How to Modify Flanges in BricsCAD Mechanical

Quick answer: BricsCAD offers several tools to modify flanges, applied consistently to any part regardless of its design history, confirming the history-free philosophy covered elsewhere in this hub. This combines Solid Modeling tools with specific Sheet Metal tools, almost every solid modeling tool works on sheet metal parts while preserving the design intelligence provided by Sheet Metal Features.

Stretching Flanges

1. Hover over the thickness face and choose Push/Pull in the Model command group of the Quad menu, confirming exactly the same DMPUSHPULL covered on this hub’s BIM section DmPushPull page.
2. Drag the face, then right-click; the flange stretches over the specified distance.

Rotating a Thickness Face

1. Hover over the face and choose Rotate in the Model command group of the Quad menu.
2. Specify the rotation axis, base point, and angle (see DMROTATE for more detail).
3. Fillet the resulting sharp edges: hover over a thickness edge and choose Same Length Edges in the Select command group of the Quad menu.
4. Press Enter; every edge of the same length gets selected.
5. Choose Fillet in the Model command group of the Quad menu.
6. Specify the desired fillet radius.

Making a Hole in a Flange

1. Create four circles at the desired locations, using the Snap to Center entity snap for their center points.
2. Select the circles.
3. Choose Solid extrude in the Model command group of the Quad menu.
4. Move the cursor to create the holes.

Moving a Flange

1. Launch DMPUSHPULL (via the Push/Pull tool button on the Direct Modeling toolbar, Direct Modeling > Push/Pull in the Model menu, Push/Pull in the Edit panel of the Sheet Metal ribbon tab, the command itself, or Push/Pull in the Model command group of the Quad menu), then select the face you want to move.
2. Select the flange’s new position; because Sheet Metal Features are present, the part’s thickness stays preserved throughout.

Rotating a Flange

Although DMROTATE can rotate a flange, SMFLANGEROTATE is recommended instead, since it automatically selects a rotation axis that respects the sheet metal part’s design intent.

1. Launch SMFLANGEROTATE; you’re prompted to select a flange face to rotate (flange faces under the cursor highlight).
2. Click to select one; it rotates dynamically, with a dynamic dimension showing the current angle relative to the base flange.
3. Either select a point, type a value in the dynamic dimension field, or press Tab and specify the absolute rotation angle directly.

If you use DMROTATE on a flange connected to others by junction features instead, those junctions automatically dissolve before the rotation happens.

Splitting a Flange

Useful for minimizing material consumption, splitting a flange with a large hole, for example.

1. Launch SMSPLIT; you’re prompted to select lines or edges to split the flange, or choose SMart split, draw a New line, or selection options.
2. Press Enter to accept the default (draw a New line); you’re prompted for the line’s start point.
3. Hover over the face you want to split (make sure Dynamic UCS, or DUCS, is on); it highlights.
4. Specify the start point; you’re prompted for the end point.
5. Specify the end point; you’re prompted to choose Center, Left, Right, or Accept model for the split’s position.
6. Press Ctrl to toggle between Center, Left, and Right (the Tips Widget shows the currently selected option if Tips is on), select one from the Prompt Menu, or type an option directly and press Enter.

A split operation creates a miter feature; restore the original flange by removing that miter feature from the Mechanical Browser’s feature list.

Smart Tools to Split a Flange

Smart Split additionally lets you split by selecting a single corner vertex, splitting off the bend and converting the adjacent part near the corner into a junction.

1. Launch SMSPLIT (via the Smart Split tool on the Sheet Metal ribbon tab, the Mechanical > Sheet Metal > Split menu, or the command itself) and choose the SMart split option.
2. You’re prompted to select a point on the flange or lofted bend border for the smart split, or choose Flange propagate or vertex Propagate; select a corner vertex, or snap to a point on an edge of the flange to split.
3. You’re prompted to choose Center, Left, Right, or Accept for the split.
4. Press Enter to accept, or repeatedly press Ctrl to cycle options (the Tips Widget shows the current one if Tips is on); the flange cuts along a line through the specified point, and the bend partially converts into a junction. With the Center option specifically, if Smart Features are on, corner reliefs adjacent to the split convert into bend reliefs (this conversion of part of the bend into a junction happens regardless of whether Smart Split mode is used).

Bending a Flange

SMFLANGEBEND bends one or more flanges along a line, either drawn beforehand or created on the fly with the New Line option.

To bend multiple flanges simultaneously:

1. Launch SMFLANGEBEND; you’re prompted to select a flange face.
2. Select the flange to bend; you’re prompted to select a line or edge, or draw a New Line.
3. Either select a line overlapping the flange(s), or choose New Line and draw one on top of them. You’re then prompted to choose Angle, Radius, Switch side, Toggle bend extents, or Accept; pick a point on the side of the line you want to move, and the selected part bends dynamically.
4. Optionally type a value to set the bend angle using the default bend radius.
5. Optionally choose the Radius option, then type a value to override the default bend radius.
6. Optionally choose the Angle option, then type a value to set the bend angle.

Connecting Flanges

SMFLANGECONNECT closes gaps between two arbitrarily oriented flanges.

1. Launch SMFLANGECONNECT; you’re prompted to select the planar thickness faces of two flanges (faces under the cursor highlight).
2. Select the first flange’s thickness face; you’re prompted to select the second.
3. Select the second flange’s thickness face; the two connect.

After connecting two flanges this way, the resulting junction feature can be converted into a bend.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use SMFLANGEROTATE instead of DMROTATE to rotate a flange? SMFLANGEROTATE automatically selects a rotation axis that respects the sheet metal part’s design intent, DMROTATE doesn’t.

What happens to junction features if I rotate a connected flange with DMROTATE? They automatically dissolve before the rotation occurs.

How do I undo a flange split and restore its original, unsplit shape? Remove the miter feature the split created from the feature list in the Mechanical Browser.

Can I convert the junction created by SMFLANGECONNECT into a proper bend afterward? Yes, that conversion is supported once the two flanges are connected.