How To Bend Aluminium Sheet Metal

The inside bend radius should be equal to the thickness of the material that you re forming.

How to bend aluminium sheet metal. Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. You d probably air bend by using a 3 0 in. Cut the section of metal out or otherwise prepare the metal to be bent by removing any burrs or sharp edges. 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.

Insert your aluminum sheet into the brake beneath the removable clamp bar. Determine the angle at which you want to brake the metal and mark it on the protractor. You will use the protractor to gauge the brake as you bend the metal little by little. Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise.

To make this easier you d start with your 6061 material in the soft t 0 state. 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. Die opening with a relieved profile. Here s a good rule of thumb for most materials.

If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. 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. As a result the wipe die also determines the bend s inner radius. Monkeys spinning monkeys by kevin macleod.

The slack between the wipe die and the punch plays an important role in getting a good result. It is important to make sure that the sheet is properly pushed onto the wipe die. Say you re bending 0 25 in thick 6061 t6 aluminum to a 100 degree external angle 80 degree internal angle. Wipe bending or edge bending is another way to bend sheet metal edges.

Let s consider a challenging job.