Bending Aluminium Alloy Sheet

I used a angle of 5 degrees this is because when you bend the metal you usually want 90 degrees and when you hit 90 the metal will want to spring back a little.

Bending aluminium alloy sheet.

Bending these tempered alloys is not impossible but it is very difficult and will most likely require large bend radii to avoid cracking on the outside of the bend. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. The top 3 aluminum alloys for being are the 3003 which has medium strength and the best cold workability the 5052 which is the highest strength alloy of the more common non heat treatable grades and the 6061 which is one of the more versatile heat treatable alloys. 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.

Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise. The aluminum series ability to bend tends to decrease as you move down the list of tempers from annealed to t4 and t6. The idea of adding an angle 5 degrees past 90 is so that you can bend past 90 to allow for the spring back.

The best aluminum alloys for bending come down to series 3xxx and series 5xxx and sometimes series 6xxx. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile. Bending is a delicate and demanding process most of the time and common fabricating processes require a degree of formability that make your choice of proper alloy critical. When you release the handle the bent material will spring back to 90 not 85.

If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. Which aluminum alloy bends the best is a a common question customers want the answer to.