Bending Steel Sheet Metal

Hot metal forming offers tighter bend radii in high carbon steel in degrees that might break the material in cold forming.

Bending steel sheet metal.

Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. Mild steel 1 16 ga. Bending a brittle metal beyond its limits could cause the metal to snap and break.

The following illustration shows the equation calculation for determining the bend allowance when forming sheet metal. Sheet metal calculator bend allowance equations and calculator. As an example if you want to bend 24 gauge sheet metal at a 90 angle the calculation would be. Stainless steel 1 14 ga.

Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e. Otherwise the sheet metal is almost certain to shift as you bend it resulting in a bad bend. This page also includes a link to a on line sheet metal bend allowance calculator. 0 017453 x 90 x 0 020 0 33 x 0 024 0 0438558984 inch bend allowance keep in mind that some metals are more brittle than others.

Most sheet metal materials will conform to the calculations. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. 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. Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend.

This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend. If you have any questions or want to discuss your design contact us. Stainless steel 1 20 ga.

The process delivers highly accurate forming maintenance of thickness and tremendous finished component strength. Mild steel 2 12 ga. To clamp efficiently lay your sheet metal on the top surface of your straightedge with the drawn line perfectly aligned with the outside edge of the sheet metal.