Feed Hopper Drawing Package
Type the sizes of a feed hopper on the drawing and get a seven-sheet drawing set, as PDF and DXF, with the four cut files, in millimetres or inches.
Dimensions
The generator opens full screen and you type the sizes on the drawing. It needs JavaScript; if you are reading this, it is off or still loading.
- Top opening, width
- Top opening, depth
- Hopper height
- Square outlet, side
- Round outlet, mean diameter
- Square-to-round height
- Spout length
- Sheet thickness
- Flange thickness
- Title block: company, project, drawing number, designed / drawn / checked, date
Results
- General arrangement with bill of material
- General notes
- H1, H2 hopper panels
- T1 transition, developed, with bend table
- S1 spout and F1 flange
- Welding details
- Assembly
Plus four cut DXFs, a manifest and the checking script, in one ZIP.
Preview
- Sample drawing set, PDF (7 sheets, 11 × 17)
- Sample drawing set, DXF
- Sample cut files: panels, transition, spout blank, flange
How this tool is verified
- The cut files are checked by a separate Python script using ezdxf, an independent DXF library: panel edges, true corner line, the round edge against π × diameter, spout against transition, flange clearances, and each part's mass against the bill of material in manifest.json (the script reads the cut files, not the sheets). The script is in every ZIP, so you can run it too.
- Tests build complete packages for four sizes in millimetres and run that script and an ezdxf audit of the drawing-set DXF on each; one more package, in inches, goes through the script.
- The sample set on this page is the generator's own output; a test fails if it differs by one byte.
The method, the reports and the responsibility boundary are on the Verification page.
Built by Ruthen Systems
Free, with no account, and the dimensions you type stay in your browser (unless you choose to attach them to a mistake report). If a result looks wrong, or the option your shop needs is missing, say so — reports of a wrong result are dealt with first.
Report a problem or request a toolAssumptions and limits
Read these before you cut anything. They describe exactly what this tool does and does not account for.
- A square or rectangular bin of four flat panels, a square-to-round transition, a rolled spout and a flat ring flange, all on one vertical axis. No offset outlet, no rectangular spout.
- Sheet parts are developed at mid-thickness; the round outlet is entered as its mean diameter. Corner and seam details are drawn as shown on the welding sheet; another joint may need a different allowance.
- The transition is formed from flat facets on bend lines (a bend table is on its sheet); it can instead be rolled to a smooth cone between them.
- Plate thickness, welds, supports and lifting points are not sized for any load, and the contents and their flow are not considered. The set needs review by a licensed professional engineer for the intended use.
- Steel grade, finish and tolerances are left for the purchaser; the notes sheet says so.
- No DWG file: the drawing-set DXF opens in AutoCAD and other CAD programs and can be saved as DWG there.
Output is a planning and fabrication aid. You are responsible for verifying dimensions, tolerances and material behaviour before production — full disclaimer.
Worked example
The sample: top 800 × 600 mm, hopper height 500, square outlet 300, round outlet Ø200 mean, transition 150 high, spout 250 long, 2 mm sheet and a 6 mm flange.
Its cut files pass all 36 checks of the script (output): for example, every panel's seam edges equal the true length of the corner line, 578.792 mm, and the spout blank is 628.319 mm long, π × 200, against the transition's developed round edge of 628.299 mm. Total steel: 23.05 kg.
Method
Each sheet is one list of lines, arcs, text and tables. Three writers turn it into the picture on the screen, the PDF and the DXF, so all three are made from the same data. The sizes on the drawing are the boxes you type into, and every sheet is redrawn from them.
The panels are flat trapezoids whose slanted edges are the true length of the corner line. The transition is developed into flat facets between the square and the round, with the bend angle of each line taken from the facet normals. The spout blank's length is the mean circumference, so it meets the transition's round edge, and the flange bore and holes follow the spout size.
How it was built and checked: the case study. For the four panels alone, with an offset outlet, use the Hopper & Transition Builder.
Questions
What is in the download?
One ZIP: the seven-sheet drawing set as a PDF and as a DXF (the same sheets), four cut DXFs named by drawing number (hopper panels, transition, spout blank, flange), a manifest with the sizes, a Python script that checks the cut files, and a README.
Are my sizes sent anywhere?
No. The drawing and the ZIP are made in your browser. The site counts that a drawing was made or downloaded, and whether in millimetres or inches; never the sizes or the title block. The sizes are sent only if you send a “Found a mistake?” report and tick the box to attach them.
Can I put my own company and drawing number on it?
Yes. Click the boxes in the title block on the sheet: company, project title, drawing number, designed, drawn and checked by, date. Every set carries a FOR REVIEW / NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION stamp, which cannot be edited here; your own process decides when a set is issued.
Millimetres or inches?
Either, with the switch in the top bar or the UNITS box on the sheet. Inch sheets show fractions to 1/16 and plate thicknesses in decimal inches; the cut files are written in the unit you chose.
Why does it refuse some sizes?
Because the parts would not fit together: an outlet as wide as the top, a round outlet that does not fit inside the square, or a size outside the range. The bar above the drawing says which, in plain words, and the drawing waits until the sizes work.
Missing an option?
A different datum, an offset, a shop allowance, another shape altogether — say what this tool does not cover yet. Requests decide what gets built next, and a report of a wrong result is dealt with before anything new.
Rather have the whole job done — drawings, cut files, the shop documentation, mistakes caught before cutting? Quoted per job: how we help shops.
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