Bend Radius Sheet Metal Rule Thumb

Greg paulsen is director of applications engineering at xometry.

Bend radius sheet metal rule thumb.

Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations. This value will vary by grade. Bend radii minimum bend sizes. If the steel has a tensile reduction value of 10 percent divide 50 by that value.

If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. Here s a good rule of thumb for most materials. 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. A simple rule of thumb.

The inside bend radius should be equal to the thickness of the material that you re forming. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. Note that this is just a rule of thumb. 4 0 5 2.

The force must exceed the material s yield strength to achieve a plastic deformation. Relief cuts for bends must be at least one sheet s thickness in width and be longer than the bend radius. There s a rule of thumb to determine a steel s minimum bend radius and this generally works for aluminum too. Also spaces between pierced holes and bends should accommodate the bend radius h and be far enough from the bend.

So in this case the minimum inside bend radius is 2 times the material thickness. The problem with bending too tightly. The more ductile the sheet metal the. The distance between the sheet metal bend line and edge of the hole should be two times or greater the thickness of the sheet metal.

It is most economical to use a single bend radius throughout the design but if necessary you can utilize multiple radii. 2 5 material thickness bend radius. If a piece of material is bent too tightly problems can occur. If the material is 0 5 in.

Never design a hole smaller than 040 diameter unless laser cutting. Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. Now multiply that answer by the plate thickness. Use this document to choose values that are both manufacturable and meet your needs.

When using a punch press the diameter of a hole should always be equal to that of your tooling and you should never use a tool who s diameter is less than that of the material s thickness. Minimum sheet metal bend radius depends on the selection of tool and the process. Usually the preferred distance between holes and a bend is 1 5 times the sheet. Finding the true minimum bend radius for steel or aluminum plate requires a little research.

The sheet metal design rule of thumb in this case is. Minimum sheet metal bending radius.