What is Metal Folding?

Sheet metal folding is a very common forming method used to give the desired shape to structural steel, stainless steel, aluminium, etc. parts. A press brake is used to give the final shape to a part. It is important to bear in mind that bending is done after the cutting process. Therefore, you have to keep some design tips in mind.

Metal bending is possible for sheets (up to 6 mm) as well as plates (anything above). The possibility of executing a job depends on the manufacturer’s capabilities – maximum bending edge length and pressing force. Thicker materials and longer bending lines need more force. Whereas 200-ton pressing force is enough for most jobs – it can, for example, bend a 2 m line with a 10 mm thickness – you sometimes need more. Fractory’s metal bending capabilities reach up to 1000 tons.

Different Bending Methods:

A variety of bending methods exist to do the job. Although most of them are suitable for the average job, each has some specific use-cases and needs different press brake tooling. Here’s a list of possibilities to make your life easier when looking for a metal folding service.

V-bending – The most widely spread folding method where a punch presses the sheet metal onto a die. V-bending has 3 divisions – air bending, bottoming and coining. Air bending is the most common of them. There, the sheet is not pressed onto the die but rather some way towards it until the desired angle is achieved.

U-bending – Quite similar in terms of using a punch and die. Instead of a V-shape, it uses a U-shape. Thus, its main use is to produce U-channels.

Step bending – Uses successive V-bending to achieve large-radius bends. Smaller steps assure better and smoother quality.

Roll bending – A bending method that uses rolls instead of punches and dies. Great for producing parts with large radii or conical sheet metal details.

Rotary bending – Another bending technique to produce angular bends. The big advantage over other methods is the lack of bending marks (usually left by the V-shaped die) on the part.