How To Bend 3mm Aluminium Sheet

How to bend sheet metal without a brake in 4 different methods with minimal or homemade tools.

How to bend 3mm aluminium sheet.

The two m10 bolts in the top are to clamp the sheet between the backstop and the base. Use the minimum bend dimension values in the charts below for your minimum closeness of cutout to a bend. When you release the handle the bent material will spring back to 90 not 85. Material bend radii and minimum bend size charts please note.

This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line. 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. With this free online tool we quickly get the sheet metal bend deduction and therefore the sheet metal blank initial flat length from the finished part measurements. Cells on the right will output the desired values.

Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. 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. The idea of adding an angle 5 degrees past 90 is so that you can bend past 90 to allow for the spring back. You only have to insert interior angle flange lengths k factor inside radius and material thickness.

The bend radius you select may not be available if the geometry of the part will not allow us to bend with the specific tooling required to achieve that radius. Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards. Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius.

Insert your aluminum sheet into the brake beneath the removable clamp bar. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet.