Air Bending Sheet Metal

An air bend force chart or force chart breaks down a number of key components of sheet metal bending in an easy to reference format.

Air bending sheet metal.

Being able to read a bend force chart is crucial for any brake press operator and sheet metal engineer. Since the stroke depth is adjustable. The formed bend radius is dependent upon the dies used the material properties and the material thickness. Even on malleable materials you can end up cracking the metal at the bend or weakening it to the point where it ll break with minimal force.

The profile of the punch defines the bend radius while the stroke depth defines the bend angle. In this process the workpiece comes in contact with the outside edges of the die as well as the punch tip. The punch is then forced past the top of the die into the v opening without coming into contact with the bottom of the v. Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape.

This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations. Refer to the chart for values for folder as well as various press brake tooling combinations. The bend radius refers to the inside radius.

The punch tip radius usually has little influence. The bend deduction is the amount the sheet metal will stretch when bent as measured from the outside edges of the bend. Geometry of tooling imposes a minimum bend dimension. The metal forms to a natural radius based on the size of the die v opening.

Air bending uses a punch tool and an often v shaped bottom die. Both can be achieved using a manual or cnc controlled press brake. Air bending and bottom bending are two of the most common ways to create a bend during sheet metal fabrication. Punch tip radius air bending when we air bend sheet metal the size of the die v opening determines the inside radius of the bend.

Air bending is the most common type of 3 types of bending used in sheet metal shops today. The solution is to have a radius on the tool that you ll be using to bend the metal. If you bend to a sharp inside corner with sheet metal you ll be adding a ton of internal stresses. The diagram shows one such mechanism.