Bending Sheet Steel With A Radius

Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations.

Bending sheet steel with a radius.

Minimum sheet metal flange bend length 3 x sheet thickness bend radius. It is most economical to use a single bend radius throughout the design but if necessary you can utilize multiple radii. Thick grade 350 and 400 may have a minimum bend radius of 2 5 times the material thickness when transverse bending while longitudinal bending may require a minimum bend radius that s 3 75 times the material thickness see figure 1. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick.

Bending is a stamping process that uses pressure to force the material to plastically deform. We go beyond the general rules of sheet metal bending as our customers want tight bend radii for sheet metal parts. Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. The bending radius must be at least 0 8 t to 2 t for sheet steel.

In other words if you re bending 1 8 sheet use a tool with a 1 8 radius to form the inside of the bend. In steel between 0 5 and 0 8 in. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. The sheet metal bending height should be at least 2 times the thickness of the sheet metal plus the bending radius that is h 2t r.

It shall be equal to three times of sheet thickness plus bend radius. You only have to insert interior angle flange lengths k factor inside radius and material thickness. The tables below show bend radii and minimum bend sizes for materials and tooling combinations stocked by protocase. Use this document to choose values that are both manufacturable and meet your needs.

With this free online tool we quickly get the sheet metal bend deduction and therefore the sheet metal blank initial flat length from the finished part measurements. The force must exceed the material s yield strength to achieve a plastic deformation. Larger bend radii require about the same force for bottoming as they do for air bending however smaller radii require greater force up to five times as much than air bending. Most frequently expensive sheet metal bending tools called brakes are used to bend sheet metal but you can also complete this task without one.

Bend radii minimum bend sizes. It is possible to choose other bends if you require but additional lead time and tooling charges may apply. Bending sheet metal by hand is a manageable task if the piece of sheet metal is small and thin enough to handle. Minimum sheet metal flange bend length is required to avoid cracks in the bending area.

Commonly used bends include v bend z bend offset bend and hemming bend etc.