Mechanical · CAD & Manufacturing
Sheet Metal Enclosure Design & Fabrication
Beginner 3 weeks 20-40 hours
Design a sheet metal enclosure in CAD, then actually fabricate it from aluminum sheet: mark, cut, bend, and assemble. Measure real tolerances vs your flat-pattern design.
Major
Mechanical
Focus area
CAD & Manufacturing
Total hours
20-40 hours
What you'll need
- aluminum sheet metal 6061 thin gauge
- aviation snips metal cutting hand shears
- mini sheet metal bending brake tool
- digital caliper 6 inch stainless steel measuring tool
- deburring tool with rotary blades
- pop rivet gun kit with aluminum rivets
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Steps
- Design the enclosure in CAD and generate a flat pattern with bend allowances.
- Print the flat pattern and mark it on the aluminum sheet.
- Cut with aviation snips and deburr every edge.
- Bend the flanges on the bending brake in the right order.
- Rivet the enclosure together and measure final dimensions against your design.
- Document tolerance results and lessons learned for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- CAD flat pattern
- fabricated enclosure
- bend tolerance measurements
- assembly photos
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Engineered a sheet metal enclosure design & fabrication using Sheet metal design, fabrication, CAD unfold
Applied dimensional measurement to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end
Skills you'll show off
Sheet metal designfabricationCAD unfolddimensional measurement