The material thickness will be measured in decimal form not by the gauge number.
Determine natural bend of sheet aluminum.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your design contact us.
Also know that for the best results and fewer cracks on the outside of the bend the bend line should go across or diagonal to the material grain when and where possible.
You can use a tape measure or ruler to measure the thickness of your sheet metal.
Cells on the right will output the desired values.
This measurement will be necessary for calculating your bend allowance.
Since commercial sheet metal bending can be done with less concern for stresses caused during forming operation the radius can be near zero for thin sheet metal.
Determine the angle at which you want to brake the metal and mark it on the protractor.
Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e.
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.
We will start by calculating the bend allowance.
Cut the section of metal out or otherwise prepare the metal to be bent by removing any burrs or sharp edges.
The minimum bend radius data shown in these charts is measured to the inside of the bend.
If your sheet metal is too thick you may need special machinery like a brake or a torch to bend your sheet into the desired shape.
You will use the protractor to gauge the brake as you bend the metal little by little.
Bend allowance calculator the bend allowance and bend deduction are two measures that relate the bent length of a piece of sheet metal to the flat length.
For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick.
From there we can calculate the k factor and the bend deduction.
General advice on aluminum.
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.
Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend.
Determine the thickness of your sheet.
The bend allowance formula takes into account the geometries of bending and the properties of your metal to determine the bend allowance.
You will need to know your material thickness mt the bend angle b the inside radius ir and the k factor k.
Figure 2 illustrates the sheet that is bent with the bend angle of 90 degrees.
If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius.
A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend.
The bend allowance describes the length of the neutral axis between the bend lines or in other words the arc length of the bend.
90 degrees bend angle.
When bending aluminum know that the smaller your inside bend radius the larger the chance that cracking will occur in the part.
