Bending Steel Sheet Metal

Mild steel 1 16 ga.

Bending steel sheet metal.

As an example if you want to bend 24 gauge sheet metal at a 90 angle the calculation would be. The following illustration shows the equation calculation for determining the bend allowance when forming sheet metal. Stainless steel 1 20 ga. Sheet metal bending methods design tips k factor bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations.

The process delivers highly accurate forming maintenance of thickness and tremendous finished component strength. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. Clamping your sheet metal to the straightedge is a must. Otherwise the sheet metal is almost certain to shift as you bend it resulting in a bad bend.

Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. Mild steel 1 brake shear slip roll 1 metal forming 1. Mild steel 2 12 ga. 0 017453 x 90 x 0 020 0 33 x 0 024 0 0438558984 inch bend allowance keep in mind that some metals are more brittle than others.

Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e. A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend. Sheet metal calculator bend allowance equations and calculator. This page also includes a link to a on line sheet metal bend allowance calculator.

Most sheet metal materials will conform to the calculations. To clamp efficiently lay your sheet metal on the top surface of your straightedge with the drawn line perfectly aligned with the outside edge of the sheet metal. Bending a brittle metal beyond its limits could cause the metal to snap and break. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius.

Hot metal forming offers tighter bend radii in high carbon steel in degrees that might break the material in cold forming. 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. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick.