optionally press the Bend Line button and select a different sketch.
    • Optionally adjust the parameters in the Task Panel.
  5. Press the OK button to finish the command and close the Task Panel.
  6. Optionally adjust the parameters in the Property View.

The bend line(s) lying in the middle of the perforation → to keep the bend centred the same way the property DataPosition has to be set to middle

Task Panel

A task panel was introduced in version 0.5.00

Double-click an existing Fold object in the Tree View to re-open the task panel and edit the parameters.

  • Base Object: Links a different Sketch to the base Object property.
  • Bend Line: Links a different Sketch to the Bend Line property.
  • Flip Direction: Toggles the Invert Bend property.
  • Unbend: Toggles the Unfold property.
  • Bend Radius: Sets the radius property.
  • Bend Angle: Sets the angle property.

Notes

  • The bend line sketch has to be coplanar to the selected face.
  • The bend line segments have to be colinear to each other.

Properties

See also: Property View.

A SheetMetal Fold object is derived from a Part Feature object or, if it is inside a PartDesign Body, from a PartDesign Feature object, and inherits all its properties. It also has the following additional properties:

Data

Parameters

  • DataBend Line (Link): "Bend Reference Line List". Links to the bend line objects.
  • DataPosition (Enumeration): "Bend Line Position".
    intersection of planes (introduced in version 0.4.12), forward (default), middle, backward.
  • Dataangle (Angle): "Bend Angle". Default angle: 90,00°.
  • Database Object (LinkSub): "Base Object". Link to the planar face to be bent.
  • Datainvert (Bool): "Invert Bend Direction". Default: false
  • Datainvertbend (Bool): "Invert Solid Bend Direction". Default: false
    true swaps the side of the line to be bent.
  • Datakfactor (FloatConstraint): "Neutral Axis Position". Default: 0,50.
  • Dataradius (Length): "Bend Radius". Default: 1,00 mm.
  • Dataunfold (Bool): "Unfold Bend". Default: false

Example

A simple clip

Preparation

This clip is made of a blank that receives three folds and so we need four sketches prepared in advance:

- one for the outline plus slot (blank)
- one for the bend at the tip
- one for the upward bend
- one for the downward bend

Easiest way to guarantee that one face of the blank and all folding lines are coplanar is to create all sketches on the same plane - the XY_Plane in this case.

The folding lines could be created with other tools but hey, we have a Sketcher!

Sketches on their common plane and their representation in the model tree

Workflow

  1. Create a blank
    1. Select the outline sketch
    2. Press the Make Base Wall button
      or use the keyboard shortcut: C then B

      (The blank is padded in z direction and so it has to be flipped
      each time, to select the bottom face that is lying on the sketch plane)


  2. Fold the tip
    1. Select the blank's bottom face
    2. Select the sketch named Tip Fold line (preferably from the Tree View)
      (and don't forget the control/command key )
    3. Press the Fold a wall button
      or use the keyboard shortcut: C then F
    4. The fold should be 90° down and so some values in the properties window need to be set e.g.:
      - the angle value to 60°
      - the invert value to true for an upward bend

  3. Create the downward fold
    1. Select the blank's bottom face
    2. And then the sketch named Down-Fold line
    3. Press the Fold a wall button
      or use the keyboard shortcut: C then F
    4. Set the angle value to 92°
    5. If the wrong section of the part moved set the invertbend value to true

  4. To create the upward fold
    1. select the blank's bottom face
    2. and then the sketch named Up-Fold line
    3. Press the Fold a wall button
      or use the keyboard shortcut: C then F
    4. Set the angle value to 80°
    5. If the fold is downward set the invert value to true
    6. If needed set the invertbend value to true

Done!

Note!: In real life the upward fold must be done before the downward fold. Only the virtual world of CAD allows us to bend through solid material. This way the orientation of the static section doesn't change.
All sketches lie on the same plane to avoid sketches attached to moveable faces.


ExtendBySketch
Unfold
SheetMetal

This page is retrieved from https://wiki.freecad.org/SheetMetal_AddFoldWall

Get in touch!
Forum GitHub Mastodon Matrix IRC Gitter.im Discord Reddit Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

© The FreeCAD Team. Homepage image credits (top to bottom): ppemawm, r-frank, epileftric, regis, rider_mortagnais, bejant.

This project is supported by: , KiCad Services Corp. and other sponsors

GitHubImprove this page on GitHub