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Software facilitates quick flange, blank shape development

Forming Technologies Inc. (FTI) has released BlankWorks 4.3. It provides SolidWorks® 2011 users with a fully integrated tool for developing flat patterns from complex 3-D designs. With the software, users can develop flanges and blank shapes for their stampings in less than a minute, the company reports.

New features include flange/blank synchronization with SolidWorks geometry, blank edge smoothing to generate tangent continuous arc, and line geometry to enhance the translation to the manufacturing process.

In addition to flat-pattern development and flange unfolding, the software also provides a contour plot indicating the thickening and thinning resulting from the forming process. It accounts for material stretch and deformation as well as bending and can flatten any SolidWorks geometry. This tool also can be used to assess the feasibility of a part for manufacturing.