Bending Aluminum Sheet Metal

Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius.

Bending aluminum sheet metal.

Monkeys spinning monkeys by kevin macleod. Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e. Bending is a delicate and demanding process most of the time and common fabricating processes require a degree of formability that make your choice of proper alloy critical. Lift the clamp bar away from the rear of the brake frame and slide the sheet in perpendicularly to the direction you want to bend it.

Mark your bend lines. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend. 6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily.

If you have any questions or want to discuss your design contact us. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition. Insert your aluminum sheet into the brake beneath the removable clamp bar.

Depending on designation alloys go through different heat treatment procedures during production. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. When the sheet metal is put through the process of bending the metal around the bend is deformed and stretched. Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations.

Now that you know your bend allowance take your protractor and draw a clear line with your marker across the point at which you will bend your sheet metal. Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise. That s the ideal anyway but the reality is that many parts arrive at the press brake in a less than ideal state. As this happens you gain a small amount of total length in your part.

Simple sheet metal bender using a hand roller clamps and plywood. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile. Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. Likewise when you are trying to develop a flat pattern you will have to make a deduction from your desired part size to get the correct flat size.