Bending aluminum sheet - what can be bent and what cannot

Published

08.08.2018 |
Author: kmveg 0
When performing any actions with metal, certain skill and special tools are required. Giving the desired shape to an aluminum sheet within an hour is necessary for repair and installation work.

To bend an aluminum sheet, it is necessary to perform several operations so that the resulting sheet takes the required shape. In this case, welding work is not carried out, which changes the structure of the metal and negatively affects the durability of the part.

In order to bend an aluminum sheet, special equipment is needed. Even if you carry out such an operation at home, such manipulations are still not carried out only with your hands.

What's special about aluminum bending

There are mainly two methods of bending aluminum sheet material:

air or free,
calibration

The free method is when there is an air gap between the punch and the sheet of metal. This method is the most widely used today.

If during the bending process there is no air gap between the punch and the walls of the mold and the aluminum sheet is tightly compressed, then this method is called calibration. This technique is quite old and is used for the softest materials or for the manufacture of complex shapes of products.

Bending aluminum using the free method has a number of advantages compared to the calibration method, namely:

a higher degree of flexibility, so without replacing the punch and mold, you can obtain different bending angles of the sheet profile;
less effort is required to effect deformation;
You can bend sheets of greater thickness;
comparatively lower cost of equipment.

The disadvantages of the free method include:

low accuracy of angles when bending for thin-walled metal sheets;
the accuracy of the repetition of the shape depends on the physical properties of the material;
poor applicability for operations with complex configurations.

Tags: aluminum, trunk, fastenings.

Comments 106

I would mill it and boil it afterwards. Judging by the thickness, the force on them will be great, in this case I would rather replace it with metal. In my opinion, in any case, aluminum that is then heated at the point of bending and heating will weaken and fail sooner or later. .

according to the USSR textbook. All bending radii for basic materials and thicknesses are specified there.

Find where you have a metal shop. Surely there is a bending machine there and that’s the whole problem. And do it yourself such a machine with corners and simple hinges like those used on garage doors.

I read all the advice and realized that in practice, few people have worked with flexible aluminum and its alloys. In fact, such plates bend very easily, but they must first be hardened. Just like copper, by the way. And now in more detail: 1. Heat the aluminum part until it glows very lightly. It’s better to heat in a dimly lit room (it’s easier to see the glow), because, as someone here already said, aluminum is easy to overheat and melt. To see this boundary (light glow - melt), first practice on any unnecessary aluminum part. 2. As soon as the aluminum warms up, throw it into water and cool completely. 3. You take it out of the water and bend it as you need, either in a yew through soft spacers (wood, textolite, etc.), or in any other device. When hardened, aluminum and materials based on it become very plastic and bend much easier than without heat treatment. But there is one nuance here. Aluminum (like copper) self-tempers very quickly. And after about 2-3 hours it will become noticeably stiffer, and to deform it you will have to harden it again. Good luck!

Which brands can be bent and which cannot?

First, let's determine what types of rolled aluminum are produced in production.
Thus, we can distinguish several main types of rolled aluminum sheets, which can differ significantly from each other in their physical properties and deformation capabilities. So, the most common types:

Annealed , has the letter M in its designation, is the softest grade, therefore it is perfectly amenable to deformation, but at the same time easily wrinkles and breaks when overextended.
Semi-hardenedth is designated as H2 and has more rigid properties than grade M; it is also well deformed and can withstand

bending over 90 degrees at a time. At the same time, due to its increased rigidity, it retains its shape well and prevents the formation of dents, therefore it is most often used as a facing material.
Cold-worked , the grade designation contains one letter H. Cold-working is a method of imparting increased strength to sheet metal using cold compaction. To do this, the aluminum sheet is additionally rolled between two shafts on a special machine. This variety bends well at angles up to 90 degrees and is able to withstand significant loads on its surface.
Hardened or naturally aged, as a rule, is marked with the letter T. It is a fairly hard rolled aluminum product, so it is more demanding when processing, since when cold bent at 90 degrees, it cracks at the bend. Used for the manufacture of parts and assemblies operating under increased load.

The main types of rolled aluminum alloys produced can be arranged as follows:

Technical alloys of grades 1105 and VD1 have a relatively low specific weight of the sheet and are easily bent without any problems.
Aluminum-magnesium alloys are marked with the letters AMG. They are made from aluminum alloyed with the addition of magnesium and manganese. The AMG brand has acid-resistant properties and bends well, so it is mainly used for the production of containers and tanks, as well as parts for boats and boats.
Food alloys of grades A5 and AD are produced in cold-worked, semi-hardened or annealed grades.
AMC alloys with increased ductility are specially designed for the manufacture of complexly curved parts, such as car radiators, etc.
Duralumin is marked with the letter D. It is a high-strength grade, the main difference of which is its high resistance to external influences. Duralumin practically does not bend, therefore it is used only in the manufacture of parts by stamping.
Aviation especially strong grade B alloys are bent using a special stamping and pressing technology. They are used in the manufacture of highly loaded parts in the automotive and aircraft industries.

The properties and characteristics of the produced grades and types of rolled aluminum sheets are described in more detail in GOST 21631-76.

Characteristics and properties of the tire

The demand for aluminum tires is due to the positive properties and characteristics of the product:

has high resistance to corrosion, and throughout the entire service life, which is 25 years, this property remains unchanged;
excellent electrical conductive material;
characterized by light weight;
plastic material, which makes it possible to use it in conductors and distribution panels;
often used for decorative finishing of equipment due to its good appearance.

Bending aluminum while maintaining integrity

If for some varieties and brands the question of how to bend an aluminum sheet practically does not arise, then for duralumin alloy, as well as sheet metal with clearly hardened and rigid properties, this poses a certain difficulty, since at the point of bending it, as a rule, should burst .
Therefore, bending of sheet aluminum of composite compositions is carried out by cutting a groove at the bending site. To do this, guides are fixed on the sheet and, using a special hand-held milling tool, a groove is cut to at least 2/3 of the depth with a sweep angle of 90 to 110 degrees, which makes it possible to bend the aluminum sheet at an angle of 90 degrees without loss of integrity.

If you have experience on how to bend a rigid aluminum sheet without breaking it, then share it in the comments section.

How to bend

Since an aluminum tire is a flat strip, in order to produce a certain product, very often it needs to be bent and given a certain shape. But bending an aluminum tire is not so easy; it is quite strong.

Here's what to do:

The aluminum tire needs to be heated until it glows slightly.
As soon as the material is heated, it is necessary to put it in water and cool it.
After the operations have been completed, the aluminum tire can be bent.

You can use a special vice, if available. If not, any convenient device or tool.

Source: postroyka.org

How to bend an aluminum tire

A thick plate should be bent not at an acute angle, but on a steel axis (the rounding of the vice jaws, if any), as they correctly said -

there is a trick at work in a metalworking shop; there is a bending section that bends, bends and bends whatever you want) but in general, on a relatively thick plate, the bend should not be straight, but a circle of small radius.

Radius is preferably = 12 plate thickness. You cannot hit with a simple hammer, only with a mallet (rubber or wooden), and then this is an extreme case. If it is not pure aluminum, but an alloy like dural, etc. then you need to anneal it first. In general, they are bent with a press, otherwise it won’t work out exactly. You can do it this way at home - take 2 thick steel corners (3-4 mm) of a suitable size (the plate should fit entirely between the edges of the corner), place your plate between them, and with a vice (or jack), slowly squeeze it together.

When the soap turned black, I bent it a little. That is, while it was still “hot”? How did the properties of duralumin after the heating-cooling cycle (based on the experience of subsequent operation) not deteriorate?

If it is not pure aluminum, but an alloy like dural, etc. then you need to anneal it first. Damn, how can I understand him:idontno:? Let's say it really is an alloy. How long and how hot should it be heated? Air cool? So, let's say, heated it up. Cooled it down. Bent it. So what is next? Steel is hardened to make it stronger, but in this case, what needs to be done?

640°, so it shouldn’t melt. Yes, by the way, I came across a terrible alloy of aluminum with some kind of rubbish, so it caught fire at 400 degrees over an open fire. It is, of course, rare, but you need to check it on a small piece, otherwise it will burn right through the slab.

Heat 300 degrees once, but evenly the “hardening” will return on its own. but with a material of unknown composition it’s difficult, maybe take steel, but thinner!?

It is not necessary to handle titanium items at home, as well as magnesium alloys (electron, etc.), if you have no experience in handling them, they will definitely catch fire.

That is, still “hot”? How did the properties of duralumin after the heating-cooling cycle (based on the experience of subsequent operation) not deteriorate?

Yes, hot, of course. There the load was light, no problems arose during operation. Cooled down in the air

Electron alloy (magnesium, aluminum-skinned, but stronger and lighter) - burns with a bright white flame, breaks easily when bending, but is easy to sharpen with a file. Pure aluminum is easy to file (a small one will kill you), scratches easily, bends easily, but if bended incorrectly (with hammer blows) it can “tear” (looks like cracks), especially with greater thickness. I think I have some of this, most likely, after all - lumen. It is the feeling as if, after a certain “threshold,” the material is “torn” (bent, naturally, as it is written – “with hammer blows”:().

Possible problems

Since aluminum is not produced in its pure form and is only part of alloys, its different grades bend differently depending on the properties of the accompanying substances.

Technical alloys bend best. They correspond to brands 1105 and VD1. They are light, easy to cut, bend well, but are easy to damage in the process. Aluminum-magnesium alloys labeled AMG also bend well, but have higher strength. They are adapted for simple linear bends; it is impossible to make a complex shape from them. For this purpose there are plastic alloys marked AMC. They are made specifically to create complex shapes, but they are a little more difficult to cut at home. Doralumin, marked with the letter D, and aircraft alloys are completely unbendable without the use of special devices.

Despite the ductility of aluminum, bending sheets of its alloy requires certain skills. Therefore, before you start bending the future product, it is worth practicing on unnecessary scraps and making sure that the selected material is subject to deformation.

Source

Equipment classification

For different methods of bending aluminum sheets, special equipment is used. To facilitate the deformation of the metal, it can be preheated. All sheet benders are divided into two large groups, which need to be discussed in more detail.

Hand tools

Stationary equipment

This group includes industrial machines that are installed in enterprises. Used for serial production of parts from metal sheets. They have a stable base and are electrically or hydraulically driven.

The disadvantage of stationary mechanisms is that they take up a lot of space and require additional effort during transportation. However, industrial machines allow you to work with metal sheets of large thickness.

Portable equipment

Compact designs that can be used in a variety of conditions. Do not require additional skills when working. The disadvantage of portable devices is the inability to work with thick sheets of metal.