Aluminum Sheet Bending Tips

Sheet metal design tips for bending.

Aluminum sheet bending tips.

Tips to remove irregularity or improve uneven bends place a hardwood piece lengthwise along the bend and hit the bend with increased strength using a heavy duty hammer or mallet. 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. Thus he brought out a list of common mistakes and the solutions to avoid them. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile.

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. He lit up and decided to make the fullest of the opportunity to share his insights on sheet metal bending. 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. When bending aluminum know that the smaller your inside bend radius the larger the chance that cracking will occur in the part.

Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line. How to bend sheet metal without a brake. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line.

Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. Clamp the wood on top of the metal to the workbench. 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. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards.

Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench. So i talked to our experienced sales engineer who knows his bit about sheet metal bending. How to bend sheet metal without a brake in 4 different methods with minimal or homemade tools. In some cases as with thicker sheet of metal you may need to use a sheet metal brake to apply your bend.

Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise. Finally bend the sheet up by hand to the angle desired. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal.

If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius.