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7/27/2016

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.

Calculating the K-Factor


Since the K-Factor is based on the property of the metal and its thickness there is no
simple way to calculate it ahead of the rst bend. Typically the K-Factor is going to be
between 0 and .5. In order to nd the K-Factor you will need to bend a sample piece and
deduce the Bend Allowance. The Bend Allowance is then plugged into the above equation
to nd the K-Factor.
1. Begin by preparing sample blanks which are of equal and known sizes. The blanks
should be at least a foot long to ensure an even bend, and a few inches deep to
make sure you can sit them against the back stops. For our example lets take a
piece that is 14 Gauge, .075, 4 Wide and 12 Long. The length of the piece wont
be used in our calculations. Preparing at least 3 samples and taking the average
measurements from each will help
2. Set up your press brake with the desired tooling youll be using to fabricate this
metal thickness and place a 90 bend in the center of the piece. For our example
this means a bend at the 2 mark.
3. Once youve bent your sample pieces carefully measure the ange lengths of each
piece. Record each length and take the average of lengths. The length should be
something over half the original length. For our example the average ange length
is 2.073
4. Second measure the inside radius formed during the bending. A set of radius
gauges will get you you fairly close to nding the correct measurement, however to
get an exact measurement an optical comparator will give you the most accurate
reading. For our example the inside radius is measured at .105
5. Now that you have your measurements, well determine the Bend Allowance. To
do this rst determine your leg length by subtracting the material thickness and
inside radius from the ange length. (Note this equation only works for 90 bends

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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

Hard / Stainless 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

Fabrication Formulas

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 of a 180 Bend (Hem)

Gauge Chart

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.

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