Sheetmetal Terminology 1

[cdrvice]

In terms of Sheet Metal, what's the difference between "Ribs" and "Gussets"? The two terms seem to be used interchangeably. Typically when I hear ribbing, it refers to plastic/injection molding design and Gussets refer to Sheet Metal.

-Cory

 

[MintJulep]

They are both colloquial terms. I doubt there is a formal, standardized definition for either.

 

[TheTick]

A gusset stiffens a corner. A rib may or may not, depending on how it feels on any given day.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Yes, 'ribs' can be used to stiffen large areas or long runs, whereas 'gussets', at least to people who are also familiar with fabrication processes, like welding and forging, thinks of them as keeping some feature from deforming.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[Jboggs]

I don't know of any formal definition but over the years the understanding I've gathered is that a "gusset" is a relatively short supporting section between two perpendicular surfaces. Generally triangular in shape, it's purpose is to reinforce the joint between those two surfaces to maintain their relative angle.

On the other hand a "rib" is a relatively long section whose main purpose is to reinforce the stiffness or flatness of the single large flat surface to which it is attached.

In that definition, gussets generally relate to joints of two members whereas ribs generally relate to large flat surfaces of individual members.

 

[rb1957]

without being snitty, is this an ESL questions ?

A none native English speaker could confuse the terms, as they often confuse similar (yet different) words. A technical person should know a gusset from a rib when they see one and won't mislabel.

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[rather_be_riding]

I rarely hear/see rib used with reference to sheet metal; typically in cases where a rib might be called for to stiffen a panel, the component is designated as a stiffener and may be differentiated as traverse or longitudinal.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Many time, I've seen references to 'stiffening ribs' when describing large sheet metal parts, and at least one sheet metal tool manufacturer seems to also refer to them as 'ribs':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8GnhjqZaDo

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[rather_be_riding]

@JohnRBaker - this may be an Australia vs US variation...or simply that the industries I've dealt with have preferences for terminology which don't align with those you have experience in.

That said, WRT the video you included, as the features are formed rather than added, I too would potentially be tempted to call them ribs. So ribs formed not welded/added, gussets and stiffeners welded?

 

[cdrvice]

Thank you everyone for the comments. I agree that in terms of Sheetmetal, typically gussets refer to welded support features and ribs refer to formed support features.

-Cory

 

[mfgenggear]

good explanation here, picture worth 100 words

https://www.dsm.com/engineering-mat...guidelines/corrugations-ribs-and-gussets.html

 

[JohnRBaker]

Actually 'corrugations' was one of the words I was looking for earlier and just couldn't get my 75-year old brain to find it ;-) Thank you mfgenggear for the link.

That being said, looking back on my sheetmetal work, 'corrugations' were usually seen as a characteristic of the stock material being purchased and specified, as in a 'corrugated sheet' or in terms of a 'corrugation' running the full length of a sheet versus a rib which might only span a portion of a sheetmetal part.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[mfgenggear]

JohnBaker

You are welcome , from a 67 Year old retired engineer