The problem with aluminum is doing the bend unless a generous radius is used, if done like the drawing on the first post it will crack while bending
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40 degrees is a lot, Im thinking 15 for my apps.
If youre gonna bend that far you need to heat it
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Thatās a valid point.
Given the bend is done without cracking, the material will hold
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But if you get a T6 aluminum and heat it to the point itās easier to bend, youāve ruined all the heat treatment, which is what gives the high tensile strength
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hmm fair point, materials was never my strength.
do ou think a 15 degree bend will cause it to tear? with a large radius? say 1.5" or so
Not really a area I have much knowledge, but Iāve found some practical guidelines
It obliviously depends on how thick your plate is
http://www.cumberlandmetals.com/aluminum/minimum-bend-radii/
Iāve thought a bit about this scenario, and Iāf venture to guess spring steel would be the best material, and then engineer thickness to your particular application.
I have not run any preliminary engineering data, but seat of the pants thoughts would place the thickness at around .2"~.25" based on flex requirements.
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Thatās some serious sciencing right there.
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Instead of bending could we make a wedge out of metal and bolt the plate to it?
Behold my 2D rendering
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Iāve already planned on picking up some random leaf-springs in varying thickness at some junk yards in Mexico just for such a project.
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Did you try quoting in steel? This is something I forgot to mention, I couldnāt find a single place that would do aluminum since the cut finish turns rough and they refuse to do, for it itās better do go water jet cutting, but that is expensive
Just to give you an idea for these 3 pieces I paid R$ 18, would be a bit more than $4
If you want I could quote here, but international shipping is crazy expensive
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You mean they wont cut aluminum? I though it would be easier to cut than steel. They said they didnt stock steel in the thickness I needed. But the price seems to be mostly in the bending or holepunching bc earlier they quoted $15 for the same size 6061 piece without mods.
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Yeah, itās easy, but itās hard to get a good clean cut, so they say
Could it be, I never sent anything to be bent, one time I asked somewhere and they said that if I needed soon it would be expensive due to having to put the dies for my desired bend radius, or I could leave there and once and if some other part needed the same radius they could do it
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Yea i guess setting up the machine is costly even though the bend itself is quick.
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You could try to bend by hand, a vise and a hammer is all you need
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