Bend Radius Sheet Metal Rule Thumb

If the material is 0 5 in.

Bend radius sheet metal rule thumb.

Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e. The minimum bend radius for mild steel sheet metal. 2 5 material thickness bend radius. What could be simpler than choosing the inner radius ir just the same as the material thickness.

Here s a good rule of thumb for most materials. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. Now multiply that answer by the plate thickness. This avoids later troubles overthinking and silly mistakes.

Dropping below that value can bring problems your way. 4 0 5 2. Minimum sheet metal bending radius. Larger radius will just make some other calculations a little more difficult.

Rule of thumb for minimum bend radius. Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend. The sheet metal design rule of thumb in this case is. Note that this is just a rule of thumb.

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. Outside radius of curls must be at least twice the sheet s thickness. Minimum sheet metal bend radius depends on the selection of tool and the process. A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend.

Next subtract 1 from that answer. The inside bend radius should be equal to the thickness of the material that you re forming. The sheet metal design rule of thumb in this case is. The more ductile the sheet metal the smaller the inner bend radius is possible.

Distance from outside mold line to the bottom of the cutout should be equal to the minimum flange length prescribed by the air bend force chart. 5 1 4. 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.