wildcard
requirements
- design, cut, and assemble a sheet metal part
- the design should include at least one hem or bend
- and should require spot welding to assemble
summary
I designed the front panel for my final project that will hold the two mfds.
v1
I made my design in OnShape and only exported a face as dxf to import into the laser software the first time.
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/cutout_inlaser_v1.b0db3ae0b6ff19a7.jpg)
Since I only exported the face, the design was missing all of the material for the bends.
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/cutout_v1.6851f42f511a3d2d.jpg)
v2
Successfully unfolded the sheet metal design as dxf and exported.
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/cutout_inlaser_v2.02811ca4ee186f28.jpg)
Hemmed, bent, and spot-welded together:
With the mfd outline in place:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/cutout_with_panel.d469b26e3b8688a6.jpg)
welding
I spent most of a day self-teaching welding on both mig and tig.
mig
Some miscellaneous experiments out of scrap:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/misc_experiments_1.9cccb07c09478976.jpg)
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/misc_experiments_2.616849ca7c316626.jpg)
Real attempts at nicer joints:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/butt_joint.edc887dea2b9ccf8.jpg)
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/round_tube.9c64a7fb5fde6a7c.jpg)
scraper
I tried to make a scraper to clean the welding spatter off of the table out of scrap:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/scraper.e2715ce84bc2a03f.jpg)
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/scraper_2.8deb80192475294c.jpg)
But the spatter is very hard, and my scraper was mild steel, so the edge mostly just deformed:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/scraper_edge.5a4b8ec0d6ffc1e0.jpg)
tig
There was some warp in my panel and I wanted to take it out by welding stiffeners to it. I figured I'd need to use tig to do this -- I practiced on scrap 22ga:
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/tig_experiments.ad0182a4658d2e3f.jpg)
![](https://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/863.23/CBA/people/Nathan/processed_images/tig_experiments_p2.796063170f17e7b5.jpg)