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SheetMetal.MeKFactor
K-Factor
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The K-Factor in sheet metal working is the ratio of the neutral axis to the material
thickness. When metal is bent the top section is going to undergocompressionand the
bottom section will be stretched. The line where the transition from compression to
stretching occurs is called the neutral axis. The location of the neutral axis varies and is
based on the materials physical properties and its thickness. The K-Factor is the ratio of
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the Neutral Axis Oset (t) and the Material Thickness (MT). Below the image shows how
the top of the bend is compressed, and the bottom is stretched.
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The K-Factor is used to calculate at patterns because it is directly related to how much
material is stretched during the bend. Its used to determineBend AllowancesandBend
Deductionsahead of the rst piece. Having an accurate idea of your K-Factor is key to
designing good partsbecauseit can anticipate Bend Deductions for a variety of angles
without relying on a chart. Because of this it is often used by design software such as
Solid Edge, Solid Works and Pro-Engineer, though Pro-Engineer uses a variation called
theY-Factor.
If you have a Bend Allowance (BA) you can derive the K-Factor from it. This is useful if you
are transitioning from hand layouts to an advanced design software. Subsequently you
can use the K-Factor to extrapolate allowances for new angles and radii.
http://sheetmetal.me/formulasandfunctions/kfactor/
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7/27/2016
SheetMetal.MeKFactor
because the leg length is from the tangent point.) For our example the leg length
will be 2.073 .105 .075 = 1.893.
6. Subtract twice the leg length from the initial length to determine the Bend
Allowance. 4 1.893 * 2 = .214.
7. Plug the Bend Allowance (BA), the Bend Angle (B<), Inside Radius (IR) and Material
Thickness (MT) into the below equation to determine the K-Factor (K). For our
example it comes to
K-Factor Chart
A K-Factor will typically range between 0 and .5 for standard materials and thicknesses
though smaller and larger K-Factors are possible. To help you begin Ive included a KFactor Chart below which contains common K-Factor starting points, good for general
fabrication, for steel, aluminum and stainless steel.
Radius
Soft / Aluminum
Medium / Steel
0 - Mt.
.33
.38
.40
Mt. - 3*Mt.
.40
.43
.45
3*Mt. - >3*Mt.
.50
.50
.50
0 - Mt.
.42
.44
.46
Mt. - 3*Mt.
.46
.47
.48
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3*Mt. - >3*Mt.
.50
.50
.50
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Coining
0 - Mt.
.38
.41
.44
Mt. - 3*Mt.
.44
.46
.47
3*Mt. - >3*Mt.
.50
.50
.50
Air Bending
Bottom Bending
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The K-Factor for a 180 bend is going to be meaningless because its tied to the Outside
Setback which approaches innity as the bend approaches 180. Because of this KFactors are not used to calculate allowances over 174. Instead a hem allowance of 43%
of the material thickness is used. See our post onSheet Metal Hemsfor more
information.
http://sheetmetal.me/formulasandfunctions/kfactor/
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