Monday, November 14th, 2011
Sheet metal work CNC bending
When we are manufacturing sheet metal brackets sometimes a customer will want a stronger bend than can be achieved from the parent metal. Their options are to have the material gauge increased which may not be possible if there are space or weight restrictions. The tensile strength of the sheet metal may be increased but this will normally mean a different material quite often a more expensive material which may not be suitable. Some designs can be reinforced by the use of welded gussets but again there can be space and cost implications in this solution. The simplest and cheapest option is to CNC bend the sheet metal component with a stiffening form. This form is simple part of the bend that is not complete and is achieved by having a gap in the CNC bending blade and a point below deforming the sheet metal during the standard bending process. The cost is minimal, only a little extra set up time and there are no extra material costs or special processes after the bend to achieve increased strength.
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best!
Sheet metal work stiffened when bending