pic: Plywood 8WD Concept

[z_beeblebrox]

Originally Posted by CENTURION

I for one would love to see a sheet-metal version of this design too. It'd be interesting to compare the two. I really like the layout of the whole thing.

I'd love to try this but am completely unfamiliar with the SolidWorks sheet metal tools. Any resources you would recommend for learning about sheet metal design?

[AustinSchuh]

Originally Posted by z_beeblebrox

I'd love to try this but am completely unfamiliar with the SolidWorks sheet metal tools. Any resources you would recommend for learning about sheet metal design?

The tutorials aren't bad. We start by having our students do the sheet tutorial. From there, we hand them a physical part from a previous year, and have them draw it up.

Sheet design is a different animal. I enjoy it because it is very challenging and rewarding. The best recommendation that I can give is to start with something simple, and work your way up from there. Maybe try drawing a square sheet frame first, before getting into all the complicated angles that are part of an octagonal frame. I recommend that people think of sheet metal like paper. All the strength is in the bends.

Post your design when you have something drawn up, and get feedback on how to improve it. You can run FEA on it if you are adventurous.