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The 7 Most Common Sheet Metal Bending Mistakes
Few things are quite as frustrating as putting the sweat equity into designing a part, selecting the perfect material, getting the finish just right, and finally ordering the part, only to have it arrive with bends distort at the ends, caused cracking in the surface of the material, or warped the flanges till they’re not useful anymore. So let’s look at how to avoid these 7 common mistakes:
1. No Bend Relief
In sheet metal design, bend relief refers to a small cut or notch made at the intersection of two bend lines. Its purpose is to prevent material deformation, tearing, and other issues during the bending process.
Knowing that you need bend relief is a good start, but if it just serves as a transition from flat to bent, can’t we just make a slit (known as a kerf cut) and call it good? This article on how to design bend reliefs dives deep into what it is, and how to include bend relief in your design from the get-go.
What happens if you don’t add bend relief? Take a look at the examples below, and remember that bend relief is necessary to ensure both structural integrity and dimensional accuracy of bent parts. Without it, the metal can stretch unevenly, leading to distortions and potential failure. In more technical terms: bend relief allows for controlled material flow, minimizing the risk of tearing or cracking, especially in high-stress areas.
Fortunately, most modern CAD programs make it easy to incorporate bend relief before exporting your parts for upload to our app. We’ve pulled together a series of the most valuable resources on our blog in the following articles: