Bending Aluminum Sheet Metal

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.

Bending aluminum sheet metal. 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. Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend. A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend.

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. Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece.

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. Simple sheet metal bender using a hand roller clamps and plywood. 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. 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.

Monkeys spinning monkeys by kevin macleod. Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations. If you have any questions or want to discuss your design contact us. Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame.

Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise. As this happens you gain a small amount of total length in your part. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius.

That s the ideal anyway but the reality is that many parts arrive at the press brake in a less than ideal state. Insert your aluminum sheet into the brake beneath the removable clamp bar. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition. 6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily.