Sketched Bend:

Sketched bend is a SolidWorks Sheetmetal feature that helps you bend a Flat piece of Sheetmetal.

This feature is only available on a Sheetmetal Part. I mean; a part that You create using base flange feature not extruded boss.

How to create a sketched bend:

Firstly, you will need to create a Sheetmetal part using base flange tool.

Then, you will need to sketch a line to define the bend location;

To do that; after creating your part and once you click on the “ Sketched bend” tool, SolidWorks asks you to select a face to sketch on:

It is more preferable that you create a line across the entire tab to avoid errors that might come up in the future if you make changes to the size and shape of the tab.

In addition, to prevent the line from extending into the surrounding material . Hence, be affected by the sketched bend feature which we don’t wish to happen!

“ Tab” is a flat piece of Sheetmetal.

Once you exit the sketch; by clicking on the blue arrow at the top right of the workspace area, SolidWorks brings up the sketch bend property manager.

In the Bend parameters box you will need to select the fixed face that you don’t wish the “sketched bend” feature to make changes to.

You can define where you want the bend to be located in relation to the sketch line using Bend position options under the Bend parameters box in the property manager.

Bend Parameters:

1-Center line

2-Material inside

3-Material Outside

4-Bend Outside

Bends created using the sketched bend feature can be in any angle from 0 to 360 degrees.

You can use the reverse direction button if you want to change the bend direction to the opposite side.

Moreover, you are allowed to change the default bend radius/bend allowance by checking the boxes and setting the custom values.

Once you are finished click OK (Green check above), SolidWorks will add the bend as a result.