Sheetmetal

Bending

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Bending process
Points:
Sheet thickness (t) in range

1/64 t 1/4

If t > 1/4 then stock called plate

Usually cold-worked, but warm worked if brittle
material or thicker stock
Tooling is punch and die
Products are called stampings
Machines are called presses

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Bending automation
Robots used to tend the press brake

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Bending types
V-bending
Large range of angles
Dies expensive
Low production operations

Edge bending
Cantilever bending
Pressure pad to hold part from
slipping
For angles

90

More expensive
ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Bending model
Bending force estimated from bending force equation for
simply supported beam:
F = Kbf TS w t2/D
where
TS = tensile strength

A = bend angle

w = plate width
t = plate thickness
D = die opening dimension or cantilever length
Kbf = bending factor, where for
V-bending Kbf = 1.33

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Edge bending Kbf = 0.33

Bending model - springback

Springback is a measure of
elastic recovery after plastic
load released
SB = (A Ab)/ Ab

To compensate:
Overbending increase punch angle
and decrease punch radius
Bottoming plastically deform with
additional punch pressure
ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Elastic
Recovery
e

Bending model bend allowance

If R/t is small (R is punch radius), the sheet metal will stretch
some, changing length of stock required to complete final
shape. In effect, the neutral axis displaces from the center of
the stock. The bend allowance (BA) accounts for this from the
equation:
BA = 2 A (R + Kbat)/ 360

where if

R/t < 2, Kba = 0.33

R/t 2, Kba = 0.50

and K is a stretching factor.

ba
ME 482 - Manufacturing
Systems

Bending model force ranges

Examples in text show that punch

forces are in the thousands of
pounds rather than hundreds of
thousands!

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Sheet metal bending video clip

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems

Sheet metal bending

What have we learned?

ME 482 - Manufacturing Systems