How to Bend Aluminum Sheet Metal

How to Bend Aluminum Sheet Metal? Aluminum bending is significant in industrial applications due to its lightweight and durable characteristics. It offers good corrosion resistance, excellent formability, and good weldability. It is also heat treatable, making it an ideal choice for projects that require high strength.

However, Aluminum sheet bending is easy to break after bending or crack after anodizing bending. What is the best way to bend aluminum plates? Does aluminum bend easily? and how to bend aluminum without a break? This article will tell you how to bend aluminum sheet Metal correctly.

What is the advantage of Aluminum bending?

Sheet Aluminum bending and cutting are widely used in metal manufacturing. and it has many advantages as below:

• Lightweight:  It is an ideal choice for reducing the overall weight of a piece by avoiding unnecessary thickness.
• High strength aluminum alloys tend to be less ductile, making them more challenging to bend or form without cracking.
• Aluminum is naturally corrosion resistant and has a balance of strength and formability, making it an ideal choice for parts exposed to harsh environmental conditions.
• It has a high elongation percentage and good cold workability, It means it can be formed without cracking.

Best Aluminum for Bending

What helps to determine the right alloy for metal bending? And what alloys are the best aluminum for bending?

The best grade of aluminum sheet for bending is the 5052-H32 alloy, it has below feathers:

• Formability: Bending aluminum sheets with higher strength will be more difficult due to the tradeoff between strength and elongation—ductility.
• Thickness and Bend radius: Aluminium alloys will harden and strengthen during the bending process. Therefore, thickness and bend radius are factors you need to consider.
• The percentage of elongation: Investigating the rate of elongation and the difference between yield strength and ultimate tensile strength will also help you make the right decision.

How to bend aluminum sheet metal without cracking

• Thickness: Use the thinnest possible sheet of aluminum.
• Aluminum Grades and Impact on Bending:  For aluminum, the harder the grade, the greater the amount of spring back you will need to deal with; Usually, T1, T3, and T5 are used. T6 and T7 series are too hard and need to be annealed to 0 tempers before bending.
• Bending angle R: Try to increase the bending R angle. The larger the R angle, the higher the success rate.
• Avoid sharp bends: Use gentle curves. Sharp bends can apply excessive stress to aluminum, causing it to crack crack.

To bend aluminum sheet metal, we can follow the steps:

1. Using a press brake: You can find several types of press brake machines for sale. For example, the WC67K-160T 2500 Hydraulic Press Brake Machine from China is a good option.

2. Air bending: This method uses air pressure to bend aluminum plate. The process has been explained in detail on the blog of Aluminum sheet bending.

3. Bending aluminum plate without cracking: To prevent cracking, the bending speed must be controlled properly, such as thickness, grade, and bending angle, and avoid sharp bends.

4. Make your press brake dies for desirable shapes.