Tab and slot for sheet metal

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Hello Forum!

I am a newbie trying to learn tab and slot for sheet metal. Any recommendations on videos to learn the basics? Including saving the project during design, bringing it back up to edit, and then assembling it together to make sure the tab and slots fit? Thank you for your help!

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Welcome to The forum.

Do you have a particular CAD software that you’re currently using?

These have sheet metal workspaces

Inventor

SolidWorks

Fusion 360

Turbocad (with add on )

And I’m sure that that there’s a few other CAD programs that have dedicated sheet metal workspaces as well.

What kind of slot and tab sheet metal components are you talking about?
Fire pit style rocket stoves? Weld tables?

Something simple enough you may be able to do with design software but you’d have a tough time double checking your work as it relates to the third dimension.

I gravitate towards Fusion 360 myself. If you search " Fusion 360 sheet metal " in YouTube there is an endless amount of resources on how to start learning that sheet metal workspace.

If you have a specific object in mind I could point you to some more specific learning videos.

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@Chickenhawk1
welcome to the Forum…I can vouch for what @TinWhisperer puts down…he has become one of this forums most respected reliable resources for information…

I hope I copied and pasted what you wanted me to say @TinWhisperer …lol…

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Yep, thank you @toolboy, almost verbatim of what we talked about.

I think for next time though if we tone back the praise 1 to 2% I think that’d be about perfect.

Little known fact:
70% of the time, I’m 100% right.

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I suppose that’s better than 100% of the time you’re 70% right…

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Thanks for the welcome! Glad to see there is humor between the forum members! I am using the free version of Fusion 360. I have looked at You Tube videos on Fusion 360, but will add sheet metal in my search. I am not building a weld fixture table, but the tab and slots that are used to make it are what I am looking for to use in my project. I will be using 5/16"-1/4" plate.
Thank you!

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There is a few Fusion 360 plugins that deal with slot and tab.

Dogbone

Or

Nicebox360

Or

There’s probably a bunch of other plugins too.

I’m not sure if these will be helpful or not?

it really depends on the nature of your part.

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there are only a few of us with humor…some have already had the surgery to remove their funny bone…

but overall you will find a great wealth of information here…weather you want it or not…