Sheet Metal Bend Relief

During the bending of sheet metal material around the bend tends to stretch and deform.

Sheet metal bend relief.

Though bend relief lengths and widths vary between projects they all share a common goal. For example if you make a partial flange as above using all the defaults the software makes relief cuts at the end of the bends as shown to the right. Lack of proper bend reliefs may cause tearing of the material due to localized stresses. Select a hard edge bend face flange face or 3d solid entire model.

Choose create relief in the sheet metal menu. Click the create relief tool button on the sheet metal ribbon tab. One benefit of a bend relief is that it makes the part easier to produce. The bigger the bend relief the easier it is to align over the end of the tooling.

Improper bending of sheet metal can cause material flow problems in soft material and fracturing in hard materials. If it is ok for the metal to rip the minimum bend relief is zero. You are also able to select to extend the bend relief in the opposite direction in the case of a flange for example illustrations below. Type smreliefcreate in the command bar.

Preventing tearing and part deformation during the bending process. In general a minimum bend relief is equal to the material thickness plus the inside bend radius. This article looks at two different tips associated with ensuring you have high quality sheet metal in finished products. Select an item see the note below.

In sheet metal a bend relief is an incision cut along the sides of a planned bend.