Beginner Sheetmetal question
Beginner Sheetmetal question
(OP)
Beginner Question:
I have a piece of sheet metal .010 thick and need to add a bend, what's a good Rule of Thumb to figure out your inside & outside radius?
Thanks!
-Art
I have a piece of sheet metal .010 thick and need to add a bend, what's a good Rule of Thumb to figure out your inside & outside radius?
Thanks!
-Art





RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
I would use an inside bend radius of two or three times the material thickness.
regards
desertfox
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
- - -Dennyd, P.E.
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
This topic has been covered before. Please see the thread Sheet metal design (Thread404-65458).
Best regards,
Matthew Ian Loew
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
Aluminum or steel?
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
The optimal sheet metal bending radius depends on the thickness and the material. Brittle materials require a larger radius. Take at look at the following table.
http://www.engineersedge.com/sheet_metal.htm
This information might also be in a sheet metal catalogue. Do a Google search.
JHG
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
Talk to your fabricator and find out what his bend deduction is...all tools are different (like dennyd tried to tell you)
Then remember to cut the bend deduction in half if you are dimensioning the bend line on a flat layout.
Only the guy that bends the metal can tell you what the bend deduction is.
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
I believe that nofear asked what the inside and outside bend radii are. The bend deductions should be left to the sheet metal fabricator. The fabricator we work with seems to trust SolidWorks, if that is any help to anyone.
My old Atlas Alloys catalogue has a table showing the forming characteristics for a ninety degree cold bend of aluminium sheet. For a thickness of .065" to .128", you multiply the thickness by the following numbers to get the inside bend radius.
Alloy Bend factor
1100-0 0
1100-H14 0
1100-H16 2
1100-H18 3
2024-0 1
2024-T3 6
2024-T4 6
2024-T6 7
5052-0 0
5052-H32 1/2
5052-H34 1
5052-H36 3
5052-H38 4
6061-0 1/2
6061-T4 2
6062-T6 3
This table is partial, and I have _not_ checked to see if it agrees with the web link above.
One of the morals of this is that there are certain grades of aluminium that are very good for sheet metal fabrication, and others that are not. 6061-T6 is a popular machining grade, but it cracks when the sheet metal guys try to bend it. Sometimes it cracks afterwards, after delivery to the customer.
The outside radius is the inside radius plus the thickness. :)
JHG
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question
But of course, this thread is about bend radius. And drawoh hit it on the head.
RE: Beginner Sheetmetal question