Forming aluminum on a press brake: bending soft, not sharp

“Forming aluminum on a press brake: bending soft, not sharp” a new Bending Basics column from Steve Benson and the Fabricator magazine is now available for viewing form the media tab on the menu bar or just click here.

This column you will learn the difference between sharp and radius bends in soft aluminums. You will discover even more about “Sharp” and why even with a small radius punch nose we will still have a larger radius in the material. This is larger radius is used in the calculations for “Bend Deduction (BD)”. The sharp nose radius when forming soft aluminum will cause a crease to appear in the bottom of the bend.

Generally speaking, the crease in the center of the bend is totally unacceptable for the aircraft trade and only occasionally in the in precision sheet metal.

Bending Basics; Forming aluminum on the press brake: Bending soft, not sharp