Design Guidance Enhancements

Sheet Metal Design Guidance

aP Pro 2026 R1 and Sheet Metal process model version CMV 340 complete the implementation of the prioritized Design for Manufacturability (DFM) framework for the Sheet Metal process group. This release finalizes the alignment of existing Sheet Metal advice rules with the Critical, Major, and Minor severity classification system first introduced in aP Pro 2025 R1 SP3 and version CMV 330 of the Sheet Metal manufacturing process model. For more information, see the aP Pro 2025 R1 SP3 Release Notes.

With this release, prioritized DFM guidance is now fully implemented across all major Sheet Metal rule categories. Updated rule categories in version CMV 340 of the Sheet Metal manufacturing process model include:

  • Hole-related rules

  • Bend-related rules

  • Hem-related rules

  • Wall and blank checks

As a result, beginning with release 26.1, no Unclassified issues will appear when you use the latest Sheet Metal process model.

In addition to implementing severity classifications, unclear or non-design-related advice has been removed to ensure that Sheet Metal DFM guidance remains actionable, relevant, and design-focused.

Removal of Unclear or Non-Design-Related Advice

The following advice rules were removed or disabled to improve clarity and ensure that DFM feedback focuses strictly on design-related manufacturability concerns:

  • Hole-to-Hole Distance (Perforating)

    Removed. Close hole proximity is less of a manufacturability concern in perforating operations, as the tooling braces the material during punching.

  • Coined Hole

    Removed. This rule evaluates routing operations rather than part geometry and is therefore not a design-related DFM issue.

  • Bend Has Gussets

    Removed due to inconsistent recognition of gusset geometry.

  • Stock Thickness (Cost Driving Advice)

    Disabled. This advice has been removed pending support for standard metric stock sizes.

    Digital Factory administrators may re-enable this advice within CMWB/Digital Factory configurations if operating with imperial stock standards.

Machining Design Guidance

In this release of aP Pro, the (secondary) Machining, 2-Model Machining, and Stock Machining process groups now provide severity-based manufacturability design guidance for most processes. When you use the latest manufacturing process model versions (Machining CMV 380, 2-Model Machining CMV 130, Stock Machining CMV 220), design issues are now classified as Critical, Major, or Minor, enabling you to easily identify the most important issues to address. You can also tailor guidance to your own design standards by adjusting any issue type's severity classifications or associated thresholds.

This enhancement extends the Critical, Major, and Minor severity framework introduced in aP Pro 2025 R1 SP3. For more information, see the aP Pro 2025 R1 SP3 Release Notes. This brings the number of process groups that provide prioritized guidance to six: Forging, Machining, 2-Model Machining, Stock Machining, Plastic Molding, and Sheet Metal. Upcoming releases will provide this enhanced guidance in additional process groups.

The following categories of machining rules now provide prioritized design guidance:

  • Access and Setup Constraints

    Tool accessibility and setup feasibility issues now supply severity thresholds, enabling clearer identification of conditions that might prevent or significantly complicate machining operations.

  • Obstruction and Geometry Detection

    Detection of geometric obstructions and interfering features improves the reliability of manufacturability assessments. Issues are classified based on the level of impact to machining feasibility.

  • Ratio and Tooling Constraints

    Length-to-diameter ratios, depth constraints, and other tooling limitations have been aligned to severity-based classifications. This provides clearer differentiation between high-risk tooling conditions and lower-priority design optimizations.

  • Hole and Turning-Specific Improvements

    Hole-making and turning operations have been updated with refined rule logic and severity classification to better reflect real machining constraints and best practices.

This release also includes expanded validation logic to improve the accuracy and relevance of manufacturability feedback. The following machining-related defect has been resolved:

  • Surfaces incorrectly flagged as Side Milling L/D Ratio Exceeded:

    • Improved detection logic eliminates false positives.

    • Increases confidence in reported manufacturability violations and reduces unnecessary design review effort.

Notes and Limitations

  • In Machining, a small number of rules are not yet migrated to the severity-based framework. As a result, a very small selection of issues may appear as Unclassified. Additional rule conversions and enhancements are planned for upcoming releases.

  • In Stock Machining, six design guidance issues related to selecting alternate (smaller) stock sizes are displayed as Unclassified in this release, but will be categorized as cost-driving issues in a future release.

Design Guidance Spreadsheet Report

New in aP Pro 2026 R1, the Part Design Guidance spreadsheet report provides a prioritized summary of the manufacturability and cost driving issues identified for the active part scenario. This is also available within the aP Design cloud application (see the aP Design Release Notes).

To generate a Design Guidance spreadsheet report, select Reports > Spreadsheet Reports..., and then select Part Design Guidance from the dropdown list. See also Generate a Report for a Part.

For details on the contents of the report, see Design Guidance Spreadsheet Report in the aP Pro User Guide.