Good Aluminum Sheet For Bending

Heavy gauge aluminum bars or rods must be heat bent using an acetylene torch and vice.

Good aluminum sheet for bending.

The best aluminum alloys for bending come down to series 3xxx and series 5xxx and sometimes series 6xxx. That s the ideal anyway but the reality is that many parts arrive at the press brake in a less than ideal state. Series 5xxx are the aluminum magnesium alloys. As a general rule the machinability of any aluminum alloy is inversely proportional to its formability.

These heat treatable alloys exhibit great strength good corrosion resistance and ease of formability. Proper bending can be done with annealing the aluminum first although it s not an ideal candidate for formed parts. Also known as press braking flanging die bending folding and edging this method is used to deform a material to an angular shape. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition.

A bending brake will be best suited for shaping flat square sheets of light gauge aluminum. The alloy 5052 h32 may bend well enough for my use and shows about 50 higher tensile and yield. It gives you design flexibility integrated functions good aesthetics and complex geometries you can also choose between different bending processes such as roller bending press bending draw bending and stretch bending. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line.

The bending process for aluminium is useful and cost effective. 6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily. This will give you a nice bend. The top 3 aluminum alloys for being are the 3003 which has medium strength and the best cold workability the 5052 which is the highest strength alloy of the more common non heat treatable grades and the 6061 which is one of the more versatile heat treatable alloys.

Bending is one of the most common sheet metal fabrication operations. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet. The force must exceed the material s yield strength to achieve a plastic deformation. Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards.

Miserable to bend cracking is very common and cold bending will always weaken the metal. This is done through the application of force on a workpiece. Highly formable and one of the best kinds of aluminum to bend. Series 6xxx are the aluminum magnesium silicon alloys.

3003 definitely isn t fun for drilling or any other sort of operation involving edge cutting tools. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal.