Bending Alumiinum Sheet Metal

Hansen steel is an expert in metal forming tube bending cutting and fabrication for various markets throughout california.

Bending alumiinum sheet metal.

Now that you know your bend allowance take your protractor and draw a clear line with your marker across the point at which you will bend your sheet metal. Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick.

6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily. Determine your minimum bend by measuring the distance from your closest feature i e. We provide a range of metal processing services including tube and steel bending for los angeles california and surrounding areas. Mark your bend lines.

Bending is always going to be delicate and demanding on any material yet is required for numerous fabricating processes. If you have any questions or want to discuss your design contact us. Different alloys and as we add to pure aluminum however it gets stronger and less pliable. Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations.

A cutout or the edge of your flange to your bend. That s the ideal anyway but the reality is that many parts arrive at the press brake in a less than ideal state. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line. Pure aluminum is rather soft and ductile contrary to what many consumers may think.

Choose a bend radius that matches your minimum bend. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition. 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. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece.

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