Sheet 06 of 12
Hems: Fold an Edge Back on Itself
In 4 minutes you'll fold the top edge of a bracket back on itself with a hem, and see how the hem's gap changes the flat length.
- Part
- Hems
- Rule
- Steel 2mm
- Sheet
- t 2 · R 2 · K 0.4
- Time
- 4 min
- Status
- Open
OP 10Watch
Video in productionBuild along with the steps in OP 30 meanwhile.
Chapters
- 00:00What a hem is for
- 00:30The bracket
- 01:10Add the hem
- 02:00The flat pattern
- 02:40An open hem: the gap
- 03:20Common mistake
- 03:40Your exercise
OP 20Turn the part
Drag to turn, scroll or pinch to zoom. Flat shows the blank before it is bent: the same sheet, the same frame.
OP 30Build it in SolidCraft
Your task
Make this bracket with a hem in SolidCraft 0.21:
- Use the rule Steel 2mm: thickness 2 mm, bend radius 2 mm, K-factor 0.4, active. Leave its Hem Gap as it is.
- Sketch a 120 × 60 mm rectangle on XY, corner at the origin, and finish the sketch.
- Flange on the sketch to make the base.
- Flange on the long front edge: height 30 mm, angle 90°.
- Hem on the top edge of that wall: Length 10 mm, Gap empty.
- Click Flat Pattern (Sheet Metal tab › Flat) and write down the flat size and the number of bends.
- Edit the hem, type 2 mm in Gap, and look at the flat pattern again.
What to write down
- The flat length across the bends with the rule's gap (the Flat size row of the Flat Pattern; the other side is 120 mm).
- The same length with Gap 2 mm.
- The number of bends (the Bends row).
Type them below and press Check. If your hem folds to the other side of the wall, the numbers are the same: Flip only changes the side.
OP 40Inspect
Enter what SolidCraft shows you. Each value is checked against SolidCraft's own result, within the tolerance shown. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Show the drawing and bend table
exercise · Steel 2mm · t 2 · R 2 · K 0.4Flat blank 120.000 × 96.933 mm · 2 bends
| Bend | Angle | Dir. | R mm | Length mm | Allowance mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90° | up | 2 | 120 | 4.398 |
| 2 | 180° | down | 0.01 | 120 | 2.545 |
exercise-gap2 · Steel 2mm · t 2 · R 2 · K 0.4Flat blank 120.000 × 101.195 mm · 2 bends
| Bend | Angle | Dir. | R mm | Length mm | Allowance mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90° | up | 2 | 120 | 4.398 |
| 2 | 180° | down | 2 | 120 | 8.796 |
OP 50Quiz
Q1How far does a hem bend the sheet?
A hem folds the edge all the way back onto the sheet, so its bend is 180°.
Q2Where does the hem's Gap come from when you leave it empty?
An empty Gap takes the rule's Hem Gap, just as a flange takes the rule's bend radius.
Q3The hem folds to the wrong side. What do you do?
Flip folds the hem the other way. The flat length stays the same.
Every value is within tolerance. This sheet is done.
Sheet 07: Fold