DIY 96" sheet metal bender- Pan/Box, Straight Just for .063" aluminum

[diyengineer]

Hello Everyone! I would like to cut out box designs on flat sheet using a 3 axis mill. The aluminum will be no thicker then .063". It may be 6061-T6, but if its not suitable for bending another aluminum temper or type can easily replace it that has suitable bending qualities. Like i said, .063" will be the MAX thickness this machine would ever see down to .020". It would never see any steel, or ferrous metals. After these sheets are finished, i would like to bend a simple box out of the sheet that has some tabs. All the bends are 90 degrees. It would need 6 bends to create an entire box with tabs. It seems like i would not need the break to be a "box/pan" break, but a straight break would work fine for this design. A box and pan break would be awesome though for future expansion. I know that 96" breaks are huge money, and thus i cannot afford one. However i believe i have the tools to build and design one. Pictures, links, and any advice would be great. I will be using this in a light production type setting so accuracy and bend quality need to be repeatable. I could easily use a smaller break and do multiple panels but that would ruin the simplicity of the design.

Thanks everyone!!

[diyengineer]

Maybe there is a way to be tricky that wouldn't require using such a large machine. to get the job done, while still being fast and accurate. Let me know!

[doorknob]

I have little or no actual experience with this, so this is pure guesswork (I have recently purchased two small-ish manual bending brakes, one a straight 36" metal brake from Harbor Freight and the other a 24" box and pan brake from Grizzly, but they are still in their original shipping cartons waiting for me to get around to setting them up in my garage, and once upon a time I did some simple box and chassis bending on a manual 48" brake).

The trouble with using a typical manual box and pan brake would be that the fourth-side fold-over would run into interference from the body of the brake.

But I have done a thought experiment that leads me to believe that you could implement a purpose-built incremental brake that would work something like the following:

[It would require that the workpiece first have the flange clearance cuts either punched out or cut out of the raw sheet - and my guess is that an alloy such as 5032 would be more suitable for bending than 6061 (which has a tendency to crack when small radius bends are attempted)]

The idea is that you could have a heavy steel bottom plate, and above that a heavy steel pressure plate, both 24" square and both plates aligned with each other, where the pressure plate could be hydraulically or mechanically raised (to permit material to be fed below it) or lowered (to clamp the material in place. The precut aluminum panel could be fed in 24" at a time, whereupon the pressure plate would be engaged, left and right brake elements could be rotated upward (hydraulically or mechanically) to bend the flanges up (against two of the edges of the pressure plate), and a 24" square end plate could be rotated upward against the end of the pressure plate to bend the box side (the first time the material was advanced into the press there would be no end to bend up, but each subsequent advance of the material would be ready to be bent upward). After 4 iterations the fully-bent piece would be withdrawn from one side of the pressure plate.

A possible problem with that design would be that typically, when making 90-degree bends in a workpiece, a bending brake must bend the material more than 90 degrees, so that when pressure is removed the material relaxes back to exactly 90 degrees. Perhaps that could be accomplished by making the pressure plate with trapezoid-like edges instead of having perpendicular edges.

Not sure whether or not that description is clear, though...

[diyengineer]

Yes, very clear. Thank you for your time. The hard temper of 6061-T6 i assume is not readily bendable. I have access to multiple other aluminum types but all are the same thickness (.063") or thinner. The type is obviously debatable but the thickness will be the same. Hopefully you get those breaks set up! It would be a shame for them to set in there crate unused.

Hopefully someone with a DIY break finds this thread. I found a 60" from grizzy for $1500 dollars. Very affordable, but not large enough. Baleigh industrial has a 96" unit but i assume its expensive as hell.

Sheet Metal, Straight and Hand Brake, Box and Pan Bending

I have little or no actual experience with this, so this is pure guesswork (I have recently purchased two small-ish manual bending brakes, one a straight 36" metal brake from Harbor Freight and the other a 24" box and pan brake from Grizzly, but they are still in their original shipping cartons waiting for me to get around to setting them up in my garage, and once upon a time I did some simple box and chassis bending on a manual 48" brake).

The trouble with using a typical manual box and pan brake would be that the fourth-side fold-over would run into interference from the body of the brake.

But I have done a thought experiment that leads me to believe that you could implement a purpose-built incremental brake that would work something like the following:

[It would require that the workpiece first have the flange clearance cuts either punched out or cut out of the raw sheet - and my guess is that an alloy such as 5032 would be more suitable for bending than 6061 (which has a tendency to crack when small radius bends are attempted)]

The idea is that you could have a heavy steel bottom plate, and above that a heavy steel pressure plate, both 24" square and both plates aligned with each other, where the pressure plate could be hydraulically or mechanically raised (to permit material to be fed below it) or lowered (to clamp the material in place. The precut aluminum panel could be fed in 24" at a time, whereupon the pressure plate would be engaged, left and right brake elements could be rotated upward (hydraulically or mechanically) to bend the flanges up (against two of the edges of the pressure plate), and a 24" square end plate could be rotated upward against the end of the pressure plate to bend the box side (the first time the material was advanced into the press there would be no end to bend up, but each subsequent advance of the material would be ready to be bent upward). After 4 iterations the fully-bent piece would be withdrawn from one side of the pressure plate.

A possible problem with that design would be that typically, when making 90-degree bends in a workpiece, a bending brake must bend the material more than 90 degrees, so that when pressure is removed the material relaxes back to exactly 90 degrees. Perhaps that could be accomplished by making the pressure plate with trapezoid-like edges instead of having perpendicular edges.

Not sure whether or not that description is clear, though...

[diyengineer]

Baileigh BB-4816M Magnetic Box and Pan Brake

This is a really cool piece of equipment.

Maybe this would allow me to bend the tabs seperatly? Then i wouldn't need such a huge machine?

[rjahr]

Why don't you think you can't do that on a small finger brake.. your going to have some flexying - I could see this not being able to be built on a cnc hydraulic brake but should be no problem for a tiny finger brake just bend the long side in partials...

Baileigh BB-4816M Magnetic Box and Pan Brake

This is a really cool piece of equipment.

Maybe this would allow me to bend the tabs seperatly? Then i wouldn't need such a huge machine?

[metalworkz]

Hello,
I agree with the above post, your sketch should be very workable with a small leaf break with at least 24" width capacity. Each flange for the 24" sections can be bent separately and the other overlapping seam flange can be done as you work with the sides to form up the box. Just make sure there is clearance in the clamping leaf so the corner flanges will form up to 90º. Also 5052 aluminum is the type we normally use for formed aluminum parts, and when using 6061 bends can be done as long as they are made across the material grain only.

[diyengineer]

Hello,
I agree with the above post, your sketch should be very workable with a small leaf break with at least 24" width capacity. Each flange for the 24" sections can be bent separately and the other overlapping seam flange can be done as you work with the sides to form up the box. Just make sure there is clearance in the clamping leaf so the corner flanges will form up to 90º. Also 5052 aluminum is the type we normally use for formed aluminum parts, and when using 6061 bends can be done as long as they are made across the material grain only.

Thanks for the input! The magnetic box break is 2 grand which is a good deal i think. I will look into the 5052 aluminum also. How does one tell which way the grain is going on 6061?

[metalworkz]

If you look closely at the surface grain of the material you can see the grain direction(normally the grain direction will be in the same direction as the length of the coil, so a 48" coil would have the material grain running in the same direction that the coil is wound, or if cut from 48" x 144" sheets the grain runs lengthwise) If the parts have been cut from a sheet and are small you can still see the grain if it has not been speed grained which may or may not be the same as the material grain. 5052 H32 aluminum when sheared will cut approximately half way through the material before breaking off. 6061 will only be about 1/4(or less) the way through and it breaks of because of the higher silicon content(harder) I would not recommend using 6061 for parts with bends unless the bends can be done across the grain and this will usually be only a single flange or possibly 2 flanges at opposing ends of the part. If the material needs to be 6061 then you might have to figure a way to tab and key some flanges on the other sides and they could be welded together. It you are making a box for example the larger sections could be done with 6061 and the grain lengthwise and the flanges could be tab and keyed to fit on the box after forming and welded to the main item either in separate flanges for each side or each end can be basically a square with a large cutout and tabs so it could be fit to the formed box and welded in place. Riveting could also be a good alternative to welding but may require some extra brackets for strength. Sorry for rambling on.

I just took a look at the magnetic brake which I have never seen before. That is a pretty impressive machine, and the magnetic clamp makes for some extra capabilities that would not be as easy with a regular leaf brake. I have made the Gingery metal brake(mine is a 30" length) and that magnetic brake could offer some very good ideas for a modified DIY brake with a similar magnetic design, will have to look into this.

[diyengineer]

If you look closely at the surface grain of the material you can see the grain direction(normally the grain direction will be in the same direction as the length of the coil, so a 48" coil would have the material grain running in the same direction that the coil is wound, or if cut from 48" x 144" sheets the grain runs lengthwise) If the parts have been cut from a sheet and are small you can still see the grain if it has not been speed grained which may or may not be the same as the material grain. 5052 H32 aluminum when sheared will cut approximately half way through the material before breaking off. 6061 will only be about 1/4(or less) the way through and it breaks of because of the higher silicon content(harder) I would not recommend using 6061 for parts with bends unless the bends can be done across the grain and this will usually be only a single flange or possibly 2 flanges at opposing ends of the part. If the material needs to be 6061 then you might have to figure a way to tab and key some flanges on the other sides and they could be welded together. It you are making a box for example the larger sections could be done with 6061 and the grain lengthwise and the flanges could be tab and keyed to fit on the box after forming and welded to the main item either in separate flanges for each side or each end can be basically a square with a large cutout and tabs so it could be fit to the formed box and welded in place. Riveting could also be a good alternative to welding but may require some extra brackets for strength. Sorry for rambling on.

I just took a look at the magnetic brake which I have never seen before. That is a pretty impressive machine, and the magnetic clamp makes for some extra capabilities that would not be as easy with a regular leaf brake. I have made the Gingery metal brake(mine is a 30" length) and that magnetic brake could offer some very good ideas for a modified DIY brake with a similar magnetic design, will have to look into this.

All Great information!!!! Yes the magnetic break is pretty slick and for a small shop with not much space (or $) it has more then one use and seems to be really versatile!

As for the aluminum ill take your advice, and look into the 5052! The local aluminum supplier has 5052, 5083, 5086,5383, 5456, 1100, 3003, 6061 (plus a few more odd balls). I was going to avoid welding and use use rivets for ease, low cost, and speed/time. Plus i'm not the best tig welder *yet* haha. (still learning).



Thank you for the info. You have saved me a lot of time and trouble! Once i get the break i will have to shoot you a message, and im sure i will load a video up of its operation!

[rjahr]

Umm Aluminum is not magnetic sooooo.......

[diyengineer]

Woo hoo! +1 point for Rjahr!

Then Minus -10 point for not understand how the magnetic break works. lol.

Did you watch the video? Find the link below.