Calculating K Factor For Sheet Metal

Types of metal bends and forming methods bending and bend formation are important factors when it comes to calculating bend deduction which is the total elongation for a particular type of bend.

Calculating k factor for sheet metal.

Therefore using k factor there is no need to calculate sheet metal flat length manually. The k factor is the ratio between the distance from the neutral layer to the bent inner surface and the thickness of the sheet metal. Typically the k factor is going to be between 0 and 5. The k factor is defined as the ratio between the material thickness t and the neutral fibre axis t i e.

Then input the bend angle to get the arc length bend allowance and bend deduction. Calculate k factor bend allowance and y factor for sheet metal bending. Like previous scenarios let s start by calculating leg length 1. Sheet metal flat length can be calculated using cad softwares.

When sheet metal is bend the inside bending surface is compressed. In order to find the k factor you will need to bend a sample piece and deduce the bend allowance. For example if the value of k factor for given material thickness and bending machines is known. As shown in figure 1 below k t t.

Then input leg length a and b to get the flat size of the sheet. As a result overall sheet length increases. K factor plays a key role in understanding the limits a material can handle during sheet metal bending. To calculate the neutral axis distance from the inner face t we can subtract inside bend radius from r.

It allows you to anticipate the bend deduction for a large variety of angles without having to rely on a chart. Bending angles greater than 90 degrees. The k factor is the most important and elusive variable of bending because it varies both as a function of the material and according to parameters such as angle and tooling. While modern bend deduction charts now are reasonably accurate historically bend calculation charts both for bend allowances and bend deductions were notorious.

The k factor is fundamental to designing precise sheet metal products. This change in sheet length depends on the position of neutral axis or k factor. Whereas the outer surface is stretched. The k factor is defined as a constant that is greater than 0 and less than 1.

K factor in sheet metal bending is a constant that is used to calculate sheet metal flat length. And by having t and the sheet thickness t we can calculate the k factor as follow. Input material thickness and and inner radius to get the data of k factor y factor neutral layer.