If you want to know why the bend radius specification for a material doesn’t always correlate with the material thickness in a linear fashion, read on!
SendCutSend bend radius specifications
First, it’s important to understand that the effective inside bend radius is set for each material thickness at SendCutSend. You can confirm SendCutSend’s bending specifications by material thickness in our handy bend specification table or in the Material Catalog.
Custom bend radii are not available at this time so it’s critical to design with the material’s specific bend radius in mind.
If you’re designing in a 2D CAD program like QCAD or sketching your part, use our Bending Calculator to ensure the flat dimensions you design result in the formed dimensions you need.
If you’re designing in a 3D CAD software, create sheet metal rules that match SendCutSend’s bending specifications for material thickness, bend radius, and K factor.
- Using Fusion 360 or SolidWorks? Download our gauge tables to easily apply the right specs!
Bend radius versus material thickness
In many cases, the thicker a material is, the greater the bend radius.
However for some materials, bend radius will not correlate directly with material gauge.
This can happen because internal bend radius is dependent on several factors, including
- Punch tool tip radius
- Die tooling width
- Material tensile strength
Stronger materials with a higher tensile strength (for example, stainless steel) are more resistant to the bending process, which can result in a larger effective radius.
Depending on the material’s tensile strength and press brake tooling used, a thinner material may have a larger bend radius than a thicker material of the same type.
Trust the specs!
Although bend radius won’t always correlate with material thickness, you can trust that the specs listed in our Material Catalog or Bending Calculator are accurate. Be sure to review bending specifications for the material you need before uploading your part file for an instant quote!
For assistance, reach out to our Support team anytime with your bending questions!
