Bending Aluminum Sheet Grain

When bending aluminum know that the smaller your inside bend radius the larger the chance that cracking will occur in the part.

Bending aluminum sheet grain. Pieces 22 long by 1 75 wide by 0 63 thick. Again the minimum inside bend radius is even larger when bending with the grain. The grain direction is established during the metal rolling process. General advice on aluminum.

A common way to prevent material failure or cracking is by bending the metal against the grain or perpendicular to the grain. Bending with the grain gives a different result than bending against it. Also know that for the best results and fewer cracks on the outside of the bend the bend line should go across or diagonal to the material grain when and where possible. The trend is obvious.

In other words if you re bending 1 8 sheet use a tool with a 1 8 radius to form the inside of the bend. When bending high strength materials such as spring or high carbon steel you should orient the part so that it can be bent against the grain. That said forming with the grain takes less pressure to make a bend. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick.

Inside bend radius 0 19. Bending the sheet metal longitudinally with the grain allows those grains to separate at the grain boundaries. For 0 5 in thick 7050 aluminum the minimum bend radius may be specified as much as 9 5 times material thickness. Bending 2024 t3 grain direction considered.

Bend angles also can be less consistent. This is important to note especially with aerospace and aviation applications since bending with the grain or parallel to the grain direction can result in material failure. This could be either problematic or catastrophic depending on the application of the end product. Bending with the grain also limits how tight of an inside bend radius you can achieve without cracking the outside of the bend.

The harder and thicker the plate is the greater the minimum bend radius. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius.