Blog Creating a Slot on a Cylindrical SOLIDWORKS Part
We received a support call from a customer the other day and they were trying to create an angled slot on a cylinder in SOLIDWORKS. There is a catch, they need to create the slot so that the edges of the slot, are perpendicular to the inside and outside diameter of the cylinder. That way, if the part were to be flattened, the flat cut would lay out correctly.
One simple way to accomplish this task is to use the Wrap feature. The Wrap feature allows you to take a sketch and project or wrap around an object or face.
Once you create the sketch, go to Insert, Feature, Wrap to activate the wrap command. You then decide what type of wrap you want to create. In this case, we will use the Deboss option and then select the face we want the cut to appear.
You also have the option to choose how deep you want to cut. In this situation, we just need to make sure that the cut is larger than the thickness. Check to make sure the sketch is projected on the correct face.
You see how the slot is wrapped around the cylindrical feature. We still need to see if the edges stay perpendicular to the faces. So let's look at a couple of views from the top to see the cuts.
This is a really quick and easy way to create a slot on a curved surface. The cut then acts like a sheet metal cut so if it was flattened, the cut would appear as you would expect.
Phil Whitaker
Field Technical Services Manager