Sheet metal bending takes the bending shape as the ultimate goal. It uses a simple punch and dies as supporting tools to perform different bending changes on the metal sheet.
The fast and efficient bending work often praised by enterprises shows the strength of this process. For manufacturers, affordability is just one name synonymous with sheet metal bending.
This blog post has several different levels to help you understand the power of sheet metal bending. It includes the principle of sheet metal bending. And how to get different bending types by setting the interaction of punch and die.
The operation process of sheet metal bending technology seems simple. However, if the details contained in the bending are not sure of success, it will cause errors in the bending operation. To reduce the scrap rate of bending parts, the content of the following blog post will bring some tips.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Sheet Metal Bending?
The sheet metal bending process responds to the curved surface requirements of companies in different industries for plates or sheets. The following content allows us to understand the advantages and disadvantages of this bending process:
Advantages Of Sheet Metal Bending
Multiple Applications
Sheet metal bending is practical, but the operation is easier to use than other technologies. Bending parts are required in many industries for assembly to ensure the integrity of the facility. Therefore, sheet metal bending technology is not limited to specific industries.
Cost Effectiveness
Sheet metal bending technology has high material utilization and production efficiency. On this basis, bending is incomparably cost-effective compared to other technologies.
Flexible Design
Each industry has different design details for the angle or edge of the bent part. But it has a strong tolerance for the design style and use and materials required by the industry.
Accurate Precision
Bending parts under sheet metal bending technology can ensure a tolerance standard of ±0.010 inches. Controlling tolerances and precision is usually performed by calibration equipment and machinists.
Disadvantages Of Sheet Metal Bending
Bending Rebound
Sheets with low ductility will spring back after bending, and the bend develops to its original shape. The machinist needs to adjust the spring back tool to ensure the production standard of the bent part.
Material Thickness
Sheet metal bending has specification requirements or restrictions on sheets or sheets. Therefore, to ensure that the thickness of the plate is not wrong, know the size and specification in advance.
Design Mistakes
Sheet metal bending needs to consider whether the degree of bending will affect the design of details, such as holes or slots in the sheet. When the bending angle is not remote from the detail design, it will cause damage to the panel design.
We must know that each technology has its advantages, and it is possible to conduct multi-level analysis on design and processing for the shortcomings of sheet metal to achieve perfect bending requirements.
What Are The Applications Of Sheet Metal Bending?
For the rapid development of the current era, sheet metal bending parts can better meet the requirements of various industries for iteration speed and precision.
For example, the automotive industry includes support frames, car chassis, and hoods.
The electronics industry includes distribution boxes, junction boxes, radiators, and transformers.
The energy industry includes transmission line towers, transformer boxes, electric energy meter brackets, and distribution meter housings.
The aerospace industry includes control panels, fan covers, wing supports, and bulkheads.
The above only lists a part of the industrial applications, and the actual application is far more than the list. Because bending is an accessible process for every industry, the difference is that the bending requirements for workpieces are inconsistent. Its shows that the development of this process is indispensable to the manufacturing industry.
What Are The Types Of Sheet Metal Bending?
The choice of bending method depends on the bending effect required by the enterprise. Then select the appropriate bending method through the machinist’s manufacturing suggestion.
V-Bending
This bending method utilizes the matching force between the V-shaped die and the punch. Then place the board in it and press the board into a V shape. This V-shaped bend is one of the most commonly used types in manufacturing.
Advantages of V-Bending:
Compared with U-shaped bending tools, the traces of tool work are cleaner.
The bending radius ratio is precise and sharp with U-shaped precision.
Disadvantages of V-Bending:
Creating a closed structure is challenging and requires welding or other process-assisted processing.
V-shaped bending is structurally less rigid than a U-shaped structure.
U-Bending
U-shaped bending is similar to V-shaped bending in shape, but it is different from V-shaped bending in terms of radius bending requirements and molds.
Advantages of U-Bending:
Less or clean bending marks
The curved portion of the U-bend has a higher strength than other bends.
Disadvantages of U-Bending:
Traces of bending work will be left on the bending piece.
A thin metal plate may have a shape change in the bent part.
Bottoming
The method of bending operation in which the punch and the bending die are in sufficient contact and pressed against each other is the bottom bending technology. It is also called the embossing process, which can make the bent part perfectly match the shape of the mold.
Advantages of Bottoming:
The ability to repeatedly and consistently manufacture bent parts with the same precision in mass production.
The degree of spring back is the smallest among other bending processes.
Disadvantages of Bottoming:
The material of high-strength curved parts will crack when the base is bent.
The bottoming bending leaves marks of pressure work on the surface, and enterprises that require surface finish require secondary surface treatment.
Folding
There are manual or machine methods for folding and bending to meet the requirements of different folding angles. And it is advantageous to create continuous bending of long sheets.
Advantages of Folding:
Compared with other bending methods, folding bending has more design space, and the bending design of boxes or boxes has advantages in using folding bending.
The method of folding and bending makes the surface finish of the bending parts high, and the traces of the bending work are clean.
Disadvantages of Folding:
Folding on the tool requires special folding equipment.
The cost of folding and bending is higher than other bending methods.
Air Bending
Air bending does not require contact between the bending part and the mold. And the opening size of its mold determines the internal bending radius, which is unique to other bending methods.
Advantages of Air Bending:
The bending process is simple.
The curved angle has flexible design space.
Disadvantages of Air Bending:
It is easy to cause rebound, and a second angle setting is required.
Since the bending of air bending is not in physical contact with the mold, the precision may be lower than in other processes.
Rotary Bending
Rotary bending is a bending requirement that can allow a large angle on the bending piece, and its bending process is relatively excellent among all bending processes.
Advantages of Rotary Bending:
It will not cause damage and blemishes to the surface.
Suitable for mass production and processing.
Disadvantages of Rotary Bending:
The rotary bending process takes a long time to design in the early stage.
Compared with other bending processes, its production cost is higher.
Roll Bending
In the eyes of manufacturers, roller technology is quite different from other technologies in terms of bending tools. But through the cooperation of the three rollers, the bending effect will not be lower than that of other bending methods.
Advantages of Roll Bending:
The high-gloss surface produced by this bending method is a reason to choose it over other processes.
The manufacturing and processing efficiency of roll bending is high.
Disadvantages of Roll Bending:
The roll bending process requires an experienced mechanic to operate.
Wipe Bending
Machinists place pressure pads on the sheet metal material and edge bend the sheet metal by wiping the die to create different standard bend radii.
Advantages of Wipe Bending:
The process of wiping bending is faster than other processes.
Not limited to bending material and thickness.
Disadvantages of Wipe Bending:
The curved way of wiping can easily cause an uneven surface.
The wiping process only provides a single-directional bending angle, and the accuracy details are lower than in other processes.
The above bending methods are suitable for different application conditions. For example, thick sheet metal can be ground or U-Bending. However, we need to know that the final bending method should refer to the designer’s suggestion and the calculation of the spring back calculation formula.
What Are The Materials Used In Sheet Metal Bending?
The choice of material is critical in the process, and its choice will affect the final bending performance. We need to consider many reasons in material selection to ensure that the bending effect of the curved parts can play the greatest role.
Carbon Steel
Grade A36: It is a steel material with good formability and easy bending, and is one of the most commonly used metals in the bending process.
Grade 1018: It is easy to weld and machine in the bending process, and is easier to form than other steels.
Grade A1008:It is a grade of cold-rolled and hot-rolled steel sheets. However, its corrosion resistance is average and requires secondary surface treatment to improve performance.
Grade 1045:It serves as a carbon steel grade suitable for multipurpose bending. It can handle all kinds of bending applications.
Stainless Steel
Grade 304: It is a stainless steel material with excellent corrosion resistance and is easy to bend and stretch.
Grade 430: It has good high-temperature resistance and is often used in bending applications where heat resistance is required.
Grade 316:It’s a stainless steel-grade material with corrosion-resistant properties. But in harsh bending applications, equipment with high bending force is required.
Grade 301:It is a resilient and highly ductile stainless steel grade. Compared with other grades of stainless steel, its corrosion resistance is weaker.
Aluminum
Aluminum 5052: It has better weldability and durability, but can suffer from springback.
Aluminum 6061: It has good ductility and weldability, but its cost is higher.
Aluminum 2024:It is an aluminum grade with high fatigue resistance. But it should be annealed before bending to prevent bending fracture.
Aluminum 1100:It is a specially crafted aluminum grade with softness. It can cope with stretching and bending operations with different high requirements.
Copper
Copper C101: It is widely used in bending applications in the electronics industry and has good corrosion resistance.
Copper C110: It has good formability and high ductility.
Copper C122: It is a copper-grade material with good malleability in bending operations. This grade is capable of bending different pipes’ bends.
Copper C280:It is a copper-grade material with a golden appearance. And it has a wide range of bending applications in the construction field.
Titanium
Grade 2 Titanium: It is a multifunctional pair of pure titanium alloys, light in weight, but lower in strength than other metals.
Titanium grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V): It is more difficult to bend than titanium grade 2 and has good corrosion resistance.
Grade 7 (Ti-0.15Pd alloy): This grade of titanium material has excellent weldability and can meet the joining requirements of bent parts. But the cost of this grade is higher than other grades of titanium.
Grade 12 (Ti-0.3Mo-0.8Ni alloy): It is a high-strength titanium-grade material. However, compared to other grades of titanium, its formability is weak.
The bending effect of different materials is not the same, and the above lists some material grades and advantages and disadvantages. Tirapid experts recommend suitable materials for you to choose the best material for your project from various factors. If you have doubts about bending materials, you can contact us online.
What Are The Precautions For Sheet Metal Bending?
Curved Material:
Different grades and properties of materials enable faster bending processes and reduce unwanted bending problems. For example, the strength and elongation of the material will have varying effects when bent.
Bend Allowance:
Tirapid can say without hesitation that the calculation of bend allowance is one of the most critical factors in sheet metal bending. Bending projects without bending allowances is a huge challenge. Design experts also cleverly use formulas to calculate bending allowances. It can calculate the size of the plane for you in terms of material thickness, bending angle, bending radius, etc.
Bending Radius:
Machinists will recommend a consistent bend radius for bent parts to save on sheet metal bending costs. In addition, the difference in bending radius will affect the performance of the bent plate in the bending work. Therefore, the machinist will set the bending radius not less than the range of the minimum bending radius.
Equipment Setting:
The punch and die of the bending machine need to be set correctly in position and angle to ensure that the material in the bending equipment will not move.
Springback:
The situation of spring back will occur due to different factors. In the face of spring back, it is necessary to use tools to adjust in time to ensure that the bending accuracy meets the standard.
Design Issues:
Design can affect the effect of bending. For example, the position of the hole, because the appropriate spacing on the metal plate can prevent the bending deformation of the bent part.
The precautions are what Tirapid experts with many years of bending experience recommend focusing on. By paying attention to the above points, you can manufacture high-quality bent parts that meet the standards. By paying attention to the above, it is possible to manufacture high-quality bent parts that meet the standards.
What Are The Types Of Sheet Metal Bending Machines?
Select the appropriate bending equipment according to different bending requirements, plate thickness, and bending output to achieve a manufacturing design that can cope with various complexities. There are two forms of bending behavior: manual and machine. Simple bending is a manual operation, but complex and large manufacturing parts need the help of automated equipment.
Rotary Bending Machine
Both it and the roll bender create tubular bends. Radial or hoop bending machine is another name for rotary bending. It is the opposite of V-bending in the concave-convex shape of the punch.
Folding Machine
A folding machine is also called the folding gate, which is a common piece of equipment for mass bending orders using clamping beams and folding beams.
Roll Bending
The roll bending method uses a roller tool to manufacture cylindrical bent parts, and the customer’s metal bent sheet can easily obtain the desired bent product under this technology.
Bending machine
Press brakes have more modes of operation than other types of machines, such as manual and CNC controlled. But mechanical and hydraulic are also the bending modes of choice for many manufacturers. This versatile machine can bend parts of different sizes and angles.
Wipe Bending Machine
It is also called a folding machine or a wiping machine, and it is also a bending device commonly used for flanges, channels, or joints.
The key to a bending machine’s maximum effectiveness is to see whether it can create conditions that meet the company’s manufacturing or processing.
Conclusions
Business-specific bent components benefit from great advances in bending technology. Tirapid believes that this sheet metal bending guide can bring you different information. For technical questions or ideas in this area, you can consult Tirapid or send PDF files. Tirapid has different types of automated benchtop devices for you to choose from.
FAQs
1. Which bending process can achieve the best bending effect?
The bending effect will vary depending on the details of the bending process. Each bending step deserves careful attention. Different bending modes should pay attention to their advantages, but the disadvantages of bending are also very critical. Tirapid recommends choosing the technology that best meets the bending conditions to have the best bending effect.
2. How to get the best results with bending allowance?
Tirapid experts can use auxiliary tools or calculate the bending allowance formula from material type, bending angle, and radius to ensure that the data of bending allowance is correct to achieve the best results.
3. What are the rules for sheet metal bending?
Generally speaking, the ultimate goal of following sheet metal bends is to reduce the possibility of operator error or manufacturing error. According to the relevant bending rules, it is easy to obtain bent parts according to the manufacturer. For example, one of the rules states that the bend direction needs to be at 90 degrees to the sheet metal to start bending. It reduces the risk of cracking our sheet metal flex panels. In addition, Tirapid experts suggest that when bending projects, don’t forget to refer to the equally important radius bending regulations.
4. What is the use of the k factor in sheet metal bending?
The K factor of sheet metal bending is a particular parameter for obtaining the bending allowance in the eyes of the machinist. And it is also possible to know the displacement of the material amount during the bending work through the K factor. The data of bending allowance calculated by the K factor is pivotal for the expansion of sheet metal bending.
5. Which material is best for sheet metal bending?
Generally speaking, the material of sheet metal bending requires your project to start from the budget and the practicability of the material, so that you can find the best material for your project.
6. How do you bend sheet metal without heating it?
Bending generates less heat than cutting techniques. Tirapid specialists can usually perform manual, hydraulic, and roll bending for unheated bending. However, in the case of large-scale or batch production, manual bending is not practical, and we will use other equipment for bending without heating.
7. Which bending equipment can bend corrugated metal?
There are many equipment options for corrugated metal, such as roll formers and CNC benders. Create curved corrugated metal by adjusting the path of the rolls and curved corrugations. In general, Tirapid recommends that you refer to the requirements of the bending corrugation before selecting the appropriate equipment.