Bending 18 Gauge Sheet Metal Into Cylinders

Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes countless everyday objects are fabricated from sheet metal.

Bending 18 gauge sheet metal into cylinders.

Sheet metal is metal formed by an industrial process into thin flat pieces. They work by clamping the sheet metal in place then using a hinged section of the brake force is applied at the point of the desired bend. Can anyone think of some sort of dodge that will enable me to bend an approximately 2 length of sheet metal into the shape of an approximately 6 diameter tube without a long drive to a sheet metal shop. Sheet metal guys would just put it through some rollers and it s done in a minute or two.

You will need to know your material thickness mt the bend angle b the inside radius ir and the k factor k. Extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf and pieces thicker than 6 mm 0 25 in are considered. Sheet metal bending is the plastic deformation of the work over an axis creating a change in the part s geometry. Next clamp your part to a heavy steel table sandwiched between a heavy piece of angles iron and take a mallet and beat the sheet down over the edge of the table.

Most of these brakes are limited to 16 gauge steel. Grab the top of the metal with the pliers as the section you heated cools off and pull towards you gently at first. Mark your pieces in 1 2 increments on both side of your sheet in the direction you want to bend. π 180 x b x ir k x mt bend allowance ba where b is the angle complementary to your desired bend angle 1 to 180 degrees mt is the thickness of the material ir is the inside radius and k is the k factor.

I live in a very remote area. The bend allowance formula takes into account the geometries of bending and the properties of your metal to determine the bend allowance. Thicknesses can vary significantly. If you need to reheat the metal and redo the bend.

The material thickness will be measured in decimal form not by the gauge number. Similar to other metal forming processes bending changes the shape of the work piece while the volume of material will remain the. The metal should bend but only bend it as far as it goes without forcing it. You can find your bend allowance with the following formula.

Make a radius template.