Minimum Bend Radius Sheet Metal

The problem with bending too tightly.

Minimum bend radius sheet metal. Being able to read a bend force chart is crucial for any brake press operator and sheet metal engineer. It is most economical to use a single bend radius throughout the design but if necessary you can utilize multiple radii. The tables below show bend radii and minimum bend sizes for materials and tooling combinations stocked by protocase. Each and every bend in a piece of sheet metal has a certain minimum internal radius that needs to be taken into account when planning the design of a sheet metal form.

For example 6061 t6 aluminum is very difficult to bend. 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. Bend radii minimum bend sizes. Brittle metal such as aluminum generally requires a larger bend radius than ductile material like cold rolled steel.

If a piece of material is bent too tightly problems can occur. It is possible to choose other bends if you require but additional lead time and tooling charges may apply. But for harder materials e g. It requires an inside bend radius of at least 6x the material thickness.

3003 h14 is extremely ductile. This tool allows you to determine tonnage internal radius v die opening and minimum flange you just have to insert the characteristics of the sheet metal to be bent. Discover all our calculation tools in the calculators section of the top menu. Let s say i have a 2 mm thick sheet and i want to bend it.

We go beyond the general rules of sheet metal bending as our customers want tight bend radii for sheet metal parts. In steel between 0 5 and 0 8 in. I can now see that the minimum flange length is 8 5 mm for such a bend so i have to keep it in mind when designing. The minimum inside bend radius is even larger when bending with the grain.

5052 h32 aluminum bends in about the same way as mild steel. An air bend force chart or force chart breaks down a number of key components of sheet metal bending in an easy to reference format. Minimum inside bend radius for sheet metal recommended inside bend radius for sheet metal parts should be equal to material thickness. 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.

The tool can calculate the required bending force for bending aluminum stainless steel mild steel and weldox or strenx high strength steels. The gauge inside radius die opening and minimum flange length are all interconnected through different equations and relationships the air bend force. Crca inside bend radius equal to 0 65 times of sheet thickness is also enough. The bend radii listed are standard minimum if manufacturing for aircraft and aerospace applications.