CNC Bending
Metal bending forms angles in sheet metal.
A workpiece is positioned over a die block and formed by the punch as it
is forced into the die cavity.
Possible shapes
Sheets bent to almost any angle.
Bending Design Guidelines
-
The minimum inner radius recommended is approximately
one material thickness for
most materials.
The minimum flange width should be at least 4 times the
material thickness
plus the bending radius.
Holes or slots should be located a minimum of 3 stock thickness plus the
bend radius. If it is necessary to have holes closer, then the hole or slot should
be
extended beyond the bend line.
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Example parts
Brackets, enclosures, and chassis.
Advantages of CNC Bending
Low cost process for adding shape to sheets.
Specifications for CNC Bending
 Material - most
ductile metals.
Alternative machines
- none.
Tooling - CNC
Bending requires only software program tooling. Intricate designs may
require custom tooling to shape your part.
Reducing costs - reduce the number of bends used in your
design. Design parts to pack efficiently. For example, in designing a large box
consider making the sides of the box separate with bolted flanges. Avoid complex bend
combinations. You can avoid the cost of bending by adding slots in place of the bends. You
can then bend the part manually. This lowers cost further because items are flat and take
less shipping volume. Such parts also take less storage space.
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Notes
 In
metal bending a small curve results and the material distorts. This distortion affects the
length of the straight portions of the material.
Processes: Turning
Milling
Laser Cutting
Water Jet Cutting
Wire EDM
Tapping
Bending
Turret Punching
Fine Blanking
Blanking
Steel Rule Die Cutting
Drawing
Injection Molding
Extrusion
Metal Casting
Thermoforming
Forging
Springs
Wire forming
Powder Coating
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