To assist us in processing our customers’ enquiries promptly, we have established a set of guidelines that should be followed where possible:
2D Drawings
• DXF/DWG – compatible with AutoCAD 2006 or earlier.
• Separate layers in different colours if possible.
• Splines should be converted to lines if possible otherwise clearly indicated if present.
• Gaps and double lines should be removed.
• Drawings should be drawn 1:1 and clearly indicate scale factor.
• Drawing must have at least one reference dimension to check.
• Holes that require tapping should be drawn to the “drill-size” and clearly indicated as tapped holes.
• If customers supply flat-layouts (for bending) all details must be shown including bending direction and angle. A drawing of the final part is required including reference or critical dimensions clearly marked as either “INSIDE” or “OUTSIDE”.
3D Models
• STEP, IGES, STL or SAT files are preferred.
• 3D models must have uniform thickness for sheet metal parts. As rule of thumb, internal bend radius should be equal to nominal thickness of material.
• 3D drawing should be accompanied with a drawing or at least a sketch showing critical or reference dimension for checking.
Artworks
• Artworks should be supplied in vector format (lines, circles and arcs) in one of the following formats: EPS, PDF, DXF compatible with Adobe Illustrator CS2 if possible. Where this is not possible we can accept a variety of other formats that will be converted to vector format – JPG, GIF or similar.
• Artwork that contains text should have the font embedded in the file (if supplied electronically) otherwise the font must be supplied separately – CAD department should be contacted.
• Reference dimension should be present, for example font height or overall size.